Rowenta Oscillating Standing Fan

Rowenta VU2660 Turbo Silence Extreme Electronic Table Fan with Remote Control This is the 5-speed version with remote control. The remote is taped to the inside of the box. There is some assembly required, but I was able to accomplish it without reading the instructions. Man Card is secure. ASSEMBLY •Unscrew a knob on the bottom of the main body (includes the motor), attach the base and secure the knob. •Unscrew the collar around the motor shaft. Fit the back half of the wire cage over the shaft and screw the collar back on. •Unscrew the knob (clockwise) on the motor shaft and fit the fan blade assembly onto the keyed motor shaft. •Secure the blade assembly with the knob (counterclockwise). •Loosen the small Phillips screw in the black plastic at the bottom of the back half of the cage (from right side). This opens a band that surrounds the edge of the back half. The front half pops into the back like the bottom of a food coRowenta VU2660 Turbo Silence Extreme Electronic Table Fan with Remote controlntainer being fitted into the lid. You may have to start at the top and work your way down both sides at the same time. Once the front in properly fitted, tighten the screw. Use a small Philips driver or you may strip the head. Run the cord out of the back of the base and plug it in to ~110VAC. There are drawings showing the assembly in the Safety booklet. CONSTRUCTION The fan is all plastic except for the motor, wire cage, and cord. The controls are all membrane buttons. That is, they're probably not actual switches, but conductive pads actuated by pressing the plastic membrane "bubbles". The remote has the same membrane skin for controls. (A CR2032 battery is needed but not included.) OPERATION The fan head can be tilted up and down and will oscillate horizontally, automatically. Pulling a up a knob at the back of the motor will stop the fan in a static position if desired. There are four "buttons" on the base of the fan: Power, Speed, Silent Night, and Turbo Boost. Turn on Power, and the fan will remember the last selected speed. Low, Med, and High are cycled through that order, only. At any of those settings, Silent Night or Turbo Boost can be selected. Despite the names, these are just two additional speeds: a lower Low and higher High. The remote has the same buttons, and functions in an identical manner. PERFORMANCE The fan is a table top design and has a smaller than typical 12" blade assembly. Because it has five blades instead of the more common three, it has the potential to be quieter. All things being equal, the more blades, the quieter the device. (Fun fact: works with helicopters, too.) A beep accompanies speed selection. A small blue LED is illuminated for each of the three speeds, while Silent Night gets a little larger, white LED, and Turbo Extreme gets a larger, blue LED. None of them are as bright as some computer LEDs. At Low speed, the fan is quieter than most any other fan at it's lowest speed that I've ever heard. It gives a gentle breeze, lighter than most fans at their lowest setting. Increasing the speeds, and especially with Turbo Extreme, the noise increases as you would expect. With the smaller 12" 5-blade assembly, it's probably quieter at L-M-H than typical fans at the same settings. At Silent Night, the fan is almost *impossible* to hear unless you're within one or two feet. Beyond that, it's silent, even in the still of the night. As expected, its breeze at that setting is barely perceptible, yet it manages to cool without chilling. Turbo is loud and creates a strong breeze. In the event of a power failure, the fan will *not* turn back on when power is restored. As it has electronic controls with no manual interface, this is to be expected. The remote offsets that to some degree. SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS I bought this fan in the hope the 5-blade design would be quieter than my other fans, and as a result, move less air so it could stay on all night without chilling. It scores highly on those two points, far better than I had hoped. However, this fan strikes me as very cheaply made. The motor is smaller and lighter than a typical 3-speed, mechanical table fan. That's possibly part of the reason it has smallish 12" blades (along with noise reduction). My feeling is that running it on High or Turbo for extended periods might be tough on the over all lifespan of the motor. The membrane controls also do not inspire confidence. I've seen these on various devices and they always get chewed up, especially by fingernails. I'm a little concerned the bubble-shaped "buttons" won't hold up as well as flat membranes, which don't hold up all that well themselves.. Given the moderate climate of my location the fan won't get a lot of use during the year, so that will probably extend the life a few years. But nothing about its construction says "durable". Had the 4-speed version been cheaper than this one, I might have sacrificed the remote, but it is handy. The silence of the fan and its gentle breeze make this an OK purchase. Given the near C-note price, you have to want a remote and the silence. I do.