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Post by Ed on Oct 19, 2005 16:49:19 GMT -5
Hello. I’m new, just dropping in to see if I can get some advice.
I own two Hunter Original fans from the early 80s: a 52” Mod. No. 22820 and a 38” Mod. No. 22826.
Both are two-speed fans.
The owner’s manual for my 52” fan contains this sentence:
"Solid-state, wall mounted, variable speed control, (catalog No. 22166), is available for the 52" model for fully adjustable speed control."
Called Hunter and learned this control is no longer being made. They said I was out of luck in achieving a mid-range speed with my 52” fan.
Can anyone tell me if I can buy a wall mounted motor control that will give me a mid-range speed? One that won’t cause any humming, buzzing, or do any damage to my fan? I’d also like a mid-range speed on my 38” fan but this requirement is not as critical.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
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Post by Ed on Oct 20, 2005 9:48:28 GMT -5
Thank you, Mr. Hicks, for your detailed reply. However, I am afraid my skill level is not up to yours, LOL!
What I am looking for is advice from anyone reading this board about a particular motor controller they have used with two-speed Hunter Original fans.
For instance, I know Lutron makes a motor control especially for the Hunter Original fans, their Diva® DVFSQ-F-HO model, and I think Leviton makes one for Hunter Originals as well, but I was wondering if anyone reading here has tried these off-the-shelf controllers.
Until I read your note, I was thinking I just wanted a mid-range speed for my 52”, but you’re entirely correct in saying that the slowest speed on both my fans is not very suitable for wintertime use because of the slowest speed is really too fast.
What I need is a simple solution that involves adding a switch on the wall and not opening up the fan to add capacitors.
Thanks again, Brian.
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Post by Sean B. on Oct 20, 2005 17:13:32 GMT -5
Anyways, back to topic...
If you don't want to risk frying your fan, due to either the safety level of his method, or your wiring skills, you can always use a transformer based control, as long as it is rated correctly for the fan. Ebay, and maybe Granger are your best bet for those. You can also try the AFCA, some of the collectors there use them as well, and may have spares, or a source on where to get them.
Hope that helps, Sean
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Post by Ed on Oct 20, 2005 18:45:20 GMT -5
Thanks, Brian and Sean.
Brian, I am pretty handy and I just may give your method a try, especially if you post that diagram you mentioned!
But, here’s what I think I am going to do if I decide not to add the capacitors or find a transformer.
1) I think I’ll drop the fan that is in my den (cheap fan that was hanging when I bought my house) and hang my 52” two-speed for a year to see if I can live with it during all seasons.
2) Drop the existing fan in my bedroom and first try the 38” in there to see if it will be adequate, and if not, buy a new fan.
Now, two more questions:
1) If I buy another fan, tell me what’s generally considered the best fans these days. Reading this board has taught me that Hunter Originals are now made in Taiwan (didn’t know that) and that in the opinion of many who post here, very few fan makers today build their fans to the old standards of ruggedness.
It’s been so long since I’ve bought a fan ceiling (about 25 years) that I am seeing brands I have never heard of before: Minka, Fanimation, Ellington, Craftmade, Airflow, Matthews, and many others. I just knew Hunter, Casablanca, Emerson. Home Depot didn’t exist when I last bought fans but of course I have now heard of their house brand, Hampton Bay.
So in the opinion of all who read this, which company is making good, solid, dependable, trouble-free ceiling fans? I am not so much into style as I am into superior engineering and dependability.
I have looked at some fans lately that seem to be all motor housing and very little motor -- I'm talking to you, Craftmade. What’s up with that? As a Hunter man, I am used to a fan motor looking and weighing like a motor. But, I am not a slave to Hunter -- if superior motor designs have been developed in the past 25 years, I am certainly open to giving another manufacturer a try.
2) No one on the board has an old Hunter 22166 motor control lying around, do they? If so, I’d be interested in obtaining it, provided it will fit in my existing switchbox and provided it really delivers quiet, variable speeds. Maybe that’s why Hunter discontinued it: perhaps it didn’t work worth a darn?
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Post by Sean B. on Oct 20, 2005 22:53:49 GMT -5
Thanks, Brian and Sean. Brian, I am pretty handy and I just may give your method a try, especially if you post that diagram you mentioned! But, here’s what I think I am going to do if I decide not to add the capacitors or find a transformer. 1) I think I’ll drop the fan that is in my den (cheap fan that was hanging when I bought my house) and hang my 52” two-speed for a year to see if I can live with it during all seasons. 2) Drop the existing fan in my bedroom and first try the 38” in there to see if it will be adequate, and if not, buy a new fan. Now, two more questions: 1) If I buy another fan, tell me what’s generally considered the best fans these days. Reading this board has taught me that Hunter Originals are now made in Taiwan (didn’t know that) and that in the opinion of many who post here, very few fan makers today build their fans to the old standards of ruggedness. It’s been so long since I’ve bought a fan ceiling (about 25 years) that I am seeing brands I have never heard of before: Minka, Fanimation, Ellington, Craftmade, Airflow, Matthews, and many others. I just knew Hunter, Casablanca, Emerson. Home Depot didn’t exist when I last bought fans but of course I have now heard of their house brand, Hampton Bay. So in the opinion of all who read this, which company is making good, solid, dependable, trouble-free ceiling fans? I am not so much into style as I am into superior engineering and dependability. I have looked at some fans lately that seem to be all motor housing and very little motor -- I'm talking to you, Craftmade. What’s up with that? As a Hunter man, I am used to a fan motor looking and weighing like a motor. But, I am not a slave to Hunter -- if superior motor designs have been developed in the past 25 years, I am certainly open to giving another manufacturer a try. 2) No one on the board has an old Hunter 22166 motor control lying around, do they? If so, I’d be interested in obtaining it, provided it will fit in my existing switchbox and provided it really delivers quiet, variable speeds. Maybe that’s why Hunter discontinued it: perhaps it didn’t work worth a darn? Casablanca, Emerson, Hunter In said order. All of them are still quality, just not as much quality.
