Electric fan discussions - kdk and other brands

Jmathew1108

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Just sharing my observations about kdk fans in Singapore. I've helped people repair kdk fans and having repaired about 2000 sets over 6 years or so, I'd like share some of my observations. I understand it's a commonly used brand but quite wasteful to see them end up trash prematurely.

The biggest and most common problem with kdk fans i notice is failure of the PCB board. This happens on the electronic living, wall and ceiling fans. What often happens is that when you press the button to turn on the fan, the fan automatically switches off. Or when you press the oscillation, timer button the fan will switch off. This problem is observed on kdk and Panasonic living,wall fans manufactured in recent. On ceiling fans the fan may become stuck in one speed and will no longer respond to the remote. All this is caused simply by one small capacitor in the PCB board of the fan. I've had numerous people who have thrown away their cosmetically perfect fans because of this problem when it could have been easily repaired.

So, if your fan ever fails,in terms of the faulty PCB or the fan suddenly stop running. Do give repair a go before trashing them. If you have some basic diy skill and interest you could probably do it yourself.

If the PCB, simply get the capacitor changed and your good to go. If the motor suddenly stop spinning , the thermal fuse is blown and can be changed, If spinning slowly is because the motor capacitor is faulty. Bottom line, even if these fans fail, they mostly can be repaired. So do a favor to the environment and your wallet and try repairing before throwing away. Also do consider carefully before buying any fan with circuit boards, mechanical will always be more reliable

If attempting any diy repair shared in the thread, pls proceed with the necessary caution at your own risk.

Update: I've mostly ceased my services as of June 2023, but If you need tips or guidance with kdk/Panasonic repairs drop me a text at 91246065 and I'll try to assist if time permits.
 
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kombat75

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yes u are right..

I did have 1 fan M40MS PCB Board faulty.

Did u do repair on this ?
If yes how much do let me know.
I might as well give u some business on this.

let me know..

Thanx
 

carlover76

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yes u are right..

I did have 1 fan M40MS PCB Board faulty.

Did u do repair on this ?
If yes how much do let me know.
I might as well give u some business on this.

let me know..

Thanx

How about the newer DC fan with led like U60FW?
 

tekster

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Omigosh! Fan otaku

Kudos to u. Thks for saving our fans.
 

kandinsky

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Kdk need to dismantle from ceiling and pull out PCB board and replace. Somemore only 1 year warranty even at $800.

Just to share, for KDK v56VK, doesn't require dismantling from ceiling. The PCB can be accessed by removing the cover, then just unplug and replace. I had KDK replace it before. I called them about a rattling/buzzing noise, they came and replaced it without doing any diagnostics. Wasn't happy about that. What if the rattling was something mechanical, or maybe even just the cover of the fan that was loose...etc. At this point it was about 4 years old.

The funny thing is, just a few months ago, I ran into the problem where the top speed was more like medium speed. Luckily I asked to keep the old PCB. I replaced the 1 yr old PCB with the 4 yr old PCB and it's back to how it was. My next ceiling fan will not be a kdk.

chFwqJB.jpg
 
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Jmathew1108

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Just to share, for KDK v56VK, doesn't require dismantling from ceiling. The PCB can be accessed by removing the cover, then just unplug and replace. I had KDK replace it before. I called them about a rattling/buzzing noise, they came and replaced it without doing any diagnostics. Wasn't happy about that. What if the rattling was something mechanical, or maybe even just the cover of the fan that was loose...etc. At this point it was about 4 years old.

The funny thing is, just a few months ago, I ran into the problem where the top speed was more like medium speed. Luckily I asked to keep the old PCB. I replaced the 1 yr old PCB with the 4 yr old PCB and it's back to how it was. My next ceiling fan will not be a kdk.


Hi, thanks for sharing. Haven't repaired any ceiling fans to date so good to know where the PCB is located. Usually the expensive models like yours fare better when it comes to PCB quality but as your example has shown they are not immune to problems either. There's a YouTube video where the guy pull out the pcb board and replaces it with a ceiling fan capacitor and wall controller. Though you will lose remote functionality you will have a fan that is pretty much immortal because the motor is still better than most brands. Might want to consider that option if you run into pcb problems again
 

d3n

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Suggest you don't buy. If you need light go for fanco or crestar. If the PCB fails the you'll lose all control of the fan. If other brand remote spoil just change the receiver and good to go. Kdk need to dismantle from ceiling and pull out PCB board and replace. Somemore only 1 year warranty even at $800.

fanco or crestar good? like the brand not so well heard of :o
 

Jmathew1108

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fanco or crestar good? like the brand not so well heard of :o

I don't own ceiling fans so i can't give definite comment but based on online reviews and experience of people i know both brands are very good especially at their respective price points. You can get fanco FFM 3000 with LED light, remote and installation at about $265 on carousell through some sellers. This one comparable to the latest kdk U48FP with LED light which costs $550 without installation. Somemore Fanco lifetime warranty on motor. Crestar can cost as much as kdk depending on model but alot more stylish and 10 year warranty on motor. Personally i feel these 2 brands more bang for my buck.
 

haiz

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any idea among the more budget brands ( such as mistral, sona, morries, toyomi, europace, etc ), which brand is better?
 

carlover76

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I don't own ceiling fans so i can't give definite comment but based on online reviews and experience of people i know both brands are very good especially at their respective price points. You can get fanco FFM 3000 with LED light, remote and installation at about $265 on carousell through some sellers. This one comparable to the latest kdk U48FP with LED light which costs $550 without installation. Somemore Fanco lifetime warranty on motor. Crestar can cost as much as kdk depending on model but alot more stylish and 10 year warranty on motor. Personally i feel these 2 brands more bang for my buck.

