Quiet tower fan?

[Maverick2002]

I got fed up with the ~20" standing fan I had because even the lowest setting was pretty loud, so I decided to give tower fans a go.

I just got this one from a local store: http://www.amazon.com/Bionaire...&qid=1251666970&sr=1-7

3 settings, the lowest one gives sufficient airflow. The general noise is ok, but there's a NASTY high pitched whine that the motor gives off, so I'm 99% sure I'm going to return it. I'm trying to find a decent (can be large), quiet fan. I don't need a lot of airflow, just something ... but needs to be quiet. If this fan was a tad quieter and didn't have the high pitched whine it would be perfect.

My ceiling isn't wired for a fan and I don't want to spend that much money to get it wired, so I'm limited to standing fans. It needs to be a standing unit.

Any suggestions? Do they even exist? Sadly NO ONE presents noise ratings on their fans, which is just stupid. It's like buying a car not knowing what the engine is.

 

[theflyingpig]

Open your windows.

 

[Maverick2002]

When it's 74 in here and 84 outside? No thanks. The wind chilll and circulation from a slight breeze fan is enough to make it comfortable. I just don't want to set my thermostat any lower than it already is.

 

[shortylickens]

Vornado makes very good, powerful fans. I have a floorstanding one thats super nice. On the lowest setting you cant hear anything. I love it.

 

[Nik]

http://forums.anandtech.com/ca...tid=37&flcache=2417384

 

[l0cke]

Originally posted by: Nik
http://forums.anandtech.com/ca...tid=37&flcache=2417384

Fail

 

[thescreensavers]

I have this one

its been knocked over and used every night for 2 years and its still working strong. I have gone through 5 tower fans before this one and out of all of them this one is the quietest. I run it at full speed. It also has adjustable front blades so you can tilt the air up or down for better aim.

and its not expensive at all.

and if for some reason this one breaks, ill be buying the same one again.

 

[Maverick2002]

So what would you estimate the noise level to be at the quietest setting? I don't know if it's possible, but something in the ~25dba range would be great. Again I don't need a lot of airflow, just something quiet with a slight breeze. 3-4 degree windchill is really all I'm looking for.

 

[thescreensavers]

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
So what would you estimate the noise level to be at the quietest setting? I don't know if it's possible, but something in the ~25dba range would be great. Again I don't need a lot of airflow, just something quiet with a slight breeze. 3-4 degree windchill is really all I'm looking for.

High and low fan speeds are actually quite similar in sound level. Slower is a tad quieter.

I can record a video if you give me something to compare it too if you want lol.

 

[akshatp]

We got this one from Costco (before it came with the small one). Its great, quiet, and remote controlled

http://www.costco.com/Browse/P...t.aspx?Prodid=11292836

 

[Maverick2002]

Originally posted by: thescreensavers

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
So what would you estimate the noise level to be at the quietest setting? I don't know if it's possible, but something in the ~25dba range would be great. Again I don't need a lot of airflow, just something quiet with a slight breeze. 3-4 degree windchill is really all I'm looking for.

High and low fan speeds are actually quite similar in sound level. Slower is a tad quieter.

I can record a video if you give me something to compare it too if you want lol.

that would be awesome if you could my main gripe is there are no noise comparisons/ratings. Do you have a fan with a rated noise output? You could record its noise from 1' away, then record the Lasko noise from 1' away (at low setting) and get a general idea of the dba. Or you could just try it and tell me if it's louder/quieter and by how much. I just don't understand why there isn't a noise metric for personal fans.

 

[thescreensavers]

Originally posted by: Maverick2002

Originally posted by: thescreensavers

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
So what would you estimate the noise level to be at the quietest setting? I don't know if it's possible, but something in the ~25dba range would be great. Again I don't need a lot of airflow, just something quiet with a slight breeze. 3-4 degree windchill is really all I'm looking for.

High and low fan speeds are actually quite similar in sound level. Slower is a tad quieter.

