Adrian Dimakis
What’s that one thing that home renovators, carpet cleaners, and painters have in common? They all do manual work? Have great attention to details? Well, not necessarily! While these professionals are keen on their duties and spend a good deal of time doing manual work, it’s true that they mostly deal with moisture and wet surfaces. After a long day of work, they all need to have the surfaces they’ve worded on dried. They have the option of going back home and coming back after a day or two to find everything well dried up, but this means wasting a ton of time.
Welcome technology! Manufacturers have built an air mover, a lesser-known work tool, which performs the task of blowing air to dry wet surfaces and objects. Don’t confuse them with an ordinary fan, though — these tools are designed to provide a targeted and constant blast of air, offering an insanely high output compared. And because of their compact size and ease of moving, you can use them to crawl places where their larger cousins would fit.
Instead of sitting somewhere twiddling your thumbs hoping that your surface will dry sooner, you can just use this tool and save time. Just go through our reviews and buying guide to find the best air mover for your needs. There’s something for every profession or DIY enthusiast!
Top 10 Air Movers of 2020 Reviewed
1. STANLEY 655704 High-Velocity Blower Fan
[wt_products id=”3420″ template=”5″]2. Shop-Air by Shop-Vac
[wt_products id=”3422″ template=”5″]3. Air King 9550
[wt_products id=”3424″ template=”5″]4. B-Air VP-25 1/4HP Blower Floor Fan
[wt_products id=”3426″ template=”5″]5. Portable Adjustable Industrial Fan Blower by Stalwart
[wt_products id=”3428″ template=”5″]6. XPOWER P-230AT 1/5 HP
[wt_products id=”3430″ template=”5″]7. CFM PRO Air Mover
[wt_products id=”3433″ template=”5″]8. Max Storm 1/2 HP
[wt_products id=”3435″ template=”5″]9. OdorStop OS2800 Heavy Duty Air Mover
[wt_products id=”3439″ template=”5″]10. MOUNTO 3-Speed 3/4HP 3000CFM Air Mover
[wt_products id=”3441″ template=”5″]How to Choose the Best Air Mover – The Ultimate Buying Guide to Air Blower Fans
Air movers come in handy in several applications including drying floors, carpets, and even walls, and also for circulating fresh air within the house, offices, shops, and even construction sites. The good thing about this air movers is that they are not limited to industrial use. You may have probably come across a number of them being used at home and even offices. Homeowners can use them to dry off freshly painted walls, and even areas that are hard to reach while drying.
These air movers come in a range of sizes, colors, and even price ranges amongst other parameters. It thus calls for you to identify why you want any air mover to source for the one that will meet your needs. There being so many brands of air movers in the market, it becomes almost impossible to pick the right one for you. Let us have a look at some of the things to consider when you are choosing the best air mover for your home use.
Speed versus strength: which should you opt for?
For you to make maximum use of the air movers’ optimal performance, then the device has to be made from top-notch parts. We strongly suggest that you make this a priority while buying an air mover. The power and speed are our primary concerns at this point. When it comes to power, we think of how strong the air being blown is. Can the fan blow off debris? And what type of debris are we talking about here?
For you to get the main idea here, let’s compare the air mover with a vacuum cleaner. The more powerful the vacuum cleaner, the more debris it can suck up along the way. Weak vacuum cleaners probably suck in pieces of paper, but the much stronger ones sweep up large debris like nails and so forth. Point home? If the air mover will be able to move the amount of debris you require to be moved, then it has served its purpose.
When it comes to strength, we also look at consistency. Consider the air mover that will not only give you optimal performance but also be consistent throughout its use. When it comes to speed, we mean the number of rotations the fan makes per minute. If you want more work cover better yet more airflow/circulation, then go for a higher speed which is otherwise very noisy. Otherwise, the lower speed which is a bit quieter will give an average performance.
Choosing the right type of air mover
Air movers come in three different types which vary in terms of airflow speed and direction. You must, therefore, choose the one that fits best your job requirements.
- Axial: these types of air movers come in a larger form and also produce a higher airflow rate. They are known to blow huge amounts of air in a vast space. The downside for these air movers is that they can only move air horizontally. This means they are only good for drying floors and walls, ventilation and also as cooling equipment.
- Centrifugal air movers: if you are down for compact air movers, then perhaps this category would make a great choice for you. This compact air movers usually draw the air from the surrounding while directing the same air to the required space. These types of air movers are best suited for hard-to-reach areas like cabinets, closets, and areas that would normally require you to crawl.
- Compact: if you are looking for more versatile air movers then perhaps this would do for you. These air movers do well in both small and large applications. These air movers are much quieter than their larger counterparts due to the little amount of Horsepower in them (1/4HP). They also occupy much less space than the centrifugal air movers. They are lightweight by nature due to the compact build hence making them the best choice for hard to reach areas.
What level CFM and horsepower (HP) will work for you?
