Review on Hunter 53236 Builder Plus Indoor Ceiling Fan with Lights and Remote Control, 52", Snow White Finish by Kathy Morgan

Bought to replace a similar Harbor Breeze ceiling fan. It sits on a rather long lower stem (probably a reused old 18" stem) which makes any imbalance worse as the fan has more leverage to generate momentum. Hunter comes with a blade balance kit, but I was surprised it wasn't needed. The fan was better balanced right out of the box than I have ever been able to balance most fans with a balance kit. When the fan is up, the pull chains hang straight down and don't wobble at all. before any fluctuation. The fan is also very quiet, which is of course very important when trying to fall asleep on a quiet night hearing a pin drop. A lighting kit is supplied separately and a wider range of lighting kits are available for the Hunter. It comes with 3 bulbs, a frosted buttercup light. Some people may prefer a 4 bulb design, different buttercup designs, or a large design with a single ball. Therefore I would prefer to purchase the lighting kit separately. We are using fans as the main light source for a fairly large room and the old fan had a set of 4 bulbs. In addition, only 40W LED lamps are used in the fan. So it was a significant reduction in light output compared to the old fan/light. We noticed and realized this was likely to be an issue before we bought the fan, but planned to buy equivalent 60W bulbs to compensate. We did just that and were happy with the light output. I could tell this Hunter fan was better engineered than the Harbor Breeze when I installed it. Starting with a suspension bracket that connects to the ceiling junction box, it's wider and heavier, and has rubber grommets that press against the ceiling, helping to tighten it more evenly when the ceiling surface isn't exactly smooth, and helping to dampen wobble or vibration . The ball joint of the hanger also does not have a perfectly round shape. It is rounded but also has a slightly triangular shape that matches the slot in the suspension. So while this little triangular ball/seat design still allows for any movement needed, it also creates a slight "locking pressure" to help hold the joint in a straight, downward position. I suspect that this construction compensates for the slightest imbalance in the blades, and therefore the pull chains probably do not vary in height at all. Overall I'm very happy with the purchase and I think it's very good value for money. Bottom line, I wouldn't do anything differently if I had to do it again.