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Post by Cole D on Jun 8, 2019 13:02:13 GMT -5
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Post by Jordan U on Jun 10, 2019 15:02:48 GMT -5
That's a pretty close replica.. Eskie has done some videos of these recently, they don't seem to perform very well..
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Post by Cole D on Jun 10, 2019 16:14:50 GMT -5
That's a pretty close replica.. Eskie has done some videos of these recently, they don't seem to perform very well.. That doesn't surprise me. LOL A foam bladed fan in my experience typically isn't a great air mover - not the kind of air movement a typical 8-12" desk fan is going to make anyway. I remember Holmes used to make a foam bladed retro fan too. I guess though with an open cage fan there isn't a lot you can do to make it compliant with OSHA other than foam. Unless they could use whatever plastic material Caframo uses on their guardless fans. On eBay someone is selling several of these, it interested me enough to make a low offer and they accepted... I wouldn't ever pay anywhere close to the $39.99 Target was selling it for, but I think these will probably be collectible in the future for what they are. And I doubt they sold a whole lot at that price. |
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Post by Cole D on Jun 22, 2019 12:06:37 GMT -5
I got the fan this week and just made a video of it today:
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Post by fancollector12 on Jun 26, 2019 3:26:33 GMT -5
They sold them at Target this time last year as a one-year-only item, and is part of the Chip and Joanna Gaines Magnolia Home Collection at Target. The fan itself is made by Vornado, (according to the little leaflet that's attached to it that includes the instructions), and for what it is, it's decent. I got mine last year.  |
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Post by Cole D on Jun 26, 2019 17:42:21 GMT -5
They sold them at Target this time last year as a one-year-only item, and is part of the Chip and Joanna Gaines Magnolia Home Collection at Target. The fan itself is made by Vornado, (according to the little leaflet that's attached to it that includes the instructions), and for what it is, it's decent. I got mine last year. Yeah mine had the instructions stuck under the base, and on the label underneath it says Vornado LLC. |
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Post by Jordan U on Jul 2, 2019 10:36:32 GMT -5
Very surprised to hear Vornado is getting into the business of selling things under different names..
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Post by Cole D on Jul 3, 2019 21:56:50 GMT -5
Yeah, I don't remember them relabeling anything in recent years. It doesn't surprise me that they went to them to manufacture it, given Vornado makes some of the best retro fans out there these days, IMO. I think they should produce their own version of this, perhaps with a more effective, but still finger safe blade material if there is possible. The Silver Swans are nice, but don't really do much for me given their high prices. The Alchemy version especially looks nice though.
It is interesting how closely they copied the Bersted fans on this though, it's a sharp looking fan, and one of more accurate reproductions I've seen.
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Post by Jordan U on Jul 10, 2019 13:29:48 GMT -5
I'm loosing faith in Vornado's quality, some of the motors they've been using lately are rather unreliable.. I've heard a lot of situations where the bearings lock up within a season or two.. Fortunately Vornado does not seem to be straying from their commitment to backing their warranties and does seem to be replacing the fans with no hassle, but for such a high price the fans should not be doing that.. And they shouldn't be made in China either, but that's a different story..
I have one of the Vornado Silver Swans that I got at a tag sale a few years ago.. I think I paid 15 or 20 dollars.. It was one of those sales that was run by a company, and the guy at the register was quite rude.. He originally wanted some outlandish price for it, I think somewhere around 60 dollars telling me 'It's old!'.. It was absolutely filthy so I asked him if it ran, to which he replied by asking me if I run.. I really wanted to just leave and not buy anything because that was such a ridiculous thing to say to a customer, but I fought with him some more and ended up getting it for whatever I did..
I'm not at all impressed with the fan and feel ripped off even at 20 dollars! Inside it's just a regular old oscillating fan, with a smaller motor and plastic oscillation gearbox (which is stripped out in my unit).. Air flow is extremely poor, especially considering the noise level.. Blade isn't perfectly balanced either..
It's a nice looking fan, but that's about all I can give it.. By no means is the price justified by quality and performance..
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Post by Cole D on Jul 13, 2019 17:03:10 GMT -5
Hmm that's not good. The thing I don't care for with the Silver Swans is the motor housing just looks so obvious it's a cheaper motor inside and the bottom of the base looks cheap. A fan that expensive shouldn't be plastic on the bottom, it should have felt. The blades and cage do look really good though.