How about Elmark? I know there is a place in JB which can purchase Elmark Fan with Light and they can deliver to Singapore with some charges but I still prefer DC motor though.
 

amazingone

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I would not choose any personally. My problem with cheap fans is they tend to be very noisy and the wind generated not proportional to the amount of noise i makes...

1. My top pick would be Mitsubishi Electric fans, very quiet and windy. More lasting than kdk and 3 to 5 years of warranty unlike 1 year for most brand. Only problem ia they can't be found everywhere, only Harvey Norman, gain city and neighbourhood stores

2.Second would be KDK And Panasonic models with push button switches, eg. P40US, A40AS, M40CS, F407YS. Never buy anything with remote or electronic switches from kdk

3. If really cannot get these then last resort will be either Tefal, Toyomi, Europace, Sona. In this order


Actually any fan will last long as long as maintained properly. But KDK and mitsubishi are most quiet and efficient. The most important thing is to buy fan that have manual button control and no electronic panel and remote. These kind always got problem with their PCB and whole fan cannot work even though motor might be fine. If you die die need remote only brand i will recommend is Mitsubishi. Another thing is the oscillation mechanism on remote fans are controlled by a separate mechanism and tend to fail faster. You might have noticed that many remote fans cannot oscillate after some years

The most important thing is to maintain the fan, take out motor cover and clear dust and oil the ball bearings about once a year. This is especially true for cheaper fans

Yes, I agree that KDK and ME produces quality fans(thus the price). I myself have both brands at home and they work well, only thing is the ME Living Fan that I owned the speed 1 button is sort of faulty, as it wouldn't respond to presses at times, but otherwise I would say ME fans are really good, performance on par with KDK.

The only downside for ME fans is as what you mentioned, the availability of it.
I was once a salesperson for ME fans at Gain City expo show and encountered many who don't even know that ME produces fans, they thought they specialize in aircons and refrigerators only. This might be due to that their fans' availability and also possibly marketing also, since ME only advertise their refrigerators and aircons frequently on TV but no sight of their electrical fans. :/
 

carlover76

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Their after sales support in Singapore is very poor. But since you buying from Malaysia that shouldn't be a concern. It should be ok as long as properly installed.

I see but I guess they do not have any DC Motor Models, right? I check out their website and there is no such DC Motor Series. :s11:
 

Jmathew1108

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I see but I guess they do not have any DC Motor Models, right? I check out their website and there is no such DC Motor Series. :s11:

I'm not sure about that. For me it doesn't matter whether a fan runs on AC or DC, as long as it moves air well. Also if you buying from Malaysia should be pretty cheap and if it ever breaks down just replace it.
 

Jmathew1108

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Yes, I agree that KDK and ME produces quality fans(thus the price). I myself have both brands at home and they work well, only thing is the ME Living Fan that I owned the speed 1 button is sort of faulty, as it wouldn't respond to presses at times, but otherwise I would say ME fans are really good, performance on par with KDK.

The only downside for ME fans is as what you mentioned, the availability of it.
I was once a salesperson for ME fans at Gain City expo show and encountered many who don't even know that ME produces fans, they thought they specialize in aircons and refrigerators only. This might be due to that their fans' availability and also possibly marketing also, since ME only advertise their refrigerators and aircons frequently on TV but no sight of their electrical fans. :/

Actually ME fans cheaper than comparable KDK models, especially wall and table fans. Fans are small business for major brands. So no point advertising. Even panasonic fans are not even listed on their website under products. But since KDK only produces fans they will take effort to advertise and make their presence known and ensure they are widely available.
 

carlover76

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I'm not sure about that. For me it doesn't matter whether a fan runs on AC or DC, as long as it moves air well. Also if you buying from Malaysia should be pretty cheap and if it ever breaks down just replace it.

It is an issue for AC motor as it will have slight vibration and electricity bill will be slightly higher if running on AC, that is why I am going for DC motor. =:p
 

amazingone

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Actually ME fans cheaper than comparable KDK models, especially wall and table fans. Fans are small business for major brands. So no point advertising. Even panasonic fans are not even listed on their website under products. But since KDK only produces fans they will take effort to advertise and make their presence known and ensure they are widely available.
Yeah true, actually ME and Panasonic fans are generally cheaper than KDK, which I believe KDK fans are pricier more likely due to its brand(just like how Apple iPhone can be cheaper but it charged higher than others due to its brand).

Maybe if ME and Panasonic(its availability also damn less) can increase its electric fans availability at more stores, maybe more people would get to know more about them. They are sort of the good-but-unknown brands for electrical fans in Singapore..:(

Sent from my Rice phone using GAGT
 

tinydot

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fanco or crestar good? like the brand not so well heard of :o

I have these 2 fans installed. Fanco remote siao siao one, sometimes can respond, sometimes cannot. Even fanco website offers remote replacement, means it breaks down often. :s22: Google you can find similar complaints for fanco. Ask for fanco checking, you will have to pay $40 regardless any replacement/repair made or not, then pay additional money for any repair made.

I cannot say crestar is the best, but at least crestar remote still working fine till this day (both brands installed at the same time).
 
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