Vornado FA1-0007-06 Zippi Desk Fan, Black
by Vornado
|
List Price: Our Price: $17.99 You Save: $12.00 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Category: Home See more product details |
|---|
Tools and Hardware Reviews of Vornado FA1-0007-06 Zippi Desk Fan, Black
Customer Review: Works for odd jobs...
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this fan for a rather odd reason.
I have an HDTV set top box with a DVR. This particular model puts off a lot of heat for whatever reason. Since it is not mine, but the cable company's, this doesn't bother me. However, they do NOT suggest putting it INSIDE an entertainment center. This just did not work with me, as I have just bought a new house, and entertainment center to go with it since my wife doesn't like my electronics to "show." Needless to say I did not heed their warning, and over time I just forgot about it. I notice the machine getting hot, and every now and then I would get "sparkles" on my screen. I passed it off as "bad" reception for HD channels for a time until it got worse. Then I started to think it was my inferior cables. I replaced my cables only to find little to no improvement.
Then I started read more about HDMI and thought about the HD tuner itself.
It had been getting hot, really hot, but I had a lot of room above it for the hot air to escape (about 6 inches open at the back). But evidently that was not enough. Even the wood above the HD tuner was hot to the touch. So, I increased the height above the HD tuner to about 14 inches and I bought this fan. Inside this space (about 14h x 20w x 24d) this little fan cools it down dramatically. The massive amount of heat generated by my HD tuner dissappates completely and the ambient temperature of the space now feels cooler than the room it is in. Even the surface of the HD tuner feels cool to the touch.
I exchanged the tuner and have had no problems ever since.
As far as I am concerned, this is a great demonstration for an itty bitty fan. A fan with the name Zippi certainly doesn't sound designed or marketed to do big jobs. The ad is a bit misleading, and I am sympathetic with those who were taken by the way the ad was written or put their stake in the Vornado name as building massively powerful fans. This fan is far too small to cool a room, but it is quiet and can cool a small space with great efficiency. The lack of a "cage" makes the soft blade approach necessary to keep you from needing band-aid when you approach the spinning "blades" with ungarded fingers. It is so quiet I cannot even hear it whirring away inside my entertainment center, which is quieter than my computer by a mile.
I think this is a great fan for special tiny applications and the looks are great. The all black model is quite invisible setting on top of my HD tuner behind the glass of the entertainement center door. My wife was surprised when the blades "bit" her hand when she stuck her hand to feel how cool it was in there. She actually didn't see it! But, if invisibility is not your desire, the other colors look quite cool to me. Overall a great product.
Customer Review: Excellent personal fan. Couldn't be better.
Summary: 5 Stars
Contrary to the negative reviews here, I couldn't be more pleased with this fan and will highly recommend it others. The first person that saw it now wants one too!
This is a "personal fan" for those that want some pleasing and gentle air movement to keep them cool; it's not a Vornado air exchanger. I have a Vornado fan and it is not something I want blowing on me all the time, nor is it something you can ignore. Those seeking to cool their attics look elsewhere.
If you look at the pictures you'll see that it's small, it has cloth blades, and it doesn't take much thought to know you won't be clearing a room with it. Have you ever found yourself fanning yourself with a magazine or newspaper? If so, you know that it feels pretty good and that's what this fan does, it provides a gentle and pleasant breeze on the low setting and a much stronger breeze on the high setting. Again, it's a "personal fan" designed to provide air movement for individuals, not rooms, groups, or crowds, and it does it extremely well.
The benefits to this fan are:
1) It's almost completely silent. Read in bed, carry on a conversation, or work peacefully at your desk all without being disturbed by fan noise. it has two speeds and the low speed is almost imperceptible. I mistakenly left it on last night because I couldn't hear it.
2) Cloth blades mean you can touch it, or your kids or pets can, without harm.
3) It's very small and folds up even smaller. you can travel with this if you want because it will fit in your suitcase. Try that with a larger Vornado.
4) They look great! I got the black one, but now I want one in all colors just for fun. It's a very stylish and fun little fan.
