Bladeless electric fan

[Chris Blount]

Now this is pretty darn cool! (no pun intended).


Dyson launches the bladeless electric fan
By Paul Taylor

Published: October 13 2009 00:09 | Last updated: October 13 2009 00:09

First there was the bagless vacuum cleaner, then the towel-less hand dryer: Now James Dyson, the British inventor, has developed a bladeless electric fan which goes on sale on Tuesday in the US and Australia.

The Dyson Air Multiplier fan – which looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie – uses advancements in airflow engineering instead of traditional blades to ‘multiply’ air 15 times and push out 119 gallons of smooth and uninterrupted air every second.


More...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5ba62a00-b755-11de-9812-00144feab49a.html

[tcusta00]

Wow, cool! I wonder how long 'til the prices come down to earth.

[Yoda-DBSguy]

Wow, cool! I wonder how long 'til the prices come down to earth.

It'll be a LONG time comming; as the top end DC28 "Animal" vacuum model I purchased 5+ years back is still being sold at the same $599 retail price point.

Great products; but they come at a substancial wallet hit!

[tcusta00]

Gotta wait for the patent expiration I guess. :lol:

[dpeters11]

Two questions: How loud is it? How can you make those cool voices like you get when you talk into a bladed fan?

[gfrang]

It don't look like much fun sticking your finger in it like a bladed one.

[kfcrosby]

Aesthetics vs. Engineering

There is a smal axial fan in the base of this unit, so forcing the air through sharp angle bends and narrow openings increases the static pressure which means it takes more energy (amps) to push the same airflow and increases the noise.

119 gallons/sec ~ 1000 CFM, about what you can get from many cheap (<$100) 10-12 inch desktop fans.

At $329.00, I'll pass..

[Ken S]

Think how cool that thing will be when you dip it in dish soap and turn it on....I think we're talking some mighty big bubbles! :)

[Tom Robertson]

Dyson vacuums are roughly 5x the price of low end vacuums. And there are many competitors in the same price point.

These fans are 10 to 30 times the price of good units. And only highly gilded and bejeweled units are even close to this price point. They are even more expensive than air conditioners! That to me is plain crazy. They might do better at $50... but even that seems outrageous after the first wave of buyers.

Cheers,
Tom

[timmmaaayyy2003]

Oooooooooh! Hold me back! Where's the phone!

Honey! Where's that credit card that wasn't maxed yet!? :p

[Richard King]

I bought a Dyson vacuum on Woot. I wonder how long before I can buy one of these there.

[LarryFlowers]

Think of how this could be used in a ceiling application

[Herdfan]

Say what you want about Dyson products being overpriced, but I have never had as good of vacuum as our Dyson. Sweep an area with our old Oreck and then again with the Dyson and you still get lots of dirt in the just swept area.

Plus our Sam's Club recently remodeled and the bathrooms have the new Dyson hand dryers. They get your hands dry in a quarter the time of the old hot air dryers.

[Tom Robertson]

Say what you want about Dyson products being overpriced, but I have never had as good of vacuum as our Dyson. Sweep an area with our old Oreck and then again with the Dyson and you still get lots of dirt in the just swept area.

Plus our Sam's Club recently remodeled and the bathrooms have the new Dyson hand dryers. They get your hands dry in a quarter the time of the old hot air dryers.

That is a standard vacuum cleaner salesmen trick. If you run your oreck over the same spot yet again, you'll still get lots of stuff up.

Consumer Reports said the Dyson's were good (as I recall), but pricey considering others at $150 and $200 were better. :)

Yes, the Dyson hand dryers are very good--I'd still use paper to open the door...

Cheers,
Tom

[houskamp]

need a small one to cool HRs :D

[Mike Bertelson]

That is a standard vacuum cleaner salesmen trick. If you run your oreck over the same spot yet again, you'll still get lots of stuff up.

Consumer Reports said the Dyson's were good (as I recall), but pricey considering others at $150 and $200 were better. :)

Yes, the Dyson hand dryers are very good--I'd still use paper to open the door...

Cheers,
TomAcutally I just look it up on consumer reports' website and the Dysons didn't do very well. There are 11 vacuums rated higher then the Animal, including a couple of Kenmores and the number one rated Hoover is nearly one third the price.

The Dyson Complete, the Slim, and the Ball did down right crappy.

I never understood why the high priced Kirbys, Dysons, Mieles, etc were so popular when they are always rated in the middle of the pack. Especially considering that the best rated vacuums are one third to one half the price.

However, even though I use Consumer Reports a lot, I've learned the what's rated best isn't always best for what I need. :grin:

Mike

[rudeney]

I bought my wife a new vacuum cleaner for Christmas last year (no comments - she asked for it!). I bought CR's top-rated Kenmore and it really sucks. Literally! It's the best vacuum we've ever owned. My mother bought the most expensive Dyson. We pitted them side by side and without any extensive scientific measuring, the Kenmore 1/4 the price, was the obvious winner.

