Customer Reviews

Hunter 20810 52-Inch Low Profile III Ceiling Fan With Light Kit

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A couple weeks ago I bought two Harbor Breeze 52" fans at Lowes (Springfield model, if it matters). I installed them in two upstairs bedrooms. They went up quickly and easily, they don't vibrate, and they look good.

This past weekend my Hunter fan arrived from Amazon. Thought I'd go higher up in quality for the game room.

Having just put up the Harbor Breeze fans, I had some perspective on design decisions that make installation easy or hard. Hunter's engineers should take a look at the work of Harbor Breeze.

For example, attaching the fan blades to their mounting brackets (called "blade irons" by Hunter). The Harbor Breeze bracket gets pushed through the blade's three holes, then secured with one clever restraining clip. Total time for one blade, about 10 seconds; one minute for all five blades. Hunter, on the other hand, gives you 15 rubber grommets, each to be pushed and pulled into the 15 blade holes, then screwed to the mounting bracket with, of course, 15 screws. Not hard, but an example of the engineering that went into the Harbor Breeze that didn't go into the Hunter.

The Hunter came with a CFL bulb that didn't work. No big deal, but the two Harbor Breeze fans came with a total of 8 lamps (incandescent), all of which worked. The fit and finish of the Harbor Breeze lamps seems better than the Hunter; even the pull chains look better. The Harbor Breeze fans in general look better (pewter finish vs painted white), run quietly (except for wind noise) even at highest speed, and at $77, I wish I'd bought three of them.

Who knows, maybe in ten years the Harbor Breeze fans will stop working and the Hunter will be going strong. But for now, the Harbor Breeze fans seem much the better value.

Why have I wasted so much time relating this? Heck, the Hunter is installed, and it's not coming out. Maybe it's to pass a tip of the hat to the Harbor Breeze engineers who did such a good job making the fan easy to put together for the average homeowner. I have a feeling they didn't skimp on the motor or switches either.

I've installed many Hunter fans over the last 35 years or so and it gets easier and easier. Once you get a properly reinforced ceiling fan mount, it's a breeze. Anyone who can stand on a ladder will be able to install this fan. The motor is light weight, and setting it into the bracket is very easy. It runs very quietly and the included energy saving bulb puts out a nice light.

We bought this fan after looking at both of the major home improvement stores and not finding anything we liked there. Installation was simple, and the air movement is very good as well. We also like the low profile of this fan since we have 9' ceilings in the room where we placed it. Our room is smaller than what is recommended for a 52" fan (it's about 10x10), but this fan still feels like the right size (compared to the 44" model).

There is one issue that I have with this fan, CFL bulbs hum when in the light fixture. The product comes with 1 CFL bulb and we also tried another one and there is an audible hum. We have CFLs all over our house and the hum is new to us. Once we used an incandescent bulb the hum disappeared. It's certainly possible that there is some wiring issue since we ran new wiring there, but be warned if you notice the noise.

Pros:
-The bracket for installing this fan is the best I've seen (this was my 7th fan installation). No scarily dangling fan motor hanging off of a little hook for this one. The motor has a square box that you securely fasten into its permanent position BEFORE connecting the wires. Very convenient and safe.
-I like the "low profile" design, in theory. The fact that the canopy for the fan goes all the way around the motor is really nice. Makes for quick and easy installation.
-One thing I will say for Hunter, they know how to make a SILENT fan. All our Hunters are absolutely whisper quiet, all you hear is the air moving... not the motor running. Something I can't say for ANY OTHER BRAND.

Cons:
-Because of the way you mount the bracket to the ceiling, there is a gap all the way around the top of the canopy after it's installed. Not a small gap either. Like, 1/2" at least. Makes it look very cheap, because it doesn't fit up tight to the ceiling, and there's nothing you can do about it. I'm thinking I'll have to figure out a way to cover the hole somehow.
-I am not crazy about the light on this fan either. Just aesthetically speaking, it's not very attractive, and almost impossible to install straight. Again, just looks rather cheap. From the photo, I was kind of excited about its "modern" appearance, but it doesn't really have that feel to it after all.
-There are a lot of things that just don't look as good as they could: the rubber grommets stick out beyond the blade brackets, there are visible screws that are silver instead of white like the body of the fan. Little things that Hunter is USUALLY so good about surprised me. We have 3 Hunter, 3 Harbor Breeze, and one other brand, and the Hunters overall are of a MUCH nicer quality (and I especially liked the 5-minute Fan by Hunter that I have... it had the clip-on blade feature that was SO NICE.)

