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Post by Parkman on Feb 27, 2019 9:24:37 GMT -5
As the Thread subject states: Who do you think makes the best Spinner/Direct Drive Motors today?
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Post by Noah C on Feb 27, 2019 22:31:56 GMT -5
As the Thread subject states: Who do you think makes the best Spinner/Direct Drive Motors today? If we are talking about the most powerful spinner motors for their stator size/diameter, then that would be Gulf Coast fans (Halsey OEM). A 188×20mm or 188×25mm motor from one of their fans usually draws 90-100 watts or more and can handle 60" or even 72" (188×25mm motor) blade spans better than a lot of 212mm motors in larger fans. Their Riviera/Raindance/Futura with their 188×20mm motor probably competes with Hunter Originals on a spec/airflow basis (52", 14° blade pitch, around 215 RPM). The runner up would probably be Casablanca and, by extension, Hunter's newer QUALITY fans (not the POS low-end ones), whose 188×20mm and 172×20mm "Direct Drive" motors tend to draw between 80 and 90/95 watts of current and drive both larger blade spans and smaller ones well. For example, their new Panama (52"/54") is about as fast as previous Panamas even though it's a little bigger. Hunter has a fan called "Cedar Key" with this motor; the smaller version has a 172×20mm unit. If we are talking about efficiency, then maybe Fanimation since Fanimation motors usually draw way less current than most for their size. Like the 188×25mm motor in the AC Levon probably draws around half an amp and around 60 watts. |
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Post by Max C. on Mar 11, 2019 0:11:15 GMT -5
From my experience, Halsey has been consistently smooth and reliable. Now that isn't to say they can compete with some of the iconic, cast-iron spinners in terms of raw power, however their motors have proven to display the incredibly few issues (even after years of hard-service). Air Cool is also solid, though (in some cases) their bearings become somewhat spotty over time. Although they haven't been available for the many decades that others have, Hunter has produced their fair share of excellent motors.
Moving down the line, certain King Of Fans motors are surprisingly powerful, though nosier than desired. Some of the worst motors I have encountered have been in low to mid-range Canarm products.
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Post by Cole S. on Mar 11, 2019 1:38:09 GMT -5
That huge motor in the Casablanca Duluth (and large-scale Hunter "industrial" fans) is still the best I've worked with in all the new products I've tried, as far as AC spinner motors go. Thing is a beast, and the build quality is far beyond your average stamped spinner motor. I haven't worked with anything Gulf Coast but they're always on the radar, so I can believe it. Emerson's largest 212x25 spinner motor, like in the original Carrera Grande, was really quite good in my opinion as well. I don't think they even produce that motor anymore though, so that kind of eliminates that specific one from the running. I still like what Hunter/Casablanca does on the higher end of the spectrum. People like to loop everything together, combine it with quality control issues, and call it all crap, but there's good stuff in there. The motor in the brand new Canyonlands I just worked with is nice, and with their components better-optimized you get the true potential of the high speeds.
Also, this goes a little OT and sorry for the DC haters, but I must give a separate shoutout to Hunter/Casa on their latest DC motors. Those things are killing it, really strong torque and performance characteristics. The Aya, oh my god! Still reeling from that one. I'm hoping to get in on a Hunter DC product a little down the road, and see if it's the same motor/same kind of performance potential. For really holding out on DC for so long, especially under the Hunter brand, they're certainly making a solid entrance. WAC/Modern Forms and Fanimation, and of course Haiku/Big Ass Fans are probably the only others that I'd say are further ahead right now, especially in regards to speed control and additional features. That says a lot when brands like Kichler and Quorum, which I really love for a host of different reasons, aren't even close to being in the running.
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Post by Parkman on Mar 11, 2019 14:41:43 GMT -5
Hunter pre 2011 I'm ok with anything past that is complete crap. I've worked with so many noisy Hunters with bearing noise or wearing out after two years.. I'm officially done with them. I'll buy an Original or the older stuff but I won't touch ANYTHING new with the Hunter name on it. Now what Cole is talking about may be different because it has the larger motors. Anything that has a 153 or 172 sized motor look up the reviews and they are crap needless to say that shows why there are so many factory refurbished ones out there.
