Say the name Casablanca and most people picture slow turning fans in a smoky café, which is exactly the image Burton A. Burton had in mind when he founded the Casablanca Fan Company in Pasadena, California in 1974. Ceiling fans had nearly disappeared from American homes by then, pushed aside by air conditioning, and the few models still on the market were plain, heavy and purely functional. Burton had admired the fans in the 1942 film and saw them as furniture rather than appliances. The earliest Casablanca fans were built mostly for looks and turned too slowly to move much air, but as ceiling fans came back into fashion the company began pairing that decorative approach with real airflow. Models like the Victorian and the Zephyr, both modeled on fans from the early 1900s, set the tone for decades of ornate replicas, while later designs such as the Saturn and the Venus showed the company could do bold modern shapes just as well.
Casablanca also led on controls at a time when most fans still had a pull chain and nothing else. It introduced Slumber-Quiet, a silent infinitely variable speed control, and later the computerized InteliTouch and ComfortTouch wall and remote systems that let owners program their fans. Ownership has changed several times since, with General Electric owning the company from 1991 to 1996 and Hunter Fan Company owning it since then, and Casablanca now operates as Hunter’s premium brand out of Memphis. That history matters when you are repairing one, because a Casablanca on your ceiling could be a fifty year old American made fan with a heavy motor and a proprietary control system, or a current DC fan sold through Hunter with a remote and a receiver. This page covers both, starting with how to tell which one you have.
Telling a Vintage K55 Era Casablanca From a Current Hunter Built Model
The quickest way to identify a Casablanca is the label on the motor housing, but age and construction tell you a lot even before you find it. The oldest Casablanca fans are associated with K63 and Dayton motors, and many of the fans from the company’s classic years are known for Emerson built K55 motors, which is a large part of why so many of them are still running. Later fans moved to Casablanca’s imported XLP motor, which was designed as an overseas built counterpart to that heavy American motor. Current fans sold through Hunter use five digit model numbers, such as 51751 for a Panama Energy Star DC in brushed nickel, 53728 for the 72 inch Bayhaven outdoor fan and 59193 for the 72 inch Duluth, and many of them run on DC motors with remote and wall control systems. The table below groups the Casablanca fans we are asked about most by era, so you can see at a glance which kind of repair advice applies to yours.
| Fan or System | Era | Motor or Control Type | What Owners Should Know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victorian and Zephyr | Early Casablanca replicas | Heavy American built AC motors | Replicas of early 1900s fans. Blades, blade holders and decorative trim are model specific and usually found used. |
| Saturn and Venus | Classic modern designs | AC | Distinctive housings that have no generic substitute for trim, glass or blade holders. |
| Slumber-Quiet | Early Casablanca control | Infinitely variable speed control | A system designed around Casablanca fans. Do not swap in a generic dimmer or slide control. |
| InteliTouch and ComfortTouch | Programmable control era | Computerized wall and remote systems | The wall control and the fan side electronics work as a pair. Replacing one side with a generic part usually fails. |
| XLP motor fans | Imported era | Casablanca XLP AC motor | Built as an overseas version of the heavy American motor. Standard AC diagnosis applies. |
| Panama Energy Star DC 54 inch | Current, sold through Hunter | DC with remote | A receiver based DC fan. Use only the matching Casablanca or Hunter DC control. |
| Azalea Outdoor Energy Star DC 60 inch | Current, sold through Hunter | DC with remote and wall control | Outdoor rated with an LED light. Receiver and pairing issues are the most common complaints. |
| Bayhaven Outdoor Energy Star 72 inch | Current, sold through Hunter | Wall control and remote | A large outdoor fan where mounting hardware and box rating matter more than usual. |
| Duluth 72 inch | Current, sold through Hunter | Model 59193 | A large industrial style fan in galvanized steel with aged steel accents. |
| Wisp, Stealth, Tribeca and Vespucci | Current, sold through Hunter | Varies by model | Contemporary designs in 44 to 54 inch sizes. The Vespucci is an outdoor model with an LED light. |
If you cannot find a label, our ceiling fan manuals page explains how to identify a fan from its remote and where Casablanca manuals are kept now that the brand’s support runs through Hunter. It is also worth knowing that Casablanca is not related to Casa Vieja ceiling fans, a separate brand with a similar name that causes plenty of mixups when people search for parts.
