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Post by Cole D on Apr 27, 2019 14:12:34 GMT -5
Was wondering what are/were the best outdoor ceiling fans?
I'm going to say the Hunter Original as far as new fans. It has rust resistant hardware and PVC coated blades. I don't know how well the motor does as far as getting bugs in it though.
I don't believe there are any K55 motored outdoor fans made right now? I'm assuming there are some with larger spinner motors though.
As far as older ones my neighbor had Fasco Rainsafes with blue cloth blades (I think these used a motor similar to the American Spirit?) and I really liked these. Unfortunately they both got thrown out years ago and I couldn't have them (was a kid). If I was older I would have gotten so many good fans in my neighborhood. Oh well.
Here in Florida though, having fans outside can be a bit of a hassle, because I would think whenever hurricanes or tropical storms come you definitely want to remove the blades. I notice in commercial situations, a lot of places that had outdoor fans have had them removed.
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Post by Parkman on Apr 27, 2019 21:19:16 GMT -5
Are we talking Damp Rated or Wet Rated?
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Post by Cole D on Apr 27, 2019 22:05:03 GMT -5
Damp location.
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Post by Parkman on Apr 28, 2019 8:56:03 GMT -5
Now thats a good question at least in that case you still can include fans like the Original and Panama Damp as well as have a lot more choices. I can say the Panama Damp's are excellent if you can find one NOS. A relative has a new Damp Rated Panama with ABS blades that thing HAULS and moves some air. Most plastic blade fans all I can say is read the reviews. Home Depot had a lot of choices I considered and they got horrible reviews of air movement.
I had the problem of I have a wet rated fan off my deck... I had a 42" Calera that moved no air, tried a Hunter Mariner same thing. I ended up with (to which I was truly surprised) a 52" Hampton Bay Gazebo. This thing actually moves air and my wife liked it. Air Cool made and a 172x12 motor.
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Post by Cole D on Apr 28, 2019 9:42:28 GMT -5
The Gazebos aren't bad, very common here.
On my street there is a house with Gazebos on back porch and one in garage. Another house has a Mariner out under the boat house/sitting area on the dock. It's around 2004 when the quality was better, but it's showing its age (yellowed parts and possibly missing a blade.) I think there may also be some on the back porch at that house. The house with the Rainsafes, had them on a screen porch that had open screens for a roof, so they were wet rated. Later they got replaced with white fans with plastic blades which I think was pointless because they looked so cheap compared to the Fascos. They rusted and blades broke off. Then they built a new porch with a roof with four Harbor Breeze Caleras around 06. I think they looked better than the white fans whatever they were.
The new house next to me I'm not sure it has a five bladed fan with fake wicker blades. The other house had a Grayton on the back porch my neighbor reused. I'm sure you can guess the blades drooped after 5 years. lol
Didn't Hunter used to have a true wet location Original (blue cloth blades and a glass motor cover)?
I would just have trouble putting any expensive or vintage fan outside because they always get yellowed or corroded parts, rust, etc because of the moisture and sunlight. Plus rusted pull chains, etc.
Another good fan for outdoors would probably be an industrial. All metal so no warping plus much easier to clean.
