Post by Noah C on Jun 11, 2017 15:40:44 GMT -5
Alrighty, here is the Product Review of the Minka Aire Supra (52"). I will be doing this on a 40-point scale of equal parts; those parts being: Design (10pts), Build Quality (10pts), Motor (10pts) and Performance (10pts). Now that that's out of the way, here we go!
-Design (8/10): This fan is a basic, traditional design with contemporary flair. And while it's nothing super special or unique, I still quite like the design. The swept venting among other things here that are different from fans with the most basic styling do add interest. As far as how this fan is put together (as in design errors), I've not come across any. The fan's basic composition as far as the design goes is the same as something that is also basic and traditional in design, so no complaints there. Even though this fan does look nice, there's obviously not much different from many others. But still, nice job Minka.
-Build Quality (9/10): This fan is definitely well built, and a lot better built than most anything I can buy for under $200. The motor housing is stamped and not cast (yes, I did open it up before I installed it), but that's no issue since this fan is using a high quality heavy-gauge stamped steel. And steel is superior in durability to zinc, so even though this is stamped, the quality here is still high. The blade brackets are cast very well, and said castings are thick, which is great to see for such a low price. This means less likelihood of warpage from the bracket, and a testament to the quality of product here. The blades are plywood/wood veneer, 6-ply to be exact. The blades are also quite thick as well, and are very nice quality. Overall, I have to say, impressive stuff Minka! This type of build quality for the price of fans using sheet metal and MDF is impressive.
-Motor (8/10): The Supra lineup (most notably the two smaller variants) has large motors for the blade spans. The 32" variant has a 153×16mm, and both the 44" and the 52" variants have the same motor size: 188×15mm. This does indeed take attention away from the 52" model, though, because 188×15mm is huge for a spinner motor 44" fan. This motor size (188×15mm) clocks in at 2,820mm² in overall size, so this is a decent size motor, but not huge. I have no complaints here, since 188×15mm is still bigger than the 153×15mm motors we usually see at this price point, but if I had to say anything, it would be cool to see something a bit bigger in this thing; maybe a 172×20mm motor would suit this better (that clocks in at 3,440mm² in overall size). If I were purely choosing motor sizes for the Supra range, I would: A. Leave the 32" motor as is, B. Use Minka's IMPRESSIVE 172×16mm motor (2,754mm²) for the 44" Supra, C. Use their 172×20mm motor (3,440mm²) for the 52" Supra. But that's just me, again no complaints here.
-Performance (8.5/10): I'm gonna walk you through what I found when I ran this on all three speeds. Remember, the motor is a 188×15mm, and the blade pitch is 14°.
Low (about 55 RPM). Right off the bat, kudos to Minka here. I almost never see newer fans nowadays with nice low speeds like this, where the fan isn't dramatically slow and entirely ineffective, but it isn't so fast it's like a medium. This is an actual low speed that's just right. What's cool is that even though this thing doesn't fly on low, I can feel a little something coming off of the fan.
Medium (about 115-120 RPM). Again, not fast. It's not lethargic, like the medium speed of Emerson's newer K55 stuff, but it's not like a normal fan's high speed, like a pre-2002 3-speed original. Also of note: medium does already move a good amount of air. Again, less than a normal fan's high, but still a good amount of air for the speed. (Note: this fan has good pitch and wide blades; this alone is probably helping the fan out a lot.)
High (about 180-185 RPM). This speed is very average as far as RPM goes; not lethargic, but this fan doesn't fly (210+ RPM). However, this fan is definitely powerful and does move a lot of air. Right under the fan, the breeze I felt was either just as much or ever-so-slightly less than a K55-type fan. I did do a "Spiffy-style" airflow test on the fan from about 13-14' back, and I did feel a breeze from the fan at that distance, but not a strong one. So, on the "Spiffy-O-Meter" of categories (trash enough to not be noted, "Spinner Motor Hunter/Homestead" where you feel air moving but not a breeze, "K55-type/quality spinner motor/some Originals" where you feel a breeze from the fan, and "Good Original units/Goldline" where you get full on gusts from the fan), I'd put this fan at the weaker end of the "K55-type" category. So, this fan does indeed have good, solid performance especially for the price I paid. CFM? I'd say somewhere in the lower 6,000s.
Conclusion: Overall this fan gets a score of 33.5/40, which is definitely a good score. But scores aside, this is one of the best, if not the best values for money for anything under $200, and quite possibly under $250. The fan is constructed well above its price point and performs about as well as anything I could buy with a K55-type motor in it. Anybody who wants something that's new, affordable, and better overall than anything else for the same price, pick up one of these.