InteliTouch, ComfortTouch and Slumber-Quiet Controls That Stop Working
Controls are where Casablanca fans differ most from ordinary fans, and they are the source of many of the repair questions we receive. InteliTouch and ComfortTouch systems were designed so that the wall control and the electronics in the fan work together, which is what made them programmable, but it also means a failure on either side can look like a problem with the other. The typical symptoms are a fan that ignores the wall control entirely, a fan and light that respond erratically or turn on by themselves, or a fan that only runs at one speed. Before assuming a part has failed, turn the power off at the breaker for a full minute and restore it, since these systems can lock up after a power surge or outage, and check that nobody has replaced the original wall unit with a standard light dimmer or a generic fan control, which is a common cause of a fan that buzzes, runs weakly or does not respond at all. If the fan still misbehaves, the manual for your specific control will explain how the wall unit and fan are matched, and our guide to troubleshooting ceiling fan remote controls covers the general steps. When the original control system cannot be repaired, many owners of AC Casablancas convert to a simpler setup with a universal ceiling fan remote control kit, which replaces both the remote and the receiver, though that means giving up the programmable features and should be wired using the fan’s own diagram and our ceiling fan wiring diagrams as a guide.
Current Casablanca DC Fans Like the Panama and Azalea That Won’t Respond
Newer Casablanca fans such as the Panama Energy Star DC and the Azalea Outdoor Energy Star DC are much more efficient than the classic AC models, but a DC motor depends entirely on its receiver. When that receiver fails or loses its pairing, the fan simply stops responding, responds only occasionally, or starts on one speed and ignores further commands. Replace the remote battery with a fresh one first, since a weak battery can still light the remote’s indicator without reaching the fan. Then turn off the breaker for a full minute and restore it, and follow the pairing procedure in your fan’s manual, which on most current fans has to be done within a short window after power returns. A fan that has lost its pairing looks exactly like one with a dead receiver until you run that procedure. If the fan still does not respond, the receiver is the likely culprit, and it must be replaced with the DC control designed for that fan; universal AC receivers will not run a DC motor and can damage it. Because Casablanca is now a Hunter brand, Hunter’s support team handles current Casablanca parts and warranty questions, and our Hunter ceiling fans page and Hunter ceiling fan parts guide cover how that parts system works. For a broader look at how remote systems work across brands, see our remote control ceiling fans page.
Slow Speeds, Humming and Clunking on Older AC Casablancas
Classic Casablanca motors are remarkably durable, so when an older AC fan develops a problem, the motor itself is rarely the first suspect. A fan that runs slower on high than it used to, has lost a speed, or hums without the blades turning usually has a failing capacitor, the small component that sets the motor’s speeds. Switch the fan to high and give the blades a gentle push; if it takes off after the nudge, a weak capacitor is almost certain. Our ceiling fan capacitor guide explains how to match a replacement by the microfarad values printed on the old one. Keep in mind that on fans with an original Slumber-Quiet or programmable control, speed is managed by the control system rather than a simple pull chain and capacitor, so the control should be checked first on those fans. A rhythmic clunk or thump, especially on older models, often comes from a cracked or hardened rubber flywheel, the part that connects the blade holders to the motor on fans built that way. When it deteriorates, the blades shift slightly on each rotation and the fan starts to wobble and knock. If you pull the blades and see a crumbling rubber ring, our flywheel replacement guide shows how to measure and match a new one. If the wiring in the canopy has been disturbed during a repair, our ceiling fan wiring guide will help you put it back correctly.