I've never gotten to work Gulf Coast but have had Halsey made fans and they always seemed to hold up.. Fanimation I've never owned one but there reputation in and out of the fan community is outstanding so I'll give that to them. King of Fans seem to be louder in regards to humming but I never hear bearing problems. Air Cool's small motors can eventually be prone to bearing noise but there mid size to larger motors seem to be decent at least with what I've experienced.
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Post by Noah C on Mar 11, 2019 19:25:10 GMT -5
Hunter pre 2011 I'm ok with anything past that is complete crap. I've worked with so many noisy Hunters with bearing noise or wearing out after two years.. I'm officially done with them. I'll buy an Original or the older stuff but I won't touch ANYTHING new with the Hunter name on it. Now what Cole is talking about may be different because it has the larger motors. Anything that has a 153 or 172 sized motor look up the reviews and they are crap needless to say that shows why there are so many factory refurbished ones out there. I've never gotten to work Gulf Coast but have had Halsey made fans and they always seemed to hold up.. Fanimation I've never owned one but there reputation in and out of the fan community is outstanding so I'll give that to them. King of Fans seem to be louder in regards to humming but I never hear bearing problems. Air Cool's small motors can eventually be prone to bearing noise but there mid size to larger motors seem to be decent at least with what I've experienced. The one exception I must add are the new upper-midrange Hunters/Casas with the 172×20. The 172×12 and 153mm Hunters are the cheap ones you find at home stores which tend to be problematic. |
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Post by Parkman on Mar 11, 2019 20:36:00 GMT -5
Good point. The Home Store ones will have problems within 1-2 years if not straight out of the box. I've noticed all the models before the "update" in 2013 that are still made today Studio Series, Beacon Hill, etc. they are problematic I'm sure these designer ones are better within the Hunter brand but its not worth it to me.
Casablanca's motors are still good.
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Post by Tais on Mar 11, 2019 23:45:17 GMT -5
industrials: my vote goes on thai made ceiling fans (particularly dai to shi and sunwindy) and SMC K and KN series
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Post by Noah C on Mar 13, 2019 12:37:50 GMT -5
Good point. The Home Store ones will have problems within 1-2 years if not straight out of the box. I've noticed all the models before the "update" in 2013 that are still made today Studio Series, Beacon Hill, etc. they are problematic I'm sure these designer ones are better within the Hunter brand but its not worth it to me. Casablanca's motors are still good. Yeah, every time I go to the fan section of my local Home Depot, there's somebody replacing one of those new cheapo Hunters that broke on them...caps failing after a year, bearing problems out of the box, among others that vary in severity. At least the lineup of Hunter fans as of now isn't JUST comprised of the cheapos like it was in 2013, fortunately. By the way, Hunter's new lineups of designer/higher end fans pretty much all have the 172×20mm and/or 188×20mm motors I was talking about, which by the way, are the same "Direct Drive" motors Casablanca uses in their lineup, lol. I'd honestly buy one of those before I bought a Casablanca because Hunter's newer higher-end "Direct Drive" stuff usually runs around $100 less than Casas with the same motors. But it would highly depend on the style I'd be going for, too. |
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Post by Max C. on Mar 26, 2019 21:57:27 GMT -5
Taking a thorough look at Hunter's lineup, it seems that they certainly haven't "gone downhill" as a whole. Instead, their home-center offerings merely became cheapened (in many cases to-the-extreme). To be fair though, even some of their pricier, consumer-grade models do offer a decent amount of power.
