zoogelsnof's Full Review: Lakewood 007/JR Floor / Box Fan
History
I apologize in advance if this sounds more like a eulogy then a review, but me and this fan go way, way back. I purchased my first, one, and only Kool Operator Jr. fan while at summer camp in Ojai, California in the 6th grade, 7 long years ago. Now, a 7 year life lifespan on a small $30 fan is pretty amazing in and of itself, but when you consider what I’ve done to this damn fan over that 7 years it becomes absolutely shocking. It has been beaten, bruised, soaked, smashed, serrated, crashed, walloped, whomped, and whacked about with such reckless abandon that its life is nothing short of absolutely unbelievable. To provide just a few examples:
1)It has traveled, unpadded, in a box from LA to Boston 2 times, in a suitcase from LA to Oakland that was manhandled and beaten by up by airport security and employees, 6 times, in a car trunk to summer camp 3 times and simply moved all over the house following me during the hot months of summer being banged into doors, dropped on floors, and knocked off tables literally hundreds of times.
2)It was too really dirty a couple of years ago, and I decided it needed to be washed, so I submerged it, completely, in water, and swirled it around with some soap and then rinsed it off. Once it dried, it continued to work perfectly for several more years, in a new, clean form. (This is, of course, NOT reccomended, I simply say that I DID, not that you SHOULD. Submerging a normal fan in water should kill it, not clean it.)
3)It was once swung around, by its cord, in several large circles because it had gotten wet and I wanted to dry it off quickly, and it continued to function perfectly. (Also not reccomended for all kinds of reasons)
Okay, so now I think I’ve convinced you that this fan, despite being made of nothing more then heavy plastic, a small motor, and a couple of plastic feet is the most indestructible piece of equipment I’ve ever owned.
Performance
How about performance, you ask? Well, I’m glad you did, because this fan moves huge amounts of air despite its small size. It’s only about 8 inches in diameter, but it can push out hurricane force winds that will plaster you against the nearest wall (well, maybe not quite that powerful, but, close.) It unquestionably pushes the most air volume I’ve ever experienced from a small fan.
It is, a little bit loud, that is true, but that’s simply a result of how much air it pushes. The sound is pure and clean, it’s just the sound of moving air, no rattling parts, no wobbling legs, this thing is simply an air pushing indestructible brick.
It also has amazing powers of longevity, it ran for the last 12 months straight, without being unplugged or turned off, in a smoking room, and by the end of that 12 months it was totally disgusting, covered in goo and smoke crap, but still running perfectly.
Looks
The fan is about a foot tall, and it's basically an 8 inch plastic circle set on two wide legs thats about 5 inches deep. It's all gray plastic, except the face (a tight knit latice work of plastic to prevent finger chopping) which is black with a small red circle in the middle that says, "Lakewood" and, "Made in the USA".
The on/off switch is on the top towards the back, and it has 3 settings, high medium and low. It's just a little round plastic knob.
Assembly
Simple answer: none. It comes complete out of the box. I never tried to disassemble it, but it didn't look like it was meant to be disassembled, no visible screws or clips or clamps, this is a solid machine designed for solid work and they don't want the user mucking around with it.
If you need a small fan, buy this, there is simply nothing else to say about it. This fan cost me a grand total of about $4 a year, and that ain't not half bad.
Cleaning
I have no idea what a valid way to clean this is, I'm willing to bet there is one, but I always just cleaned it by the above mentioned totally stupid way. I expect the instruction manual gives better instructions, but I haven't seen it for 7 years, so i'd be lying if I said I remembered what it said. The fan comes with a 3 year warrenty.
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