Fan for turbo trainer - recommendations?

topcattim

I've found this thread on BR back in March, but it didn't really reach any clear recommendations. I'm not quite sure how much I need to spend to get a fan that will keep me cool for the winter turbo sessions - can anyone recommend what they've been using? Thanks

navrig2

Cheapest, tall, floor standing fan which Argos sells.

Set it on maximum and point it at your upper torso and head.

This:

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4251831

dannbodge

Honeywell Turbo
Nice and quiet and easily powerful enough on speed 1 or 2.

On amazon they are only £20 at the moment. I paid £45 a couple of months ago!

slowmart

Dannbodge wrote:

Honeywell Turbo
Nice and quiet and easily powerful enough on speed 1 or 2.

On amazon they are only £20 at the moment. I paid £45 a couple of months ago!

Plus one for the Honeywell turbo. Two for £40, quiet enough to hear the music on full power whilst sufficient to keep you cool.

MiddleRinger

Any 16" or so household pedestal fan will do the job. The bigger the better of course as you want to get as much airflow and fresh air hitting you as possible when you're smashing out killer intervals. Some people prefer two fans pointing at them. If you want to get all trick you can get a remote controlled fan so you can adjust the power as you warm up and/or cool down.

I use basic a floor fan like this one:

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4250090

topcattim

Thanks for these. I had seen and wondered about the Honeywell one so it's helpful to see that that will do the job. Or that a standard Argos one will be fine too.

dannbodge

I used to use a 16" normal on and found it was no where near powerful enough.

Matthewfalle

I always thought a large workshop fan would be good for this - enough power to blow your house down if on the top setting, they are quite narrow so sit flat against the wall.

We have one in the gym at work at on the lowest setting it kicks out loads of cool air but is really quiet.

https://www.workshopping.co.uk/category ... -fans/874/

daniel_b

I used to just use a pedestal fan, and was convinced that was enough, and at the time it was.

BUT when you start ramping up the effort, if you go for something like Zwift, TR or Sufferfest, I found it to be insufficient.

I still use the pedestal fan, as it has a remote which is handy, but I not also use, and rely on this which has 3 speed settings:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-HVF18-Industrial-Velocity-Floor/dp/B000RA0Y0Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1505899635&sr=1-1&keywords=Sealey+HVF18

Combined with one of these
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007Y7D8Z6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1
to enable remote switch on and off (Not an issue if you have a switched socket right next to you of course) - good in the winter when it will be freezing to start with, but you'll want cooling once you warm up, and I don't want to have to be stopping and getting off the bike.

Frstratingly Stanley make one in the US, with a remote, and said remote allows you to adjust the speeds, contacted them, but not available here for some unknown reason :evil:

EDIT - LOL, just realised that was my thread you linked to

FWIW, the new fan has certainly helped my training, and my FTP tests - if it's a really hard one I have the pedestal fan on the upperbody and face, and the floor fan off centre, and pointing at my legs predominantly.

The Honeywell looks good value, guess you could get a pair, and have them running of paired remote sockets.
Can't see anything that says what the airflow is though - this is what the Sealey 18" fan can do:
Maximum Airflow: 107mtr³/min (3,760cfm)

EDIT 2 -the Honeywell site states a CFM of 350 - comfort setting, not sure that means.......
http://www.honeywellstore.com/store/products/honeywell-turboforce-air-circulator-fan-ht-900.htm

Presumably that can not be it's max, as that's not even a tenth of the Stanley.
You could surround yourself with 11 I guess!

The other advantage of such fannage, is that if you need to turbo during the summer months in a garage for example, you still have a fighting chance of completing a workout - although one such workout at 38C was somewhat of a struggle even then!

navrig2

Fair point. So far the 16" freestanding fan works for me. I've used it in winter on TR 60min and 90min exercises and the fan was perfectly adequate. I've been using it more recently in, obviously, a warmer garage and it's still working well enough to allow me to complete at least 50min exercises.

