Customer Reviews

Metro Vacuum Cage/Crate Cooling Fan, CCF-1

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

 

 

I purchased this crate fan locally for $13.50 plus tax. I bought it on June 5, 2010. It stopped working completely (yes, I tried new alkaline batteries, several sets, and even rechargeables, several sets) June 23, 2010. That's right, I spent $13.50 for 18 days of use!

No problem I thought, the fan is covered under a one year warranty, what could be wrong with that? Well you have to pay to ship the item to Metro and that'll be about $4. Then you have to pay for return shipping from Metro... another $4-$5. Best case my $13.50 crate fan then becomes $21.50, worst case it's $22.50... just a little more and it would be more cost effective to just buy another fan!

What Metro has done is created a product that they can get away with claiming they have a 1 year warranty on, then when you realize the price to ship it to them and back, you might as well just buy another one and save yourself the hassle of the visit to the post office!

The best part was the phone call to Metro's office. The person on the other end stated that she didn't even think the fan HAD a warranty! Guess they've never had anyone attempt to make a claim on the warranty and given the price to return it to them, I can see why.

When it worked, it worked well. It kept my dog's crate a bearable temperature with a noticeable decrease in panting (it's hot in the back of the car even with the AC on full blast).

But was it worth $.75 a day? ($13.50 divided by 18 days of use gives me $.75 a day... and I didn't even use it every day anyway) Not at all.

To be fair, I bought 2. I gave one to my parents and their fan still works flawlessly. And yes, I even tried their batteries in my fan with no success. It seems the motor on mine has seized.

I guess I begin my search for a reliable crate fan once again.

1. For the size and price, its OK.
2. Does not push as much air as I would prefer.
3. Does not mount easily to non-standard kennels. I have a high end kennel (Zinger Winger) and had to use zip ties to keep the fan on.
4. Eats the D batteries when on high. I usually use it on low in combination with a solar canopy.
5. The solar canopy by ProSelect (Solar Crate Canopy in Silver) is much more useful in keeping the kennel and my vehicle cool. I got the large size so I could drape it over my the cab of my truck and easily move it around as the sun moves.
6. I have seen more effective fan rigs with larger fans plugged into an auxiliary power source (cigarette lighter, or an additional battery for the serious working dog team)

I've purchased about 6 of these, and when they DO work, they work well. But they have had a 50% failure rate after a very short amount of time. They just stop working, despite brand new batteries. They seem cheaply made. One them had to have the battery area taped shut more in order to work at all. It would be a great product if it were more reliable. I'm not sure if the more expensive models are more reliable or not, but if you buy this one, be prepared to deal with warranty issues.

I have had two Metro Cage/Crate cooling fans. Right now I am staring at the second one and writing this review before I dump it. The plastic connector broke, leaving me unable to attach it to the crate. The wires in the battery compartment broke on my first fan. Unless I can find something better, I will probably buy a third, since they worked reasonably well for a while.

I bought this fan for a friend of mine and chose this particular one because I own two myself. The two I have had for over four years and they are still working like new. I use them on the crates mostly in the car when we travel to help move the air conditioning cooled air to where the dogs need it most. I have recommended these to people who also have a problem with a dog who gets car sick. They are a durable, economic fan and I have been very pleased with mine.

The Metro Vacuum Cage/Create Cooling Fan seems to work pretty well. The two plastic hooks sit well on a standard small pet cage. However, the batteries do not seem to last anywhere near the 80 hours claimed in the product description. And, this is based on the fan being left on the low setting (there are two fan speed settings). Based on having it just two weeks, it also appears that the batteries shake lose and need to physically readjusted to touch the battery connectors correctly every other day or so. That said, it has been useful and is reasonably priced for what it does and I'm mostly satisfied with the product

This fan runs smoothly and is very quiet, but that is probably because is has very little power. Luckily I have a dog so small that she could be in the "teacup" category, and I bought the fan for her crate. If I intended to use it on any larger dog I would send it back.

This product is everything that it says it is. :) Perfect for my search and rescue hound on the move :)

WOW! These fans were definitely "sanity-savers" when we traveled cross country with our two cats. I bought them on the advice of a cat-traveler friend of mine, and was glad I did! Just a couple of batteries lasted several days (the length of our cross-country trip), and kept our cats cool, and for the most part, "calm". Great product!!

I am a dog trainer and finally bought crate fans for a sheltie that has a super heavy coat. This is a cheap plastic fan that works just fine, the dog rides in a van in a large crate and this moves air for her. If nothing else, I feel better, I am buying another one. Many dog people use these.
Low speed is a good speed, dogs do not always want high or fast air flow, where the fan is hung in the crate influnces the comfort of the dog. I hang this fan high on the crate door.