Weighing just 13.85 lbs., the lightweight frame offers easy portability so you can quickly carry this fan into rooms where you need it most. Just about every pedestal fan we tested oscillates roughly 90 degrees with the exception of the Vornado 683, which doesn’t oscillate at all but can be twisted on its stand to face any direction. However, the Vornado offers one of the widest pivot ranges, at nearly 90 degrees, whereas most alen breathesmart others are closer to degrees at most. Pedestal fans have a reputation for being ungainly and large — but how ungainly and how large? We measured the dimensions of every fan, checked to see how much their heights are adjustable, and considered their base size and the blade housing size. Of course, since larger fans are often more powerful, we considered other values of their sizes when calculating scores in this metric.
Our unit also had a heavy, droopy head, which limits its angles of operation from straight ahead to slightly down. We measured this fan as having just under a 2 mph difference between the lowest (8.5 mph) and the highest (10.3 mph) speeds. We’re not sure the low price and extra features are worth the long list of shortcomings. The Honeywell Double Blade 16 is a standard pedestal fan with enough upgrades to make it a solid model and a solid value, too.
Fans have always been a necessary part of life for both Maggie and her easily overheated dog. From her home gym to her home office, she knows what it takes to find the right fan for any space. She tests several types of fans and has been testing all types of home and outdoor gear for both OutdoorGearLab and TechGearLab since 2017. Currently we offer FREE FedEx/UPS small package Ground shipping and FREE ABF/YRC freight ground shipping on most orders of $199 or more within the 48 contiguous states. We tested each fan’s performance through a battery of tests that cover four metrics. We put together a complete picture of each model through laboratory tests, precision measurements, everyday usage, and qualitative analyses.
Unfortunately, this heavy gizmo is one of the most wobbly models we tested, literally blowing itself into a backbend at high speeds. For a futuristic-looking fan, it still has the old-school oscillation knob on the unit, with no button to control it remotely. It chirps loudly and obnoxiously with every setting change, and though the lights dim, they never turn off. Switching between speeds, the unit we tested also had considerable difficulty finding the right rotation rate, shifting awkwardly between several speeds before settling at a constant pace. At the end of the day, though we find much to like about this quiet, effective fan, we’re not quite sure its shortcomings make it worth the hefty price tag.
However, if you prefer a very light breeze and value silence, this may be a good fit. Though its sound is quieter than many others of similar power, the quality of noise this fan emits is, at every speed, rather similar to the whirring of a small airplane. It also lets out a chirping “beep” every time you plug it in or change a setting. Though its timer allows you to program more precise half-hour increments, the oscillation feature isn’t controlled by the remote — only by the classic push-pull tab on the back of the motor. It’s also more wiggly than we’d like, though the very solid base adds a lot to its overall stability.
To test each pedestal fan’s power, we performed multiple airspeed tests on different settings and combined that with how well it translates into what you can feel across a room. We measured airflow, placing each fan across a large room and standing on the other side to gauge how easily we could feel each setting, both directly in front of and off to the sides of every fan. And we considered how many settings, modes, features, and timer options each model has, alongside the use of those settings. Though the Lasko Cyclone does have a timer, it only goes up to 4 hours, which may not be enough for some folks. It has a push-pull tab on the motor to control oscillation, rather than including that on the remote like many others.
Being able to tilt or oscillate a fan also makes a big difference in where it can live in your home, so we considered these abilities as well. To score each model’s overall noisiness, we started off by taking decibel readings of each fan at all of their various speeds. We then qualified each fan’s sound, including relative pitch, quality of noise, and respective annoyance levels. We noted if they had extra noises, like clicking, beeping, whirring, or vibrations. And because gunk getting stuck in your fan can affect its noisiness, we also inspected how easy they are to clean.
The rest of the fans have at least one screw holding the grill onto the head of the fan. The Vornado 683 has several screws but also includes directions on how to remove both the grill and the blade for more thorough cleaning. This review is spearheaded by Senior Review Editor, Maggie Nichols, who lives and recreates in the hot high deserts Lasko Box Fan of northern Nevada. Maggie grew up enduring the oppressive heat/humidity combination of the Midwest, spending sticky afternoons keeping cool in front of fans. She’s spent a huge chunk of her life battling heat and humidity from teaching in the jungles of South America and plains of Africa to living on a remote Caribbean island.