Customer Reviews

Crane Adorable 1 Gallon COOL Mist Humidifier, Panda

5 star:		(656)
4 star:		(316)
3 star:		(116)
2 star:		(116)
1 star:		(274)

 

 

Length:: 1:58 Mins

A great little humidifier. Well worth the money for its functionality...the cute appearance is a bonus. It is not loud at all and really cranks out serious humidity.

I got the penguin humidifier a week ago after researching multiple brands, some expensive ones, filter ones, big ones, warm ones, etc. And I read the reviews about it leaking or breaking on this one, and essentially there was some complaint on just about every brand out there--always a few problems. So for the $30 this one cost (and the fact that it is ridiculously adorable!) it seemed to cover what I needed: something that was not expensive, not too large and bulky, smaller reservoir so more fresh water going through it (and less water sitting around getting ookey) and would add humidity where ever it was.

It has been running almost non-stop for a week, minus filling times or when we were out, and has worked perfectly. The body reservoir, even when running on high, has lasted at least 16 hours. I haven't had problems with white dust on everything like my old-fashioned gigantic noisy one (I use tap water), and it doesn't spray water drops out with the mist either. It definitely made a difference running at night in the bedroom--no noses and throats feeling 'dry as dust' in the AM. The penguin has a small footprint, about 9" diameter and 12.75" tall. It runs almost silently BUT it does make a trickling noise and actually sounds like our tabletop fountain. It's a nice sound during the day but wore on me during the night; I wasn't used the sound and I kept thinking it's leaking when it wasn't. So now I run it for a while before bed and I sleep much better all around.

Things to watch out for though... the reservoir opening where you fill it, there is a screw-on cap with a spring-valve (like what's at the bottom of your coffee maker basket). There should be a silicone O-ring that fits in the top of the cap. Our O-ring was inside the opening, and since it was clear-ish could be easily missed. The O-ring could cause the cap to leak if not seated properly and the cap needs to be tightened snuggly. When filled and righted (there's even a little handle to carry it by) it should only drip slightly out of the spring-valve. Check that nothing is clogging the spring-valve by pressing it in (before filling) and that the flap is not folded. Only use COLD water in the reservoir, and if you boiled water WAIT for it to be room temp before using. Using hot water could definitely cause this plastic to crackle and crack. The body must sit squarely on the 'butt' or it can dribble over the side a tiny bit.

We have had absolutely no problems with this little cutie, and if I do I'll update my posting. It has a nice rocker on-off switch on his 'left butt cheek'. It has a dial on the front (I'll call it his bellybutton) to adjust the amount of mist; even on high he doesn't drip. The mist dial doesn't seem to affect the fountain noise at all; i.e. the lesser misting does not lessen any gurgling it does. A great little design and it does the job!

This frog humidifier is wonderful. I'm so glad I finally decided to get one after reading reviews on it since last winter. Unlike this picture, the actual product is a true Granny Smith apple green, or some might call it lime green.

PROS

-quiet

-no expensive filter required. (my Holmes humidifier requires a new $13 filter about every 6 weeks)

-shuts off automatically when it runs out of water

-easy to refil water

-simple and easy to use

-cute!

CONS

-tiny green light is on when humidifier is in use and I persoanlly like a very dark bedroom at night. I just tape a dark piece of paper over it and problem solved. But it can also be a night light for a child's room.

-must be on a nightstand or some sort of elevated surface. Some people might not have that room to spare.

-it may be TOO cute and irresitible for little ones to keep their hands off it at first. But the newness wears off.

After my steam humidifier got REALLY hot & seemed to be dangerous, I decided to shop for a cool humidifier for my kids. The doctor recommended that I switch anyways, she says the cool ones are more effective for colds, the hot ones work better for asthma...

So, upon falling in love with this penguin, I ordered one. It arrived looking adorable & then I plugged it in - nothing - no light - no steam...ok, that one definately didn't work so I sent it back. Amazon was great & sent me a replacement immediately. Got that one today, it WORKS wonderfully BUT it has a crack in the base - hubby said to send it back because it might leak into the wiring. So, I proceeded to get the return label, etc & Amazon said they won't send me another because the problem with the item is more widespread than originally thought. I am downright depressed so my husband said he could seal the crack with silicon & we should just keep it instead of sending it back.

It does make the most wonderful 'steam', so light & airy like a cloud - it feels good to breathe the mist & I know it will be very helpful when the kids are sick!
I hope you have better luck than I, it would be worth a return or two to get one!

I would give the working humidifier 5 stars but with all the problems, I comprimised at a 3

I purchased a Hello Kitty humidifier for my daughter on October 28th. It's been run and well-maintained in a the few weeks we've had it. Unfortunately, tonight the motor caught on fire. Thankfully, the smoke alarms alerted us and the fire department before a tragedy happened - my seven year old was asleep in the room. I will be alerting the manufacturer and amazon of the safety concerns, but in the meantime, you might want to skip this purchase until it's deemed safe. I will not forget the haze in my daughter's room when the door was opened tonight for a long time.

The fire department confirmed that the problem was with the humidifier, although it was being used correctly. Hopefully this was an isolated incident, but please be wary of this product.

We read a lot of the reviews before deciding to buy the Crane Penguin. Some of the lower stars almost deterred us from buying it, but we tried it anyways because it's so cute. And we're happy we did.

For all those who complained about it (white dust, hard to clean, loud noise, the handle breaks, etc.) I've got one thing to say:---- READ THE MANUAL, PEOPLE. ---- All of those issues are spoken about with the included documentation and how to avoid or minimize them.

