Hunter fan bearing replacement?

[wahoowad]

I have a Hunter brand fan over my bed that is at least 20 years old, possibly closer to 25. I can hear something rattling inside while the fan turns that seems caused by rotation, not vibration. Sounds like what I would expect a bad bearing to sound like.

Should I look into ordering a replacement bearing, or is it too old to fool with? It otherwise looks in great shape and is a plain white model so still looks in style (as say compared to something very ornate). I've never opened one up but know they have schematics and sell parts at the vendor website,

 

[BrotherBart]

Give it a decent burial.

 

[heat seeker]

For what most of the fans cost, I agree with BrotherBart. But, if you want the challenge, if you can get the old bearing out, chances are it's a standard bearing available for a few dollars. The number should be stamped on the race. For example, Stihl wanted over $32.00 for a bearing for my trimmer. I used the number on the bearing and got an identical replacement for about a buck. I ordered a couple, since the shipping cost more than the bearings!

I would expect it to be a bear to get the fan apart, since they're not generally designed to be repairable.

 

[BrotherBart]

Wish you lived a few miles closer. Somewhere down in that basement is two large brass and oak ceiling fans I bought just before I got transferred here. To a house with no ceiling outlets so they have never been unpacked. For thirty years now and counting.

 

[woodgeek]

Newer fans are quieter and more energy efficient (and expensive). Get one you like and don't look back.

 

[semipro]

I'm a big proponent of new technology but the Hunter "Original" fans, though an old design, still qualify under Energy Star energy efficiency standards and are very quiet.
Admittedly they are on the lower end of the standard but the higher efficiency units by company's such as BigAss are quite expensive.
There's a lot to be said for keeping things out of landfills and not building new things.

 

[woodgeek]

Sure. In my old house with one HVAC zone I need to run a strategically placed ceiling fan 24/7/365 as the lowest cost way to maintain thermal balance. So I care a lot about wattage.

I just got an (expensive) DC/ECM motor fan that is dead silent. Something like 7W to move about 3500 cfm. About 5x more efficient than my previous 'Energy Star' fan.

 

[wahoowad]

I'm ready to kill something. I bought a new Hunter fan but can't remove the old one. There is just no sign of how it should be removed and the Hunter website has nothing that has helped. Calling them didn't help either as I don't think the support person has ever used a screwdriver.

I have what is called a low profile mount. Normally you just remove the screws holding the canopy to the mounting base and it will drop down. But mine will not. I removed the three screws and it just wiggles a bit but won't drop. The other screw holes also do not have the 'drop' cutouts in them either. My unit is likely 25+ years old and the manual they produce when I search for my model number isn't reflective of what I have.

Any further twisting or pulling is going to rip the plate out of the ceiling. I've been fighting it an hour easy.

 

[BrotherBart]

Gonna be real hot going up in that attic today.

 

[BrotherBart]

One site says the canopy on some Hunters don't use screws. You torque the housing to disconnect it. Try torquing the canopy counter clockwise to see if it unlocks it from the base plate.

 

[wahoowad]

I have torqued it both ways about 27 times, lifted/torqued/about 14.5 times each way and slid it translationally about 8 times in each of 360 possible degrees. I gave up and took my dog to the park so as to not piss away the rest of a beautiful day. I didn't want to come home to the fan so we stopped and ate hotdogs in a small town. Now I'm home, tried lifting/torqueing one more time and gave up.

Hunter support never called me back after asking me to email them the above picture. Tomorrow I might take a cutting wheel to it and split that canopy.

There is a bedroom above it. Attic would have been too easy.

 

[BrotherBart]

More patience than me. I would have drilled a hole in the canopy and cut the damn thing off with a sabre saw by now.

 

[wahoowad]

One site says the canopy on some Hunters don't use screws. You torque the housing to disconnect it. Try torquing the canopy counter clockwise to see if it unlocks it from the base plate.

Tomorrow I'm gonna make up a giant torque strap like universal oil filter removers use and put some real torque on it

 

[BrotherBart]

Take those acorn nuts off the top and see what falls in the floor.

 

[wahoowad]

I've already removed those. The bottom half of the motor shell drops off. I don't see anything that helps up under there. The magic is under that canopy and I have a feeling something has shifted, bent or otherwise blocking my ability to rotate the canopy like it should. Maybe I'll wipe that dust off tomorrow and look for a hidden set screw

 

[wahoowad]

Got it. I wrapped a tow strap around it and snatched it out my window with my Silverado. Came out pretty easy.

 

[BrotherBart]

 

[CaptSpiff]

Is this the time to begin (change) the discussion to whether it would have been better with an F150 than the Silverado???

 

[wahoowad]

It's done. New one is nice. Only took 2 trips to Lowes, my usual DIY project averages 3. And my finger has already stopped bleeding.

 

[fbelec]

i would have loved to see the video of that fan coming down

 

[BrotherBart]

Wahoo is our version of The Onion.

 

[bassJAM]

I haven’t been impressed with Hunter’s customer support. When I moved into my house there was a really nice Hunter fan in the living room, but none of the wall switches turned it on. And there wasn’t a single pull chain or switch on the fan/light assembly. I figured it must have been all controlled by a remote, which the previous owners didn’t bother to leave (foreclosed house). Hunter’s website said my fan model number didn’t exist, and customer service recommended me to go buy a universal remote kit and wire it up. I did that, and finally got the light and fan to turn on. BUT, the fan must have been set to reverse and to the low position the last time it was used, and the remote didn’t have features to change that. So my speed settings using the remote were Low, Lower, and Almost Off, all in reverse.


So I was forced to take a perfectly good fan and light out of the ceiling and install a new one.

 

[wahoowad]

Can't say I'm too impressed either. Granted, I may have gotten their part-timers since I called on a Saturday. But I emailed them the pictures they asked for and never heard back.

I hope I do not regret buying this fan. I think Hunter fans are good but this was a "Lowes special model" and I am sure Lowes specifies lower quality components to increase the profit margin.