Your description and recommended fix are right on the money. also found the following last night in an amazon review of this fandbdartman said:The easiest solution at this point would be an add-on wireless RF remote. I installed half a dozen fans in our current house much the same as yours (most are Hunters but different models). The only fans I didn't add remotes to are one in the living room that has a built in remote & two that have too small a base to accept the remote unit (I could have put the remotes in the attic I guess). These make the chain problem a moot point. I used the Hampton Bay remotes & they all work correctly & are still on their original batteries (almost 4 years old).
My GF's office fan pull switch failed in the full-speed position. Slapped an extra remote on it & she now has speed control again! MUCH cheaper than replacing the fan, & much easier than replacing the switch!
Pulled the globe on my Hunter & I agree, that pull chain routing (comes out of the unit on the side, about 2" off center, goes through a plate with a nylon bushing about 1/2" off center to keep it away from the bulbs, then through the hole on the globe center about 1" off center) is hokey, but it's something I've never had to deal with because of the remotes!
Attached is pic of the remote, which sits in it's hanger below the light switch & exhaust fan control.
looks like I should have read more before i bought. only downside to remote beside cost is that hunter remotes have gotten bad reviews. looks like you were smart to go with a different brand. but let me ask this. does your fan pull chain work at all when routed as designed? seems people are having problems but works just works hard. mine doesn't move at all. i'm betting they designed it with one switch or switch nut and then switched to a different one causing the binding problem. no one would purposely design a fan that couldn't work, correct?The fan chain comes down through the metal disk and then goes through the decorative cover plate below the glass bowl, and this makes the chain operation of the ceiling fan difficult-it pulls harder than it should since this configuration puts the chain at an angle. I don't like this design. The pull chain for the light fixture comes straight down and is no problem.
Theo