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Post by Parkman on Mar 27, 2019 7:04:03 GMT -5
Taking a thorough look at Hunter's lineup, it seems that they certainly haven't "gone downhill" as a whole. Instead, their home-center offerings merely became cheapened (in many cases to-the-extreme). To be fair though, even some of their pricier, consumer-grade models do offer a decent amount of power. I agree with your post. What I stand by to the end is though there designs and specs may be getting good, the quality isn't there. Look up any review on any model and you'll see it either ticked out of the box or started ticking within a year etc. I find it sad that on Amazon most Hunters have a 3 or 4 star review. |
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Post by steelcityfancollector on Mar 27, 2019 18:13:49 GMT -5
As Noah mentioned, Halsey's motors are probably some of the best performing for their respective sizes. Hell, the 153mm motors perform the same as a 172x15 CEI/Hunter motor with a 12-degree blade pitch. The 188x20 coupled with a 14-degree pitch is a solid K55-equivalent. Though I have my suspicions that the 188x25 in the Gulf Coast Tiara may actually be Firebird, if they're still around. However my rankings go beyond just performance and encompass bearing life and operational noise as well. From my experience, Halsey sits solid at #2 for bearing life, tied with Alaska/Sheng Yuan (if they're still making ceiling fans. I know Minka and Fanimation used them as an OEM well into the 2000s but I'm not sure if they're still around). I've had bearing issues with both OEMs but it's very rare to find one with bad bearings. #1 for bearing life from my experience is King of Fans. I have NEVER seen a KoF-manufactured fan with bad/noisy bearings. As for operational noise, Alaska sits solidly at #1. At least their vented cast-aluminum spinner motors do. Every fan I've owned with a cast Alaska motor has been dead silent on low. I'd put Halsey at #2, King of Fans at #3, possibly tied with Air Cool, but I haven't had a lot of experience with them lately.
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Post by Jonathan A. on Mar 27, 2019 23:45:48 GMT -5
I have to say that the most powerful spinner motor residential fan in my collection is Hampton Bay Alchemy with cast 188mm X 15mm motor, with Harbor Breeze Teak being in 2nd place after I replaced the capacitor on it, and not sure what 3rd is, maybe SMC Laguna, but it spins faster when on updraft than when on downdraft. I only have one industrial ceiling fan, and it's Canarm/TAT from 1990. It does blow lots of air. Ones of my relatives have 2 2015+ Hunter Original with 4 blades installed (they have 5th blades saved just in case). They are as powerful as ones made before 2002. They have 210 X 20 skeletal spinner motor. As Noah mentioned, Halsey's motors are probably some of the best performing for their respective sizes. Hell, the 153mm motors perform the same as a 172x15 CEI/Hunter motor with a 12-degree blade pitch. The 188x20 coupled with a 14-degree pitch is a solid K55-equivalent. Though I have my suspicions that the 188x25 in the Gulf Coast Tiara may actually be Firebird, if they're still around. However my rankings go beyond just performance and encompass bearing life and operational noise as well. From my experience, Halsey sits solid at #2 for bearing life, tied with Alaska/Sheng Yuan (if they're still making ceiling fans. I know Minka and Fanimation used them as an OEM well into the 2000s but I'm not sure if they're still around). I've had bearing issues with both OEMs but it's very rare to find one with bad bearings. #1 for bearing life from my experience is King of Fans. I have NEVER seen a KoF-manufactured fan with bad/noisy bearings. As for operational noise, Alaska sits solidly at #1. At least their vented cast-aluminum spinner motors do. Every fan I've owned with a cast Alaska motor has been dead silent on low. I'd put Halsey at #2, King of Fans at #3, possibly tied with Air Cool, but I haven't had a lot of experience with them lately. I had seen some King of Fans with some bad bearings, at least Christian C told me it's made by King of Fans. Spin down on that fan is 30 seconds short too: |
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Post by Noah C on Apr 4, 2019 0:57:50 GMT -5
If we want to talk about Industrial direct drive motors, Envirofans (specifically their Gold Lines and agrifans) are extremely good fans all-round. First off, the motor is CAST in a world of most of the current industrials now being stamped, the current draw isn't excessive (*clears throat* Leading Edge), they are very powerful, and they basically are the bar when it comes to industrial stuff. I'd say early 80's HRS stuff was amazing too for all round performance and motor reliability.
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