Hunter 90022 12-Inch Oscillating Table Fan, Satin Black with Brushed Nickel
by Hunter
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List Price: Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Hunter 90022 12-Inch Oscillating Table Fan, Satin Black with Brushed Nickel
Customer Review: Hunter Century 12-Inch Fan - Very Attractive Fan, Still Expensive
Summary: 4 Stars
Hunter's Century 12-Inch Black Fan sports great looks and retro styling, though at a high price. While the quality control on these models isn't perfect, if you have any problems you can return or exchange it. You also have a very nice 5 year limited warrantee that comes with it. Bottom line, put it through the paces when you buy it! There are alternatives though, depending on what you are looking for.
Yep, it's made in China. That doesn't bother me at all. If it bothers you, look elsewhere.
What bothers me is that the 90021 Century 12-Inch Silver Fan is listed at $70 and this black version at $80. Either price is too high, but they both sell for $60 which is also too high as far as I'm concerned. Why list the different colors of the same item at different prices? These fans sell at other retailers for $50 to $60, so the list prices here are hard to accept.
It's just a fan. I realize that some people pay top dollar for top of the line. This is just "above average" though. You'll want to step up to a Vornado Silver Swan Fan or one of those highly hyped Allaire fans from Restoration Hardware if you have even more money to burn on a desk fan.
After researching a number of fans, I saw this one at my friend's house and thought it was a decent compromise. My friend's fan ran smoothly with a lot of power and minimal noise (from the fan head, not the motor). Of course, I did read about others getting clunkers. If yours is noisy, or doesn't oscillate all the way or just stops working, that's the time to use your warrantee coverage! Hunter at least does honor their warrantee, which other companies don't always seem to do.
The main negative for me, other than price, is that I don't like the power adjustment lever being on the base. I would prefer it on the motor housing. Still, that's a minor thing and you might have a different preference.
I like the look of the black model better than the silver one, though to be fair this model is really black with silver accents. Everybody has their own tastes, so preview them if you can.
For alternatives with similar metal bodies, look at the:
Vornado FA1-0003-13 Silver Swan Fan - For about $100 to $130 you get a fan that is made with more weight and *hopefully* durability and quality control. Seems a bit much for a fan though.
Soleus Air FT1-30-44 12-Inch Metal Table Fan - very comparable for about $30 to $40, but just not as attractive. There are other ones out there too. Might be worth the savings if you can't get the Hunter on sale.
Pros
+ Attractive retro styling and sleek metal body in silver and black
+ 12 inch size is just right for most uses
+ 5-year limited warranty from a company that actually honors warrantees (at least based on past experience)
+ Easy set up and operation
+ Heavy and sturdy base makes fan very sturdy
+ Standard 3-speed controls for variable air flow
+ Pretty quiet motor and aerodynamic blade design for maximum air flow
Cons
- Still expensive for a desk fan
- Silver version is such a matte finish it almost looks plastic; After a return I prefer the black one slightly, but they are both still attractive
- May require oiling over time since it's all metal
- Not crazy about the adjustment slider being placed on the base
- Higher end versions are out there for those looking for the "very best" at any price
Conclusion
Review your options. If like me you just don't want to spend $130 on a fan, this might be the one for you. If you like Soleus, you might want to check out their cheaper more affordable fan. Get this on sale and you can come close in price with the Hunter. Just make sure to test it extensively and exchange it till you get a good one.
Enjoy!
Customer Review: Unreliable, poor support, look elsewhere
Summary: 1 Stars
I ordered the brushed nickel model, which at the time of purchase was more expensive from every vendor than the black-painted model (makes sense, I think).
The fan was just OK, with the low speed blowing minimal air and the higher speeds being adequate with average noise. It's a good-looking, heavy fan.
Within a month of LIGHT use, the low speed stopped working (electric hum, no blade spin). The other speeds were working. Over the next week, the next 2 speeds stopped as well, so I've got a completely useless fan.
I contacted hunter as it is still obviously under their "5 year" warranty. Their email gives a 24-48h delayed response, and their phone number never answered after 45mins on hold during a weekday.
They asked for redundant information, which I gave promptly a few times, and then ultimately told me they would send me a new fan if I could return a portion of the old fan (??).
After about 2 weeks I received a new fan, and surprise, they sent me THE WRONG MODEL. The model they sent is substantially cheaper than the one I paid for (at every vendor on the web).
I immediately contacted them asking if I could have the same model (which I had given them correct info for several times now) and they refuse, claiming their warranty states replacement with a "similar" model is good enough. They still want me to send in a portion of the non-working fan (weird).
My credit card would have helped me here, but for their delay in sending the replacement fan and responding to my emails, which now puts me past the 90 day limits that my card allows. Jerks.