I guess the need for more than 16" (ooerr missus) will be down to personal circumstances - garage/spare room, effort, metabolism etc.

topcattim

At the moment, I'm leaning towards getting the Honeywell turbo on the grounds that it will probably be strong enough. If not, then I'll get a second one, and have the advantage of being able to use a long stick to turn them on or off separately and therefore effectively have two different levels.

daniel_b

topcattim wrote:

At the moment, I'm leaning towards getting the Honeywell turbo on the grounds that it will probably be strong enough. If not, then I'll get a second one, and have the advantage of being able to use a long stick to turn them on or off separately and therefore effectively have two different levels.

If you get the remotes I linked too, they come in singles, pairs or threes, and you can program one plug to a number on the remote, so you could still have that flexibility if you don't want to have to wave a stick about

*I use a stick to adjust the angle of the floor fan from time to time.

fenix

I had a pedestal fan and thats not too bad if you can get it right in your face.

But I have this as well now : http://www.screwfix.com/p/ft45-14ap-18- ... 240v/6335t

Lots more air being moved but it's further away than a pedestal so you don't get all of the benefit. If I could jig it to be higher up like the pedestal then it'd be awesome. Just need to reconfigure the garage.

Alex99

Fenix wrote:

I had a pedestal fan and thats not too bad if you can get it right in your face.

But I have this as well now : http://www.screwfix.com/p/ft45-14ap-18- ... 240v/6335t

Lots more air being moved but it's further away than a pedestal so you don't get all of the benefit. If I could jig it to be higher up like the pedestal then it'd be awesome. Just need to reconfigure the garage.

I have one like this too, and it's the way to go IMHO. I have it off to the side a bit as this seems to get blow onto more of my body.

topcattim

Thanks for all of the advice. I have today ordered a Honeywell turbo and a remote switch. I'll report back after a few turbo rides to see how it works out.

buckmulligan

Which one did you go for, the HT-900?

To me, it looks way too small to be effective enough, but I'd like to hear how it turns out.

topcattim

BuckMulligan wrote:

Which one did you go for, the HT-900?

To me, it looks way too small to be effective enough, but I'd like to hear how it turns out.

Yes, the 900. TBH, I've survived three years of turbo in the garage without a fan, so I think it doesn't need to be very powerful to help me. (But I do get mega wet and sweaty, and it will be nice, perhaps, not to be soaked at the end of a session!)

daniel_b

Alex99 wrote:

Fenix wrote:

I had a pedestal fan and thats not too bad if you can get it right in your face.

But I have this as well now : http://www.screwfix.com/p/ft45-14ap-18- ... 240v/6335t

Lots more air being moved but it's further away than a pedestal so you don't get all of the benefit. If I could jig it to be higher up like the pedestal then it'd be awesome. Just need to reconfigure the garage.

I have one like this too, and it's the way to go IMHO. I have it off to the side a bit as this seems to get blow onto more of my body.

Please do report back, I for one will be interested to hear what you make of it.

fenix

Yes blowing from the side is quite a good idea. The sweat gets blown away from the bike. If you have the fan head on you'll be dripping on the bike itself.

ben@31

Do you need a fan to keep you cool while cycling through Watopia Volcano ? I could imagine volcanos are quite hot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lava

I get soaked in sweat going to the radio tower and thats above the snow line!

ryan_w-2

Just got one of these for £20 off Amazon. Great, small, powerful and quiet. Works a treat and I run very hot.
Did a 20 min power test last weekend and it did the job.



https://www.amazon.co.uk/VOXON-TurboFor ... ywords=fan

deadlegs

+1 for Sealey HVF18 floor fan. Bought based on reading this and 2017 Fan thread. So far 2 TrainerRoad sessions on lowest setting... Amazing! Didn't get hot until much later into workout. Still sweaty but able to put out more power without dying from heat.

Fairly loud hum rather than buzz - no rattles and solid on frame. I play radio anyway to drown out turbo noise, so not an issue.

topcattim

topcattim wrote:

BuckMulligan wrote:

Which one did you go for, the HT-900?

To me, it looks way too small to be effective enough, but I'd like to hear how it turns out.

Yes, the 900. TBH, I've survived three years of turbo in the garage without a fan, so I think it doesn't need to be very powerful to help me. (But I do get mega wet and sweaty, and it will be nice, perhaps, not to be soaked at the end of a session!)

