Hi
I have installed a hunter stratford II ceiling fan twice (2 different units) and both of them hum when the motor is turned on at any of the three speeds. I ran a new wire from my existing circuit in the attic where i have 2 other ceiling fans attached to it. There is also an exhaust fan on this breaker as well. The new line is romex 14/2. The other two hunter fans already there do not hum and they are hunters as well, one about 5 years old and the other about 3. I have measured the voltage on the line with a simple voltmeter and measured 125 volts. I thought it might be a low voltage condition but that does not seem to be the case. Any ideas as to why this might be happening? Also, on the first install, i had a remote control in there and the light and/or fan would come on on its own after a period of time had passed as if the remote was being triggered. I ruled out RF interference since the other fans have the same remote and i used the same dip switch code as one that i know works. In any event, i have been baffled as to the cause of the fan coming on with the remote installed and also just the motor humming when it is turned on with no remote. I did just the fan for the 2nd unit so i could eliminate the remote as a variable.

 

As long as they just hum, and don't break out into full song......, nevermind. The humming may be due to the type of fan motor being used now, even by the infamous Hunter. Everyone is cutting costs, and that applies to those who previously made iron horses for fans. You state the other fans are older, and may have a better motor in it. I don't think it would have anything to do with the remote being installed or not. Now as far is it coming on by itself, you already stated you used the same dip settings on multiple fans, so you may be starting a fan from another room with another remote. If the humming is annoying, I would consider returning them to the place of purchase and either upgrading or getting new fans.

 

Twelve years ago when we built out house in Florida general knowledge, well known in the industry, and even a strong selling point, that Hunter built the quietest fans. Because of their higher price, and the fact that we were installing one in almost every room, we only purchased one Hunter fan. Most of the others were Hampton Bay. Our Hunter is perfectly quiet at all three speeds, while all the others hum to some degree, especially at the lowest speed. As surmised, in order to save money, all manufacturers may be using cheaper components in order to save money.

 

Ok, well i suspect it could be a cheaper motor because i tried 2 stratford II hunter fans and then to an eclipse hunter fan. They all have about the same level of hum although the eclipse seems to be slightly quieter. It is still very noticeable though.
That being said does anyone know of a higher end fan that will not do this? The eclipse was about $90 and the stratford about $80. If there is something to the old adage, you get what you pay for then I want to know where i can go to get just that.
I did check the remote issue and the others were all on different codes so i know i am not triggering it by accident. The frequency is somewhere in the UHF region (350 MHz) and not very many other devices in a house use this. I know our phones work on 900 MHz or maybe 2.4 GHz so i know its not self interference that cause that phenomenon. Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

I just installed an Antigua fan for a customer and it is very quiet, but it also cost nearly $300, so that adage may prove true. None of the modern motors are any thing like a good old, and I do mean old, oil filled Hunter.

 

Are you sure you properly tied int o a circuit? Not a switchloop or anything?

 

Though I can't answer your actual question, just wanted ot let you know that the quiet Hunter we purchased was well over $100 twelve years ago. I have not purchased any since, (in fact we've taken down a bunch of the cheaper ones), or even priced them. I can only imagine what "good" ones cost nowadays.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but I want to point out that Hunter actually manufacturers TWO distinct lines of ceiling fans. One is for showrooms and another is for Home Depot and Lowes. The showroom line uses higher quality parts, while the depot line uses inferior (*but not crappy) components. Ive dealt with Hunter for many years at our showrooms and they are excellent fans. Humming can be caused by many factors. One is balancing and another is using a fan in a non-fan rated electrical box, which can sway ever so slighty and cause the humming that you hear from the motor. If all else fails, return the fans and get ones from their showroom collection - You won't regret spending the extra dough

Sincerely,
Naor

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