Rowenta, Pedestal Fan, Extreme Outdoor Fan with Remote, 65 Inches, Ultra Quiet Fan, Oscillating, Portable, 3 Speeds, Digital Control, Black, Ourdoor, VU4510

So I read all the reviews carefully and researched the fan online at various other sites. Wow, I thought, this sounds pretty decent. Here goes: 1) Assembly is pretty intuitive. There are no written instructions and diagrams aren't always clear, but it took me about 20 min to unpack and assemble the fan, not including one call to Rowenta customer service to doublecheck a step. 2) While on the phone with Rowenta I asked if they sell a cover for the fan, since it's described as "weatherproof," but obviously can't just sit out in a rainstorm. The customer service agent said the fan would need to be brought inside each time, not left out, even with a cover (which they don't sell and can't recommend one). In fact, he said if I did want to leave it out on the porch I would need to go buy a "hard plastic cover," which of course doesn't exist. 3) So I pressed a little further: could I leave the fan (which has a heavy base and would be awkward to carry in and out routinely) on the porch if I used a fan cover that like the ones advertised on Amazon. He really didn't know but he repeated that the fan isn't really "weatherproof" or meant to be left outside, even with a fan cover, despite the website description. 4) I lugged the fan out to the backyard. It's not a fan you'd want to have to carry in and out of the house, nor is there room in my house to conveniently store the fan when not in use. I sat on my porch chair and turned on the fan. The pros: if you sit within no more than four feet of the fan, you catch a breeze, but it's not terribly strong, even on high. The remote is nice and handy, and easy to use. The fan noise isn't monstrous. The cons: if you have company, the fan really won't do the trick unless you just want to stir the air a little. It doesn't seem to have a lot of power and doesn't cover much more area than the equivalent of two chairs squeezed closely together, even when the fan is oscillating. The blades and housing and cover are all plastic. Yes, PLASTIC. Feels cheap. The stand which is on wheels is wobbly unless it is on a completely level surface, and the wheels are useless unless, again, you're on a completely flat, level, smooth surface. If the fan is not completely level, the head and housing flop. I wanted to love this fan. I wanted to be able to sing its praises, as have so many others here. And I'm glad it works for them. For a small, completely covered porch, with a very level floor, this could work. Calling this an "outdoor fan" is frankly disingenuous. You can take any fan outdoors, but that doesn't make it an "outdoors" fan. I kind of thought the whole point of the "outdoors" label is that the fan is made specifically to withstand a little weather. It's notable that Rowenta doesn't mention any way to cover the fan with "fan cover" in the instructions or even in the website description, nor do they sell a fan cover to fit the fan, suggesting that they don't really think even when it's covered up, it will survive "weather." I offer this review (the longest one I've ever written!) in the spirit of helping others set more realistic expectations for this fan. Happy summer.

The fan does a great job at moving air on my covered 24x12ft patio. As it sits next to the screen, it often gets rained on, but I have not noticed any issues with finish deterioration or impaired functionality at all. The good: it is fairly quiet for a large and somewhat powerful air mover. The base has lockable wheels, but they are badly needed; the base is heavy and does not scoot around even in pretty strong Florida winds. The assembly was easy and straightforward. The power cord has a GFCI built in, which is a good thing to have on an electrical appliance that will be subjected to inclement weather. The less good: the remote is tiny, easily misplaced, and does not function very well if not aimed DIRECTLY at the fan. As in “iron sights” kind of directly. It doesn’t not help that the fan shroud is extremely close to the sensor and undoubtedly blocks a part of the IR signal from reaching the sensor. The only other thing that is quite irritating is that every time the fan is turned on, it is in the default “natural” mode, in which the speed goes up and down and sometimes to “off” at random. It’s designed to emulate natural wind, but it’s more of an annoyance or hinderance than a feature. If you need the fan to push air, it should be the default setting. So, to overcome this, you will turn the fan on, and then immediately hit the mode button to put it on “outdoor” mode, which allows it to keep constant speed and do what you bought it to do - move air and cool you down. TLDR: Would I buy it again, despite the few admittedly minor grievances I have? Absolutely.

We love this fan. It has been unbearably hot outside and this makes pur porch area sp much more comfortable. This is the second season we have had it, it’s been exposed to the elements and it still looks and works great. It’s also on wheels which makes it easy to relocate when needed. I highly recommend this fan.

We had this on our porch. Placed it maybe 4 1/2 feet in front of where we sit. It really helped keep us cool. It is under a partial roof, but still got wet during heavy rains. It handled the rain and wind well. No problems with it all summer. I’m glad we own it!

It looked good. Unlike reviews I read, mine was not particularly quiet but since it was for my patio vs. sleeping, it was okay. I chose the stand with wheels since I would be moving its location on patio but not efficient since fan was top heavy and seemed wobbly when I pushed it. Recently while not being used, the wind knocked the standing fan over. One plastic blade broke and made fan unusable. Contacted Amazon who advised its not returnable, contact Rowina. Manufacturer (Rowena) then advised me to contact the company that handles replacement pieces for their a/c’s and fans ) but when I tried, couldn’t order FAN parts on line and followed directions to call to order. Called Thur supplier Smallappliance and was told : FAN part is a special order, 6-8 week wait; it’s final order no refund ; and when asked at what cost to me, not able to give me a price for replacement part or shipping. Lesson: Big Box stores are better options for me and quicker fixes or replacements. Sometimes it’s more work to order products online. I could’ve hopped in my car for a fan in the first place.