| Rating: | ★★★★★ |
| Category: | Other |
A few nights ago, I was thinking how I would love for our home to have better air circulation because by the time the outside air cools down to a chilly summer 24C (74F but WET!), the house, even with the windows wide open is still sitting up at 30C (88F but WET!!). This house just doesn't cool down because the windows are not designed to allow for a better freeflow of air in the direction of the prevailing winds.
When I looked at that newspaper, one of the reviews was for the Vornado Air Circulator, and it was described as the best known brand in the USA. The price here for new ones is about $150 as opposed to other cheaper ones at $30 or so, but the reviewers said they were very different.
That got me to thinking, and I did some searching on Yahoo Japan Auctions, the premium net auction house in Japan (I like it better than EBay which is not here). I found several of the Vornados (Vortex + Tornado = Vornado) circulators up for sale (auction). The starting price was a meager 100 yen, but they all went up to about $60 in the end by the time the auctions ended.
So I bid for a few, and ended up getting this model 530.
And let me tell you that it is amazing! We use fans in the house but I have never had a fan that is this compact, that actually CIRCULATES the air in the rooms as good as this baby does!
The system focuses air into a tight, twisted beam that can travel up to 20m (60ft). The blades have a deep pitch that really scoop up the air so a lot of air is moved. It shoots out in a powerful (3 settings) vortex twisting beam that then breaks apart at a distance and starts to circulate back in upon itself, to once again be pushed back out again. You can bring hot ceiling air down to warm the lower areas in winter, move the cooler lower air (from AC, or night time open windows, up and around the room as well. So instead of having three different temperatures in your living space (hotter upper, medium mid area, cooler area around the feet) the entire room becomes more even. This allows you to lower your settings on your heater or AC, which should allow you to save on energy costs as well. And for the amount of air it moves, I must admit it is pretty darn quiet. Last night Mayu asked if it was raining outside... that's the kind of sound she heard, instead of the traditional VROOOOOOOMMMMMMM sound of fans that really only blow air, but don't offer a lot of actual circulation.
Here is how their website describes the difference between a "fan" and the Vornado:
"Unlike an ordinary household fan, a Vornado air circulator doesn't just blow air. Instead, it literally bends and twists air to produce true whole-room air circulation using Vortex Action, exclusive to Vornado. So rather than drafts and dead spots you get an even temperature and circulation through out the room. Vornado air circulators conserve energy year-round by working with heating and cooling systems. In the Summer months, place near a window or air conditioning vent to circulate the cool air. This enables you to raise your thermostat up to 5 degrees and maintain the same comfort level. In the Winter, take advantage of heat already in the room, direct the airflow upwards to circulate warm air that gravitates to the ceiling, back to floor level." (didn't I say all this already?)
Looking at their website at www.vornado.com, I can see that my equivalent product new costs approximately $60 (Vornado 630), so you could probably get a really great price on EBay or other auction houses.
I would say that if you are looking to consider decreasing your energy costs (they are going up, thanks to oil skyrocketing), and want a modern looking circulator with a small footprint, this is something you should seriously consider looking into.
Take a look at www.vornado.com, read through the great explanations, and see what you think. I got it yesterday, but I KNOW I'm in love with this baby already!
ADDENDUM: Matt, aka Harmaceutical has also purchased this baby and has been using it for a few days. You can see his amazing review (blog) at this link: Vornado Weather at the Harmaceutical
I love you!
Cam
P.S. For those of you wanting to give it a try... Amazon.com sells the exact same one I have for $39.95 and the shipping is FREE! Now THAT is even worth a small investment, dontcha think? Vornado on Amazon.com (scroll down to 530B to see mine)
Okay, you sold me. I just ordered one from Amazon japan. It's listed at 10,000yen, but I am on a free trial of Amazon prime, so it'll arrive tomorrow morning with free shipping and it gave me 2,000 points for my Amazon credit card, so really I'm only paying 8,000yen. My A/C is in my living room, which means at night I put a fan at the entrance of my bedroom and hope it blows some of the air in. It doesn't. I have high hopes for this.
