# A cautionary tale on Hampton Bay ceiling fans



## jza (Oct 31, 2009)

I recently purchased three Hampton Bay ceiling fans from Home Depot. All three fans came shipped with defective remote control receivers that would output erratic voltages to the LED, causing it to flicker. Furthermore, the receiver was only listed to be used with incandescent lamps, not LED. 

After having Hampton Bay send out some replacement receivers, I found that half of the fan blades were severely bent and bowed, causing the fan to wobble even at low speeds. The balancing kit wasn't enough to fix this, so I'm waiting on some replacement blades from Hampton Bay.

Thank God this is for my own house and not a clients home. When did Hampton Bay become junk? I thought they made decent fans, guess I was wrong. 

Attached is a picture of one of the blades. This is after I tried to flatten it out.


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## Next72969 (Dec 9, 2012)

Im not discrediting your story , i see no reason for you to lie. But probably 90 percent of the fans i install are hampton bay and there is hardly ever an issue with them. This and the thread about carlon boxes cracking the other day really baffle me.


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## jza (Oct 31, 2009)

Next72969 said:


> Im not discrediting your story , i see no reason for you to lie. But probably 90 percent of the fans i install are hampton bay and there is hardly ever an issue with them. This and the thread about carlon boxes cracking the other day really baffle me.


I hear you, I've _never_ had a problem with a Hampton Bay fan before. But I speak no word of a lie when I say that all three fans came with defective receivers and bowed blades. They were also all brand new in box and hadn't been opened before. I was as shocked as you are.


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## FrunkSlammer (Aug 31, 2013)

Must have been Made in USA, because all the Made in China Hampton Bay's I've installed have been fine.


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## Next72969 (Dec 9, 2012)

FrunkSlammer said:


> Must have been Made in USA, because all the Made in China Hampton Bay's I've installed have been fine.


 and this thread is ruined


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## jza (Oct 31, 2009)

I'm guessing they just sent out a bad batch of receivers, I was at the same store the other day and noticed there were quite a few of these fans that appeared to have been repackaged with packing tape...


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## Meadow (Jan 14, 2011)

When they started selling to the home depot. Buyer be ware, your buying what the supply houses are to embarrassed to sell.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

I worked for a ceiling fan website for maybe 5 years. We got hundreds of thousands of questions about problems with/complaints about Hampton bay fans. Easily 90% of the communication we got. 7% was for Harbor Breeze (Lowes store brand) and the other 3% for Hunter, Casablanca, anything else.

HAMPTON BAY IS JUNK. COMPLETE AND TOTAL GARBAGE. They have almost 0 quality control in their factories.


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

FrunkSlammer said:


> Must have been Made in USA, because all the Made in China Hampton Bay's I've installed have been fine.


Well if they were made in Canada they wouldn't work at all then would spend all their time complaining and commenting on the ones in the USA


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

meadow said:


> When they started selling to the home depot. Buyer be ware, your buying what the supply houses are to embarrassed to sell.


Thtat's the only place I've ever bought Hampton Bay from and for the most part they have always been decent fans. I have a few in my own house that are on almost constantly.


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

FrunkSlammer said:


> Must have been Made in USA, because all the Made in China Hampton Bay's I've installed have been fine.


African babies


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

Hampton Bay is Home Depot's store brand. They contract with the same factories that make Hunter, Minka, Litex, etc, but they have their own set of specs that are . . . well, a lot worse than the other brands. Most of it deals with quality control so if you get a good one, it works fine, but the chances of getting a model with no issues out the box is maybe 50/50.

I would never buy a Hampton Bay product.

Back in the 80s Fasco and Casablanca used to supply some Hampton Bay fans, those were excellent.


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## NacBooster29 (Oct 25, 2010)

I had a Hampton bay fan motor trip the breaker the minute i turned it on. 
The biggest pain was trouble shooting it. Take it apart. Then test circuit, all ok. 
Power the fan with extension cord and it trips the breaker....


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## bobelectric (Feb 24, 2007)

I only install fixtures the customer buys.


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## yrman (Jun 12, 2011)

So what do you do when this happens with a customer?
Do you charge the full price to come back remove and replace or do you eat it?
We absolutely hate these situations. Customers dont want to pay twice and we dont want to do the job twice. No one wins.


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## FrunkSlammer (Aug 31, 2013)

Jack my rate for the next one.. then get a few good installs and lower the rate, then get burned and jack the rate again. 

Fixtures are getting really bad these days, and I haven't even been in this trade for very long. I bet you old timers know better than anyone about the cheapening of products in the globalized economy.


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

yrman said:


> So what do you do when this happens with a customer? Do you charge the full price to come back remove and replace or do you eat it? We absolutely hate these situations. Customers dont want to pay twice and we dont want to do the job twice. No one wins.


So if someone buys a piece of shít fan and it doesn't work well you would actually entertain the idea of replacing it at no cost? No way


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

I used to be able to advocate for Hunter fans but they're junk too. Even Casablanca. Emerson is the only company still making real quality residential fans . . . Envirofan for commercial/industrial.


