Your opinion/review: Bladeless fans

**oj88** · June 28th, 2011 08:30 AM

I love innovation when I see one. And this type of fan, although not new, just recently caught my attention. Does anyone use it? I have a few questions to those who do:

1. The designers boast that it's easy to clean, at least on the outside and along the cylindrical shroud. But they fail to mention that in theory, the impeller inside will eventually accumulate enough dirt to affect airflow. How easy is it to clean that?
2. Is it noisy? In the few Youtube videos I've seen, the fan appears to emit a loud whine, somewhat akin to a CPU fan at high speed. I plan to use this in the living room and/or bedroom.
3. Going green and all that, how about efficiency? Watt for Watt, is it better or worse than a conventional fan?
4. Reliability?

Some features I like:
1. It is obviously bladeless (at least, none are exposed), so it's safe with toddlers around. (Though, the fan itself might NOT be, but that's different :D )
2. Continuously-variable speed. At least on the models I've seen, it has a knob like a light dimmer, instead of buttons with fixed speeds
3. It looks cool; Jetsons-cool! Both literally and figuratively. It will blend very well with any modern household. It can also be a nice ice breaker for some guests who's wondering how the airflow is generated

Anyway, for the clueless, this is what I'm talking about: YouTube - ‪Sir James Dyson explains his bladeless fan‬&rlm;

**robot.sonic** · June 28th, 2011 11:10 AM

Saan mo nakita yan bro at magkano? Iniisip ko rin bumili ng ganyan e.

**niky** · June 28th, 2011 11:11 AM

According to users, it's very noisy.

Up to you if it's worth it. But the cost of buying and importing one might outweigh the savings in electricity you will see versus a cheaper fan (and cost often reflects on the amount of energy used in production, packaging and shipping... simply... cheaper items are often produced and shipped in large numbers, so the environmental impact per unit on the production side is low).

If you want something unusual yet efficient, check the Vornado (available at True Value)... as this uses a shaped duct to produce strong wind from a small blade. The smallest one is the most bang-for-buck, though... don't feel like the big ones are worth the money.

**oj88** · June 28th, 2011 12:22 PM

It's available locally at SM Appliance Center for like 5k. On sulit, it's a little under 4k I think.

Thanks Niky for the insight. I guess the best thing to do is to drop by SM and test out the product. I decided to ask ahead so I won't appear uninformed when I talk to the sales people.

**Mguy** · June 28th, 2011 12:25 PM

I've seen these up close, the stand fan, the desk fan and the chic tower fan. Great yet simple design. It really pushes heavy volumes of air, very similar to an ordinary electric fan. Very easy to clean and very safe for toddlers. One bad thing about them is the price. They are just too expensive. I wanted to buy the tower fan but it cost AUD599 which is roughly PHP24,000. It operates quietly at low to medium speed. It is a bit noisy at high speeds, but bearable.

**ghosthunter** · June 28th, 2011 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by oj88

I love innovation when I see one. And this type of fan, although not new, just recently caught my attention. Does anyone use it? I have a few questions to those who do:

1. The designers boast that it's easy to clean, at least on the outside and along the cylindrical shroud. But they fail to mention that in theory, the impeller inside will eventually accumulate enough dirt to affect airflow. How easy is it to clean that?
2. Is it noisy? In the few Youtube videos I've seen, the fan appears to emit a loud whine, somewhat akin to a CPU fan at high speed. I plan to use this in the living room and/or bedroom.
3. Going green and all that, how about efficiency? Watt for Watt, is it better or worse than a conventional fan?
4. Reliability?

Some features I like:
1. It is obviously bladeless (at least, none are exposed), so it's safe with toddlers around. (Though, the fan itself might NOT be, but that's different :D )
2. Continuously-variable speed. At least on the models I've seen, it has a knob like a light dimmer, instead of buttons with fixed speeds
3. It looks cool; Jetsons-cool! Both literally and figuratively. It will blend very well with any modern household. It can also be a nice ice breaker for some guests who's wondering how the airflow is generated

Anyway, for the clueless, this is what I'm talking about: YouTube - ‪Sir James Dyson explains his bladeless fan‬&rlm;

The china made Dyson ripoff bladeless fans are a bit noisy. You can hear the fan (in the base) working especially if you have it at maximum and if you are sitting within three or four feet of it.

The one I have has a 12 inch ring. The amount of air blown seems to be typical of a desk fan of the same size (or a touch less).

Power consumption is 40 watts based on it's label. It's not a "green" item. Unique and a conversation piece, it is.

As for cleaning the internal fan, no idea but I think I can remove the internal fan by removing two screws that seem to hold the inner fan to the base.

**Horsepower** · July 5th, 2011 12:23 PM

I think it's pretty innovative but I'd probably wait first for it to get cheaper. $400 at this time just for a chic fan is a bit rich and I don't want to buy chinese knockoffs.

If you're concerned that your kid might put his/her finger in the bladed fan, cover it with a nylon screen or switch to wall fan or ceiling fan (the one that looks like helicopter blades).

**crazy_boy** · July 16th, 2011 10:31 PM

Originally Posted by niky

According to users, it's very noisy.

Up to you if it's worth it. But the cost of buying and importing one might outweigh the savings in electricity you will see versus a cheaper fan (and cost often reflects on the amount of energy used in production, packaging and shipping... simply... cheaper items are often produced and shipped in large numbers, so the environmental impact per unit on the production side is low).

If you want something unusual yet efficient, check the Vornado (available at True Value)... as this uses a shaped duct to produce strong wind from a small blade. The smallest one is the most bang-for-buck, though... don't feel like the big ones are worth the money.

niky, the smallest one is priced at 1999.75 at true value. will be enough for 20sqm room. the medium is priced at 2875, good for 21sqm, then the big one is 5750, good for 30.5sqm.

but the small one is REALLY small hehe!!