ReplyDeleteMatt - Take a look at the small footprint. I just updated the photo. You can see the regular fan beside it, and my aluminum Starbucks mug (grande) in front. I'm laughing!
ReplyDeleteIt blows this regular fan away. And what else is good about it... I don't know if you have noticed this... but having fan air blow on you all the time, or AC air even... it kind of makes the forearms, or calves ache after a while. And as I learned from Mayu, her mother and just about every Japanese person I know... if you blow a fan directly on you at night you can die!
The good thing about this is you can direct it at the ceiling, or a wall and it bounces in the vortex and then really does circulate. I also find the feel of this air blowing around me to be much more comfortable than that achy fan air... (and yes, that aching feeling is not only limited to women, because I know it too!)
I hope it works for you. It works for me.
The air in our 2 bedrooms doesn't circulate well at all. I may just have to look into this! :) Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteTake Care Of You!
ReplyDeleteTornado - Please read the reviews on Amazon to determine which size you may want for your rooms. If you have large rooms, you may want to get a larger Vornado and keep the setting on lower because although this baby is really like an air gun on high, it is a bit vroooomy. Sitting here in my office, I am happy with it on medium, and I have it sitting in the middle of the living room pointing into the doorway of this room. It's weird, because the air that comes off of it is most definitely not like a fan, it is concentrated and comes out like a gun... very interesting.
ReplyDeleteBut on medium, it's quieter than my regular fan is on low.
The 600 series is medium, and the 700 series is the larger size.
And from Amazon... you can't beat free shipping!
But really, the circulation is great! (mine is, unfortunately, Made in China)
So, oh great guru, what do you figure? My apartment is very long and narrow, and my a/c is at the extreme opposite end from my bedroom. Should I put it near the a/c vent to blow the air into the apartment, or should I set it up at the bedroom door as a half-way boost?
ReplyDeleteI'm just guessing.... that if you set the AC blowing out and down toward your bedroom end at night, then with the Vornado pointing in your room, up toward the ceiling, it will grab the cool air blowing straight out of the AC, and divert it into your room in a circular motion.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why I suggest this is because I know that the AC air never seems to circulate. I have it on right now in the LDK, right next to me. But although that room is wonderful, this room is boiling hot and none of that cool air ever seeps in here. But, with the Vornado pointing into this room now, ... I could almost go and put a t-shirt on. Finally the cool air is coming in here, and it is circulating around.
I'm soooo excited to try out the possibilities! I'm going to be up at the crack of dawn waiting for the Takkyubin man to arrive! Of course, I'll always be up at the crack of dawn, because the sun comes up at 4:30 and turns my bedroom into a fireball...
ReplyDelete4:30? You get to sleep in until 4:30???? Over here the movie is called, "The Fireball Has Landed" and it plays every summer day, relentlessly at 3:30 in the morning,without fail! BTW, have you ever made the horrible horrible mistake of going camping... in Japan... in the summer?
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your endless possibilities!
Indeed, I have. The only way I survived that was by going to bed at about 7:30 P.M...
ReplyDeleteAhhhh.. my two favourite guys, chattin away.
ReplyDeleteI have the ceiling fan in over my dining area table as i work there.
and we have a whole house fan that draws in the air from outside ( when it's cool enough) and circulates it throughout any room with an open window and draws it all up and out through the attic.
Umm... just how many hour of darkness do you get over there?
I hope you have black out shades on your bedroom windows...Sheesh!
Over here darkness hits between 7:00-7:30pm in the summer and about 4pm in winter. We don't have the shades, we just wake up in pools of sweat.
ReplyDelete*snicker*
ReplyDeleteTornado may be getting a Vornado!
I immediately thought of you, Tornado, when I saw this product.
ReplyDeleteSo.... you wake up at 4am each morning???
ReplyDeleteOr have you learned to sleep in broad daylight... i can NOT do that.
