Too much technology

[tvrgeek]

Need yet ANOTHER ceiling fan, so four for four failed in my house. Crap big box fans. ( actually, one was a fancy expensive one) . So went to several sites. Seems legislation forcing efficiency most don't run slow enough to just circulate in a room and assume you want a wind. I had to change the run cap in one to get it slow enough. Now, the come with an Alexa!. I want a freaking switch. Not some Alexa garbage!

OK, rant over.

 

[Mike Davis]

We have two fans in one room, they are the only lights in that big room.
Tiny LED lights are not enough.
Rebuilt both motors, now one has failed again and the other is squelching.
Those fans were built in 1980, have lasted all this time,
seems that anything I replace them with will only last a few years...

 

[SteveHall]

Seems legislation forcing efficiency most don't run slow enough to just circulate in a room and assume you want a wind.

Sounds like you are looking for low speed, high volume (LSHV) direct drive industrial fans:

• MacroAir
• TroposAir
• Minka Aire
• Emerson
• Swifter
• Humongous Fan
• Rite Hite
• Hunter Fan

 

[tvrgeek]

Sounds like you are looking for low speed, high volume (LSHV) direct drive industrial fans:

• MacroAir
• TroposAir
• Minka Aire
• Emerson
• Swifter
• Humongous Fan
• Rite Hite
• Hunter Fan

No, just to keep the air in the bedroom moving. I had an expensive Hunter. Filed in 2 years. One of the ones I replaced was a Minka. LSLV.

 

[SteveHall]

No, just to keep the air in the bedroom moving. I had an expensive Hunter. Filed in 2 years. One of the ones I replaced was a Minka. LSLV.

Interesting. I figure Hunter as residential builder grade, but I would have expected better from Minka. A decent commercial grade fan will be rated to run 24 hours a day (retail, industrial, warehouse) without abusing motor parts and bearings.

 

[wolfsburged]

All of the new ceiling fans with light packages have built in dimmer/power limiters to keep you from putting too large of bulbs in them. I only use CFL or LED bulbs, which always tended to flicker with those in place. So each new fan I have to cut the dimmer box out and splice the light socket wiring back direct to the switch. That and the tiny bulb socket to also limit current draw just means more expensive bulbs...

 

[Phil S]

I have a pair of minkaAire fans. both seem to be very well made and should last a long time. No switch but the remote comes with a bracket that can mount where the old switch was

 

[Raymond]

We had my custom built house prewired for separate wall mounted switches for the light and fan for each room. We had Hunter fan/light combos installed in 1999 when the house was built and have had zero problems with them. The one in the master bedroom runs 24/7; the others run sporadically as required. I had also thought that the one in the master bedroom worked so well is because we have never turned them off.

 

[tvrgeek]

Ordered an Emerson. Old school, AC motor, pull chain so I can have simple wall on/off switches. If the low speed is too high, I can add a cap. I know, that is what the energy efficiency garbage got in the way of because it basically makes it less efficient by adding phase shift. But they don't make a simple DC fan.

Back in the day, Hunters were upper and Casablanca was the top line. Now it looks like they both make $60 fans just sell for $120.

My Minka has the wall holster for the remote. OK for the dining room, but I would not put up with it for the bedroom.

 

[kserdar]

check out Ceiling Fans and Mobile and Wall-mounted Fans for Industry and Home
I have 4 in my house. 3 Haiku and 1 i6

 

[tvrgeek]

BigAssFans has moved into home fans, but they are full of all the tech garbage I don't want. The store where I ordered an Emerson had their display.

 

[kserdar]

BigAssFans has moved into home fans, but they are full of all the tech garbage I don't want. The store where I ordered an Emerson had their display.

Yes, they are options, but not required.

 

[kooshball]

Too much tech in places tech really isn’t needed. I’m old school in many ways. I want switches and buttons to turn things on and off; not touch pads and remotes. When I’m done cursing at a broken ceiling fan remote I want to relax with a beer flavored beer; not some fancy artisanal version of beer that has been flavored and marketed to be different for the sake of being different.

 

[tvrgeek]

Too much tech in places tech really isn’t needed. I’m old school in many ways. I want switches and buttons to turn things on and off; not touch pads and remotes. When I’m done cursing at a broken ceiling fan remote I want to relax with a beer flavored beer; not some fancy artisanal version of beer that has been flavored and marketed to be different for the sake of being different.

Not a fan of Dog Fish Head beers eh?

