Hunter 27183 Fan/Light Preset Dual Slide Fan/Light Control

 (14 customer reviews)

We installed a ceiling fan/light in our master bedroom as part of a remodel and were able to run the required 3-wire romex to work the fan and light separately from the switchbox. After weeks of work, we installed the Hunter switch as the cherry on top. We were ecstatic. It took a while to get used to the slider switches and the master on/off switch for the preset felt a little chintzy, but we were quickly spoiled by the smooth dimmer and 4-speed fan control. Our joy lasted less than a year. The knob on the fan control broke off. I could now see how the knobs were attached to the sliders and it looks like they are designed to fail: a blade in the back of the knob is pressure-fit into a slot in the thin plastic slider. When you screw down the cover plate on a switch, you expect the job to last for years or decades. This switch lasted only a few months. Very disappointing.

I did not buy my dual slide control from Amazon, and I'm really sorry now that I didn't see the reviews here before I did. I bought two of these switches in August 2008, and one of them disintegrated last month. Exact same thing as other people have said here -- the knob of the slider that controls the light (which, unlike the fan, I use all year round) broke off, leaving only a tiny nub of plastic. I was making do with that until tonight, when the nub also broke off. Now I can't use the light switch. The design of the switch was great, but I can't say the same for the construction quality. Time from purchase to disintegration: less than 9 months. Unhappiness at the prospect of paying for a new switch and a second service call from the electrician during this "recession": considerable. If there were negative stars, I would give them.

this is a pretty flimsy dual switch, but apparently there is no real alternative for the price; it will do, but count on the switch knobs breaking off at some point and having to replace the entire assembly