My body is a circadian machine.. I sleep in darkness and awake in the sunlight.
But i can't sleep well with blackout curtains either. I get antsy if i don't know what time of day it is
If the room is constantly dark i will oversleep and end up with a back and head ache.
So i always leave hotel drapes cracked open a little.
Enjoy your Vonado, Tornado... hehehe...
That was fun!
SEE! HAHA!
ReplyDeleteMy bedroom is on the East, so I get the full dose of morning sun. I tend to wake up, not so much because it's bright, but because the temperature IMMEDIATELY goes up to the daytime high. Most days I can fall back asleep, but it's a very restless sleep and I'm usually up for good about 6:30.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am soooooo looking forward to my Vornado... tomorrow morning, it arrives!
UGH!!!
ReplyDeleteBright sun... AND heat!
Oy vey es mir!
Too bad you don't have basements there... i'd become a mole person...
Enjoy your breezy air too, Matthew.
I love you!
I can sleep anywhere, in any lighting conditions, except for burning fireball rooms, and rooms that have blackout shades... those make me very antsy as well.
ReplyDeleteActually, about 3.30 the birds all congregate on our windowsill outside and start chirping like starving maniacs. Even if it were dark, and they were there we would be awake! First light in Japan can be cruel!
ReplyDeleteUgh!!!!...
ReplyDeleteTried razor wire on the ledge?
When do you people SLEEP????
By the way, Cam, it was very considerate of you to take the sample photo of the Vornado next to THE SAME MODEL OF FAN I OWN!!! It really clinched the deal for me, and I didn't even notice you sneak into my apartment.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I do like the symmetry of this response with my earlier response on Inesta's page.
ReplyDeleteMatt - It was my pleasure! Sometimes I can be stealthy... just not when I'm asleep.
ReplyDeleteJen - Never ever come to Japan to go camping in the summer. The tents turn into supernova fireballs the INSTANT the sun comes up and that's about 3.30 in the morning. What Matt said was not a joke. You have to go to bed by about 7.30 because you are GOING to be up at 3.30 whether you like it or not!
Especially when you camp by a lake, because every middle-aged man in the world will be fishing by 3:32, as I learned the hard way.
ReplyDelete... And drinking the first beer by 3:33.
ReplyDelete... and belching the first beer belch by 3:34.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a 5 star to me.!!!!! I wonder why Jen can't be quiet when she is at the beach??
ReplyDeleteMatt - Any news yet?
ReplyDeleteGot the email that it's on its way, so am waiting for the little Yamato man to arrive. It's baking in Tokyo today, so it can't arrive soon enough.
ReplyDeleteYes, I saw on TV today that it's probably going to be the hottest yet there today. I just left a comment over on your page. Please do let me know what you think when you get it. I ran it into the bedroom last night and actually felt a bit chilly, believe it or not! Instead of draping a teeny corner of a sheet over me as I usually do (private parts yanno), I had to cover my shoulder up as it was getting chilly with all the circulated air moving in the room. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteIt just came! Time to take it out of the box! Woo hoo!
ReplyDeleteHow does it feel in your long and narrow apartment. I have mine on now blowing into the office.... and it's downright chilly!
ReplyDeleteI've been trying out placements all evening. I can't say it's making the place colder, but it's making it more comfortable. Still need to find the best place to set it for the bedroom.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm a believer. I sleep on a bed, not a futon. My bed is a little high off the ground, so I used to set up my old fan at the door to my bedroom, which meant I was getting a powerful but not quite cool blast of air all down my right side. Last night I set the Vornado to bounce up off the ceiling. It was like having a gentle shower of cool air waft down across my entire body. It was heaven.
ReplyDeleteThat DOES sound like heaven!
ReplyDeleteWhen Cam gives something 5 stars, one should listen. I bought it right away, and it really is amazing. My only gripe is that it's not really noisy, but it's a bit noisier than my old fan.
ReplyDeleteBut, so worth it for the blanket of air effect.
