The first one I ordered did not work. TLDR: There's a manufacturing, assembly, packing, or shipping problem which causes the fan blade on these models to stick enough that the motor is unable to start the blade; this resolved for me by removing the grille (while unplugged) and giving the blade a twirl). TLDR2: Vornado says, "sturdy metal construction" ... but note the blade itself is plastic, not metal. Read further for the whole story. As soon as I received it, I unpacked it, read the instructions, plugged it in, and turned it on ... the fan greeted me with an electrical humming noise, but the fan blades did not move. To be sure the outlet was functional, I plugged a portable air cleaner in, which worked correctly. Tried a different outlet, same behavior -- just an electrical hum. Checked the fuse built into the plug; it was seated correctly. The fan's behavior was the same no matter whether I turned the control to low or high -- hum and no blade motion. Calling Vornado got me a record led message that their office was closed until the next morning. Fortunately, Amazon made it easy to return what appeared to be a defective fan and exchange for a new one. When the new fan arrived, I unpacked it right away, plugged it in, and turned it on ... to be greeted by the same electrical hum and lack of fan blade motion as the first fan. Remembering the instructions' warning about US/North American 120V power only, I broke out the electrical meter and checked the outlet ... it was delivering a cool 120.5 volts of AC power, right on the mark. I verified that the fan was passing power by noting the resistance on my meter with a probe on each prong of the plug ... zero when the fan was off, some resistance when turned on. What the heck? Two lemons?! I knew it was fruitless to call Vornado, because this was a Saturday and their office was closed. So, on a whim, I followed the instructions to remove the grille for cleaning (UNPLUG FIRST!) so I could look more closely at the front side of the motor. To my surprise, when I gave the fan blade (aside: plastic? the blade is plastic?) a twirl, it didn't move at first ... it was stuck against something. Either the blade reseated itself or the something gave way, because the second twirl caused the blade to spin. Again: What the heck?! I reassembled the grille, plugged the fan in, and it worked correctly, on both high and low speeds. Assessment: - There's a manufacturing, assembly, packing, or shipping problem which causes the fan blade on these models to stick enough that the motor is unable to start the blade. It happened twice to me. Anyone comfortable following the instructions to remove the grille for cleaning can do so and give the blade a twirl to help it remember what it should do. That's a poor customer experience, and Vornado probably should fix that. Pro: - Small size. This is definitely a tabletop fan for moving air in small areas, not for large rooms. - Low speed is pretty quiet (about the same loudness as a fridge, quieter than a microwave oven). - Manual control knob works well with remote-control outlets. - Easy to disassemble for cleaning. - Retro look is nicer than the usual Vornado plastic. Ice white color scheme is nicely muted. Con: - The absurd defect mentioned above. - High speed is pretty darn loud. - Unexpected plastic blade. - The "modern" crossover base with rubber feet is subject to wobbling if it's not formed quite right; at this price point, it's suboptimal, but unsurprising, and can be mitigated the same way you might keep a chair or whatnot from wobbling (the metal base is too thick and stiff to bend without tools and possible damage).