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## jza (Oct 31, 2009)

yrman said:


> So what do you do when this happens with a customer?
> Do you charge the full price to come back remove and replace or do you eat it?
> We absolutely hate these situations. Customers dont want to pay twice and we dont want to do the job twice. No one wins.


Ideally, if it's a client supplied fan and the error occurred during the first visit, I would troubleshoot the fan and let her know the best course of action. Bill accordingly.

If I supplied the fan I would be on the hook for tracking down replacement parts, etc..


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## Bkessler (Feb 14, 2007)

I won't buy fans from Home Depot or lowes. To many call backs when they stop working after 6 months.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

FrunkSlammer said:


> Must have been Made in USA, because all the Made in China Hampton Bay's I've installed have been fine.



It's because all the american workers want to get fired so they can get back on the welfare.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

FrunkSlammer said:


> I bet you old timers know better than anyone about the cheapening of products in the globalized economy.


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## drspec (Sep 29, 2012)

dspiffy said:


> Hampton Bay is Home Depot's store brand. They contract with the same factories that make Hunter, Minka, Litex, etc, but they have their own set of specs that are . . . well, a lot worse than the other brands. Most of it deals with quality control so if you get a good one, it works fine, but the chances of getting a model with no issues out the box is maybe 50/50.
> 
> I would never buy a Hampton Bay product.
> 
> Back in the 80s Fasco and Casablanca used to supply some Hampton Bay fans, those were excellent.


 Ive only ever installed a couple of Emerson fans and I thought they were garbage

The ones I installed you actually had to rewire the fan depending on whether you controlled it with a wall switch, a handheld remote, or a wall remote switch. 

That was the dumbest **** I ever saw.

Felt stupid sitting there reading the installation instructions while the homeowner watched me.


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## FrunkSlammer (Aug 31, 2013)

FrunkSlammer said:


> Must have been Made in USA, because all the Made in China Hampton Bay's I've installed have been fine.


Sorry guys, this was just a joke.

I've never even seen a Made in the USA Hampton Bay ceiling fan. I didn't mean to offend your country or citizens. Made in USA is far superior in quality than Made in China. :thumbup:

Lets be friends!


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

FrunkSlammer said:


> Sorry guys, this was just a joke.
> 
> I've never even seen a Made in the USA Hampton Bay ceiling fan. I didn't mean to offend your country or citizens. Made in USA is far superior in quality than Made in China. :thumbup:
> 
> Lets be friends!


Made in 'murica is nothing to joke about Frunk.


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## FrunkSlammer (Aug 31, 2013)

five.five-six said:


> Made in 'murica is nothing to joke about Frunk.


I have a good joke about that, but I won't type it because it will be perceived as anti-American... 
And I have agreed to a cease fire in the Canada<->USA war. :thumbup:


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

Next72969 said:


> This and the thread about carlon boxes cracking the other day really baffle me.


I can't believe I missed a thread about Carlon boxes.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

I am on the Hampton bay is crap bandwagon and I am not afraid to tell the customer(nicely). 
I normally tell them to get Hunter or something nicer. 
When it comes right down to it what do you expect for a hundred dollar fan. Pay for **** and end up with ****.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

drspec said:


> Ive only ever installed a couple of Emerson fans and I thought they were garbage
> 
> The ones I installed you actually had to rewire the fan depending on whether you controlled it with a wall switch, a handheld remote, or a wall remote switch.
> 
> ...


I've not had to do this, but at least they gave you the option. Most remote fans, it's remote or nothing, which sucks if you want to use a 3 way switch or the like.

The best Emerson fans use the K55 motor which is an American made design (last I checked the motors were made in Mexico)


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## RGH (Sep 12, 2011)

Hampton Bay big orange go to product.....best get use to it most of my market buys them there....I just hang'em. My supply house carries great stuff after my customers go there they are like wow this is great....tell your customers about your houses if they have a show room. The problem is I have 3 home depots in my coverage area and only one S/H (I like).


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

FrunkSlammer said:


> I have a good joke about that, but I won't type it because it will be perceived as anti-American...
> And I have agreed to a cease fire in the Canada<->USA war. :thumbup:


PM me please


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

Hampton Bay fans are among the best fans ever made.


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## Next72969 (Dec 9, 2012)

MTW said:


> Hampton Bay fans are among the best fans ever made.


 you trollin boy


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

MTW said:


> Hampton Bay fans are among the best fans ever made.


And this guy is the best at installing them:

http://www.electriciantalk.com/f2/what-happens-when-handyman-installs-ceiling-fan-64450/index2/


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## markore (Dec 7, 2011)

FrunkSlammer said:


> I have a good joke about that, but I won't type it because it will be perceived as anti-American...
> And I have agreed to a cease fire in the Canada<->USA war. :thumbup:


PM me tooooo-aahhh!
Is Alaska still part of 'Merica? Or are we all like the red headed half-canuk stepsister you never really liked?


