Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator

Can you smell it? I sure can – Spring is in the air and it is glorious! The days are getting longer, the sun is shining and the chill has left the air by mid-morning most days. It is heating up an I love it!

Of course, this is Australia and soon enough the glorious warmth of spring will morph into the sometimes oppressive heat of mid-summer. Chances are, that is what has brought you here in the first place – you are either preparing for the summer ahead, or a couple of hot days have turned your living room into an unbearable furnace and you need a solution. Fast. Either way, you want to know if the Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator is up to the task.

Disclosure: Vornado provided Blog of Dad with the Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator for the purpose of review. All thoughts expressed about Vornado products in this article are based on my own experiences with the product. For more information, visit my disclosure statement.

Vornado Quality

Vornado are a brand that pride themselves on delivering quality products that perform extremely well over long periods of time. They do cost more than the cheapo specials that litter the Bunnings Warehouse floor at this time of year, but the old saying “you get what you pay for” has proven time and time again to be wise advice. If you are sick of cheap products that don’t go the distance (and end up costing you more in the long run), read on.

Two and a half years ago Vornado sent me the VMH300 Whole Room Heater and I was impressed by what it offered. Long after that review was written, the Vornado heater has continued to perform like new and I expect it to do so for many years to come. Vornado expect so to, with extremely generous warranties a standard feature of their products.

Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator – Setup

The Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator comes in a reasonably compact package. There is some building required, but it is simple and takes a matter of minutes. Vornado use a tool-free design to further simplify the process and it is reasonably self-evident where each component belongs. The instructions are very easy to follow.

The stand, once assembled, is sturdy and free of wobble. It is a mostly plastic design, but the plastic is strong and feels high quality. My one year old has given the 683DC a thorough “inspection” and I’m pleased to report it was easily able to withstand his own unique “stress test”.

The Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator has a unique design that separates it from other pedestal fans. The fatter, vortex-generating head has hints of a certain retro charm, but it still feels very much at home in a sleek, modern living room. I was surprised by how small it was when I first set it up, but don’t let looks fool you – this diminutive package packs a mighty punch!

Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator – User Experience

The Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator is simple to use, with just a single dial to control the fan speed. It doesn’t oscillate like other pedestal fans, because it doesn’t need to.

The stand is height-adjustable via a simple twist mechanism and the fan head can be tilted up and down.

The fan speed dial offers a gradual increase in speed, allowing users to find a setting that is perfect for them. At the lowest settings the Vornado Air Circulator is impressively quiet. It could circulate air in the background all day long and I wouldn’t notice it, except for the pleasant effect it has on the room environment.

Even at this low setting, the fan is still moving an impressive amount of air. And because of the unique Vornado circulator design, that air moves throughout the room much more effectively than a traditional pedestal fan. No more sitting directly in front of the fan to feel it’s effects. It is this whole room approach that removes the need for oscillation and results in a much more efficient fan.

By the middle speed settings, the fan noise is noticeable, but not intrusive. The airflow is also significant – I can feel the movement from the other side of my open living/dining room (about 8 meters away). In the full heat of the Australian summer that air movement throughout a reasonably large room is sure to produce some relief. In a bedroom, I imagine it would cool things down pretty quickly.

The fastest setting does remind me a little of a jet engine preparing to take off. This setting isn’t for running throughout the night while you are trying to sleep, but rather to take full advantage of when you are trying to shift a mass of hot air from a room as quickly as possible. The airflow is immense!  It is the setting you use when you return home from the beach on a hot summer afternoon to find that your living room has been replaced by an industrial-sized furnace. You know the feeling I’m talking about – when you open the front door and the heat slaps you in the face and demands to know why you didn’t call. Vornado claim that the 683DC Air Circulator can move air up to 24 metres and, having stood directly in front of it at maximum setting, I’m not prepared to argue against that claim!

Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator – Energy Efficient

Hands up who nearly fell over when they opened their last power bill? Yeah, me too.

With the unprecedented events of 2020, most of us spent a whole lot more time at home and that meant a big increase in energy usage.

The brushless DC motor in the Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator is not only powerful, it is energy efficient. In fact, Vornado claim it is up to 80% more efficient than other designs. For me, this is another big reason to invest in a quality appliance rather than something that is poorly made, not as satisfying to use and ends up consuming a whole lot more money through inefficient energy use. This equation reminds me of one of my favourite Terry Pratchett quotes:

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes ‘Boots’ theory of socioeconomic unfairness.”

– Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms

Not that you have to be terribly rich to purchase the Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator. With a RRP of AUD $329 it is certainly a premium offering, but far from the most expensive fan on the market. And like that good pair of boots, the quality of the Vornado 683DC Air Circulator shines through in every use and I fully expect it to do so for years to come. For me, that is the definition of “value”.

Final Thoughts

The Vornado 683DC Energy Smart Medium Pedestal Air Circulator is an exciting prospect for dealing with the heat of the Australian summer. I’m actually hanging out for the inevitable several days of 30+ that has a habit of turning my downstairs living area into a sweatbox. From what I have seen of the Vornado 683DC so far, I’m quietly confident that its compact package will be up to the formidable task ahead.