Customer Reviews

Air King 9155 Storm Guard Window Fan, 16-Inch

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

SUMMARY: 5/5 stars - glad I bought it, would enthusiastically recommend it to friends, and would not hesitate to buy one again

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This Lasko model 2155A window fan - also sold as the Air King model 9155 - is a real blessing for me. I live in the deep South (Georgia) where the oppressive summer heat index (high heat + near-100%-humidity) often reaches into the 130s and above - and I don't have air conditioning. For me, a large whole-house window fan like this one makes all the difference between comfort and living hell when July and August roll around (it's July 27th as I write this, and I'm sitting right next to the window with the fan in it).

This is truly a WHOLE-HOUSE window fan, and it costs so much less to operate than an air conditioner. Compared with central A/C, I'm saving over a hundred dollars a month, which is over $600 a year EVERY YEAR. That's money better spent elsewhere! With this high-volume fan, I get my whole house cooled, without the $150+ monthly electricity usage of central A/C. This fan paid for itself in the first month.

Also, I've found that as I've gotten used to not having A/C, I enjoy the summers more and I'm not nearly as lethargic and short-tempered when I'm in a place without air conditioning, anywhere from the supermarket parking lot to a cookout. It all makes me wonder, WHY would I pay $150+ per month and end up so dependent on air conditioning that I can't be happy enjoying the great outdoors in the summer?! It's all a question of what your body gets acclimated to.

For the hottest summer nights, you can run a little window A/C unit in your bedroom, and still save a bundle because you can use this fan for the rest of the house instead of having to pay the skyrocketing electrical cost of central A/C.

PROS:
* Cost-efficient to operate - this fan moves 2470 CFM (cubic feet of air per minute) on only 90 watts - compare that with the larger 20" model (Air King model #9166) which moves 3560 CFM on 170 watts - an 89% power increase for just a 44% airflow increase...makes sense to just buy two of these 16" Lasko 2155A/Air King 9155 units instead...you get twice the airflow, not 44% more - and you get it for only ten watts more
* Moves a LOT of air - more than a 20" box fan, more than anything sold at Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, True Value, the drugstore, or anywhere else I looked
* Fused 3-prong grounded safety plug
* Versatile installation options
* 3 speeds instead of 2 or just on/off
* Electrically reversible for intake and exhaust - a big plus, since I want to be able to exhaust hot air during the day and then reverse it to bring in cool air at night...without having to de-install it and manually flip the whole unit around like you do with some other' brands fans (AHEM!)
* Quieter compared to the old metal-bladed fans from years past, which sounded like airplane propellers
* Made in the USA by our friends and neighbors and fellow countrymen, not in some Chinese sweatshop

NEUTRALS:
* Construction feels a bit flimsy...everything is plastic, except the interior side's safety grille - BUT, this is basically irrelevant, because after it's in the window, it just sits there, and plastic does just as good a job of sitting in a window as metal. And, on the bright side, it's more lightweight than a metal fan would be, making it easier to install and to store in the attic or basement at the end of the season
* Don't expect it to be silent on the highest speed, there is some wind noise...but that's not the fault of the fan, and there's nothing anyone can do about it...moving large volumes of air at a high rate of speed DOES entail noise, no matter what, so you can't fault the fan or the manufacturer for that
* Pricey - for nearly-all-plastic construction, and only a 50% (maximum) airflow improvement over an $18 Wal-Mart box fan, I felt that the cost of $50-$100 was a bit high...would rather see it around $35-$40 - BUT, in the end, it DOES move more air than the $18 box fan, and has some features that make it worth the cost (electrically reversible intake/exhaust, less noise, expanding side panels to give it a perfect fit with any size window, fused safety plug, Storm Guard feature, etc.) - and given that there's basically no competition in the field any more due to the prevalence of air conditioning, I can't expect pricing to be at super-low highly-competitive rates

CONS:
* Switch knob kept popping off...had to tighten up the screws under it and then put a dab of Krazy Glue on it (but that solved it)
* Not widely available in stores - because air conditioners' prices have come down so much in the last 15-20 years, the demand for genuine whole-house window fans has gone way down, meaning that this fan is usually a special-order or online-only item, either of which generally entail waiting times and shipping costs (though your local Grainger branch may have one of the ones relabeled Air King in stock)

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All in all, I am being really unfairly picky here, and I think this is a fabulous product that I sincerely hope doesn't get discontinued. It's the right unit for the job, it looks good, and it does a better (and quieter) job that the all-metal models from years past. It's also very energy-efficient. Of what's available on the market in 2009, it is the best of the best, hands down, nothing else even comes close. I have ZERO "buyer's remorse" about this purchase, and would champion its virtues to anyone considering buying one. A great product!

This fan is very similar to the Lasko 16" window fan but with a higher CFM output. I could tell just by standing in the exhaust stream outside the window. I'm just not yet convinced that the considerable difference in price is worth the additional CFM's, but I needed something quick when temps went north of 90 degrees. Note that I was very interested in the Air King model 1966 which is designed more for commercial use. The unit would have barely fit my window and the increased noise would have been an issue in my dining room [I don't have an upstairs or attic window for this purpose].

So, we established that the output is satisfying. That said, this fan as well as every other window fan that I have owned [and I've owned a few] all suffer from the same affliction: THE HOUSING. They're all plastic and all the same. And no matter how you snug it down, no matter how you secure it, sooner or later it is going to rattle. Sometimes it's subtle and sometimes it's not. It is a very annoying aspect of any window fan. Much of it is caused by the slow accumulation of debris on the blades, which causes them to become unbalanced with increased vibration. But still, the housing could be sturdier. Incidentally, the 'Storm Guard Feature' is just a way of allowing the window to be closed with the unit in place. My early 2000's window fan had that same feature, just without the fancy name.

