Hunter 1896 Art Nouveau Ceiling Fan

by Brian
(Massachusetts)

I own the Hunter 1896 Art Nouveau Ceiling Fan. I installed it myself 8 years ago. It worked well for 6 years and began to slow and barely start eventually not starting up at all. The lights work, but it looked like the fan motor was gone. I did a lot of research on the web and diagnosed an electronics part called the capacitor that was probably the reason.

I looked up that part on Hunter'a website. Nothing, no reference at all. I emailed their tech support. They responded with scant informational message and a reference to the manual for fixing the issue. They did give the part number, and referenced the parts guide. But when reviewing the manual and parts guide there is no mention of the capacitor. They are clearly not letting their customer know about this easy fix.

They’d rather have them buy a new fan. I told this to Hunter, but there was no response. Hunter is a good fan, however, they have an achilles heel and the company does not promote its easy fix. They have a capacitor in them that will eventually go rendering the fan idle usually between 5-10 years. It’s a cheap enough part and a reasonable repair, but unless you contact them directly, they show no such part on the manual, in the parts guide or anywhere on their site. It’s planned obsolescence.

I suggest Hunter does the honorable thing and start showing the easy fix and including the part in their manuals.