Update on our Hunter Ceiling Fans.  As noted in our main ceiling fan article we bought five Hunter ceiling fans and installed them when we built our house.  This was quite an investment and we hoped that these fans would last for many years.  Now, after three years, the first of the fans failed. From the symptoms it appears that the problem is a defective capacitor.   Each of our ceiling fan has three capacitors in the switch module.  Evidently, capacitor failure is common in ceiling fans.  Of course we went on-line to find out where we could find service and parts for Hunter fans.  It turns out that, despite the fact that Hunter fans are widely available in the Philippines, the Hunter website does not show any Philippine distributor and provides no guidance on parts for international models other than a a generic email address.  We have received no response to our email to Hunter global.

The availability of parts and service should be a consideration when deciding on purchasing ceiling fans (or any other expensive items).  I was able to easily order parts for a $30 3-D brand floor fan but not so for a $170 Hunter ceiling fan.  After giving up on Hunter itself, we went back to the retailer we purchased the fans from, Handyman Hardware at Robinson’s Mall in Iloilo City.   First we had to prove that we bought the fans from Handyman.  Fortunately, I had scanned the sales receipt.  Otherwise, we’d be out of luck.  Like many merchants, Handyman used a thermal-type register receipt, just like to old thermal fax paper.  These can fade to invisablity in a short time leaving the purchaser with no way to prove the place or date of purchase.  Hence we scan such receipts and save them online.

Fortunately, they had the exact same fan in stock.  It has a lifetime motor warranty graphic right on the box which I was able to use as part of my case.  The manager asked me to bring in the while fan motor.  We already knew that the problem was not in the motor because we own five of the same model of fan.  When we tried the switch module from one of our other fans, it instantly solved the problem.  We convinced him to send just the switch module to Manila.  He asked that we pay P200 ($5.00) for the shipping.  We did so and in a couple of weeks we received a message that our part was in.  When we picked the switch module up, it appeared that they had just given us a replacement module, rather than repairing ours.  In any case we were grateful for this good service from Handyman.  There was no cost for the repairs beyond the P200 shipping fee.

Just in case it might be of use to others, this is the address of the repair facility to which Handyman shipped our part.  From what we can garner online, NKD International Trading is a Philippine distributor for Black and Decker, Stanley, DeWalt and evidently Hunter Fans.

NKD Int’l c/o Mr. Michael

#10 Conseco St. San Francisco Del Monte

Quezon City (Metro Manila)

The full ceiling fan article is at http://myphilippinelife.com/our-philippine-house-project-ceiling-fans/