Oscillating Fan - 12volt

I needed a pair of 12v fans for my caravan to keep the kids cool in the Mediterranean heat, I wired them in to the vans 12v system with a separate light switch (not pictured) , they were inverted from the underside of the corner cabinets pointing at the kids beds. These fans are excellent, great value, robust (can take a road trip round Europe) very powerful and move a lot of air. They are noisy but when it's 35c at night you won't care, they're noisy because they are powerful. Really pleased, great product and only one Top Gun reference....... 😀

This is a lengthy review (I know), but is aimed at those wishing to fit a fan to their caravan or motorhome (please bear with me)! If your looking for a simple clip-on fan for occasional Summer car use, then read no further, as this is the most powerful (although noisy) fan that you can buy for occasional use. I purchased this to permanently mount in my caravan for Mediterranean Summer holidays. First of all, the last reviewer must have been lucky to get the 2 speed version with on/off switch, as the one I received just has the oscillate on/off switch & is single speed. Please note that if wishing to wire this into a vehicle/caravan, the fan is somewhere between 10 & 15 watts (thus requires a 1.5 amp to 2 amp fuse fitting in the circuit, plus a cable and on/off switch rating of 2 amps or above). The wattage is amazingly not documented anywhere (either in the ad, on the motor, on the fan or in the box). I therefore had to ring the manufacturer to get the approximate info (even they didn't know the exact power rating). POSITIVES: 1) Very light at just 400g (much lighter than a conventional 240v fan). Small enough so that it can be mounted (inverted) from the underside of caravan lockers quite unobtrusively. 2) Looks pretty good. 3) EXTREMELY powerful! I didn't believe reviews stating it to be as effective as a mains version, but it really is. With only the 15 watts maximum draw, this is also pretty good news for your caravan leisure battery (64 hours minimum run time on an 80 AH battery). 4) The oscillation is effective (if limited, at around 45 degrees) & can be stopped at the flick of a switch. It can also be manually directed. 5) The mounting bracket arm gives good manoeverability once the fan is fixed to a surface. As well as a metal bracket that can be used to permanently mount it, the fan comes with a large black plastic bulldog clip for temporarily but securely mounting the fan (in a vehice for example). NEGATIVES: 1) The cable it comes with looks like extremely light speaker wire. Although I'm sure that this will probably be safe (it is CE approved), I was permanently wiring it & so did change it to heavier duty 6 amp cable. This is easily done, as the fan comes apart very easily & predictably revealinging the 2 power terminals on the motor for easy re-soldering. The plug is pretty bad quality too, as is the soldering. As stated above, remember to fuse the circuit if permanently wiring it in to a vehicle or caravan. The plug is not fused, as the set-up out of the box relies on the cigarette lighter socket already being protected (as in a car) 2) The fan is very loud indeed (it sounds smooth, but loud)!!! The sound/vibration from it can be doubled via amplification from the fitment to hollowed interior surfaces (such as the underside of cupboards). I experimented with lots of insulated materials (cork, rubber etc) in order to find a material best suited to its mounting. I eventually settled on a thick (1 inch, cut from black rubber block) spacer drilled to accept the fan & mounting bracket... A slight background "buzz" still exists in operation, although this is 90% improved by the rubber mounting. Don't bother with only a few mm of rubber, as this makes no real difference at all. It also pays to screw the rubber into place, then the fan on the rubber (not 2 screws through everything (as you will find that the "buzz" still transfers to the surface via the metal screws. Sounds overkill (I know), but I promise you it does make the din that much more bearable. Because I can sleep well enough with an unchanging background noise (but not 30 plus degrees heat conditions), I can live with the extra noise (which although loud, can also be quite sophorific). Many might be less able to sleep through the racket. A 12v/6 amp motor variable speed control can be purchased from another famous four-letter-word site for around a fiver. It is fairly easy to fit if at all "handy", and should give safe infinite control, whilst reducing the hideous racket accordingly.... I'm awaiting this part & will report back here if this doesn't work as well as it should (I see no reason why not). 3) Watch your fingers!!! The gaps in the wire safety cage are pretty large & it is easy to insert even my fat fingers. I did exactly that (meddling with it whilst working in order to try to work out the best way to mount it in reducing buzz/vibration), and suffered a profusely bleeding/painful finger... Worth considering, especially if young children are in the vicinity. It shouldn't happen really, and I should have known better. Had the fan been just a little quieter, I would have rated it 5 stars. It does nevertheless seem to be the best 12v fan out there. Apologies again for the length of the review, but I hope it all helps someone... UPDATE 4/12/12: I have just fitted the speed controller from that 4 letter bidding site (search for "motor speed controller 12-24v / 6 amp), and there is one for sale from China that is already in a tiny white self-contained box and can be inserted (via the switch-pole) into a hole drilled in the inside-back of a cupboard (or wherever) then screwed in place. You only then need to push the control-knob onto the emerging switch pole then wire as follows (although the instructions come with it): 1) Controller black lead to -ve (neg) from battery. 2) Blue controller lead to -ve (neg) to motor (fan). 3) Red controller lead to +ve (pos) from BOTH battery AND motor (fan). Also, you can forgoe the on/off switch I had previously inserted, as (unbeknown to me) the speed controller knob has one built in (clicks on/off as you turn it). I'm pleased to say that it works perfectly (the main benefit being the noise reduction comparitive to speed).