Replacing Blades, Blade Holders and Screws on Classic Casablanca Fans
Casablanca blades have always been a selling point, with hardwood blades on many classic models, and the blade holders are often decorative castings designed for a specific fan. That makes these parts the hardest to replace on older Casablancas, since a generic blade iron may bolt on but will change the pitch, spacing and look of the fan. When a holder is bent or cracked, the best option is usually a matching original from a used fan of the same model, and our used ceiling fans page explains what to check before buying a donor fan. If you are replacing blades, always replace the full set so the weights stay matched, and measure the span, bolt pattern and hole spacing carefully; our replacement ceiling fan blades guide explains how. Screws are one area where you do not need an original part. Blade and holder screws are standard machine screws, and a hardware store can match them if you bring an old screw along to check the thread and length. Use metal machine screws where the fan uses them and avoid substituting wood screws in metal parts, since the wrong thread will strip the hole. Once everything is tight, a wobble that remains is usually a balance issue, and our ceiling fan blade balancing guide walks through the clip and weight method.
Light Kits, Glass Globes and Bulbs for Casablanca Fixtures
Casablanca fans have always been treated as fixtures as much as fans, and the light kits and glass that go with them tend to be as distinctive as the fans themselves. On older fans with a separate light kit, flickering lights usually come from a loose connection at the kit plug, a worn switch in the light kit, or bulbs exceeding the kit’s wattage limit. Replacement glass must match the fitter, the opening where the glass attaches, as well as how it is secured, so measure the fitter opening and the glass lip before ordering. Many classic Casablanca shades are unique enough that a close match from another brand will still look different, so used originals are often worth hunting for. Current Casablanca fans such as the Wisp, Azalea and Vespucci use integrated LED lights, and when those fail while the fan still runs, the LED module or its driver is the most likely cause, which is a model specific part best ordered through Hunter. For adding or replacing a kit on an older fan, our ceiling fan light kits page covers fitter sizes and adapter plates, and the replacement ceiling fan bulbs guide covers bulb bases and wattage limits.
Hanging a Casablanca on a Flat or Angled Ceiling
Installing a Casablanca follows the same basic process as any quality fan, but the weight of many classic models makes the mounting especially important. The fan attaches to a downrod, the downrod attaches to a mounting bracket on the ceiling box, and the box must be fan rated and secured to a support brace or joist, since a standard light fixture box is not designed to carry a moving load. For a flat ceiling, the standard downrod that comes with the fan is usually all you need. Angled ceilings may require an angle mounting kit, depending on the pitch and the fan’s design, and taller ceilings call for a longer rod, which our ceiling fan downrods page explains how to size by ceiling height. You will need wire strippers for the electrical connections, a drill if you are installing a new box (a 9/64 inch bit is commonly used for pilot holes), screwdrivers, pliers and a sturdy ladder. If you are not comfortable working with household wiring, bring in an electrician for that part of the job. Large current models like the 72 inch Bayhaven and Duluth deserve extra attention to box rating and bracing, and low ceilings may be better served by a hugger ceiling fan. For covered patios and decks, check that the fan is rated for the location, and our pages on outdoor ceiling fans and porch ceiling fans explain the difference between damp and wet ratings. Our full ceiling fan installation guide covers the process step by step.
Where Casablanca Sits Next to Emerson, Minka Aire and Fanimation Today
Casablanca spent its early years as the brand others followed, and many fan makers began by imitating its designs. Today the market is much more crowded, most fans are made overseas, and the gap between Casablanca and other premium brands is narrower than it once was. Casablanca still stands out for design and for the premium position it holds within Hunter’s lineup, but shoppers comparing high end fans should also look at Emerson ceiling fans, whose heavy K55 motors share history with classic Casablancas, as well as Minka Aire and Fanimation for contemporary DC designs, and Kichler ceiling fans for fans that coordinate with matching light fixtures. To compare every brand we cover, start with our ceiling fan manufacturers directory. If your Casablanca is still running, though, it is usually worth repairing; the parts that commonly fail are inexpensive compared with the fan, and the ceiling fan parts hub, the ceiling fan troubleshooting guide and our ceiling fan repair help section will point you to the right fix.
Casablanca Fans and Parts Available Through Our Store
The Casablanca fans and parts below are available through our store, with current pricing and details on each product page. If you are looking for a specific Casablanca part or model that is not listed here, leave a comment with the model number from the motor label and we will do our best to add it.
