Hunter Low profile ceiling fan

by Brian
(Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada)

I have just replaced my old ceiling fan/light in our bedroom with a Hunter remote control fan/light, and wished I hadn't. I have only had it installed one day and will be taking it back. Compared to my old one, the installation was clumsy and awkward.

The fan wobbles, and the balance kit was useless in reducing the amount of wobble. The light uses inefficient chandelier bulbs (my fault for not looking more closely before I bought it, but who uses those anymore in this day of energy conservation?) The remote control requires an expensive 12 volt battery which they don't provide.

The greatest drawback is that you cannot operate the fan at the wall to turn the light on and off like a conventional ceiling light. The light must be turned on and off with the remote. The pull chains can operate the light and fan manually if you have turned it on with the remote, but if you turn them off with the remote, the pull chains do not operate them.

This leaves you completely dependent upon the remote. If you walk into a dark bedroom without the remote you cannot turn on the light manually, and if the remote is ever lost or broken, you cannot operate the fan unless you rewire it to bypass the remote receiver.

The FAQ's by Hunter say that to operate the fan both at the wall and by remote is a fire hazard, but don't explain how it is. Personally, I think if that's the case, then they need to re-engineer it. It's clearly poorly thought out and poorly designed.