So, would I pay 10x the price for a fan? No way! Now, we do use fans in our house. In fact, I sleep year round with a fan blowing air in my face. I can't sand still air and the sound helps me sleep. I use a $25 Lasko pedestal fan from WalMart. They last 5- years, and then I buy a new one. The Dyson, being over 10x more pricey, would have too last 50-60 years. Sorry, but I just don't see it coming to my bedroom!

[Richard King]

Someone was reading this forum....
http://shopping.yahoo.com/
Vornado Flippi Fan $9.99 + $5.00 Shipping. ;)

Ended at 1:00 Eastern. :(

[Nick]

That new Dyson fan should sell like hotcakes at Sharper Image.

What's that...? Sharper Image went out of business selling overpriced stuff? :confused:

Never mind. :whatdidid

[Drew2k]

I love my Dyson vacuum - definitely the best vacuum I've ever owned. When they say it doesn't lose suction, they are 100% correct. Any other vacuum I've used, the more the bag filled the less vacuum power it delivered, and that's just not the case with the Dyson. I would never buy the fan though. :)

[Mike Bertelson]

I love my Dyson vacuum - definitely the best vacuum I've ever owned. When they say it doesn't lose suction, they are 100% correct. Any other vacuum I've used, the more the bag filled the less vacuum power it delivered, and that's just not the case with the Dyson. I would never buy the fan though. :)I do have to say that while my vacuum is great, when that bag gets 3/4 full it looses it’s suction pretty quick.

Mike

[HDJulie]

I love my Dyson vacuum - definitely the best vacuum I've ever owned. When they say it doesn't lose suction, they are 100% correct. Any other vacuum I've used, the more the bag filled the less vacuum power it delivered, and that's just not the case with the Dyson. I would never buy the fan though. :)

Ditto. We have long-haired cats *and* I am a terrible housekeeper so when we vacuum, there is ALOT of dirt & hair & the dyson is the best vacuum we've had.

[04Taco]

So, would I pay 10x the price for a fan? No way! Now, we do use fans in our house. In fact, I sleep year round with a fan blowing air in my face. I can't sand still air and the sound helps me sleep. I use a $25 Lasko pedestal fan from WalMart. They last 5- years, and then I buy a new one. The Dyson, being over 10x more pricey, would have too last 50-60 years. Sorry, but I just don't see it coming to my bedroom!

I am glad to see that I am not the only one that is like this. I have a fan with me constantly. When I travel, I take one with me. If I forget to pack one, I have to find a store to buy one. Needless to say, I have probably 30-40 fans in my house. Even have a couple of battery powered ones for camping. My wife thinks I'm crazy but it helps me sleep. Would I pay $299 to $329 for these? Not right now. Maybe if the price comes down some. I like high tech stuff so I want one just for the "gotta have it" factor. But this on I won't be able to justify.

[JM Anthony]

Dysan was on the Today Show this morning with his new product. Hard to find a cooler (pun intended) model than his.

John

[Ken S]

I love my Dyson vacuum - definitely the best vacuum I've ever owned.

Drew,

You love your vacuum? LOVE? C'mon :)

[4HiMarks]

However, even though I use Consumer Reports a lot, I've learned the what's rated best isn't always best for what I need.

Same here. They usually don't even review stuff in the price range I'm looking. I'd really prefer something like a Connoisseur's Reports for more high-end gear.

[The Merg]

I love my Dyson vacuum - definitely the best vacuum I've ever owned. When they say it doesn't lose suction, they are 100% correct. Any other vacuum I've used, the more the bag filled the less vacuum power it delivered, and that's just not the case with the Dyson. I would never buy the fan though. :)

Gotta agree here. We never had luck with vacuums, but the Dyson definitely picked stuff up or other vacuums didn't. The only one we saw better was I think a Kirby that was being sold door-to-door. They came in a vacuumed a few steps of ours. The steps, which were pretty soiled from over time that they were almost a dark brown instead of a light tan, looked just like new carpet after they demonstrated the vacuum. My wife tried to get them to demonstrate it again on the whole stairs. Needless to say the seller wouldn't do it. If we hadn't already purchased the Dyson, I would have gotten that vacuum.

- Merg

[rudeney]

I am glad to see that I am not the only one that is like this. I have a fan with me constantly. When I travel, I take one with me. If I forget to pack one, I have to find a store to buy one.

I remember once being at Walt Disney World one December and we forgot the fan, so off we went to get one. Guess what? We couldn't find one anywhere - tried WalMart, Target, Walgreen's, etc. I think we finally found one on "clearance" at a grocery store.

Oh, and WAR EAGLE! :)

[jacksonm30354]

I am glad to see that I am not the only one that is like this. I have a fan with me constantly. When I travel, I take one with me. If I forget to pack one, I have to find a store to buy one. Needless to say, I have probably 30-40 fans in my house. Even have a couple of battery powered ones for camping. My wife thinks I'm crazy but it helps me sleep. Would I pay $299 to $329 for these? Not right now. Maybe if the price comes down some. I like high tech stuff so I want one just for the "gotta have it" factor. But this on I won't be able to justify.

