battery-powered fans?

[Morgana]

I have a little battery-powered fan and I swear I can hold that thing right up to my nose and barely feel a breeze. (The blades are circulating fast enough that I can't see them, so I think it's working as it's meant to, but it's just not moving much air.)

Is it worth investing in a bigger, more expensive version, or would that just be throwing good money after bad?
In other words, do these things ever work?

(As I have probably mentioned ad nauseam already, I'm approaching this whole thing slowly and on a pretty tight budget, so for the moment I'm not interested in a proper air conditioning system, or an electricity generating system to run it, just something hopefully affordable to help a bit with cooling for now.)

Does anybody have a buying tip or favorite brand? or would you say "forget it, those things don't work"?

Thanks as always.

 

[tx2sturgis]

The O2 Cool fans are not expensive, but the problem is with any decent battery-powered fan, you will not like buying batteries all the time...that WILL get expensive.

Also, you can supplement the cooling breeze by using a spray bottle filled with clean water...spritz your face and neck and let the fan...do what it can!

 

[bullfrog]

We use 18 volt Ryobi fans as we have the charger and rechargeable batteries. Artic Air also uses Ryobi batteries and has a mister fan as well that sits on a 5 gallon bucket full of water to supply the mister. They are a little noisy when operating but you definitely know they are on.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Just FYI, in her OP she mentions no electrical system to run it, this would include not being able to charge a Ryobi battery, and also, Ryobi stuff does not really fit into the 'tight budget' requirement.

Morgana, please tell us what you DO have available as far as power sources, and what would your budget be for your fan or fan system?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

12V O2COOL fan - plugs into cigar lighter, moves lots of air.
1.5V O2COOL fan - plugs into USB port, nice breeze on face from 2 feet away.

 

[Morgana]

please tell us what you DO have available as far as power sources, and what would your budget be for your fan or fan system?

OK, those are intelligent questions that I'm not sure I can answer intelligently, but here goes.

In 10 days I'm going off for, like my second car-camping trip ever. I have a small SUV with a USB port so I can charge my phone or something small like that while I'm driving. When I get there I'll be driving ~45 minutes twice a day to get to an indoor volunteer site, so I suppose I can charge stuff during the drive and could probably plug something in to charge at the volunteer site. At the campsite there's supposed to be an electrical outlet in the bathroom. Next door is an RV site and I might have the option of parking there instead and there would be more electrical outlets (the only other time I did this, I was at an RV site but I didn't try to figure out what was in the electrical box).

Now the weather forecast for that week is in the triple digits some days so yikes thinking harder about the cooling.

It doesn't have to feel fabulous, my goal is to stay healthy, get a reasonable amount of sleep, and keep it together so I can focus during the volunteer time (and then a couple of kayaking days after).

Enough batteries to make this one trip work, I can live with. As a long-term solution, I don't like that either unless I get rechargeables.

Budget wise, aaaaaaaa .... I guess anything up to $100 would be worth knowing about; I'd very much like to keep it under $30, but being penny wise/pound foolish got me the cute but useless fan I have now.

In my sticks and bricks not using air conditioning, I can be pretty comfortable up to about 88° and tolerate to about 93° as long as there's some air moving. Ten more degrees and I'd be all set LOL.

And yes, spritzing a lot of water!

Thanks y'all.

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

We use 18 volt Ryobi fans as we have the charger and rechargeable batteries. Artic Air also uses Ryobi batteries and has a mister fan as well that sits on a 5 gallon bucket full of water to supply the mister. They are a little noisy when operating but you definitely know they are on.

Can your charger run thru a solar panel? How large a one would be needed?.THANKS

 

[maki2]

I have an 02 Cool 10" smart rechargeable fan. I plug it in and run it on USB via solar panels during the day and on it's internal battery in the evening. Of course being rechargeable with its own battery means I can take it with me and sit in the shade under a tree if I want to. It does run at a higher speed on USB. It is not a power hungry monster. It does have a USB power portion one side so it can be used as a battery bank for charging a smart phone while sitting under that tree but of course that will mean the fan won't run quite as long if you are doing both things off the built in battery.

Anyway it is versatile in function and not super noisy. Shop around for cost savings. But it is within your stated budget. As to misting it doesn't do that but you cantake a strip of cheese cloth, drape it over the front and put the lower end into a bowl of water. That way your sinuses won't suffer from dryness when in a low humidity situation with air blowing in your face.

 

[hugemoth]

The D cell/12v O2cool fan works well, moves quite a bit of air. I've used them for many years. Comes with a cig lighter plug and cord.