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Post by Parkman on Apr 29, 2019 10:32:48 GMT -5
The original Gazebo's I still see all the time. Up until our local Home Depot's stopped keeping the Mariner in-stock the Gazebo's popularity took over. It drives me insane when people use indoor fans outside. Their is a restaurant like 40 minutes from here that is meticulous minus they put Farmington's on there porch. They did, the only member I remember having one was Troy but I don't think he's posted in years. I agree with not putting expensive fans outside. A relative of mine redid her porch a few years ago and decided to add fans to it.. She wanted to get 2 Old Stock Casablanca Lanai's? I think thats what they were called the outdoor version of the Capistrano.. Anyway I told her not to do it because they were gonna be around $600. I said just buy two 42" Gazebo's instead because they're gonna get messed up being where she lives with a river next to her house thats full of salt water. Need and behold four years later her two Gazebo's are rusting and shes only out $69 each instead so she can replace them whenever she wants too. She put the money she saved into her house instead
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Post by becausecanadia on Apr 29, 2019 12:35:33 GMT -5
Agrifan
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Post by Cole D on Apr 29, 2019 17:23:44 GMT -5
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Post by Cole D on Apr 29, 2019 17:28:19 GMT -5
The original Gazebo's I still see all the time. Up until our local Home Depot's stopped keeping the Mariner in-stock the Gazebo's popularity took over. It drives me insane when people use indoor fans outside. Their is a restaurant like 40 minutes from here that is meticulous minus they put Farmington's on there porch. They did, the only member I remember having one was Troy but I don't think he's posted in years. I agree with not putting expensive fans outside. A relative of mine redid her porch a few years ago and decided to add fans to it.. She wanted to get 2 Old Stock Casablanca Lanai's? I think thats what they were called the outdoor version of the Capistrano.. Anyway I told her not to do it because they were gonna be around $600. I said just buy two 42" Gazebo's instead because they're gonna get messed up being where she lives with a river next to her house thats full of salt water. Need and behold four years later her two Gazebo's are rusting and shes only out $69 each instead so she can replace them whenever she wants too. She put the money she saved into her house instead I bet an Original would hold up very well, especially with the PVC overlay and corrosion resistant hardware. I used to see on on a porch as a child, an old brown 4 blader and it seemed to hold up fine. For some reason it got replaced with a Sea Air. The only real issue to those to me is with the bugs getting in the oil. But I bet you could make a screen to go over the top vents that might help some. Yeah it always bothered me seeing indoor fans outside. Some do hold up pretty well though considering. On a salty area I wouldn't bother. I used to see industrial outside at the beach get really rusty! My aunt's house in the FL Keys has an older Hampton Bay Gazebo with spotlight kit and it has held up pretty well though considering it's about 100 feet from the ocean.
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Post by Parkman on Apr 29, 2019 19:07:42 GMT -5
I agree! Sea Air's seem to hold up well however all the white ones I've ever seen either yellowed or rusted.
Warped blades is my biggest pet peeve especially in well decorated/high end wood designed areas.
Thats pretty good!
Its funny you brought this thread up. I'm now in need of a damp rated fan but don't want to spend alot. If I owned a house I'd consider an Original but this is for my storage shed. The CEC Georgian I had in there quit working on reverse and is noisy and starting to make a scraping noise. So I'm replacing it. I had a Palm Air flushmount that I was going to put up in its place but as I turned into the room I snapped a blade arm off of it.
So now I'm debating maybe a 42" Gazebo or putting my 52" one in there and getting something new for my porch which would have to be wet rated. Possibly an Emerson Sea Breeze.
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Post by Cole S. on Apr 29, 2019 19:36:17 GMT -5
From a midrange perspective and disregarding time and changes, the Gazebo and Sea Air have always been my picks. They're what I'd put outside because I don't want to spend crazy money to put something outside, but they function well enough to be worth it.
At a new perspective regardless of price, I think the Original maintains what it always has when compared to outdoor iterations over the years.
Continuing, though this gets into some wet-rated territory, but as far as I'm concerned the damp rated category is dying off as more manufacturers strive for wet ratings:
Anything from the Kichler Climates Collection is some of the best outdoor product currently on the market as far as withstanding the elements. Kichler is a leader in landscape lighting, they know how to build an outdoor product.
The Donaire from Matthews/Atlas uses 316 marine grade stainless steel for its construction and is regarded as one of the best outdoor fans to ever exist.
Modern Forms, hands down. Everything is wet-rated, you get way more style than you could ever get with outdoor fans a decade ago. Extremely good air movement specs, many that match the Original for half the cost.
