Why are all oscillating fans garbage?

I need to rant because I'm so sick of all of these garbage oscillating fans. I swear I have to buy new ones constantly as they start quiet and wind up loud as fuck. Clicking, whirring, popping. I've tried all of the usual suspects and they always wind up garbage. So far the best one has been my Honeywell tower fan, but even it has gotten louder over time. No they havent been knocked down, abused, etc. They are born and die in the tent. I just threw out the ACinfinity Cloudray or whatever that shit is. CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK every time it makes a pass. I finally took it out and dropped my fireproof safe on it I couldn't take it anymore. I felt like Dustin Hoffman in Hook. The infernal fucking ticking.

Who has an oscillating fan (tower preferably) they have been using for several years that isn't obnoxious as fuck? Yes I know your (insert here) fan you've been using for 3 months is whisper quiet...they all start that way.

RuggedWombat said:

I need to rant because I'm so sick of all of these garbage oscillating fans. I swear I have to buy new ones constantly as they start quiet and wind up loud as fuck. Clicking, whirring, popping. I've tried all of the usual suspects and they always wind up garbage. So far the best one has been my Honeywell tower fan, but even it has gotten louder over time. No they havent been knocked down, abused, etc. They are born and die in the tent. I just threw out the ACinfinity Cloudray or whatever that shit is. CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK every time it makes a pass. I finally took it out and dropped my fireproof safe on it I couldn't take it anymore. I felt like Dustin Hoffman in Hook. The infernal fucking ticking.

Who has an oscillating fan (tower preferably) they have been using for several years that isn't obnoxious as fuck? Yes I know your (insert here) fan you've been using for 3 months is whisper quiet...they all start that way.

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Damn I just got the AC infinity oscillating fan haven't used it yet tho

bguwop420 said:

Damn I just got the AC infinity oscillating fan haven't used it yet tho

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I used it for like 2 grows. You cant take apart to clean and over time the motor going back and forth got worse and worse just like all of the others. I love all the other ACI stuff but holy shit I'm worried the engineering behind the oscillating concept is just flawed in general because all fans seem to wind up this way. I bought mine 7/15/2022 according to my email history so take that for what it's worth. More like 3 grows but still abysmal compared to the almost 3 years of flawless service from their S6 inline fan.

Tower fans IMO are the way to go. I just got one like three months ago, 27 or 28" i think?

Use two static pole clip fans for above the canopy, but have at least one tower fan in at least one corner, oscillating under the canopy.

PopAndSonGrows said:

Tower fans IMO are the way to go. I just got one like three months ago, 27 or 28" i think?

Use two static pole clip fans for above the canopy, but have at least one tower fan in at least one corner, oscillating under the canopy.

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Shit I cant find one quiet reliable fan and you're advocating 3 rofl. Got any recommendations and how long have you been using them? The issue is noise as my tent is also in my office. The Honeywell tower fan has amazing fan coverage, but the stand is really tall and it's gotten a bit louder since purchasing last year. Still my favorite overall.

Just do it yourself & hook some flexible ducting up to a small inline fan, and rig up your own little electric motor (a reliable one with proper gearing for once, maybe a powerwheels gear box or something) to some linkage.. connected to a wheel on the motors gear box, so it moves the end of the ducting back and forth as it spins. That's what I'm gonna do next time any of my POS oscillating fans crap out. I'm tired of it too. They're all garbage with tiny weak motors it seems, and getting worse every year as far as quality goes. I wanna rig one up like a light mover as well, to rock my hoods back and forth a little bit..

Why can't some company simply make a reliable "standalone oscillating motor", that you could hook anything you want up to it?

I feel you. I took apart the motor in my clicking aci fan. The main drive gear is white nylon/plastic. One tooth on the gear was deformed or worn away after a couple months of use. That's the click, click, click. I'm certain that the slightest mishandling while the fan is oscillating is enough to break or deform a tooth. Mixing metal gears and soft plastic will do that. Needless to say, it no longer oscillates but It's still a useful fan.

Pretty sure some of the fans even have a disclaimer warning, not to oscillate them more than so many hours a day. As if they expect you to know that and read the small print, or growers to be cool not knowing your equipment isn't good enough to do the job 24/7..

I guess you have to go in the grow 2 extra times to manually flip the switch every day. Might as well fork for out for another set of fans too on the next ones you buy. Turn one off, and another one on each time if you want to keep them from burning out soon, lol! Can we at least separate the fans oscillating motors with its own timer so they don't burn out so quickly? No?

