Saturday, October 22, 2016

Arguably The Best Fan I Have Yet Found: The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan!


The Good: Good air flow, Very small footprint, Durable, Directional change is a cool idea.
The Bad: Not very easy to clean, Not very quiet
The Basics: The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan is a worthwhile window fan for those who want to avoid using an air conditioner.


I have a had a string of bad luck when it comes to fans over the last few years. The fans I have tried are either wobbly, prohibitively expensive or have features that jack up the price without truly altering the product's effectiveness. As one who is basically a cheapskate, I try to mitigate the inevitable hike in my electric bill that comes with using an air conditioner during the summer months by using fans. So, my ideal fan is durable, energy efficient and easy to clean with good air flow that effectively cools both my wife and I in our apartment. To date, the best fan I have yet found is the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan.

The Pelonis Window Fan model FW23-8HS is a window fan with wings that fill out the space in a window and removable feet that allow the unit to stand firmly on its own when outside of a window perch. The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan requires no real assembly when it comes out of the box, just clipping on the metal feet to the grooves in the base of the window fan. The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan is a blockish unit that is made primarily of heavy white plastic and has two fans in the unit. Measuring 24" wide, the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan has extendable "wings" which allow the window fan to fill the full width of the window in which it is placed. The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan is 12 1/2" tall and 4" deep. The cord on the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan is 63" long and ends in a standard two-prong plug.

The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan has a white finish which is very simple. The unit has two fans and on the front of the window fan there are two sliding buttons that control the direction the fan is blowing - in and out. At the top of the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan are two buttons, the left one for speed and the right one for temperature. There are eight LED lights above the buttons on two rows, five green ones to indicate the desired temperature if one presses the right "Temp" button, and three red LEDs below the temperature LEDs for desired speed.

Usage of the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan is fairly easy. The lower portion of the unit is thinner, which allows the window fan to fit in the bottom channel of pretty much any window. As a rather clever design aspect, near where the cord enters the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan on the bottom of the unit, there is a little recess, which allows the cord to be threaded along the base of the window fan and the base of the windowframe. As a result, the window fan remains very stable when properly placed in a window. The top of the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan has a channel of its own, so when the window is closed down to the top of the window fan, it is kept firmly in place. Once so situated and plugged in, the unit is activated with a touch of a button.

Years of experience have proven to me that the "Temperature" button is basically a theoretical concept that is not executed with practical application. The "Temp" button creates a speed that theoretically creates the desired temperature. It's like the theory of wind chill - "30 degrees that feels like 10 because of how fast the wind is blowing." But in practical application, this is an overselling of the concept and unfortunately does not work in a real way. Pressing the "Temp" button causes the fan to blow at a consistent speed - there is no temperature gauge within the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan that monitors or adjusts to the desired temperature. As a result, trying to get the window fan to actually cool a room or make one feel like they are in a room that is 60 degrees on a one hundred degree day does not work at all. Similarly, there were nights where we put the unit in the window and set it to 70 degrees and at some point in the night, the temperature outside plummeted into the 50s, but the fan's speed did not change at all.

As a result, I tend to use the simple low, medium and high speed settings when I use the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan. The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan works incredibly well. The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan moves air with noticeable force; even at the lowest of the settings.

I discovered very early on that one of the most useful functions of the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan was the ability to change the direction the fan blades are moving. Throughout the summer, our local grocery store offered bacon on clearance - sometimes for more than 60% off! - and we would stock up on it. Rather than sweltering in the heat from having the oven on in the summer, we would blow the hot air from the apartment out instead of trying to suck (theoretically) colder air into the apartment. That worked far better than I would have thought before I got the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan (and it also vacated any smoke that came from the over under such circumstances!).

The Pelonis Window Fan is not particularly quiet, though I have had much louder fans. The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan is noticeable when it is on, for much more than just air flow.

Cleaning the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan is very difficult. The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan is a sealed unit. As a result, the outside of the window fan may be wiped down very easily, but cleaning the actual blades inside is a virtual impossibility. Given that I live on the edge of a forest where there is pollen and dirt, the inability to easily clean the blades is problematic.

The Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan is not incredibly energy efficient, but it is still vastly less expensive than running an air conditioner.

In the final analysis, the Pelonis FW23-8HS 9" Window Fan is an affordable way to cool most rooms, at least in an apartment setting!

For other fans, please check out my reviews of:
Dyson Air Multiplier Fan
Feature Comforts FTT-4 3-Speed Oscillating Tower Fan
Lasko S18601 18" Stand Fan With Remote

8/10

For other appliances, please check out my Home And Garden Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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