One of the items on my grid-down wish list has been a house fan. Even though we quit using air conditioning years ago, we rely heavily on fans to keep the house tolerable. But what to do if the power is out for an extended length of time? This is why I was extremely pleased to be asked to review the Marchpower 10-inch rechargeable, portable, folding fan.
First impressions
When I unboxed the components, I was pleased with their weight and sturdiness.
 |
Fan, fold-able stand, remote control, USB
charging cord, carabiner, and owners manual. |
The fan itself has a carrying strap.
Used with the carabiner, the fan can be hung overhead. Nice! And being battery powered, there are no cords!
The tripod stand is metal and heavy. I like that.
The height is adjustable, so from floor to the top of the fan can be anywhere between 27.6 to 46.5 inches. Two safety precautions I would recommend are 1) make sure the folding legs are locked before putting the fan on top. And 2) that the tripod is set up on a level surface! Those are pretty much common sense, but worth noting. Without the stand, the fan can sit nicely on a table top or shelf, so there are a lot of choices here.
Also included is a remote control, but I like that the fan itself has control buttons. I feel that gives me more options for operation, especially if the remote's battery needs changing.
I very much appreciate a real, paper owner's manual, because sit isn't always convenient to go online to read a PDF.
Battery energy consumption is 1 to 12 watts when running, depending on the speed.
Charging the fan battery
Battery charging is via a USB port (with included cord). So it can be charged off of a computer or USB wall socket. In my case, I can recharge it from the solar charge controller or inverter on our back porch, if I choose.
Charging time is between 3.5 and 5.5 hours. I don't know how much of a charge the fan arrived with, but I plugged it in to charge, which took about
Bonus feature: the fan can be used while charging.
Using the fan
First time, the fan needs to be turned on with it's power button. After that, the remote can be used. The remote is said to operate up to 33 feet (10 meters), even through walls!
It has four speeds, and of course, operating time depends on the speed used. These are advertised to be:
- 28-30 hours on lowest speed (breeze wind)
- 10-12 hours on second speed (soft wind)
- 6-7 hours on third speed (brisk wind)
- 3-4 hours on high speed (strong wind)
Here's a shot of the control buttons on the fan itself:
 |
| From left: oscillate button, on/off button, timer button. |
It oscillates! Tilt and oscillation are up to 60 degrees.
Pressing the power button first turns the fan on. Repeat pressing to take it through the speed choices and then turn it off.
Timer. Another handy feature. Offered settings:
- 0.5 hour
- 1.5 hours
- 4 hours
- 8 hours
Testing the fan
I did not test operating time on all speeds, but I did check out the speeds. To give you all a visual, I used a piece of surveyor's tape on a stick for photos at the various speeds.
 |
| Off |
 |
| Speed 1 (lowest) |
 |
| Speed 2 |
 |
| Speed 3 |
 |
| Speed 4 (highest) |
As you can see, it promises to do a good job. And it's quiet! Another plus.
Conclusion?
Absolutely recommended for homesteaders, campers, picnickers, preppers, and anyone who sometimes wants a fan when they're outdoors. Its portability makes it perfect for a variety of uses: any indoor activities, outside kitchens and dining areas, sitting on the porch, camping, and for anytime the power goes out, or you're in an off-grid situation in hot weather.
Special Offer!
For my blog readers, I have a special 10% off discount offer.
Discount code: Z68HGJZ6
The code expires Sept. 1, 2024, just in time for early Christmas shopping!
12 comments:
Although they have a place in this world, I'm not sure I'm ready for one just yet. All these rechargeable batteries have a finite life and I'm finding that ones like these that you keep topped off for such an emergency, are shorter than those that are used and discharged more frequently. I don't like having to throw an entire fan into the waste stream and buying another. I would much rather have a standardized battery pack that can be exchanged, much like modern power hand tools do.
I have one similar to this, but with a different stand on it. It came in handy while camping and we had to repair and install a completely new faucet in the camper, while we were camping. I've used it in the house too for various reasons. It folds down to almost nothing to store too. We love ours, but like I said, a bit different.
Ed, fair point. I'm sure there are some like that out there! That said, I have had very good luck with our solar shed lights. One of them I've used for 8 years daily and is still going strong! The fan is well enough made that I'm expecting a pretty good lifespan.
Kristina, it really is a great item to have on hand! I actually wouldn't mind having a second one, as it can get pretty stuff in the house in summer with no air circulation.
Great idea! One non-electric thing that we use bearing in mind we live in very dry High Desert is just a water mister used to miss plants. Just fill up that plastic bottle you can spray your sheets before you go to bed at night to cool them down and spray yourself for the same. That would work great with my solar generator!
Nancy, that's a great idea for a low-humidity area. I so wish we could use some evaporative cooling techniques. Humidity can be the pits.
Oh I love this fan. Although we don't need one in my area, it's always cool here, but I could see me using it for other reasons. Thanks for showing it. As far as Friday Face Off, yes animals faces are definitely acceptable.
Occasionally when the mosquitoes are bad here (roughly April to November) I drag my floor fan outside and plug it in pointing directly at a chaise. It is luxury on the order of cruise ship travel, to me, and I have zero interest in cruise ships so it's even better. Friends stopped by one day, I set up more chaises and put the fan on oscillate. At first my friends mocked me heavily for my self-indulgent wimpiness, but after I turned the fan off and the mosquitoes returned in a cloud, the mockery ceased.
This sounds like a really good product, Leigh. Fortunately Terry and I live in an arid area that cools down during the night. We can open the windows and cool the house overnight. We have air-conditioning, but we rarely use it. If the climate gets too hot, or the power grid becomes less reliable, then I might look for a fan like this. Thanks for sharing the information.
Thanks for the review Leigh. I will say that items like these can also be useful to office dwellers where one needs a little extra air at the desk or at a table.
Nicole, lucky you for living in a cool area! :)
Friday Face Off is great, and it's nice there's a place Dan can share his work.
Quinn, yes! Good idea for mosquitoes!
Louise, I sincerely envy people who don't have the heat we do. We get milder winters and longer growing seasons, but the heat and humidity offset the trade-off! I doubt we'll use this fan terribly often, but if the power goes out, I'll be glad we have it.
TB, air circulation really helps, doesn't it? Without air conditioning (or a cooler climate) a fan is a survival tool.
I have put together a power bank kit for when the power goes out. I need it to charge my medical device. I will share one day, because it's still a work in progress.
Ed raises a fair point with battery lifespan, but I find brand matters. It's more pricey but I go for Energizer and Duracell. I'm trying out some middle of the range brands soon to see if they will be worth the middle of the range, price-tag.
I've tried the cheap rechargeable batteries and find they're more than suitable for low power demands, such as electric candles and LEDS. But useless for anything requiring a long draw of power.
Chris, I was pretty gung-ho about rechargeable batteries at first, but like you and Ed, have discovered that they aren't always as useful as I hoped. The small ones (AA and AAA) don't seem to take many recharges, so now I question if they're worth it. I don't think people realize how much energy it takes to heat, cool, run equipment, or make bright light for a length of time. I think oftentimes, it's better to learn to live with out.
Post a Comment