It worked fine for a spell then packed up. The problem was the solder at the 12v plug. I will fix it myself. The clamp is a bit unsuitable as you cannot locate it without screwing it to something. I did this for convenience. Others have fixed it to a heavier object. It reminds me of the fans you see in new york yellow cabs in the movies. When it worked, it is quite powerful. Better than many of the small plastic type fans. it only has one speed - fast - and no switch so you have to unplug it to stop it. I will put a switch on it myself.I am not to sure that the oscillation works too well. it is a little temperamental. Still, it goes like the clappers. I think with this fan you have to adapt if for your needs. in a car, moving along, the bracket is a little flimsy and caused wobble. So, if you buy, be prepared to adapt it to your circumstances. Not to bad a product if your willing to finagle things a little. Get your soldering iron and stouter bracket support stuff ready.

Purchased this to provide additional air circulation into the back of our Renault Grand Scenic. It has a large clip which holds tight to the tray in between the front seats. Unlike previous versions (from older comments) it now has both an on-off switch, a speed regulator and straight vs oscillation mode lever. It's a great product for the money. The clip works well, but if it's straight onto plastic can move or come off. I've put a piece of material over the place I'm clipping it to and it holds really well.

I bought this for use in my restored classic Land Rover, hoping that it would help to keep the cab cool. Delivery was very quick, so I was able to try it out for the first time just a few days after placing the order - just when the UK was experiencing a heatwave. After unpacking, I was immediately suspicious that the pivot around which the oscillating fan turns was very weak - the fan wobbled quite a bit from side to side. However, it clamped perfectly to the dashboard and produced a nice cooling breeze when plugged in. My passengers and I were very grateful for that as we drove around a local forest in temperatures of 30C. However, after just three hours of use, the oscillating mechanism stopped (the fan itself kept running). When I unclamped the fan from the dashboard I could hear a broken component rattling around inside the housing. So - the fan is inexpensive and produces a very good airflow, but unless I was unlucky, and received a poor example, the very fragile oscillating mechanism will probably fail before long.

The product seemed like it would be a pretty good fan, but my problem with it was that despite the description as "clamp-on style", the fixing plate fan was in fact "screw-on style" (and came with screws provided). I'd planned to clamp it to the metal passenger seat headrest support so the my dog in the back seat would get a cool breeze, as I have no aircon or sun roof and worried about my old girl overheating in stationary traffic on a hot day. A screw-on fan was therefore useless to me. I managed to get the seller to accept my application to return it with no cost to me, but (when I'd had to chase the refund a week after mailing), their confirmation email to say the refund was being processed also added "Please note we have reviewed the details and picture on the Amazon site. Note we cannot change these details, however we believe the picture and description to be reasonably accurate." So ... beware! People selling a plainly screw-on fan apparently have no control over the fact that the description says something completely misleading. It looks like other people commenting on here were lucky and got a fan with a strong, rubberised bulldog-type clip ... but it seems a bit of a lottery as to whether you'll get this type. Annoying ... and very off-putting to online-purchasing.

Whoever said this was excessively noisy must live in a cave. It's great. Sure, you can hear it, but conversation is as possible as normal. As for the fan, if you have any loose paperwork in the area, you won't have for long. To set the record straight, it doesn't have a crocodile clip to secure it. That's pretty obvious from the picture. It has a base which screws to the dash with two supplied screws. The shoe slides on to the base and screws to it. Ten minutes max. Adjustable support arm, and easy to adjust the swept area to wherever you want. I'd have paid the odd couple of quid extra for an on-off switch, but I've got one on order which is a ten minute job to fit into the cable. Plenty of cable length, so it will go just about anywhere you want. My Citroen Relay 30cwt van is an oven in no time at all. Not any more. Cool air in a powerful stream, what more do you want ? . Don't mess about, order one now. Well recommended, as is the seller, waxacar, for their speed of delivery.

Arrived in good time and on unboxing fitted the description accurately. I plugged the fan into an accessory socket and was instantly impressed at the power of the fan. This would easily create a nice cooling breeze on hot days and I'm really impressed with the fan. One thing to be aware of is this does not come with a spring clamp for fitting, it requires a bracket to be screwed to something solid and then the fan can be fitted to the bracket. I bought this for my motorhome and fitted to a cupboard where it can be directed into the main area of the living space. There are a couple of minor issues that caused me to drop this to 4 stars. Firstly the metal arm that holds the fan is somewhat loose and it can be difficult to get the fan correctly aimed where you want it, as the weight of the fan will cause the metal arm to drop under the weight. I got around this by mounting sideways so it moves left to right rather than up and down. Also there are no speed controls, it is simply on full blast all the time. This isn't a problem unless you want a gentle breeze at night to sleep with. Others have complained about the noise but I don't have an issue with this. Yes it is quite loud, but it is pushing a good amount of air which always has drawbacks when it comes to noise for a fan of this size. I would rather have this fan than a quiet version that doesn't put out as much air. Overall I think this is a good fan that once set up will provide a good cooling stream of air.