Hi I have just bought a minka aire ceiling fan that I like. But when turning on the light it gives a fishy smell. I cleaned the globe and replaced the halogen bulbs but the problem persisted. I contacted the company I bought the fan from and they sen t me a new fan. I had the 2nd fan put up and I have the same problem. But now after running the light for awhile thinking maybe the smell would burn off as some of the answers had suggested the rmote appears to be acting up. It will work the light only if you through the manual switch but will not operate the fan. And the smell continues to be there when the light is on. When I got the first fan we used the fan and not the light because of the awful odor- now with the new fan we can't use the fan and the light only for 15 minutes then we have to shut it off. I looked onlline at a few places and the minka aire was rated well. I paid around $400 thinking I would get a quality fan and no problems. We had an older fan in the same place and it also had a remote. So we are using the same boxes andwires we used before. The ceiling has 2 white wires twisted together and 1 black wire and the wall has 1 white and 1 black. The remote has to 2black wires that it says to connect to the wall,
(should I connect the white wire and black together.) And for the ceiling it says to connect the white to white and the black to black. Should I connect the 2 whites twisted together to the white? T I don't think they'll take the 2nd fan back so I'll be at a $400 lost if I can't get it to work. Thanks for any advice you can give me. Sincerely Kate

The wall switch wires to the two wires that went to your old wall switch. The two wires from the fan go to the two wires that went to your former light fixture. In the wall you shouldn't twist any two wires together, in the ceiling the two whites together is probably correct.

I'm assuming a basic light was there before the fan?

Minka is an OK brand. Not great, and overpriced IMO.

How long have you ran it for with the smell?

I wanted to tell you that I am having the same odor problem. I ordered a Minka Aire fan, replaced an older ceiling fan in my bedroom. After 30-40 minutes of the fan being on, there was a very strong fish smell. I actually looked out the window to see if my neighbors were barbecuing fish and the smoke had blown into my window. I also tried to leave it on for the day to let any residual dust or whatever burn off but it still smells like fish. I am going to try to exchange this ceiling fan but may end up returning it altogether.

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Originally Posted by kate97

Hi I have just bought a minka aire to replace an older ceiling fan
. But when turning on the light it gives a fishy smell. I cleaned the globe and replaced the halogen bulbs but the problem persisted. I contacted the company I bought the fan from and they sen t me a new fan. I had the 2nd fan put up and I have the same problem. But now after running the light for awhile thinking maybe the smell would burn off as some of the answers had suggested the rmote appears to be acting up. It will work the light only if you through the manual switch but will not operate the fan. And the smell continues to be there when the light is on. When I got the first fan we used the fan and not the light because of the awful odor- now with the new fan we can't use the fan and the light only for 15 minutes then we have to shut it off. I looked onlline at a few places and the minka aire was rated well. I payed around $400 thinking I would get a quality fan and no problems. We had an older fan in the same place and it also had a remote. so we are using the same boxes andwires we used before. The ceiling has 2 white wires twisted together and 1 black wire and the wall has 1 white and 1 black. the remote has to 2black wires that it says to connect to the wall,
(should i connect the white wire and black together.) And for the ceiling it says to connect the white to white and the black to black. Should I connect the 2 whites twisted together to the white? t I dont think they'll take the 2nd fan back so I'll be at a $400 lost if I can't get it to work. Thanks for any advice you can give me. sincerely Kate

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I would use it for a few days/weeks and see what happens. Either the smell will go away or the fan/light will start malfunctioning and you'll know if it's a problem. If you're worried, don't leave it unattended.

This is a major, major safety issue that needs to be fixed immediately if you notice this fish / fishy / burning smell. I had this same problem with two new Minka Aire Supra 44 fans. Ran them for awhile for several days and the fish smell never went away. So, I decided to open up the light fixture to try to determine whether it was the light vs. it being the fan motor. Well, lo and behold, I notice that the reflective padding that is located adjacent the halogen lamp had been burning! I removed the padding and everything is fine now, but this is a major product defect. I'm going to contact both the fan store and the manufacturer, but they are lucky no one's house has burned down yet (at least I hope not).

I've heard of hundreds of fans smelling funny, never anything about anything burning. Maybe it is the padding and once it burns away, the smell goes away. It's supposed to be heat insulation.

What did Minka say?

Minka has essentially said that this is normal and that I should not remove the insulation, but I've now sent them pictures and they are reviewing them. Frankly, I have a hard time believing that this is not a product defect. Check out the pics--would you consider this normal?

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/7...rnpicture3.jpg

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/839...rnpicture2.jpg

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/1...rnpicture1.jpg

Doesn't look good to me, however no real harm can come of it, as there is metal on both sides of the padding.

I would still remove it.