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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.
Best Deals for Hunter 20810 52-Inch Low Profile III Ceiling Fan with Light Kit
I purchased this fan from Amazon to replace an existing unit. I recommend Hunter fans without reservation. The installation instructions were very complete and clear. Assembly was straightforward.The fan runs perfectly! It is absolutely silent. The fan runs smoothly without vibration. In use for three months without any problem. It effectively circulates the air in a 16 x 22 foot room without creating undue drafts and it looks good. The low-profile design does not inhibit the ability to move the air.
There are three speeds. The fan rotation direction is reversible. (I am not sure if this info was in the product description.)
A great product.
Honest reviews on Hunter 20810 52-Inch Low Profile III Ceiling Fan with Light Kit
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.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Hunter 20810 52-Inch Low Profile III Ceiling Fan with Light Kit
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.
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