Although the Air King 9155 has a generous output, the standard-issue plastic housing and 200% cost increase over the slightly less potent Lasko model put my product rating dead center. If you need more output that the standard 16" window fan and can spend the money, this will foot the bill. If you need a lot of air moved, look at model 9166. Window fans are a dying breed so we have to take what we can get; plastic housing and all.

We live in Michigan where for all but a week or two in the summer, even when the days are hot, nights are cool. We didn't want to start tearing out the plaster ceiling of our ca1925 house to put in a whole house fan so when our 30+ year old window fan died, we needed something that would actually move air.

This fan does move a lot of air but it's not perfect. Just almost.

Pros:
- Moves a ton of air

- Switch between intake and exhaust just by turning the dial

- Energy usage is excellent - rated 61 watts on the low speed, 90 watts on the high.

- It's light (see cons)

- Made in the USA

Cons:
- It's made of fairly flimsy plastic. When we take this out of the window, unless it's laid flat, when it's put back in the window, a clicking noise will occur for awhile. The plastic is obviously flexing when it's propped up without being supported on both sides by the window. At times, if you don't position it just right, the plastic side panels will vibrate. The knob feels really cheap and I'm always afraid it will just break off one day.

- Because of the design, you won't feel a whole lot of air flow if you stand directly in front of the fan. It kicks air out more around the perimeter. Even though turning the fan on creates a huge suction from windows in other parts of the house (when it's in exhaust mode), I get slightly let down every time I'm hot and sticky and turn it on (to intake mode) because there is no instant cool down like other fans.

- It's not silent. We can sleep with it on low but it's right at that point where the motor noise is sometimes in my dreams. On high, it's noisy if you're in the same room, but it's not the brain numbing, teeth rattling loud through the entire house our window unit A/C has.

- I wish the 6 ft power cord were just a couple of feet longer. Because the cord hangs down from the knob in the middle, the "realistic distance" is under 5ft long.

- Unlike the 9166, the motor isn't totally enclosed. We've had this for a little under a year and it's got quite a bit of dust caked on it. If I take the thing apart to clean it, I risk damaging it, but I know a heavy buildup of dust isn't doing it any favors.

Until the 20" Air King with the closed motor and metal fan blades is made with a variable speed motor (if companies could do it decades ago, they certainly should now, especially at the price the Air King goes for) I'll live happily with this one.

We have a small loft above one bedroom that hits too hot so we wanted a fan that would fit the window size, take the heat out, keep the bedroom cool and not be too loud. The Air King does a good job with all our needs.
It is easily adjustable. We have ours turned sideways to fit our odd tall but skinny window near the peak of the roof.
Outside the bedroom we cannot hear the fan at all, in the bedroom we hear it but its not so loud as to be disturbing at night. It might be a little loud for someone sleeping in the loft. But if it is too loud they can just turn it down.

I think the price was good and the shipping cost wasn't bad either.

This is a good window fan. I'm using it for a 3rd floor apartment and it's perfect.

As the cost reflects, this is way better then any box fan from your local Walmart or department store.

The plastic housing feels a little cheap, but it gets the job done.

Decent fan for the price.
If you have enough window opening, go for the steel version.

Great fan. We have a 1600 SF condo with 3.5 floors. I got this because our bedroom has a loft with skylights and gets terribly hot in the summer. I installed this fan to vent some of the hot air, and it works great. Our condo also has single zone AC and the down stairs stays cool while all of upstairs stays hot. This fan helps draw the cold air from down stairs to upstairs and now upstairs is very comfortable. When the fan is on exhaust and you open a window elsewhere, you can feel it pull fresh air as well as see the curtains being pulled in. The fan isn't too loud, I sleep with it on in the loft. Like others have noted it does seem to be made out of flimsy plastic, but I'm sure if its handled carefully it will last.

so far so good....this fan really helps. I wish I had spent more and gotten the bigger fan but this one does a great job.

I purchased the Air King 16" Reversible Window Fan with the expectation that it would be what various descriptions and reviews stated it would be: an exhaust fan (with an intake option) for my very small home. My expectation was that if I placed it in one window in my house (three small rooms), it would--at least when set on high--be able to exhaust warmer air from my home and pull cooler air in through other open windows. I have found--much to my disappointment--that it appears to have no discernible effect on air flow in my house. Though, admittedly, this was not a scientific test, I held a paper tissue the same distance from each window both with the fan on and off. The difference in air flow was quite negligible.

Just so you know, my home is fully air-sealed and totally insulated with cellulose insulation, so the fan is not having to pull air from every orifice in the structure. And, I have installed the fan properly leaving no gaps other than what might be considered normal for a fan that is not truly built in.

So, in my opinion, the CFM claims are pretty much hype. You could get about the same effect by popping a $20 window fan in your window and blocking any gaps with a pillow or something. The Air King cost me only pennies under $100. I could have 5 box fans for that amount of money.

This may surprise you but, I'm going to keep the fan anyway. Why? Quite honestly, it's because of the hassle it would take to return it and because, the one positive thing I CAN say about the fan is that, compared to most other window fans, it is pretty quiet when on low. That's what I need for a decent bedroom fan.

For me, live and learn. For you, buyer beware!

This fan did not circulate air effectively. We installed it upstairs and closed all downstair windows - no breeze when on reverse (exhaust). We wasted $100!!