For example, the white dust has nothing to do with the humidifier. It's the minerals that your local water company puts in the water system. The documentation tells you specifically "filtered or distilled water is recommended to avoid white dust if your tap water is too hard." Or you can buy an optional filter for the unit. But you would get the white dust with ANY humidifier without a filter. We happen to not have hard tap water, so depending on your area, it may not even be a problem.

Also, there is a section on general maintenance and cleaning. To keep the inside of the tank clean, it explains first, don't let water sit in the tank for more than two days while bacteria can build up. That's just common sense. Secondly, just add a few drops of household bleach to the water every fourth time you fill it. But even if the tank does start to have noticeable mineral deposits or bacteria, it gives simple instructions to use a teaspoon of bleach with a gallon of water, swish it around for a while, then dump it. What's so hard about that?

I won't go into everything else because you can just read the instructions for yourself if you buy it. But my point is that you should not be dissuaded from buying this humidifier because of some other comments. It's been wonderful for us and it does it's job.

I need to run a humidifier at night during the winter to avoid sore throats and colds. This is my fourth humidifier. The others either leaked, were noisy, or had filters that dried out too easily and too soon.

I have been using the Adorable Penguin for two weeks to humidify a fairly large bedroom. The unit is easy to operate and poses no environmental hazards to the bedroom -- fills from the water tap (the screw on cap it simple to use and does not leak); no filter to replace; although it is "ultrasonic" (thanks to the person who left a comment) there is no dust. It is also by far the quietest of the four units that I've purchased. I hear a low trickling noise from time to time, but only in the dead of night, when all else is still. There is no "glugging" or "splashing." (The Vornado sounded like a washing machine.)

In addition, although to my eyes the mist flow seems localized, my husband, a general contractor, assures me that the unit is adequately humidifying the bedroom. My throat is not dry: a good sign.

My criticisms are as follows: (1) the spout needs to point slightly upwards at an angle, rather than straight out into the room (perhaps the Elephant would have been a better choice) and (2) (related to (1)) the mist-arc seems to be dampening my rug a bit.

Otherwise, this is a good buy. For a child's small bedroom, it (or maybe the Elephant) would be the perfect choice.

I bought the cow, the penguin and the elephant. The penguin is the best at disbursing the mist. The cow is the hardest to figure - the mist comes out of its ears. The elephant trunk is good but it's a smaller opening than the penguin's mouth. All three are very quiet and have a large range of mist options. None require a filter which is GREAT but I add a humidifier water cleaner to keep them from getting that pink slime that's gross and moldy. My girls LOVE these humidifiers and, assuming the motors hold up well, I'd get any of them again. VERY good price performers compared with some others I've purchased.

Although this humidifier looks like a toy, it works perfect fine. It is not the most high performance humidifier and it does not have any additional feature, like UV lamp or water filter, but it performs extremely well for its price. I bought it at around $30, before the price increased. Like all ultrasonic humidifier, it produces small water droplets using high energy acoustic action. The droplets are then delivered out using a small fan. It is extremely quiet that you will barely notice the sound even when you are going to sleep. The specification sheet states the power consumption is 32 W maximum, but it consumes less power in practice. Humidification is not necessary higher by operating the humidifier at higher power. At maximum power, the water droplets generated are very large and they will fall to the floor without increasing humidity. Thus, the humidifier should be operated at optimum power to generate finer water mist. Therefore, the operation power is lower than 32 W. For the same reason, the humidifer delivers 15-24 hours of performance with a galleon of water, instead of the 11 hour stated on the specification sheet.
It is important to point out, there is no extra replacement cost because this unit has no extra features. For this reason, it cannot eliminate mineral or bacteria in the water. So if there are minerals or bacterias, they will also be dispersed in the air. Filtered or distilled water should be used if tap water has minerals. Water should also be changed everyday and the unit should be clean every week to avoid bacteria buildup. I have noticed that you can put in trace amount of hydrogen peroxide to prevent bacterial growth. I suggest using about 1 teaspoon of home use (3%) hydrogen peroxide in a galleon of water. Doing so, I noticed that I do not have to change water everyday. Make sure you do not put too much peroxide, and do not put the humidifier next to your head during sleep after you added peroxide.

*Update*
Although the instruction manual suggests cleaning the water tank (top unit) with mild clorox blench solution, it does not mean you can clean the bottom unit with blench. I made the mistake and the paint/coating on the ultrasonic part is falling apart. At least this is why I think the coating is coming off. Now it cannot be used. Also my water has too much minerals in it, even with the PUR faucet filter, the humidifier still produces white dust. A reverse osmosis water purifier might do the job, but I do not have one. Good while it last, but I will have to get a different kind of humidifier for my next winter. I also like to down rate this humidifier to a 4 star, but Amazon does not allow me to change my star rating. It is still a pretty good for its low price ($30).*

*Super Update* Crane has now offer a mineral filter to minimize white dust. I have not use one, but I thought readers should be made aware of it. It is about $10-11 and it lasts ~2 months.

I bought the 'Frog' here. My mom bought two at a local retailer. All three have the same model number. My date code was 10-09 hers were both 07-09. At first glance they look identical but there are some subtle differences on the outside.

Both of hers work fine. Mine sort-of works. Sometimes it does not turn on. When it does, it runs for hours and then the rate at which the vapor is released slows dramatically even though the tank is nearly full.

Although I do not have proof it appears Crane has licensed this to multiple manufacturers who have some leeway over the internal design.

If you happen to get one with a black rocker switch on the back, then congratulations you win a working unit. If yours (like mine) has the main front knob to control flow density and on/off, then good luck to you because after close examination of the two designs I believe the latter one is just plain faulty.

I do not care if you buy it or not but consider there are almost a hundred one star reviews on this series of humidifier. That is a lot of unhappy people.

For reference I have a Crane 2.3 Gallon COOL Mist humidifier and it is working like a champ.