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Post by Noah C on Apr 29, 2019 20:26:27 GMT -5
From a midrange perspective and disregarding time and changes, the Gazebo and Sea Air have always been my picks. They're what I'd put outside because I don't want to spend crazy money to put something outside, but they function well enough to be worth it. At a new perspective regardless of price, I think the Original maintains what it always has when compared to outdoor iterations over the years. Continuing, though this gets into some wet-rated territory, but as far as I'm concerned the damp rated category is dying off as more manufacturers strive for wet ratings: Anything from the Kichler Climates Collection is some of the best outdoor product currently on the market as far as withstanding the elements. Kichler is a leader in landscape lighting, they know how to build an outdoor product. The Donaire from Matthews/Atlas uses 316 marine grade stainless steel for its construction and is regarded as one of the best outdoor fans to ever exist. Modern Forms, hands down. Everything is wet-rated, you get way more style than you could ever get with outdoor fans a decade ago. Extremely good air movement specs, many that match the Original for half the cost. Agreed; LOVE the new releases such as the recently reviewed Surrey Climates from Kichler. For wet rated fans, I'd say they're the best overall that the market has to offer at this point, for higher end residential stuff. While I'd be inclined to put something lower end or mid-range on a patio or gazebo (or any outdoor space that lacks coverage), I'd have to find a design that lacks blade arms as those tend to break easily on outdoor products. As far as damp rated fans go, my top picks would have to be the Hunter Original and the Star Propeller I just reviewed. The Hunter Original is just excellent in all regards (except when you don't have a place to hang one! lol); I like their usage of the PVC overlay over the blades which allows them to be lightly water resistant and still be wooden, and I like the fact that the current Original performs almost to the level of the 2.0 Amp '90s US made Originals. It's expensive but solid all round. Then comes the Star Propeller, which surprised me in many respects; it is built to a high standard of quality and doesn't cheap out on any of its components, plus none of its components will rust. The blades use an impregnation process to give the wood light water resistance, unlike the Original's overlay. I've said this before and I'll say it again: the performance of the Propeller is top-notch, I'd say about what a Blenderfan does. Modern Forms fans seem to be some of the best products all-round infiltrating the market and making strides in the WiFi Smart Fan arena. The whole lineup being DC allows Modern Forms to release fans with striking designs and proportions that require small motor units that put out TONS of torque for their size, and they definitely deliver. I would purchase one if I could find one for cheaper than $300, but that's unlikely, since Modern Forms fans are using newer, FAR more reliable sensorless DC motors; the refurbs for these are likely to be little to nonexistent.
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Post by Cole D on Apr 29, 2019 21:27:21 GMT -5
From a midrange perspective and disregarding time and changes, the Gazebo and Sea Air have always been my picks. They're what I'd put outside because I don't want to spend crazy money to put something outside, but they function well enough to be worth it. At a new perspective regardless of price, I think the Original maintains what it always has when compared to outdoor iterations over the years. Continuing, though this gets into some wet-rated territory, but as far as I'm concerned the damp rated category is dying off as more manufacturers strive for wet ratings: Anything from the Kichler Climates Collection is some of the best outdoor product currently on the market as far as withstanding the elements. Kichler is a leader in landscape lighting, they know how to build an outdoor product. The Donaire from Matthews/Atlas uses 316 marine grade stainless steel for its construction and is regarded as one of the best outdoor fans to ever exist. Modern Forms, hands down. Everything is wet-rated, you get way more style than you could ever get with outdoor fans a decade ago. Extremely good air movement specs, many that match the Original for half the cost. Agreed; LOVE the new releases such as the recently reviewed Surrey Climates from Kichler. For wet rated fans, I'd say they're the best overall that the market has to offer at this point, for higher end stuff. While I'd be inclined to put something lower end or mid-range on a patio or gazebo (or any outdoor space that lacks coverage), I'd have to find a design that lacks blade arms as those tend to break easily on outdoor products. As far as damp rated fans go, my top picks would have to be the Hunter Original and the Star Propeller I just reviewed. The Hunter Original is just excellent in all regards (except when you don't have a place to hang one! lol); I like their usage of the PVC overlay over the blades which allows them to be lightly water resistant and still be wooden, and I like the fact that the current Original performs almost to the level of the 2.0 Amp '90s US made Originals. It's expensive but solid all round. Then comes the Star Propeller, which surprised me in many respects; it is built to a high standard of quality and doesn't cheap out on any of its components, plus none of its components will rust. The blades use an impregnation process to give the wood light water resistance, unlike the Original's overlay. I've said this before and I'll say it again: the performance of the Propeller is top-notch, I'd say about what a Blenderfan does. Modern Forms fans seem to be some of the best products all-round infiltrating the market and making strides in the WiFi Smart Fan arena. The whole lineup being DC allows Modern Forms to release fans with striking designs and proportions that require small motor units that put out TONS of torque for their size, and they definitely deliver. I would purchase one if I could find one for cheaper than $300, but that's unlikely, since Modern Forms fans are using newer, FAR more reliable sensorless DC motors; the refurbs for these are likely to be little to nonexistent. I forgot all about the Star Propeller when I was thinking about this until you mentioned it. Which was totally forgetful, because I was thinking it'd be a great porch fan when you had posted on it a few weeks ago. I took a look at the Kichler Climates fans now that Cole mentioned them. There are some nice looking ones in that collection.
