A reader had noticed that I mentioned the 1946 Vornadofan in my last post (Look at These Bits of Wire) and asked me for more information about it. So, as a quick and unplanned posting, I am happy to oblige….although please forgive me because the following may sound a bit like an ad copy and will likely contain more information than anyone really needs to know about this item.
As you might well imagine, a great many advances in aeronautical technology resulted from developments made during WWII. Many of these advances began to find their way into more commonplace items…including appliances…and of those, including household fans.
The Vornadofan of 1946/47 is arguably one of the first, if not the very first, to employ actual aeronautical principles learned from the aircraft industry to attempt to increase the efficiency of an otherwise common device. The styling influence is rather obvious. It looks like a cross between an art deco spaceship and a bona-fide jet engine. This was a glorious age for industrial design. A product had to perform its function, but it also had to look like it was capable of so much more. Few products made today evoke such positive futuristic emotional responses as those of the art deco period. The beauty is not only skin deep, however. At its heart, lies some rather impressive engineering beyond simply pushing air around as most fans do. Even the name, “Vornadofan”, comes from the words Vortex Tornado. It is a derivation of the scientific principle from which it gains some of its efficiency. During the war, vortex effects generated by wings and propellers (which are really just spinning wings or airfoils) were studied in detail in an effort to improve aircraft design. After the war, some of this research found its way into the common electric fan.
To begin with, the blade has a nice deep pitch. The result is a lower operating speed. The lower RPM results in quieter operation and longer motor life. The deep pitch still allows high volume air movement even with the slower speed. Prior to the air entering the blade area it passes through a set of cone like devices. These cones serve to accelerate the air similar to a venturi and also straighten the flow and direct it to the blade for maximum effect. The outer housing is a duct. Unlike other normal fans, this is a ducted fan. This duct effect is similar to the housing of a turbine and directs the airflow and prevents it from being slung out of the blade in a perpendicular direction but instead contributes to the directed flow out of the front. But this is not the end. This flow has a slight spiral to it, part of the effect of the spinning blade. As this circling mass of air spirals out and blends with the other air in the room that air is churned up and moved. This is true clear across a big room. Unlike fans which you can’t feel from 10 feet away, this one results in air movement all around the room–even at 40 or 50 feet. The result is akin to that of a large ceiling fan or a good breeze from windows……and it is a feeling of comfort. Unmatched by any small portable fan. Period. Such is the benefit of some application of vortex control–the same sorts of principles you see in modern airliners in those winglets at the tips….they improve efficiency of the wing in much the way of the duct on this fan, by controlling the spillage of airflow.
Naturally, the design and heavy construction fell victim to costs and the availability and popularity of central air-conditioning and therefore A.O. Smith who had been making them eventually ceased production of them.
In the late 1980’s, however, the Vornado was given another chance. Made in Kansas. Updated with different materials and a guard that fingers (and kittens!) won’t climb into. The design principles are still maintained in the new product. My grandmother (who was from Kansas as well) did not have central air and only kept part of the house air-conditioned and used fans elsewhere. Typically these were the 20 dollar box fan variety. And in the heat of the Gulf Coast area in Texas where she later lived they got used a lot….and wore out. Fast. About 3 fans a summer at one point. Hmmm… 60 bucks in 2-1/2 months. When the new Vornado model came out it cost 100 dollars. And it was guaranteed for life. My uncle and I were a little skeptical but gave it a go once assured we could get another for free if the first one died. So we bought it and set it up in her house. A few minutes after turning it on in one end of the living room, we noticed two things. First of all, it was noticeably cooler feeling in there…….and secondly…some bits of dog fur and dust bunnies at the other end of the room–about 60 feet away, began to dance and swirl in a little tightening circle as they skittered around as if brought to life a-la Mickey Mouse Sorcerer’s Apprentice style. It was like a tiny TORNADO! A tornado, just like in the Wizard of Oz only tiny…..right there in my grandmother’s living room!
Needless to say, she….and I, were sold on this product. Even today it is the only type of portable fan I will buy. I presently have one original 1940’s model and five of the newer production models. Expensive? Yes. Anywhere between 90 and 150 for the larger ones, although they do make some small desktop ones now also. This is ok, though. I am never afraid to spend money if the product is well made and does what it is supposed to do and lasts a long time while doing it. (I despise planned obsolescence and have no respect for those who buy schlock just because Walmart put it on sale.) In my own use, I have never really worn one out. Really. I mean it. Never. I’ve run them 24/7 for 6-8 months out of the year to help cool in the summer and move warmth in the winter. In all those years since 1990 I have had one that began to show signs of bearing wear. It was not even excess play, just slight binding, not even enough to keep it from running. These are “permanently lubricated” bearings but in practice any bearing will eventually run dry after enough operating hours. Rather than take it back to the store for exchange (which I could have done) I instead took it apart, cleaned and oiled it, put it back together and placed it back in service. That was about six years ago. It is still working. Six years after I serviced it after 10 years of use. Not too shabby I’d say. My daughter now uses that same fan in her home because, evidently, she also likes quiet little tornadoes. (Although she would have a fit if I were to suggest that she also likes to watch her own dust bunnies do the vornadotornado dance…..since she, of course, has no dust bunnies….not one. Just ask her.)