 

[bullfrog]

To clarify, Ryobi batteries can be charged with their 12 volt plug in vehicle charger. I have it and a few batteries so while driving at least one is charging. When not driving for several days my solar system can easily charge them during sunny days. I believe I saw where construction crews use a 100 watt portable system and do fine keeping theirs charged on sunny days and idle their truck on rainy or cloudy days. One model of Ryobi fan can also use 110 ac as well as 18 volt DC. The fan Can be had for between $30 to $70 depending on when and where you buy it. You can get it with 2 batteries and a 110 volt charger for $100. There are cheaper aftermarket batteries and chargers but I like the warranty offered by Home Depot when buying Ryobi products there. I have lights, sweeper and several tools that are all powered by Ryobi One 18 volt batteries. There is even a power supply/charger that I believe Bob Wells did a video on. A small portable solar system and a Ryobi car charger with a couple batteries and Ryobi products will take care of most all small electrical needs but the initial out lay will cost more than $100. I did use only my vehicle to charge batteries while traveling 4 hours each day to power fans, lights and tools with no problems.

 

[Morgana]

A small portable solar system and a Ryobi car charger with a couple batteries and Ryobi products will take care of most all small electrical needs but the initial out lay will cost more than $100.

Definitely something for the longer-term list.

 

[JDub]

A little OT but a look at how they used to keep cool in the blazing AZ summers in the Superstitions. I would actually refer to this if I needed to cool things down the old fashioned way. I always found a wet cloth around my neck really helped to bring temps down in conjunction with a fan... I actually use just a 12V Walmart auto fan plugged into one of my solar battery stations. Moves air just fine and only cost 16 bucks...

https://superstitionmountaintomkollenborn.blogspot.com/2007/11/desert-life-in-early-days.html
Cheers and good luck on your outing!

 

[Tony's Dream]

I bought a fan from Amazon that I charge with my van cigarette plug. It runs for 10 hours on low setting and gives me enough air movement, but I am in a small cargo van. If you have a larger space it may not work, but not sure.

OPOLAR 10000mAh 8-Inch Rechargeable Battery Operated Clip on Fan, 4 Speeds Fast Air Circulating USB Fan, Sturdy Clamp Portable for Outdoor Camping Ten

 

[maki2]

The smart. Rechargeable 02 Cool. Fan has multiple power options.
1. It will run off a USB adapter
2. It will run off D cell batteries
3. It has its own built-in rechargeable battery and that charges while you are plugged into a USB or 110. Then you can run the fan off of that battery when you have no other power source.
4. You can plug into 110v AC with an adapter.


That makes it the most versatile fan on the camping product market.

At 10 inches diameter it can move a lot of air.

I am using mine right this minute as it's a hot day. It is running off my house battery charged by solar, plugged into a USB outlet. As it's very efficient my house battery will remain at 100% during solar hours. As part of my build I installed exterior 12v sockets and I have 12v extension cords with USB outlets. I can have it outside in the shade, on the table, by my chair should I want to do so.

 

[Walt]

This has been working very well for me. A charge lasts quite a bit more than a night's sleep. USB rechargeable is super convenient. Easily repositioned and can be clipped into place.

https://a.co/d/5rLyj18

 

[Wrknmannavn]

I have a little battery-powered fan and I swear I can hold that thing right up to my nose and barely feel a breeze. (The blades are circulating fast enough that I can't see them, so I think it's working as it's meant to, but it's just not moving much air.)

Is it worth investing in a bigger, more expensive version, or would that just be throwing good money after bad?
In other words, do these things ever work?

(As I have probably mentioned ad nauseam already, I'm approaching this whole thing slowly and on a pretty tight budget, so for the moment I'm not interested in a proper air conditioning system, or an electricity generating system to run it, just something hopefully affordable to help a bit with cooling for now.)

Does anybody have a buying tip or favorite brand? or would you say "forget it, those things don't work"?

Thanks as always.

Greetings. I have and often use 18volt power tools. The rechargeable batteries Also work with their brand of cordless fans( makita,ryobi). Ryobi sells a small and larger fan that ive used for over a year now and both have worked well for me. My 2nd option is a 12volt 6” fan i got at walmart. This fan has also worked well for me. Ive found that AA,C and D battery fans dont run long and tend to just eat batteries.

 

[frater secessus]

I have two small fans that are powered by 18650 cells and recharged by USB. They move a decent amount of air.

The one I remember buying was ~$12 at walmart.

 

[LargeMarge]

https://www.acehardware.com/departm...raQZwxYu5MxMvEUVE3BoCvdoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds.
We use this Craftsman 20v fan.
On LOW, a two-amp battery lasts most of three nights, and we keep a full battery next to it.
.
We use multiple Craftsman 20v tools, including a Craftsman 20v chain-saw, so this decision was simple.

 

[Morgana]

Thanks for all of these, people; I am definitely taking notes.

Meanwhile I think that small fan I described as cute but useless might be salvageable after all. There was some icky white liquid coming out of one of the batteries -- tbh I can't remember how long ago I bought them -- I cleaned it up and put new batteries and now it's working more like I expected it to.

Weird, I've seen batteries get crudly, but this was different -- like little tiny pools of liquid. Also weird that it still gave off enough power to make the blades whiz around steadily and seem like it was working.

I should probably start putting a date on when I buy new batteries.

Thanks again.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Morgana, you owe us all a beer.