When talking about horsepower, we mentioned earlier that horsepower could be equated to the strength of the motor. This means that the more hp your air movers harbor, the more powerful the air movers are. So how then do we know what power is best for us? Again, in the previous section of the buying guide, we talked about the purpose of the machine. The answer to this question lies in the purpose of the machine. How quickly do you want the task at hand completed?
CFM can be defined as the amount of air moved in ‘cubic feet per meter.’ This means how much air is being moved and produced within a minute. A simple rule goes, the higher the horsepower, the higher the CFM rate.
How safe is the air mover in the house?
When it comes to using electrical appliances, the rule of thumb is safety first. One of the most important factors to bear in mind when purchasing any air mover is safety assurance. What do we mean by electrical safety? Check for the materials that the air mover is made off. Do these materials succumb to great levels of heat brought about by the device? Has the appliance been tested by professionals and has it aced the quality assurance test?
This information is available to you everywhere including in our product review. Check for guarantees and proper labels indicating the device is safe to use, as well as electrically safe. Devices that come lacking the general manufacturers’ labels, as well as manuals, raise concerns and thus you should steer clear of them.
Are you looking into saving some energy? Check the Amp Draw
It is imperative that you also consider the amount of energy being used to run the machine. By now, you are quite conversant with the effect of more speed (CFM) and more strength (HP) on the device. If you are planning to save some energy, then you most likely will need to consider the strength of your air mover both in terms of horsepower and also speed. Of course, the more of these two aspects, the more the power consumed to run the machine. This calls for you to go for smaller compact devices if you have to save energy.
Look for an air mover with variable speed settings
If your air mover comes with a variable speed setting, then noise levels become less of a concern. With this feature, you can set your device to move large amounts of air at the top speed and then bear with the noise, or, set the low-speed setting for less amount of airflow but with minimized noise production. The speed dial enhances your air mover, making it more versatile for a range of applications including offices and homes.
Variety of angles is key
Some air movers come with a feature for setting the direction of airflow. This feature could be a dialer or inbuilt plastic molding that allows you to place the device in specific positions to direct the airflow to a certain position. This feature comes in handy, should you have a large object that requires multi-angular air movers to direct air to certain spots. Most of these machines come with three distinct angles, including 0, 45, and 90 degrees.
Will it last? Lok for a durable machine
These air movers come in compact and a variety of shapes which makes them very portable. Moving them back and forth puts them in so much risk of wearing off. These devices are likely to tip over and fall when stacking them or even collide with other objects during the up and down movement. You should, therefore, be very keen as to the level of quality of the device you are choosing. Consider devices constructed using durable materials such as polypropylene or polyethylene.
Extra features are an added advantage!
There are instances where you may need to use more than one air mover to get the job done. For his reason, you’d be better off using the daisy chain method. For the daisy chain method, it is recommended that you go for air movers that feature a low Amp draw.
Moreover, there are instances where you may need to use other electrical appliances like dehumidifiers or even T5 grow lights and so forth. These electrical appliances call for a daisy chain feature in the air movers. This would consequently call for air movers that come with a lower Amp draw.
If you do happen to have limited power outlets on your site, going for air movers with a low Amp draw would be the better option.
Alternatives For The Product Type
If you are looking into cooling your home with air movers but don’t have the means to acquire one, you may also consider investing in the following alternatives.
- Fans: These fans come in different varieties right from tabletop to pedestal mounted fans. These fans may not be as functional as the air movers, but they can definitely cool you house down a notch.
- Improved fan: Placing a damp cloth in front of a fan improves its performance drastically. The air that is projected towards the towel causes the moisture in the dump to evaporate consequently hence cooling the environment. This is a DIY project. However, some fans come with misters in built-in them, which improves the overall condition of your house temperature.
- Bladeless fans: these fans are very safe at home as they do not feature rotating blades. They feature adjustable speed and are very expensive.
- Air conditioners: these too are a great alternative to air movers. They, however, consume a lot of energy and are equivalently very expensive to install and maintain.
Things To Avoid or Be Attentive To
- You should steer clear of air mover that does not feature a label nor the manufacturers manual. These products tend to be low-quality build. Their materials may not be able to withstand great amounts of heat produced by the fans hence prompting safety hazards.
- Avoid air movers that have not been approved by various regulatory bodies such as ETL may not appeal to the international standards.
- Avoid air movers that have not been tested by professionals for their efficiency. These are likely to let you down along the way.
Conclusion
Air movers come in handy in a range of applications including house cleaning and circulating fresh air to the house. There being so many brands of air movers in the market, it becomes a daunting task knowing what to look out for when choosing the best of these super machines. There’s so much to keep in mind right from identifying the different types and models down to the amp draw and also electrical safety. We have outlined the most important points which we think will play a key role in helping you pick the right machine for your needs. Be sure to follow through, and you might land yourself the best deal.