So, I'd say this fan is a good choice for a bedroom or playroom, but I'd steer clear of any living spaces you have to look at all the time. It's just not all that attractive, but it does move air around nicely and quietly. Not the fastest installation (compared with the 5-minute fans that Hunter makes), but it's MUCH better than some others.

I purchased and installed two of these units. First off let me say that the installation was very easy and if you take your time then it goes very smoothly. I also wanted to address some of the complaints about these fans.

1) This is a under $100 fan so the fact that it does not sit "flush" to the ceiling is not to be expected nor in my opinion is 1/2" of space which is needed to mount the shroud a big deal. Anyhow I do not know many people who stare up at the top base of the fan.

2) The rubber rings that go in the holes of the blade are not visible once the arms are attached to the blades. These rings or grommets are designed to ensure a snug connection without damaging the wood blades.

3) Someone mentioned the light not being straight. I do not understand how this is possible the light hangs down directly bellow. I has to be straight due to a little thing called gravity.

Now to my recommendations to save you time in installation.

1) Assemble the rubber rings or grommets to the blades first.

2) Assemble the blades to the arms.

3) Assemble the light fixture but do not add the bulb or glass globe until you mount it all together. Now please note the light fixture has a ring and washer on the inside wire side and two screws on the socket side to ensure a safe connection to the housing. The lighting kit is optional.

Now just add the mount, hang the motor and add the other pieces, you should be done in under 1 hour.

The only minor issue I had was one of the bulbs was burned out, not a big deal.

Also one last very important note: THIS FAN CAN ONLY TAKE A MAXIMUM OF 19 Watt Fluorescent bulb!

All in all we are very happy with the two fans we got and installed. For the price you can not beat it and the quality is excellent we have other Hunter fans that have been in place for over 30 years and still run whisper quiet and are perfect. (they are higher end units though but I am confident these will also last a very long time)

I currently have 3 more low profile fans in my house.Easy to install.All perfect balance.No noise at all.This will be my 4th Hunter fan.Excellent price.

I installed two of these in our bedroom and nursery. Each room is small by today's standards measuring roughly 10' x 10' x 9'. I wanted a low-profile fan with a light that wouldn't be too much of an eyesore. The Hunter fit the bill and Amazon had one of the most competitive prices. I coupled both fans with the remote unit (Hunter 27185). Complete installation of the first fan was about a three-hour process by myself and the second went up in less than two hours. We have been using them pretty much nonstop for the last month and are very happy. The fans are extremely quite at lower settings and still push enough air to feel. At the highest speed the fan is still relatively quite but there is more noise from the turbulence of air.

Three major issues exit with this Hunter, and I presume all Hunter ceiling fans. First, the fasteners are of cheap, soft steel and the Phillips screwheads easily smear so that the screws have a useless head. The 3 inch wood screws to set the mounting plate should be hard so that the driver does not destroy the screw head when it pops away. Also happened with another small fastener. Another problem was that two mating parts had different patterns for the attachment screws so they barely could be made to fit. They are using cheap materials and suppliers. Second, the wiring to the lamp was bad, actually using some sort of molded conductor rather than solid metal wires. They only ship replacements on ground, so the unit is inoperable and I have no confidence that the new part will be any better. Shipping for the replacement is by ground and slow. I asked for expedited shipment. Asked to speak to a supervisor and five hours later no return call. Called again and was again refused the connection to a supervisor.

So, the question is if I would recommend Hunter fans to a friend? The answer is not to an enemy.

I own three of these fan/lights. I own a 1964 ranch-style home with the standard 8-foot ceilings. In order to enjoy the breeze of a ceiling fan along with the convenience of a ceiling light, I needed a ceiling hugging fan. There are several on the market, but none with the solid construction, quiet movement, etc, of the Hunter Low Profile III. My goal was to buy it, install it, and enjoy it for many, many years! Goal achieved!

This fan was installed in my bedroom and works very well. It is quiet even on the highest speed. Air movement isn't quite as good as the higher end fan that is in my living room, which is why I knocked off one star. Good product for the price.