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Post by Ed on Oct 21, 2005 18:09:41 GMT -5
Thanks, guys.
Regarding your fan rankings, may assume you mean the upper end models using these brands’ best motors, i.e., the Casablanca XLP-2000, the Emerson K55-XL, and of course the Hunter Original?
Or, in your collective opinion, do you rank the less expensive fans among these fan makes with the same ranking, Casablanca --> Emerson --> Hunter?
Are there any Emerson, Casablanca, or Hunter motors to avoid? For instance is Hunter’s AirMax any good?
Has there been a thread where various people on this board weigh in for their picks of Best Fans and Worst Fans? I made a cursory search but did not find one.
Lastly, I appreciate you both taking the time to answer my questions. You’ve been very helpful.
Brian: Are you gonna post that diagram you mentioned above?
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Post by Brian Hicks on Oct 21, 2005 20:07:55 GMT -5
by tomorrow, yessir
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Post by summerfever on Oct 25, 2005 8:51:08 GMT -5
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Post by Sean B. on Oct 25, 2005 16:00:34 GMT -5
Brian got
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Brian Hickscantlogin
Guest
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Post by Brian Hickscantlogin on Oct 25, 2005 20:19:22 GMT -5
what the heck is THAT??? PWN'D
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Brian Hickscantlogin
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Post by Brian Hickscantlogin on Oct 25, 2005 20:23:51 GMT -5
those controls will work perfectly, yes, if you arent concerned about motor noise. I got my info first from a Hunter Service Center about the capacitor addition. Call up one of them. They do it all the time, to make a 2 speed fan into a 3 speed fan. only requires a cap. a 3 speed pull chain, and two extra wire nuts...
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Post by summerfever on Oct 25, 2005 21:30:07 GMT -5
I DONT HEAR A PEEP OUT OF THEM.
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Post by Sean B. on Oct 25, 2005 21:39:16 GMT -5
what the heck is THAT??? PWN'D PWND is 1337 (which is 1337 for leet) for owned.
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Post by Ed on Oct 26, 2005 11:05:57 GMT -5
Thanks, everyone.
Brian: thanks for the diagram. Summer Fever: thanks for links to the motor controls you've used successfully.
I decided to order the Lutron switch I eferenced earlier above. Lutron swears this cntrol will work on the two-speed Hunter Originals with no sound. I made sure Lowe's knows I will bring it back if it doesn't work. They said, "No problem," but with luck I'll never have to test their promise.
If Lutron's claims are bogus, then I'll use Mr. Hick's method of adding a new switch and a cap.
I will report back here in a month or so when I get around to hanging it and we can add Lutron's claims to the knowledge base.
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Post by Ed on Nov 14, 2005 16:35:31 GMT -5
Hi Brian, Sean, and Summerfever:
Since I last wrote, I am proud to report that I dropped the existing fan that was in my den and have now hung my 52” Hunter Original 2-speed (Mod. No. 22820).
Had to wait awhile for the 2-foot chestnut brown downrod and Lutron switch (DIVA® DVFSQ-F-HO) to come in at Lowe’s.
Got the fan re-oiled, hung, and wired up last week - everything worked perfectly, light and fan.
However, when I wired in the Lutron DIVA speed control, it was a bust. The fan would turn on HIGH only.
So I called Lutron and spoke to their tech guy. Told him I had bought their DIVA at the suggestion of one of their guys who swore to me it would work on an Original 2-speed and wondered if there was something I was doing wrong. The guy I got on the phone this time was really apologetic that it was they who suggested the DIVA and said he would send me another of their fan speed controls, this time a SKYLARK SFS-5E), for me to try at no charge.
The switch arrived today and I wired it in and guess what -- it works perfectly.
Of course I took the other switch back to Lowe’s and got my money back, less a $7.50 restocking fee.
Noise: I do not hear any objectionable hum. There is a little more noise being generated, but it’s well within my tolerance level in return for giving me full range speed control. I’d say the fan is just about as quiet as it ever was, and it never was utterly and completely silent. I might not try one of these controls in my bedroom, but in my den with the TV on, any slight extra noise is not noticeable.
Now whether it will develop an annoying hum over time remains to be seen, and if it does, I’ll report back.
Technical Question: I am not hurting my fan by using this control, am I? The motor housing doesn't feel any warmer to me, but I don't want to booger up the the fan guts up just to get speed control.
By the way, Sean, the fans in this house when I bought it last year -- four 52”ers -- are all Wilmars and are identical to the one you posted last week in the section, “Please Identify This Ceiling Fan.”
I have two in storage now that both of my Hunters are up and would offer them to someone gratis if they wanted them, but I’ll need to put them back up when and if I sell this house and move on. (My Hunters go where I go.) Unless, the Wilmars are worth something to someone in which case they are for sale and I’ll buy me a new Hunter Original fan (new or used) for my bedroom with the proceeds.
Thanks all of you for your help.
Ed
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