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Post by Noah C on Apr 30, 2019 0:07:08 GMT -5
Agreed; LOVE the new releases such as the recently reviewed Surrey Climates from Kichler. For wet rated fans, I'd say they're the best overall that the market has to offer at this point, for higher end residential stuff. While I'd be inclined to put something lower end or mid-range on a patio or gazebo (or any outdoor space that lacks coverage), I'd have to find a design that lacks blade arms as those tend to break easily on outdoor products. As far as damp rated fans go, my top picks would have to be the Hunter Original and the Star Propeller I just reviewed. The Hunter Original is just excellent in all regards (except when you don't have a place to hang one! lol); I like their usage of the PVC overlay over the blades which allows them to be lightly water resistant and still be wooden, and I like the fact that the current Original performs almost to the level of the 2.0 Amp '90s US made Originals. It's expensive but solid all round. Then comes the Star Propeller, which surprised me in many respects; it is built to a high standard of quality and doesn't cheap out on any of its components, plus none of its components will rust. The blades use an impregnation process to give the wood light water resistance, unlike the Original's overlay. I've said this before and I'll say it again: the performance of the Propeller is top-notch, I'd say about what a Blenderfan does. Modern Forms fans seem to be some of the best products all-round infiltrating the market and making strides in the WiFi Smart Fan arena. The whole lineup being DC allows Modern Forms to release fans with striking designs and proportions that require small motor units that put out TONS of torque for their size, and they definitely deliver. I would purchase one if I could find one for cheaper than $300, but that's unlikely, since Modern Forms fans are using newer, FAR more reliable sensorless DC motors; the refurbs for these are likely to be little to nonexistent. I forgot all about the Star Propeller when I was thinking about this until you mentioned it. Which was totally forgetful, because I was thinking it'd be a great porch fan when you had posted on it a few weeks ago. I took a look at the Kichler Climates fans now that Cole mentioned them. There are some nice looking ones in that collection. Canadia mentioned this, but the best overall outdoor fan from both the residential and commercial/industrial ends is the Agrifan, hands down. Durable, preforms far better than anything else I've mentioned, holds up to the elements. For residential stuff, then the Kichler Climates series takes the cake. The Star Propeller fan would make a great fan for anywhere other than an uncovered patio, from both design and performance perspectives. I'd probably pick it over most fans in the Climates collection if I were able to buy a Propeller for under $200, and if I were buying the fan for a Damp or indoor space. It seems as though more deals on those through Amazon come biannually, in the summer and the winter seasons; right now the sales for those are slower than they will be in July, in which month you can see them drop down into the $100 range. Star Fans doesn't have a large portfolio of fan models yet, and they're new on the US scene, so they're easy to forget unless you've experienced one or are seriously considering buying one. But when you own one, they definitely leave their mark just as any solid fan would.
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Post by Parkman on Apr 30, 2019 12:41:50 GMT -5
I'm glad Cole that you started this thread.. I'm officially in the market now for an outdoor fan.
I was doing yard work today and went and turned on my Gazebo and noticed it wasn't moving as fast.. I got a piece of tape to do an RPM test.. On Low the manual says 63 RPM, its moving 28. On High the Manual says 157 it was moving right under 100. I'm not getting into repairing it since its already rusting in places.
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