Vornado 633 Revisit

Vornado 633 Air Circulator Fan Revisit.

I purchased this unit from the The Home Depot in 2018 for $64.94. I wasn't too impressed with it at the time, but figured I should revisit it now that I have a larger space to test fans in. Some units I've had a change in opinion on after seeing how the performance is in a large room.

Vornado has a long-standing reputation for top of the line fans, known for power and reliability. Like many brands today, Vornado is largely living off a past reputation. The motors used on these fans today are no longer anything special, and the air moved for the noise produced isn't the greatest. The only thing that remains is the lengthy 5-year warranty, which has pretty consistent reports of being honored.

This particular unit produces a nice gentle breeze on low and pushes it quite a distance from the fan. It's quiet, but consumes an excessive amount of power. Medium and high are unimpressive, the air flow is decent for the size of the fan but the noise level exceeds what's reasonable. The box claims it will move air 75 feet away from the unit, which I don't believe. The stream of air had diminished way more than half just 20' across the room. Perhaps it's intended for smaller spaces, but I felt no air moving around unless I was standing in the direct path of the fan.

What I'm perhaps most bothered by is the guard. The slats are way too dense, which is probably why it makes so much noise and doesn't move much air. It's also extremely difficult to remove. The box makes note of it being an 'Easy Clean Removable Grill', but the 'easy' part seems to be missing. While I could certainly get it off if I brought it down to the bench and had good lighting with a full array of tools, I do not see the average consumer being able to get this apart for cleaning. The old units used to let the guard pop right off with a few tabs on the back--didn't even require tools. Some kind of flat blade is required to unlock the tabs on this one, and once they're unlocked, nothing happens. I see one screw on the bottom, perhaps removal of that screw is required.

This unit is better built than a number of other fans available today, but it's such a decline from what these used to be. The plastic Vornado models of the 90s were absolute powerhouses, this is more of a noise machine. Despite the claims on the box, it's not at all easy to take apart for cleaning and has as much of a disposable design as everything else made today.