13 replies to this topic

[Old Crow]

Just a quick mention of a relatively inexpensive portable fan which has served me well. Food for thought.

 

It's a Caframo MiniMax:

 

http://www.amazon.co...d/dp/B00MENBO1U

 

I first bought one of these while trying to figure out how to get airflow in our van.  The van's raised fiberglass roof didn't have any ventilation when I bought it and sometimes acts as a hot-air trap.  I added a Fantastic Vent and that made a big difference. But when the weather's really hot I need air blowing right on me.

 

We tried a Fan-Tastic Endless Breeze fan, which is essentially a Fantastic Fan turned on it's side and made portable. I'd hang it up high between the seats of the van, facing backward.  It pushed a lot of air but was awfully big to store.  And it raised the next challenge-- my wife doesn't like that much air flow.

 

That led to a search for a new wife.  When that didn't work out, I started looking at personal fans. And of course we wanted a fan with a good battery life.  Thus the MiniMax.

 

So what's good about it?

 

- Battery life is crazy-good. Specs say 300 hours.  I believe it. It doesn't just last for a season, it lasts multiple seasons for us, mostly because it's not needed that often.

 

- It's quiet and small.  I use one in the hottest, sweatiest weather to cool me off in bed.  I can adjust the fan speed to just-right and  put it at my feet to blow up the length of my body.  When I've cooled down I just turn it off and push it out of the way till morning. 

 

- I often sit in the passenger seat of the van working on the laptop. Sometimes the sun's too warm or the heat coming up off the engine is too warm and I can't open the windows (rain, bugs,etc). I put the Minimax on the dash.  No messing with cords, no suction cup hassle, just get it, set it, forget it.

 

- Other uses:  Drying out the mattress when we had a small rain leak. Speeding up towel-drying (inside).  Fanning a fire that doesn't want to burn (Don't get too close. I have one with a melted bezel because of that!).  Having a breeze when sitting out in the hottest, stickiest, no-breeze weather.  I also use one at my gym. It happens to sit nicely on the elliptical machine in a still-air area of the gym (but, alas, I can't use it on the rowing machine or exercise bike).

 

What's bad about it?

 

- Not much.  It's another battery type to deal with.  It lasts so long I don't typically carry spares unless I know weather will be very hot or I think it has been an exceedingly long time since I've changed them.  It's heavier than other portable fans using AA batteries (but that's also the reason it lasts so long)

 

I don't have much experience with it yet in my new-to-me Hawk.  On the one trip I've taken so far, I used it to circulate heat from my Buddy Heater (sitting by the door) back to the cabover bed area.  And I used it to help dry the pop-top liner one morning I noticed some condensation.

 

-OC

[Alley-Kat]

Interesting.

 

And, I'll apologize ahead of time for the thread hijack, however, I do like tools that can multitask.

 

I wonder how it would work in a cold and slightly damp environment...like a 12VDC compressor fridge?

 

That looks better than the wimpy little fridge fans that Camping World sells.

FridgeCool Fan this ones hardly moves any air at all.

Fridge Airator I've not tried this one.

 

Does the one you have with the melted bezel still work?
If yes, can you try it in your fridge for about a month or so.

Or, if you don't have a fridge to try it in, send it to me, I'll test it out and report back.

Edited by Alley-Kat, 23 May 2015 - 04:01 PM.

[Old Crow]

Hi Alley-Kat--

 

I didn't do a good job of posting a clip or photo to show the MiniMax beside something to give an idea of scale.  The only thing I could find online shows the MiniMax near a box of tissue...

 

 

The MiniMax is quite a bit larger than the fridge fans and only operates with the fan tilted up from its horizontal storage position.  I'd think that would take up way too much valuable fridge space if it would indeed operate in that environment.

 

-OC

[Alley-Kat]

Understood, thanks.

[Freebird]

Your review sounds very good. I had a similar travel fan that died in three weeks, so looking for a good quality one to replace it.
The Amazon reviews were not encouraging.

[Squatch]

Last year before going to the Outer Banks I picked up a couple of little personal sized fans that look like the 1st one posted above. I got them at Dick's Sporting goods. About 5" square and run on 2 D batteries. They won't blow you out of the house but for a breeze in your face while sleeping in a hot tent they worked great. We ran them all night every night for a week and changed batteries once the day before leaving. I didn't expect much for under $10 but was pleasantly surprised how well they worked.

 

Found it.

http://www.dicksspor...oductId=4063183

 

 

Looks like they have a couple of others as well.

http://www.dicksspor...s/tent-fans.jsp

Edited by Squatch, 25 May 2015 - 05:40 AM.

[Advmoto18]

I've been using the O2Cool fan (D cell) for some time.  Great little fan!  Mostly used in a Nemo tent (minus the fly) during summer motorcycle camping trips.  I'd hadn't thought of using it in the Hawk.  I will definitiely give it a try!  Thx for the idea!

 

I prefer the D cell model over the AA model.  Much more stored energy in  2x D v 4x AA.

Edited by Advmoto18, 18 June 2015 - 10:13 AM.

[Lighthawk]

What about a USB powered fan?

I put in two 12v outlets in our Hawk with USB ports for our phones, tablet, GPS, camera battery charger, etc.

It's great if you can keep all your toys on the same charger cord.

[Tuff Guy 62]

Ozark Trail 10-inch fan.

 

six D-cell batteries.

 

20 bucks at Walmart.

[Norsker]

Ryobi that runs on drill batteries is hard to beat. Home depot. Also can buy a 12v charger for the batteries,