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## KennyW (Aug 31, 2013)

dspiffy said:


> Hampton Bay is Home Depot's store brand. They contract with the same factories that make Hunter, Minka, Litex, etc, but they have their own set of specs that are . . . well, a lot worse than the other brands. Most of it deals with quality control so if you get a good one, it works fine, but the chances of getting a model with no issues out the box is maybe 50/50.
> 
> I would never buy a Hampton Bay product.
> 
> Back in the 80s Fasco and Casablanca used to supply some Hampton Bay fans, those were excellent.


Exact my experience as well. Hampton Bay are literally 50/50.


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## Next72969 (Dec 9, 2012)

KennyW said:


> Exact my experience as well. Hampton Bay are literally 50/50.


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## CaptainSparky (May 6, 2013)

This what a bad fan install looks like


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## markore (Dec 7, 2011)

five.five-six said:


> PM me please





markore said:


> PM me tooooo-aahhh!
> Is Alaska still part of 'Merica? Or are we all like the red headed half-canuk stepsister you never really liked?





FrunkSlammer said:


> I have a good joke about that, but I won't type it because it will be perceived as anti-American...
> And I have agreed to a cease fire in the Canada<->USA war. :thumbup:


Frunk, since you rained on my other thread but never launched the PMage we have decided:

*You are bluffing, you don't really have weapons of mass discussion.
*
Therefore it was in your best interest to sue for peace. :tank:


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

Who is the OEM for Hampton Bay? 

Let me guess: FuSheng Huzou Electric Fan Assembly Works, Ltd.


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## markore (Dec 7, 2011)

MTW said:


> Who is the OEM for Hampton Bay?
> 
> Let me guess: FuSheng Huzou Electric Fan Assembly Works, Ltd.


Likely not an exclusive license.


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

I guess I was lucky. Last year I purchased one of the cheapest Lowe's fans and installed it in my house. Works great, no wobble. 

Keeping my fingers crossed.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

MTW said:


> Who is the OEM for Hampton Bay?
> 
> Let me guess: FuSheng Huzou Electric Fan Assembly Works, Ltd.



Compass East Industries (OEM for Hunter) is the only one I remember offhand. They have several.


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

MTW said:


> I can't believe I missed a thread about Carlon boxes.


I just roughed a big addition, almost all Carlon boxes!


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

electricmanscott said:


> I just roughed a big addition, almost all Carlon boxes!


Pics of it didn't happen.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

dspiffy said:


> . Most remote fans, it's remote or nothing, which sucks if you want to use a 3 way switch or the like.
> 
> )


What? You can always three way the light and use the remote for the fan.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Assuming the remote maintains the light as being on McClary.....otherwise your insinuation of wiring that red on through bypassing the receiver is a 110.3B no no

Further, i thwart any customers desire for remote fans, especially those that are the main source of lighting 30' up that take staging in the_ 'great room' _with $100 sq ft parquet flooring.

Placing a vulnerable piece of electronica in an inaccessible point near God's wrath has resulted in multiple 6 hrs X 2 men ,w/ staging billouts

Which is also why i do not buy fixtures spec'd by others, period.

~CS~


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

chicken steve said:


> Assuming the remote maintains the light as being on McClary.....otherwise your insinuation of wiring that red on through bypassing the receiver is a 110.3B no no Further, i thwart any customers desire for remote fans, especially those that are the main source of lighting 30' up that take staging in the 'great room' with $100 sq ft parquet flooring. Placing a vulnerable piece of electronica in an inaccessible point near God's wrath has resulted in multiple 6 hrs X 2 men ,w/ staging billouts Which is also why i do not buy fixtures spec'd by others, period. ~CS~


What does that have to do with connecting the fan's light to the 3 way switch leg and using the remote to only control the fan motor?


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

interestingly enough, the last time I had a fan go bad in my house, the thing did default to "light on". (don't know how that accident happened).

However, I'm not sure that this thread is really about fans. I think it might be more about the Home Depot business model.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

mcclary's electrical said:


> What? You can always three way the light and use the remote for the fan.


Which requires no less rewiring that what the gentleman described with his Emerson.

I HATE remote fans. They fail at the slightest power surge, even the expensive ones. I always advise against them.


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## markore (Dec 7, 2011)

wildleg said:


> I'm not sure that this thread is really about fans. I think it might be more about the Home Depot business model.


How very brave to ponder the meaning of a thread on ET, one of life's great mysteries. :laughing:


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

robnj772 said:


> What does that have to do with connecting the fan's light to the 3 way switch leg and using the remote to only control the fan motor?



Because the majority of fan controllers are _white/black _in _white/black/red_ out Rob

Bypassing the red via W/R jumpers around it is a 110.3B violation of said controls wiring

It also stretches 210.70(A)(2)(c)EX term _'remote'_ to essentially jeopardize stairway access including something dependent on batteries , if in fact installed according to manufacturers specs

~CS~


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