Highland Gaelic Ale, Anchor Porter. Beer. Just beer. Water, malt, hops, yeast. No rice! I may give a pass to a good Heff' on a hot day even though normally I pass on wheat.

Review of the new WV GTI. All touch screen. So you have to LOOK at the screen to turn up the AC when you should be looking at the road.

So, I have fallen victim to Wixey on my table saw as well as several hand helds. But I wish I had a decent Reeves drive on my drill as I am not ready for a computer to make it go round and round. I do use setup blocks, story sticks and calipers when relative is important, not precise.

 

[golfdad]

Hunter is an excellent product. Put mine in the living room in 1994. Been running 24/7 since it was installed

 

[tvrgeek]

They USED to be. Mine lasted less than two years.

 

[junquecol]

Ceiling fans in office, and family room run 24/7/365. Been doing so since 1995. Two different brands, both CHEAP, Ceiling fan on back porch has been running since 1928. Yes, I said 1928, almost a hundred years. It was installed in a new Duke Power building in 1928.. FIL had his office in that room for almost 38 years. When they moved to new building, he was able to save the fan. Wump, wump, wump for almost 100 years. Once a year, I remove covers and grease center shaft. Ceiling fan in bedroom has a "Lifetime Warranty," thru K-Mart. So much for that warranty. As for speed control, I prefer a wall mounted rotary three speed switch. So easy to replace if necessary.

 

[JimD]

I have cheap ones in every room except the one I am sitting in. My logic was just to get a 52 inch fan and then run it at it's slowest speed so it is reasonably quiet. They do not get used a lot but work. I have to change speeds with a pull chain but there is an on/off wall switch. In this room I spent more to get something bigger with a remote. The ceiling is 16.5 feet and the fan is about 10 feet up. It has four 150W equivalent bulbs in it. The room needs at least that much light. Works well so far.

To me, the worst over reliance on technology is current cars. Had a battery fail or an alternator fail in a modern car? The SECOND the voltage goes down a little the car freaks out and starts turning the windshield wipers on, honks the horn, does every other stupid thing it is programmed to so. Quits well before the battery is depleted. In my BMW, when a wheel sensor failed the ABS and stability control did not work but that is as expected. What was not expected is some stupid message on the display 24/7 until the sensor was fixed. I drove for a long time without those systems. I got it done but I did not appreciate the over reliance on computerized systems with some dumb German engineers logic of how to program the computer (my heritage is mainly German and I am confident there are both smart and stupid people in Germany). Only way around this is to drive something around 30 years old. And don't upgrade it to things like fuel injection.

 

[junquecol]

I have cheap ones in every room except the one I am sitting in. My logic was just to get a 52 inch fan and then run it at it's slowest speed so it is reasonably quiet. They do not get used a lot but work. I have to change speeds with a pull chain but there is an on/off wall switch. In this room I spent more to get something bigger with a remote. The ceiling is 16.5 feet and the fan is about 10 feet up. It has four 150W equivalent bulbs in it. The room needs at least that much light. Works well so far.

To me, the worst over reliance on technology is current cars. Had a battery fail or an alternator fail in a modern car? Only way around this is to drive something around 30 years old. And don't upgrade it to things like fuel injection.

Not always so. Our 1994 Ford Areostar, has an airbag warning light that has been blinking for over five years now. Neither mechanic, or Ford dealer has any dealer has any idea as to how to reset it. Even more fun is take the battery completely out of newer model car. Then you get to have it towed to dealer and computer reprogramed to the tune of two hundred bucks. Wife's 2006 Suzuki, when battery is disconnected, has to have mass airflow sensor cleaned. They make a little nine volt battery that you plug into power port to keep voltage on computer systems, when battery has to be disconnected.

 

[tvrgeek]

Installed the Emerson. Most out of balance fan I have ever had. Getting it real close after an hour of fooling with it. Hum on low may be an issue. Won't know until we try to sleep.

Bruce, you need a different dealer.
Disconnecting the battery should not cause any ECU code. If so, there is a defect. Disconnecting airbag sensors ( like the warning light in a VW) with power ON, will set a code and not all machines are capable of resetting it. It is considered a "safety feature" to prevent air bag tampering. It is not uncommon for a radio or HVAC to lose it's preferences or presets. Using a 9V though the lighter can be very dangerous as it powers the air-bag circuit so you run the risk of a accidental deployment working on the car. This is why the procedure is to disconnect the battery.

FWIW, I drive a 50 year old car. But it has a modern alternator and programable ignition. It would have EFI if I could afford it.