HAMPTON BAY ST. VINCENT II, 52", REMOTE, CEILING FAN FROM HOME DEPOT

# 4 for January 23, 2002

Complaints.com received the following e-message on January 22, 2002:

From: Beth Bittenbender [Email User]

HAMPTON BAY ST. VINCENT II, 52", REMOTE, CEILING FAN FROM HOME DEPOT I BOUGHT A HAMPTON BAY ST. VINCENT II, 52", REMOTE, CEILING FAN FROM HOME DEPOT. I INSTALLED IT, BUT THE FAN MOTOR DIDN'T WORK. THE LIGHTS HOWERVER DID, SO I CHECKED THE FEED WIRE FOR POWER WHICH IT WAS, INFACT, GETTING. I WENT AND PURCHASED THE EXACT SAME FAN FROM THE SAME PLACE AND INSTALLED IT. THIS ONE DID WORK, BUT THE SHAFT IN THE FAN MOTOR MAKES A GRATING/VIBRATION NOISE AS IT ROTATES -- AT ALL SPEEDS. THE FAN SPINS STEADILY AND DOESN'T WOBBLE -- SO BALANCING IS PROBABLY NOT THE SOLUTION.

SINCE THE NOISE IS COMING FROM WITHIN THE FAN MOTOR, IS THIS A MANUFACTURING PROBLEM OR A FIXABLE PROBLEM? FURTHER, IT'S MADE EVEN HARDER. TO GET ASSISTANCE FROM HAMPTON BAY WOULD BE A MIRACLE, BECAUSE THEIR MANUAL HAS NOT CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPPORT OR WEBSITE TO GET ASSISTANCE. IN ADDITON, THE HOME DEPOT STAFF DOESN'T SEEM TO KNOW ENOUGH TO PROVIDE HELP (NOT TO SLIGHT THEM). HAVING INVESTED WAY TOO MUCH TIME IN INSTALLING A SIMPLE FAN, DUE TO PRODUCT/MANUFACTURING QUALITY AND LACK OF C.S. SUPPORT, I JUST WANT SOMEONE TO TELL ME, ASAP, IF EITHER OF THESE FANS IS WORTH SAVING AND, IF SO, HOW? IN ADDITION, I WIRED MY HOUSE WITH A DOUBLE FAN SWICTH (ONE LEAD GOES TO THE LIGHT, THE OTHER TO THE FAN). THEREFORE, THERE ARE 2 POWER WIRES. THE REMOTE UNITS THESE FANS USE HAVE ONLY A NEUTRAL AND FEED WIRE. THE INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED DIDN'T COVER HOW TO WIRE THIS SO THAT THE REMOTE FEATURE CAN BE USED AND ALLOW THE FAN AND LIGHT SWITCH TO WORK INDEPENDENTLY.

THAT IS TO SAY, IF THE 2 FEEDS ARE CONNECTED TO THE REMOTE UNIT'S BLACK AND THE NEUTRAL TO THE WHITE, THE REMOTE SHOULD WORK WITH THE FAN AND LIGHT WORKING INDEPENDENTLY.

BUT THIS WILL EFFECTIVELY NEGATE THE DUAL SWITCH FUNCTION. IS THERE A WAY THIS CAN DONE WITH THIS REMOTE UNIT? IF NOT, SOME ENGINEER MISSED THE BOAT BY NOT ADDING A 3RD WIRE FOR THIS PURPOSE. I HAVE INSTALLED 3 OTHER HAMPTON BAY FANS IN MY HOUSE WITHOUT PROBLEM. WE ENJOY THE PRODUCTS FOR THEIR QUIET PERFORMANCE AND DECOR. NOW, WITH 2 BAD PURCHASES IN A ROW, WASTED TIME, AND NO SUPPORT I'M CONTEMPLATING RETURNING BOTH AND NEVER BUYING A SINGLE HB FAN AGAIN. WHAT CAN

MATT BITTENBENDER

Email User