I can record a video if you give me something to compare it too if you want lol.

that would be awesome if you could my main gripe is there are no noise comparisons/ratings. Do you have a fan with a rated noise output? You could record its noise from 1' away, then record the Lasko noise from 1' away (at low setting) and get a general idea of the dba. Or you could just try it and tell me if it's louder/quieter and by how much. I just don't understand why there isn't a noise metric for personal fans.

hmm, I dont know of any thing I have thats rated at 25dba

 

[Nik]

Originally posted by: l0cke

Originally posted by: Nik
http://forums.anandtech.com/ca...tid=37&flcache=2417384

Fail

It was a joke. :frown: Obviously.

 

[Maverick2002]

It's cool, I wasn't talking specifically about 25dba .. just something with a measured noise lvl to compare the Lasko to.

 

[thescreensavers]

I don't really have anything to compare to it except my old tower fan which is considerably louder.

 

[octopus41092]

I'm using a Seville Classic one. I think it's pretty quiet but your definition of quiet might differ.

 

[oogabooga]

I'm using a honeywell from target. It is not quiet. It's loud, louder, and even louder. The plus side though is it works pretty decently as a fan for moving air, but it's definitely no where near what i'd consider quiet so don't get that one

 

[Crono]

I have the Lasko one. It's not very quiet even on 1 (at 2 and 3, it's fairly loud), though there isn't any whine and it might be an acceptable amount of noise for you. I think you'd be better off with a slow box fan than a tower fan.

 

[Maverick2002]

I wouldn't mind a box fan (even though it looks a little tacky), but even those I haven't been able to find one that's quiet. I wonder if there's any relatively simple way to mod the motor or something so it just spins slower ... not via a resistor or anything.

 

[krunchykrome]

We bought a tower fan/air purifier from Costco. I think is was around $90

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
I got fed up with the ~20" standing fan I had because even the lowest setting was pretty loud, so I decided to give tower fans a go.

I just got this one from a local store: http://www.amazon.com/Bionaire...&qid=1251666970&sr=1-7

3 settings, the lowest one gives sufficient airflow. The general noise is ok, but there's a NASTY high pitched whine that the motor gives off, so I'm 99% sure I'm going to return it. I'm trying to find a decent (can be large), quiet fan. I don't need a lot of airflow, just something ... but needs to be quiet. If this fan was a tad quieter and didn't have the high pitched whine it would be perfect.

My ceiling isn't wired for a fan and I don't want to spend that much money to get it wired, so I'm limited to standing fans. It needs to be a standing unit.

Any suggestions? Do they even exist? Sadly NO ONE presents noise ratings on their fans, which is just stupid. It's like buying a car not knowing what the engine is.

You don't need to get your ceiling wired. You can get a swag kit, which allows you to plug a ceiling fan into an electrical outlet. Very easy to do, and the kits cost $15 or so. This allows you to put a ceiling fan anywhere you want. You just have to be sure to attach the fan to a ceiling joist.

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: thescreensavers
I have this one

its been knocked over and used every night for 2 years and its still working strong. I have gone through 5 tower fans before this one and out of all of them this one is the quietest. I run it at full speed. It also has adjustable front blades so you can tilt the air up or down for better aim.

and its not expensive at all.

and if for some reason this one breaks, ill be buying the same one again.

Got 2 of these as well and they work great.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: Nik

Originally posted by: l0cke

Originally posted by: Nik
http://forums.anandtech.com/ca...tid=37&flcache=2417384

Fail

It was a joke. :frown: Obviously.

I thought it was fucking hilarious...and appropriate!


I've never seen one of the tower-style fans that was very quiet...or moved a lot of air. Maybe it comes from having several small "case fans" inside the housing.

We prefer the less esthetically pleasing oscillating fans like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Holmes-H...qid=1251734083&sr=1-11

Relatively quiet, (although probably louder than 25 dB) great air movers.

 

[funkymatt]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
We bought a tower fan/air purifier from Costco. I think is was around $90

we got this, but without the air purifier part, i want to say it was around $60 for a big one and a desktop version. the gears are starting to wear out on them though, it clicks at the end of the oscillation.