-Design (8/10): This fan is a basic, traditional design with contemporary flair. And while it's nothing super special or unique, I still quite like the design. The swept venting among other things here that are different from fans with the most basic styling do add interest. As far as how this fan is put together (as in design errors), I've not come across any. The fan's basic composition as far as the design goes is the same as something that is also basic and traditional in design, so no complaints there. Even though this fan does look nice, there's obviously not much different from many others. But still, nice job Minka.
-Build Quality (9/10): This fan is definitely well built, and a lot better built than most anything I can buy for under $200. The motor housing is stamped and not cast (yes, I did open it up before I installed it), but that's no issue since this fan is using a high quality heavy-gauge stamped steel. And steel is superior in durability to zinc, so even though this is stamped, the quality here is still high. The blade brackets are cast very well, and said castings are thick, which is great to see for such a low price. This means less likelihood of warpage from the bracket, and a testament to the quality of product here. The blades are plywood/wood veneer, 6-ply to be exact. The blades are also quite thick as well, and are very nice quality. Overall, I have to say, impressive stuff Minka! This type of build quality for the price of fans using sheet metal and MDF is impressive.
-Motor (8/10): The Supra lineup (most notably the two smaller variants) has large motors for the blade spans. The 32" variant has a 153×16mm, and both the 44" and the 52" variants have the same motor size: 188×15mm. This does indeed take attention away from the 52" model, though, because 188×15mm is huge for a spinner motor 44" fan. This motor size (188×15mm) clocks in at 2,820mm² in overall size, so this is a decent size motor, but not huge. I have no complaints here, since 188×15mm is still bigger than the 153×15mm motors we usually see at this price point, but if I had to say anything, it would be cool to see something a bit bigger in this thing; maybe a 172×20mm motor would suit this better (that clocks in at 3,440mm² in overall size). If I were purely choosing motor sizes for the Supra range, I would: A. Leave the 32" motor as is, B. Use Minka's IMPRESSIVE 172×16mm motor (2,754mm²) for the 44" Supra, C. Use their 172×20mm motor (3,440mm²) for the 52" Supra. But that's just me, again no complaints here.
-Performance (8.5/10): I'm gonna walk you through what I found when I ran this on all three speeds. Remember, the motor is a 188×15mm, and the blade pitch is 14°.
Low (about 55 RPM). Right off the bat, kudos to Minka here. I almost never see newer fans nowadays with nice low speeds like this, where the fan isn't dramatically slow and entirely ineffective, but it isn't so fast it's like a medium. This is an actual low speed that's just right. What's cool is that even though this thing doesn't fly on low, I can feel a little something coming off of the fan.
Medium (about 115-120 RPM). Again, not fast. It's not lethargic, like the medium speed of Emerson's newer K55 stuff, but it's not like a normal fan's high speed, like a pre-2002 3-speed original. Also of note: medium does already move a good amount of air. Again, less than a normal fan's high, but still a good amount of air for the speed. (Note: this fan has good pitch and wide blades; this alone is probably helping the fan out a lot.)
High (about 180-185 RPM). This speed is very average as far as RPM goes; not lethargic, but this fan doesn't fly (210+ RPM). However, this fan is definitely powerful and does move a lot of air. Right under the fan, the breeze I felt was either just as much or ever-so-slightly less than a K55-type fan. I did do a "Spiffy-style" airflow test on the fan from about 13-14' back, and I did feel a breeze from the fan at that distance, but not a strong one. So, on the "Spiffy-O-Meter" of categories (trash enough to not be noted, "Spinner Motor Hunter/Homestead" where you feel air moving but not a breeze, "K55-type/quality spinner motor/some Originals" where you feel a breeze from the fan, and "Good Original units/Goldline" where you get full on gusts from the fan), I'd put this fan at the weaker end of the "K55-type" category. So, this fan does indeed have good, solid performance especially for the price I paid. CFM? I'd say somewhere in the lower 6,000s.
Conclusion: Overall this fan gets a score of 33.5/40, which is definitely a good score. But scores aside, this is one of the best, if not the best values for money for anything under $200, and quite possibly under $250. The fan is constructed well above its price point and performs about as well as anything I could buy with a K55-type motor in it. Anybody who wants something that's new, affordable, and better overall than anything else for the same price, pick up one of these.