FC-420 Air Circulator

The XPower FC-300 is absolutely a game changing fan. Heretofore, I had been buying Patton Air Circulators after working one hot humid summer as a teen in a warehouse with a broken AC, but we sold those Pattons and we stood in front of them to cool down. The temperatures were above 100, but this was back in the day when they could get away with that. I would leave work and sweat would squish out the perforations in my sneakers. So when I state these XPowers are gamechangers, I can state it with authority.I am now on my third FC-300 and I also have a variable speed green 250 that is perfect for gently and whisper quietly blowing over my bed for a comfortable night's sleep. The blue 300s can be kept on the low setting at 1 and you can barely hear them, yet, they move a lot of air at that lowest setting. The 360 degree swivel adds to their flexible use in blowing air directly on me or often pointed up to the ceiling for whole apartment circulation. I might add you will blow air directly at yourself at the 1 or at most 2 setting, because it would be too much otherwise. They are still fairly quiet at the 2 setting where they start to show they can blow. I rarely need to turn them up beyond 2, unless experiencing a string of mid-nineties or above temps with high humidity.They move a lot of air for a relatively small footprint, smaller than my one remaining Patton, but move more air than the Patton AND do so much quieter than the Patton. The Patton on the lowest of the three settings at 1 is louder than the blue 300s on 2 and about equal to the 300s at 3. However, the barrel housing of the XPowers, along with their fan design, produces a different and less turbulent quality of sound compared to the Patton. The quality of the XPower sound is closer to less intrusive white noise. The XPowers are more compatible with residential living: phone conversations, listening to the television and stereo, taking calls on Teams or Zoom meetings, and sleeping.They are an attractive blue and can fit right in with residential use, but they can be durable shop floor beasts should you turn them up. I use them in conjunction with an evaporative cooler while I get approval for electrical work and AC installation in my co-op. The blue 300s move the humidified and cool air from the swamp cooler through my apartment and out the window quickly and far quieter than the swamp cooler. These fans are indispensable for keeping me cool through these hot summers and preventing the buildup of humidity and mold in my apartment. My electric bills running three FC-300s and the big swamp cooler are far less than when I had AC.

I bought this fan on a whim about six months ago, remembering how hot the previous summer was. I felt a bit stupid at the time - I'm going to spend well over $150? For a fan? But I've been annoyed by cheap fans in the past, so I figured if I was going to get one, I might as well go all out.I am not normally one to write reviews. But I am not kidding you when I say that this fan has changed my life. It's one of the best purchases I've ever made. This fan is AMAZING.I live in a studio apartment, on the top floor with large sunny windows. Because of this, when it's warm out, my apartment gets HOT, and the air lingers at night. We have a small window air conditioner, which is excellent unless the temperature gets above 90 or so, in which case the AC doesn't knock down the heat nearly enough. I have trouble sleeping unless it's cool, so this is a big deal, especially at night. Summers are normally brutal for me, and I'm usually significantly less productive in those months due to the heat.Enter the fan.The first thing you need to know is that this thing is POWERFUL. I know many of the reviews say as much, but it's hard to describe just how much of a ridiculous punch this thing packs. Even when it's a hundred degrees outside and my apartment would normally be sweltering, I've only had to bump it up to level 3 once or twice, and I legitimately cannot imagine a situation in which I'd need to put it on level 4. Most of the time, level 1 is more than enough; when it's quite warm, level 2 is great.Now, this doesn't mean you're going to be living in a wind tunnel. Since the fan is an air circulator, it's very good at spreading out the air - sure, you can stand directly in front of it and get a quick cooling blast, but you'll mostly use it to efficiently cool down the entire room, without feeling like you're standing on a windy mountaintop.Of course, with more power comes more noise. Is it exceptionally loud for its output? Nope! Quite the opposite. But big fans on high blast make a lot of noise, there's no way around that, so don't be surprised. (I personally love white noise, and it's not like the fan makes an obnoxious grinding sound or anything - it's very smooth - so this isn't a problem for me at all.) Of course, it's a trade-off: on the days when it's 100 degrees and you're sweltering, you're gonna want the most powerful fan you can get, and a bit of noise is a small price to pay, which is probably why you're thinking about buying a $180 fan in the first place.Level 1 is pretty silent. Level 2 is noticeable for a few minutes, then you forget about it (when I sleep I usually have the fan on level 2, 6-10 feet from the foot of the bed, and it's fine). Level 3 is loud, but you'll never use it unless it's so hot you don't care, or you're in a larger space. Level 4, I have to admit, is quite absurd, but it's also what you're paying the big bucks for: a fan blast is so powerful you could set it up 30 feet away and still feel it. Perfect for a large garage / workshop space.All in all, I am SO GLAD I bought this thing. Is it more power than I need? Maybe! But the lower levels work spectacularly, and I'd much rather have the option of blasting it and cooling any room down instantly than wishing I'd bought a more powerful fan every time it gets really hot. The air circulation aspect is amazing, it really cools the entire apartment down, the dog loves laying in front of it, and it's made a tremendous difference for my sleep this summer. The fact that you can turn it on and IMMEDIATELY be cool, no matter the heat, makes it worth every single penny. Now that I have it, I can't imagine life without it.Five stars.

I just received this today. It is 85 degrees and muggy... I turned this thing on #2 and it blew the heat right off of my skin. There's a big difference between this and a box fan. This is blowing more air on #2 than the box fan blows at it's highest setting. It is kinda loud when turned up to #3 and #4, but what would you expect with that much air blowing? It doesn't rattle and shake to make noise, it is quiet that way, but the air movement is pretty loud. I've seen hellicopters make less wind though... Easy assembly. Only two nuts to put on to connect the base to the fan. I don't really need a timer, but who knows, maybe some day I will use it.