I have a VFan Jr and also a Mini Modern, and both seem to have typical two pole motors. They have the 5 year warranty on it, but I haven't really used them enough to say whether the motors are good or bad...
The older plastic Vornados in the 90s often used Fasco motors which were very good, and could be oiled. Those had a really good warranty on them. I remember reading on the AFCA where someone bought one at a yard sale, I believe a 1989 variable speed model. But the switch was bad so they called Vornado to see if they would have the part. But Vornado checked the serial number and said it was still under warranty even though they didn't buy it new. So they repaired and cleaned it for free, plus sent a lifetime discount coupon. Really outstanding service!
I do wish fan companies would go back to using larger tried and true made motors like the Fasco, Emerson, McMillan, etc but I think it would just cost too much unfortunately.
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Post by Jordan U on Jul 25, 2019 13:37:40 GMT -5
I remember that story, quite impressive service indeed.. In my opinion the 90s may have been the prime for Vornado, sure their stuff was no longer metal and completely made in USA, but they used quality motors, their prices were reasonable for the product and they made a decent number of sales because the customers were happy.. They're working off that reputation even though their quality is going down, hopefully their continued commitment to service will keep them around..
It sure would cost a lot to have a quality motor like Fasco used, but I really do think there would be a market for it still.. The expensive Air King high velocity fans are getting a lot of bites, and unfortunately if you look through the reviews there are consistent reports of disappointments about the blades being out of balance.. If you're willing to put ~110 dollars into the purchase of a fan, I can't imagine another 30 or so dollars is going to make that much of a deterrence, especially if there was a nice warranty on it and the product is perfect..
But that's just my opinion, probably not what we're going to see on the market.. The main problem is as long as these cheap 16 dollar fans keep selling, that's what companies are going to keep making.. The market demand needs to change and customers need to speak up in order to make a change, and there's not enough doing so yet..
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Post by Cole D on Jul 25, 2019 20:38:13 GMT -5
I still think Vornado is still pretty good though. The V-Fan series IMO are some of the best fans on the market right now. The finish and quality control is excellent, and they do move good air. You can tell by the packing and instructions that it's a quality series of fan. I've never used the larger V-Fan, V-Fan Sr or Pedestal versions so can't say but I imagine they are very quiet. Rob Duffy has one of the pedestal ones and runs it very often and it's never had any problems.
I think the market for high end motors is really going toward DC motors... I don't foresee the Fasco, McMillan, GE, etc motors with oil ports being used again for fans. It would probably cost a fortune to use them. I'm assuming they got volume discounts on them, but I remember looking up the cost for a McMillan like Lakewood used and it was probably around $80 if I recall.
The current box fan market could really be improved. There's just not really anything out there than can perform well anymore. The motors are cheap and just too weak to perform with the older, wide and deep pitch blades that run quieter and move better air.
Most likely nobody will complain if something doesn't last as long as it is cheap. They won't really realize how much better a vintage fan is, unless they already had one. Like anything else on the market, the newer idea is to make things seem green and energy efficient, even if they aren't green as in not lasting like older stuff.
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Post by jrdavis on May 27, 2023 7:57:31 GMT -5
That's a pretty close replica.. Eskie has done some videos of these recently, they don't seem to perform very well.. That doesn't surprise me. LOL A foam bladed fan in my experience typically isn't a great air mover - not the kind of air movement a typical 8-12" desk fan is going to make anyway. I remember Holmes used to make a foam bladed retro fan too. I guess though with an open cage fan there isn't a lot you can do to make it compliant with OSHA other than foam. Unless they could use whatever plastic material Caframo uses on their guardless fans. On eBay someone is selling several of these, it interested me enough to make a low offer and they accepted... I wouldn't ever pay anywhere close to the $39.99 Target was selling it for, but I think these will probably be collectible in the future for what they are. And I doubt they sold a whole lot at that price. |
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Post by jrdavis on May 27, 2023 8:02:25 GMT -5
I have one. doesn't move a lot of air so I keep it on my nightstand. moves plenty of air for that-and safe in case I move while I'm asleep I don't accidentally get my hand or blankets too close.
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