Customer Reviews

Hunter Fan 27185 Light Remote Control

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(37)

 

 

I purchased this remote control when I purchased my Hunter ceiling fan/light a few years ago. It worked fine for about 2 years. Then the light bulb blew and the remote was dead. I called Hunter and they told me what had happened was the sensing unit attached to the fan blew and that in turn blew the light bulb, and they would send me a new unit. I installed the new unit and the dimmer for the light did not work properly. It would just make the light flash on and off. I called again and they said it was a bad unit and they would send me another. This time the remote would work the fan and light OK but now they would also come on spontaneously at random times. For example, I might go to bed on cold winter night and wake up with the fan blowing on me or the light on. Or, I might go away on vacation and come home to find the light and/or the fan on. Another call to Hunter resulted in their telling me just to change the unit's frequency code and the problem would go away. Well, six code changes later the problem still persisted. In addition, if the electricity went out, even for a few seconds, when it came back on, the remote sensor would automatically turn on the light. I gave up on Hunter, purchased a different brand universal type wireless remote and so far (2 weeks) it has worked flawlessly. This is not new technology. My garage door opener which uses the same technology does not open and close spontaneously or default to an open garage door if the electricity goes out. This is a very poor and defective technical execution of a rather simple product.

I give this remote two stars for ease of installation, otherwise I'll be looking for another remote. The unit may or may not work, depending on the location of the handheld transmitter in relation to the receiver. This is not an out-of-range problem because the receiver might not pick up the signal even if the transmitter is only a few inches away. At first I suspected a weak battery but this was not the culprit. I have spent several hours orienting the antenna wire in every possible way and retesting the unit, and there are still dead spots in the room where the transmitter will not work, even though it works very dependably in other spots. Reading some previous reviews praising this unit, it sounds as if the manufacturer has a quality control problem regarding consistency. But it seems that we all agree on the unit's lack of ability to remember the last brightness setting -- when you turn off the light, regardless of where the dimmer is set, turning the light on again brings it immediately to the full setting... not very comfortable on the eyes after waking up in the middle of the night. You can only "dim down" the light -- starting from full brightness and going gradually to off. There is no way to increase from dim to bright. Overall, I am very disappointed.

This item is possessed. Go over to epinions and read about it. Fan comes on and off at random times, mostly inconvenient times (while your trying to sleep). Changing the frequency dip switches involves unmounting the fan (thats right, getting up on a ladder and taking it down again). I actually have installed 100 fans in my life, and holding up a fan in one hand while changing a dip switch with the other is somewhat of a challenge :). Now that the dip switches are changed, VIOLA...still interference. I think I may try to cut the receiver wire this time to shorten the range, as it may be getting interference from down the street, or solar flares, or the gremlins that live in my attic.

This remote has issues. All you need to do is search the internet under Hunter and the product number and you can see for yourself all the reviews and websites discussing the issues. My lights on the fan turn on randomly in the middle of the night (kind of scary the first time it happened but now its just annoying) and the speeds will change randomly as well. Changing the frequency on the remote and the fan (which requires taking the fan down again) doesn't solve the problem either.

Since the operative idea is to have control over the fan, having the fan go on in the middle of the night for no apparent reason is aggravating. Is it the neighbor's garage door opener? The government's time signal? Minor fluctuations in the quality of electricity coming into the house? Unknown. It's summer, and the weather is mild, yet the fan will come on spontaneously, as will the light, which is a sleep killer in the middle of the night. The only solution is to turn the fan off at the switch, which means that if you WANT the fan on during the night, you'll have to live with the light coming on at 3a.m.

Bad design, from an engineer who didn't field test the product.

By the way, it's the same with the Hunter fans that come with the remote control units.

While this sounds like a great product, and you would expect great things from Hunter, this is a BAD product. The fan randomly comes on in the middle of the day or night, for no apparent reason. We've tried changing the remote to different radio frequencies, but that didn't help a bit. ANOTHER BIG PROBLEM is that if the power goes out and then comes back on, the light comes on no matter what. So let's say you live in the country where every storm that blows through flickers the power. Yep, our trusty ceiling fan light will come on every time. Emails to Hunter confirm that this is "how the product is designed". I don't think it is a design. I think it is some junior engineer with no common sense. Nope, don't waste your time on this product.

I installed this on a Hunter 'hands free' mount fan that was installed flush--other brands of remote fan controls would only install on fans mounted with a hanger style mount. This remote works fine, but the light dimmer does not remember its dim setting when the lights are turned off. The 'unique switch plate holder' is a hanger, and the remote can not be used in place on the wall while hanging. I would have used a competing product if it were compatible with my fan.

This is a great product! The one downfall, as one reviewer has mentioned, is the fact that it does not remember your light dimmer setting when you turn out the light. That's only a minor inconvenience, so this product still gets 5 stars. Installation is simple, and if ou have room in your wall behind your swithcplate (like I did) you don't even have to take down the ceiling fan. (Please note that the installation instructions and guidelines include no provisions for this type of install) This is a great solution if you only have one switch on your wall and want to control the fan and the light separately without pulling chains. This unit is actually designed for fans receiving only one live feed (you have only one switch on your wall to control both the light and the fan) but it can be used if you have separate live wires.

A final note is on the style and layout of the system from a design aspect. This is HEADS AND SHOULDERS above the other units as far as asthetic appeal. The remote has nice contours and the buttons are layed out in a manner that makes sense (unlike other units I've used). The handy mounting bracket for the remote can fit over top of existing switches or can be mounted in a more convenient location. The design of the clip is innovative and easy to use. Unlike other, bulkier basket type holders, the remote completely conceals the mount when it is hung up.

You'll LOVE this unit!

This works very well, was much easier to install than I had planed. Best to install with the new fan, but ok as a retro fit. This is in my bedroom and is nice to be able to turn the fan down/off late at night without getting up!

I'm using this unit on the Hampton Bay Carriage House II fan and it fits perfectly in there with the bracket/hanger with string tie as the instructions recommend. As mentioned before the light does not save previous lighting settings. I'm not sure if its just the two units I have or if its something all units can do, but if you press the high and medium buttons together the light will come on at a low level. And if you hold those two buttons the light will begin to brighten. Don't you hate when products can do something extra not mentioned in the manuals?