ReplyDeleteI have it set on #2 right now and I hear it, but it's quieter than my old fan set to #2. On #3 it does vrooom, but it actually blows too much air in that setting for me. I would use #3 if I came home to a fireball apartment, cranked on the AC and wanted to get the circulation going fast! (especially if friends were coming over to partay).
ReplyDeleteAnd with such a tiny footprint, even though #3 is pretty vrooomy, I am amazed how much air it really can CIRCULATE: key word here. This is most definitely not a fan.
Thanks, Matt. I'm glad you like it. I would have hated to see you say here, "this thing is not worth the money I paid for...."
And I had the same feeling about the gentle shower of cool air waft across my body when I was sitting at the breakfast table with Mayu. We looked around and wondered why our shoulders facing away from the Vornado felt like we were being sprinkled with cool air. It was rather ... weird because I've never experienced that beforre.
Thanks for believing in me, Matt. I hope it helps cool down your bedroom so that you only have to wake to a fireball, as opposed to a raging fireball! That makes all the difference in the world!!
I love you!
You mentioned in one of these comments about the footprint, and now I'm curious how many KW/h it uses compared to my fan. I haven't actually found I've been setting my a/c lower yet, although I certainly feel much more comfortable. I think the Vornado will truly save me money and electricity in winter, as my heater tends to heat just one corner of my apartment very well, and leave the rest bone-chillingly cold. I'm counting on the Vornado to make that a thing of the past.
ReplyDeleteWe should totally become Vornado salespeople.
Actually, having just written that, I just realized I was freezing, and went and cranked the a/c down 2 degrees (Celsius), something that I haven't done in over a month...
ReplyDeleteSorry.... I'm laughing at your last comment..... And that's the TRUTH!
ReplyDelete"I don't feel colder, but more comfortable...... (40 minutes later).... I'm feeling a bit chilly...."
HAHAHAHAHAHA
I've discovered in my living room, if I place it right in front of the a/c, it feels exactly like "central air" is supposed to, but never does. It's exactly like sitting on a beach with a cool breeze.
ReplyDelete(and you are right to laugh, I had to go put on a thicker t-shirt.)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA..... but you know what? I can't sit in here with a tanktop on and be comfortable anymore.... I actually need a t-shirt myself and for me... who goes around naked most of the summer ... that is unthinkable.
ReplyDeleteSitting on a beach with a cool breeze... yes yes, I know that! And I have never experienced that sitting on any beaches in Japan... only on some tropical island ... elsewhere. But now... now I can feel like I am on holiday for a fraction of the cost!
Don't you love the picture on the box of that living room suite transplanted onto a tropical island?
OMG stop that! I am trying to work here....cannot focus with those images in my head. :)
ReplyDeleteMichelle - Would "bereft of nearly all of his clothes" have been a better phrase to elicit a more favourable response?
ReplyDeleteI prefer "nature ready"
ReplyDeleteLOL-oh um, yeah, that is soooooo much better. Still got pictures in my mind. Note to self: go take cold shower after work. LOL
ReplyDeleteYou are something else.
LOL good one Harmy! *Waving hello*
ReplyDeleteOh great, now I got picture of Harmy and Cam being um...."nature ready".
Trying desperatley to focus on work....yeah right!
I like it!
ReplyDeleteOk, you two. I got to actually do some work...well, maybe. I hate working on Saturday. Anywho, I love you both and going to hop off here until tonight. hugs and kisses all around.
ReplyDeletePeace..........M
Please take a look at Matt (Harmaceutical)'s gushing review of this product. He has been using it for a few days now, and it has changed his lifestyle in Summer, Tokyo, Japan!
ReplyDeletehttp://harmaceutical.multiply.com/journal/item/384/Vornado_Weather.
RobERT - You may want to consider getting yourself one of these babies since you boil (summer) and freeze (winter) in your apartment over there in Kakogawa!
Hmmmmmmm I missed this before...... must look into it.
ReplyDelete