The negatives to this fan are:
NONE. It's a wonderful fan. Great job Vornado!!!!
Again, I couldn't be more pleased and it was exactly what I hope it would be. Thanks to Amazon for making this available at a great price!!!!!
Customer Review: Niche Fan
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had my Zippi for several weeks and it's working out well for me.
Pros: It is surprisingly heavy and has a non-skid stand so I don't have to worry about it falling off whatever surface I put it on. It is a little larger than I expected but I like the fact it's not battery-powered like other personal fans. And it generates more air than those little fans if placed the same distance away. When I'm at my desk, I dislike dead air and need a fan. But I don't want to have to put weights on top of all my receipts to keep them from blowing off my desk and the Zippi gives just enough air circulation, but no more. And it's as quiet as I had hoped. Though not silent, I tend to forget it's on.
Cons: The fan seems powerful, but it doesn't translate into as much air as I would expect from the size of the motor. I think they could have come up with fan blades which would have been more effective at pushing air than the stitched nylon strips they used. They're like tiny little narrow black pillow cases and are slightly puffy now that they've been used. I wonder if Vornado had used a blade that was more curved and single-ply, it might send off more air. But then it might injure a finger, too. Still, there are times when I wish I could crank up the air as an option, even if normally I'd use it just where it's set now.
I personally would make sure I was able to put it at least 15 inches away from me. I have mine 3 feet away. I'm not sure if electric motors are unhealthy, but why not err on the side of caution?
Bottom line: I'd buy it again. It fits right between a traditional fan and those little, useless personal fans. It handles the task. Just. If you compare it to a regular Vornado fan, it will fall short. If you compare it to those little battery operated personal fans, you'll be pleased.
Customer Review: More than adequate for the job.
Summary: 5 Stars
I really like this fan for it's intended purpose. I work on the third floor of an office building. Because heat rises, it gets pretty hot at work sometimes, despite the efforts to keep the air temperature at a comfortable level. Sometimes this is not possible. Hence the reason I looked into a desk fan.
I'd previously purchased a Holmes brand desk fan, and despite the fact that the description said it was whisper quiet, it was not, in fact, whisper quiet. It moved a lot of air, too much air for a desk fan (it blew the papers off my desk, and that was on low speed). It will be a great fan for my kitchen in the summer months, but it wasn't what I wanted for a desk fan at work.
We have a large, free-standing Vornado fan that we use during the summer months and because it's a great fan, I trusted the Vornado brand. When I saw the Zippi fan, I was excited but skeptical, hoping that it was indeed whisper quiet. Well, it is, I'm happy to say. For what I'm using it for, my desk at work, it's absolutely perfect. I read some of the other reviews on this fan, and there were unsatisfied customers but I'm glad I took a chance on buying it anyway. I've had lots of people at work ask me where I got it because they, too, liked it. You'll have more people whom I work with buying this fan, hopefully. I think I got more than my money's worth with it. And as always, it arrived in a timely fashion.
Thank you Amazon for the ever-reliable, good customer service.
Customer Review: The desk fan to beat all desk fans
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't write many reviews (I know I should) so it takes something pretty special to make me take the time to do it. This fan is pretty special. I use the user reviews to decide on almost every online purchase I make. I took a chance on this one since it had several poor reviews, mostly based around amount of air it puts out.
I have to say, they must have been using it for some other purpose than a desk fan. I am in IT and have at any given moment 3 computers running on my desk in my cube creating a stifling amount of heat. I have had a cheap mini-fan on my desk in some form or another for years. After my last one died (probably my 5th) I decided to see if there were higher-quality desk fans out there that were sturdier and less noisy.
I found the Zippi and it delivered. I love this fan. Every morning when I turn it on I think, "Man this is a great fan". Since it showed up on my desk four other geeks in my cube-farm have also gotten one and they are equally as pleased. I never would have imagined being such a huge fan of a... fan; but this thing is absolutely ideal for anyone looking for a high quality, quiet desk fan that puts out plenty of air to move it all around the cube.
I usually have it pointed right at me on low (high is too breezy).
If you are looking for a desk fan, look no further and order it!