Maybe it's something in the Chattahoochee! (Columbus is my hometown)...hahaha. I might be a bit worse - I don't need just any fan, but what my siblings and I refer to as "hurricane" fans. The loud, high air flow fans. The big ones are the best, but I can get by on a vacation with the 12" variety ("tropical storm" :-) ). I'm up to about 5 of them now as when going out of town I have forgotten it or it wouldn't fit in the suitcase. I almost had an emergency when visiting a friend in central FL. The walmart only had replaced all the fans with heaters except 1 vertical type fan. It worked in a pinch.

[Drew2k]

Drew,

You love your vacuum? LOVE? C'mon :):lol:

I remember having a conversation (in a discussion thread here on DBSTalk) about "love" and the several meanings , so ... deja vu!

Yes, I love my Dyson. :)

17. to have a strong liking for; take great pleasure in: to love music.
18. to need or require; benefit greatly from: Plants love sunlight.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/love

[Drucifer]

Has any here gotten the fan yet?

Anyone know of any knockoffs?

[Earl Bonovich]

Has any here gotten the fan yet?

Anyone know of any knockoffs?

I came "this" close to getting a week or so ago.
Waiting for a 12% of coupon for BestBuy...

I am still looking at it, as the demo at the store was amazing awsome.
This would make a great fan for the living room, as it can't hurt the little one.

[Hutchinshouse]

Perhaps this technology will lead to airplane propulsion. Bird strike/engine failures will be a thing of the past.

[Drucifer]

I keep a small fan next to my lounge chair to keep my AC at a higher setting, but having the fan on requires me to turn up the sound on my TV. But I just can't see paying this much for a low noise solution. I'll go a hundred, but no mo.'

[dpeters11]

I don't have one, but was reminded of this video Dyson engineers made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WNcjkZ6d0w

[DavidMi]

There are blades in it just like a regular fan... they are just hidden in the base of the fan and then blow up and out the vents above it.

Just because you can not see the blades does not mean it does not have any. ;)

[barryb]

I came "this" close to getting a week or so ago.
Waiting for a 12% of coupon for BestBuy...

I am still looking at it, as the demo at the store was amazing awsome.
This would make a great fan for the living room, as it can't hurt the little one.

Super amazing Earl. I too almost bought one, but thought.. hrrmmm... I need a BBnB coupon.

[Mike Bertelson]

There are blades in it just like a regular fan... they are just hidden in the base of the fan and then blow up and out the vents above it.

Just because you can not see the blades does not mean it does not have any. ;)Actually, it’s an impeller. A fan blade wouldn’t work in this situation.

I know it sounds like semantics, but they really are functionally different.

However, you make a good point. Prior to the video with the cut-away, their marketing made it seem like there wasn’t any mechanical movement of air. In fact it’s a simple ducted venture; interesting use of some pretty old technology to be sure, but I just don’t understand why the dang thing costs $300. :eek2:

Mike

[Tom Robertson]

Actually, it’s an impeller. A fan blade wouldn’t work in this situation.

I know it sounds like semantics, but they really are functionally different.

However, you make a good point. Prior to the video with the cut-away, their marketing made it seem like there wasn’t any mechanical movement of air. In fact it’s a simple ducted venture; interesting use of some pretty old technology to be sure, but I just don’t understand why the dang thing costs $300. :eek2:

Mike
"Because they can" for awhile.

Just not gonna get my money...

Cheers,
Tom

[wilbur_the_goose]

Seems like a loser to me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI_f9nFZAnk&feature=related

[Drucifer]

Why ain't there a Chinese knockoff for 50 bucks?

[phrelin]

Why ain't there a Chinese knockoff for 50 bucks?Perhaps there may be one someday. From the Telegraph last October Dyson fan: was it invented 30 years ago? (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6377644/Dyson-fan-was-it-invented-30-years-ago.html): The Dyson bladeless fan unveiled last week to great acclaim was first developed 30 years ago by a Japanese company, according to documents filed at the Intellectual Property Office.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01504/fan-comp_1504888c.jpg
Left: Dyson patent (2009) and right: Tokyo Shibaura patent (1981) Photo: UK INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE

[Drucifer]

Perhaps there may be one someday. From the Telegraph last October Dyson fan: was it invented 30 years ago? (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6377644/Dyson-fan-was-it-invented-30-years-ago.html):They look almost the same except for the placement of some parts.

[barryb]

Now you have [expensive] choices:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/22/dyson-air-multiplier-fans-grow-up-to-tower-and-pedestal-dimensio/

From the Dyson site: http://www.dyson.com/store/fans.asp

[paulman182]

Tokyo Shibaura is Toshiba!