The model I originally paid for is still for sale everywhere on the web, and is still more expensive than the replacement model they sent me.
Karma will probably destroy them soon anyway, but you can help by not buying this "heavy" but unreliable garbage. I have a $10 plastic fan that I have run for literally thousands of hours over several years that has not failed, and this dies in a month?
Customer Review: Very nice looking unit, middle of the road in refinements.
Summary: 3 Stars
As far as table top fans go this one is priced in the middle to upper end of units. Definitely not in the category of plastic fans from wally world and nothing uber elite either. My example could have a little bit better balanced blades I think for the money spent. I'm not sure if this is representative of the product or if maybe it is on the upper limits of their QC. The oscillation is very good with wide coverage but you can still hear the screw drive even when not oscillating. It seems to be getting quieter with age so perhaps the lubrication needed to spread a bit at first. Going back to the blades; they are definitely a little out of balance and that should not be the case for the price paid. 3 speeds are available but this would be so much nicer with greater low speed variability. Medium and high are ridiculously loud on my unit and sound as if a Cessna is taxiing down the runway in our house. Low is pretty good as far as noise is concerned but when it is getting up to speed it is whisper quiet and still moving a ton of air. Hunter should take advantage of the ability to run near silent and move that much air at lower speeds. Instead once the unit gets up to speed even in low it is not very quiet in my opinion. It is about as loud as your average room dehumidifier for comparison at low speed. Med and high are flat out loud. If you have loud neighbors and want to save $ on AC this would be the ticket!
Other than the blades being slightly out of balance the build quality is very good. Very solid with lots of metal. The three position switch reminds me of a transformer switch from older electric toy trains and while clunky it does feel well built. -1 star for excessive noise and -1 star for lack of speed control. If medium and high are that loud and shaky then this is a single speed fan in effect for me. I may try a potentiometer to see if I can tap in to the lower speed sweet spot.
Customer Review: Hunter 90022 12-Inch Oscillating Table Fan
Summary: 2 Stars
After having lived with this fan for a couple of months, I can say it is a serious disappointment, especially considering it's a Hunter and was not inexpensive; shame on Hunter I say.
Yes, this fan is easy on the eye and 'seems' to be well-built (time will tell; it's made in China) but, as many others here have complained, it's very noisy. Even on low it's annoyingly loud while on high it sounds like a Fokker turbo-prop is sitting in your room, just waiting to take off, and I'm exaggerating only slightly. As if the noise isn't bad enough, this fan does not move near as much air as one would expect for a fan of this size.
One close look at the fan blades (i.e. the propeller) shows what the problem is - they are only slightly pitched and only slightly turned up on the trailing edge. Honestly, if I had saved the box and packing materials, I would have sent it back. Like I said, shame on Hunter; you'd expect more from them.
To solve the problem of not moving enough air, I removed the fan blade and very carefully bent each one of the blades to nearly twice the pitch; the motor seems more than strong enough to handle the load of scooping extra air. To my pleasant surprise, once I re-assembled the fan, not only did it provide the breeze one would expect but it now also operates nearly silent on low speed and with an acceptable level of sound on the two higher speeds.
While I'm generally pleased with this fan with the modifications I had to make, I'm still giving it only two stars; I should not have had to take these steps and Hunter should have caught this flaw in design before they sent them out the door.
Lastly, I do not recommend making the modifications that I did to the blades as it would likely void the warranty, not to mention that if you're not careful you could damage the blades.
Customer Review: Excellent, Quiet and Classy
Summary: 5 Stars
I like fans, and have a lot of them. I have four ceiling fans, box fans, Vortex, plastic and metal fans. My goal with the Hunter was a classy looking quiet effective fan, roughly in that order. Having a fan that would outlast the typical plastic fan was a goal too.
The Hunter is VERY classy looking. I have a similarly all-metal Optimus fan that doesn't look nearly as nice; the Optimus has more visible creases and looks more like it was made of stamped metal. The finish on the black Hunter is just beautiful. And of course no plastic fan can touch the look of a metal fan. Especially not the Vortex.
The Hunter is also quiet. It's a smidge quieter than the Optimus, perhaps due to the smoother blade curves, though the Optimus isn't that noisy. Again I find fans with plastic blades to be pretty noisy in comparison, including the Vortex although it's not as bad as some.
The Hunter moves a good amount of air also, although here the Vortex is probably ahead because the Vortex moves the air over a wider angle. If you don't want the fan oscillating but do want a very wide breeze, Vortex is the way to go. (Or a plastic box fan, if you can handle the noise.) But in my office I prefer the Hunter because it's quiet, classy and the air movement is perfect.