Trash!

I'm gonna make my own tower fan, coming to think about it. Just a long piece of ducting/pipe (with vents along one side) with a matching inline fan attached up top, and my own modified powerwheels gear system towards the bottom. I don't even care if its loud, I never want to hear the dreaded click again!

I'm going to invent and sell the grow tent punkah fan.

Take your oscilating tower fan and hang it horizontally like this, you can hang a second one for below the cannopy.

shnkrmn said:

I'm going to invent and sell the grow tent punkah fan.

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How about the whacky waving inflatable tube fan, that doesn't need any gearing, and blows air all over the place? Flaps around everywhere, and scares away garden pests too!

Drop That Sound said:

How about the whacky waving inflatable tube fan, that doesn't need any gearing, and blows air all over the place? Flaps around everywhere, and scares away garden pests too!

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Every grower needs a hug now and then.

Ive been loving my AC Infinity oscillating tent fan so much that i just bought another for tent #2.

Their marketing about it being designed from the ground up for the heat and humidity associated with growing sold me. As you said, most motors cant stand the rigors of that kind of every day use, a few months out and so far so good. Vivosun just put out their equal to ACI's for a few bucks less but i have a graveyard of broken cheap shit so i opted for the pricier and hopefully sturdier choice.

edit: i see you had a cloudray and it broke. Damn. Were you past warranty?

Tolerance Break said:

Take your oscilating tower fan and hang it horizontally like this, you can hang a second one for below the cannopy.View attachment 5314122

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Yeah but I really like the oscillation for the even coverage. Though if this Honeywell breaks I can just remove the base and run it high in the tent like you are I suppose. I've found plants windburn very easily so I have the fan on its lowest setting pointing toward the wall.

RuggedWombat said:

Yeah but I really like the oscillation for the even coverage. Though if this Honeywell breaks I can just remove the base and run it high in the tent like you are I suppose. I've found plants windburn very easily so I have the fan on its lowest setting pointing toward the wall.

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I run my fan across the top of the cannopy at the lowest setting, when they get tall, I raise it, up the speed, and angle it slightly. I'll make adjustments until 75% of leaves show some movement when the tent is sealed.

I hope you try it someday, just to see how it attacks up. I started doing this on my second grow, so I don't have much to compare too.

Tolerance Break said:

I run my fan across the top of the cannopy at the lowest setting, when they get tall, I raise it, up the speed, and angle it slightly. I'll make adjustments until 75% of leaves show some movement when the tent is sealed.

I hope you try it someday, just to see how it attacks up. I started doing this on my second grow, so I don't have much to compare too.

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Wouldn't the closest plants get way too much wind and or none at all depending on the angle? My plants don't even like my fan pointing at them on the lowest setting. So you're angling it down slightly and the air is reflecting off of the tent wall and then disperses amongst the rest? I'm wondering how the plant nearest the fan is getting enough air.

RuggedWombat said:

Wouldn't the closest plants get way too much wind and or none at all depending on the angle? My plants don't even like my fan pointing at them on the lowest setting. So you're angling it down slightly and the air is reflecting off of the tent wall and then disperses amongst the rest? I'm wondering how the plant nearest the fan is getting enough air.

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If a leaf wiggles a little bit, it's getting air flow. Think of air like water for a moment, a drop causes water to ripple and move quite a ways from the point of contact. With a reasonable placement and strength of flow, you can mix alot of water with a small stream. The air is the same way. I just want that constant stream of air to keep things moving and fresh.

Edit: here are my girls now.

I like the idea of horizontally mounting the tower style fans above the canopy to save space like that (especially along walls instead of taking up real estate in one corner), and always wanted one that was powerful enough to oscillate up and down from the side, with mounts on both ends.

Every tower fan I ever tried testing sideways clicked out, so I still never got one. Not even to use vertically as designed..

I think it needs an oscillating motor on both ends that link\run together to make the idea work. Might be able to cut 2 of the same model in half, and join them together in the center somehow. Reversing the rotation of one of the oscillating motors by flipping the wiring on one of them? I dunno.. Probably best to make my own..

If you hung an extra tower fan up in the tent like that (or any fan really), I suppose you could just put them all on short cycle timers to blow back and forth (or bottom to top at an angle), leaving a small pauses in between with no wind..

I've had good luck with cheap Lasko fans. I have a bunch for both my home and grow and they just keep working, and they are super easy to take apart and clean.