Customer Reviews

Hunter 90121 17-Inch Oscillating Stand Fan, Brushed Nickel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Oh, man: So this fan comes in one, 40lb box and you will have to assemble it. I would rate the assembly as a bit harder than average, but (in my opinion) the reason for this is because it is very, very well made (and heavy).

After assembly you will have what I feel to be the most well made, attractive, sturdy, and quiet (except for wind noise which... what'cha gonna do?) fan on the market. This is a great buy and works great as well as being much cheaper than one that I purchased from Restoration Hardware.

UPDATE (4/28/09): I have used this fan pretty much every day since my original review in 2007 and I still have no issues. One good thing I have found is that the front "screen" is removable and makes cleaning the blades very easy.

UPDATE (2/2010): It's now been several years (2007) that I have had this fan and it's still doing well except that recently it began having a slight metal-on-metal noise at the highest speed. I oiled it and that fixed the issue for a couple of days, but then it returned. I called customer service to get some pointers on oiling it better and they suggested sending me a new fan instead; new fan, free shipping. Not bad.

Large, beautiful, QUIET and effective. We love the soft background drone of a great fan. Reminds me of being a kid in the 1950's. We use these to cut down on air conditioning costs: They pay for themselves if they cut just a couple AC weeks out of your summer, so every other use of them is a free ride. For example, they are vital for canning season, to help the hood and the windows to push out the heat and humidity and to pull in cooler outside air. We even set one up in front of the treadmill to use year 'round for indoor jogging comfort.

This is a large, heavy-duty home-use fan - I bought two and also use a couple Hunter table fans. These pedestal fans are beautiful. It is a brushed nickel finish, but very finely done so it is nearly a satin polish appearance instead of the crude job typical of brushed nickel. It has a cast iron base plate weight (ultra-stable and zero wobble) and quite a few pieces for the assembly. Assembly was very easy (regardless what the nut-jobs claim), excepting for just one aspect: I had a devil of a time getting the nickle base shroud to thread on over the iron base plate on both fans and the replacement fan. I complained to Hunter about it. This is just a machining alignment problem - easy to fix at the factory, if they only try.

One of the two fans failed to oscillate properly, but Hunter Fan Company promptly sent me a free replacement, so I have two great pedestal fans for very little trouble. Far and away my best customer service experience of the last several years.

Operation has been faultless over the last fourteen months with almost 100% operation during the hot months and limited winter use. Go get 'em!!!

I bought this fan because of the reviews that actually stated this fan way a quiet fan. I have been using a cheap plastic stand fan for several years now and bought this one to upgrade that one. it seemed nicer to have out in the open than the plastic one, and quiet was a major point since it is in our Media room that has all our major Home Theatre equipment located, no one wants to hear a fans roar competing with the surround speakers and theatre-like sound we paid an arm and a leg for, right?

I was suprised when I turned this thing on. The low setting was as loud as the high setting on the cheap-o fan. Turn this metal fan on high and it sounds like a hurricane is coming through. Funny thing though, with all the extra huffing it does on high, it doesn't move any more air than the plastic one does on high.

I believe it is the metal construction intself that causes the extra-loud operation. Even the blades are metal, and seem to amplify the sound of the air passing through.

Secondly, the head is so heavy that you almost need a pair of pliers to tighten it down at the level you want it blowing. The natural vibrations of fans slowly lets the head tilt down until the next thing you know it's blowing at your knees

The first time we got this item the band around the fan (I believe the safety feature) wouldn't fit because part of the fan was bent. We contacted the company and they immediately sent us a replacement fan. While it was a hassle, the fan works nicely. The lowest setting you can't even hear when on. But the higher the setting, the more noise it makes. I still love it.

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed in this fan. It's made to last a lifetime, but despite its cost it is quite loud for the amount of air it moves. True, it's almost silent on its lowest speed setting, but it moves almost no air. On medium, it blows about as hard as my cheap plastic fans do on low, but it's much louder. On high, it fairly howls. I think you'd have trouble carrying on a conversation in the same room. Someone said the only noise it makes is air movement, and what can you do about that, but I disagree. The wind doesn't make a loud buzzing noise when it blows through my window, no matter how hard.

The advantage this has over cheap plastic fans (other than weight and durability); the metal blades don't flex. With my plastic fans, the noise level (and amount of air moved) seems to fluctuate. They start out moderately noisy with a nice stream of air, then 90 seconds later the air stream dies down and the fan gets extra loud, then back to moderate and windy, over and over again. The change in noise makes it impossible to use plastic fans on anything but low while I'm sleeping. The Hunter fan is a lot louder, but at least the noise level is constant, and I can sleep with it.

I love this fan almost as much as I love my husband. I love the way it looks, I love the way it sounds, I love the way it feels and..... my husband put it together with a broken leg all by himself and didn't swear once. We don't know why some people thought it was hard to put together. It's like going back in time to be in the same room with this fan. Yes...it's loud on high speed, but if we put it on high, it would blow our plants over. We don't need to use it above medium and it's plenty breezy. If a fan can be sexy, this is it.

This is a well made, quiet, handsome fan that I'm sure is worthy of all the nice things people say about it in operation, but the assembly, as a couple of reviewers have noticed, is a pain in the neck. There is no inventory of parts to identify the various screws, and the instructions leave a great deal to be desired. In fact, the buyer has to figure it out for himself. It took me an afternoon, a trip to the hardware store for a longer bolt to fasten the outer ring, and I ended up with a spare bolt I can find no use for. If the manufacturers of items like this are going to leave assembly to the buyer, then they've an obligation to provide good information.

One word...BEAUTIFUL! Yes, it works great too, but this fan is BEAUTIFUL! Slightly noisier than I would like, but I would sacrifice a nice looking fan any day than some cheap looking, ugly, plastic looking thing. You won't be disappointed in the looks.

We thought this fan would be perfect for us. It's sturdy and looks great. But after only 2 weeks, it just stopped working and refused to turn back on. Amazon sent us a replacement, but when we opened the box we found the 2 metal parts that surround the motor were bent and wouldn't fit together. So both fans are going back for a refund. Very disappointed with this purchase - Hunter seem to have some quality issues to work out.

This is a good, solid fan that is more attractive than most that you can buy in a typical retail store. It was a little bit more difficult than usual to put together, but then, I'm not very handy.

While I think it is a good product, I do happen to have a problem with it: the size. In my small New York City apartment, this fan seems to take up a lot of room (although, to be honest, a paper clip takes up a lot of room in my tiny space . . . ) However, I think that most people would be very happy with this fan.