Not All Fans Are Built The Same!
by
shoehorny
,
in Home and Garden at Epinions.com
,
Jul 7, 2008
Pros:
Powerful, does a great job moving air, inexpensive, light wight
Cons:
A bit noisey on high speed, lots of plastic parts
The Bottom Line:
A fan uses less electricity than an air conditioner.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
No siree! That's for sure. Some are big. Some are small. Some oscillate, others are stationary. Some have multiple speeds, others are single speed. Some work great at moving air, and others just look like they are moving air. Some are super quiet, and others are a bit noisy.
That said, the Air King Floor Box Fan is a sort of "middle of the road" fan. It has many great features: Such as three speeds, quiet (at least at low speeds), and best of all it moves air great! I love this fan!
I have many fans in my home: Big expensive fans, small desk top fans, oscillating fans, and stationary fans. They all serve specific purposes. I am partial to the stationary type fans. Oscillating fans fill blow air over me, then move positions and leave me hot momentarily. You can lock the oscillating fan into a certain position, but then what's the point in spending extra for the oscillating feature? With the box fan, I adjust the fan to the direction that blows in the optimal position to my liking, then let it blow away!
It has three motor positions: Low, medium, and high. When on high, the fan shakes since it is so powerful. It is also a bit noisy in this position. Low is a bit too low, although extremely quiet and it does push out a breeze. I prefer the medium setting. It blows out just about the right amount of wind, and it is still relatively quiet. The fan speeds are maintained by turning a dial type switch that varies the fan's power consumption from 87 -165 Watts. 165 Watts = Wow! That's a lot of power for a fan!
The fan's blade is 20 inches in diameter, so that alone lets me know it is going to push air around. I like to set my fan either in a window casing, or very close to it so it can suck in the cool night air into a room and push it around in the room. The fan's blade is made of a molded ABS plastic. I've had other box fans similar to this one. If you should crack that fan blade, you might as well throw away the fan. The old metal fan blades were great and lasted for decades! (I still have a couple in my work shop).
Nevertheless, the fan is very inexpensive costing only $20 on sale at Kmart. I bought several of them and put them in strategic positions around the house and in my work shop. We live on top of a mountain, so we get nice cool breezes in the summer, and rarely do we need to run the air conditioner. If the fan should ever break, I just replace it. Usually the blade gets brittle after several years and cracks or the motor seizes (I'm not sure why?).
The fan is pretty easy to maintain. As it pushes air, it also moves a lot of dust around so it does need periodic clean. I simply remove the grates (front and back) by taking out the screws, wash them in a laundry sink, then clean the fan blade and put everything back together.
The fan comes with a nice, eight foot long power cord. It comes in several colors (mine is white although I've seen gray and light blue fans in the store). Color does not matter much to me at all. It also comes fully assembled in a cardboard box. So, all you need to do is pull out the fan, plug it in an AC outlet, and turn it on.
If you are shopping for a fan, here is some suggestions that may help you choose the right fan: First, determine what you need the fan for? Do you want to cool an area down or keep it dry? Do you also want a built in heater (these are available too!). Then, determine where you want to place the fan. If it is on top of a desk, you will probably want to stay away from the hurricane fans and choose a small fan instead. Conversely, if it is going to be at the far end of a long hall, you would do better with a hurricane fan. The box fan works well in an average sized room of about 200 to 275 square feet. Finally, I would suggest taking a trip to Walmart, Kmart, or some other store that sells LOTS of fans and has all of them running on display. Listen to the sound level, feel the breeze, and look it over. Check the prices too (some fans are way over priced. They look like gourmet fans but do the same job a less expensive fan does). Then make a choice!
I would recommend this box fan to anyone needing a fan for an average sized room. It works great and really does not cost that much. You can get them in several retail stores or over the internet (do a Google search for the best price). Thanks for reading my review and best wishes for a wonderful day!
Mike