So, an update on the Honeywell HT900 turbo. I've only done one session with it, but it was a hard one 5 x 5 at VO2, and I massively overheated and had to cut short the previous week without the fan. This week, I completed fine, with fan. I had it at the height of the front wheel, on a box just touching the front wheel, so as close as I could get it. I didn't feel too hot, I did sweat of course, but not absolutely drip as I have done over previous years without the fan. So it did the trick.

To be honest, it only just did the trick though, and I would have appreciated more air movement. I can imagine that I may end up buying two of these, one for the front and one for the side, and I think that will be easily enough. Outlay will then be £40, I hope (amazingly, I bought it for £20 two weeks ago from Amazon and it now retails at £44 - surge pricing?). The manual says that this fan moves 14.6 cubic metres per minute, which is not a patch on the Sealey HVF18 recommended earlier in this thread (which moves 107 cubic metres/minute) but of course the Honeywell is a fifth of the price.

So my verdict, it does the job, just. And if I need more, I will just buy another, total outlay £55 hopefully (£40 for fans, 15 for remote on-off switches, which will enable me to control total air movement).

daniel_b

topcattim wrote:

topcattim wrote:

BuckMulligan wrote:

Which one did you go for, the HT-900?

To me, it looks way too small to be effective enough, but I'd like to hear how it turns out.

Yes, the 900. TBH, I've survived three years of turbo in the garage without a fan, so I think it doesn't need to be very powerful to help me. (But I do get mega wet and sweaty, and it will be nice, perhaps, not to be soaked at the end of a session!)

So, an update on the Honeywell HT900 turbo. I've only done one session with it, but it was a hard one 5 x 5 at VO2, and I massively overheated and had to cut short the previous week without the fan. This week, I completed fine, with fan. I had it at the height of the front wheel, on a box just touching the front wheel, so as close as I could get it. I didn't feel too hot, I did sweat of course, but not absolutely drip as I have done over previous years without the fan. So it did the trick.

To be honest, it only just did the trick though, and I would have appreciated more air movement. I can imagine that I may end up buying two of these, one for the front and one for the side, and I think that will be easily enough. Outlay will then be £40, I hope (amazingly, I bought it for £20 two weeks ago from Amazon and it now retails at £44 - surge pricing?). The manual says that this fan moves 14.6 cubic metres per minute, which is not a patch on the Sealey HVF18 recommended earlier in this thread (which moves 107 cubic metres/minute) but of course the Honeywell is a fifth of the price.

So my verdict, it does the job, just. And if I need more, I will just buy another, total outlay £55 hopefully (£40 for fans, 15 for remote on-off switches, which will enable me to control total air movement).

That's good to know - I think given the size, and time of year, clearly two would be required for any warmer conditions - assuming this is for someone who turbos all year round, like I do.

I still hanker after one of those remote 3 speed sealeys, was debating getting one from ebay with the customs amount all paid up, seemed to be able to get one for £90 that way, but am unsure as to whether the voltage would be an issue - anyone know, or does it all hinge on whether it has a 110\240 switch over, which I guess is unlikely?

svetty

Ryan_W wrote:

Just got one of these for £20 off Amazon. Great, small, powerful and quiet. Works a treat and I run very hot.
Did a 20 min power test last weekend and it did the job.



https://www.amazon.co.uk/VOXON-TurboFor ... ywords=fan

That's not a fan it's a toy!

47p2

This should keep you cool enough. I used mine through the summer when I couldn't get outdoors but I think it might be too much for the winter

topcattim

47p2 wrote:

This should keep you cool enough. I used mine through the summer when I couldn't get outdoors but I think it might be too much for the winter

Wow! That's more than 20 times as powerful as mine!

apreading

What is the purpose of the big enclosure?

Why is it worth ten times the other options here?

Looks like it has infinitely variable speed as opposed to three presets.

Other than that not sure what the difference is?

Says the noise is 67db ( a vacuum cleaner is typically rated at 70db) so doesnt seem any quiter than other options?

47p2

It's variable speed, I've only ever used full speed once during the summer. Not exactly quiet, a sort of jet engine humming sound but once the earplugs are in and the noise of the kickr (which is louder than the fan) I can't really notice it except for a slight background noise. The enclosure is just a plastic housing, it's an industrial fan made for the hire market so overbuild to withstand building sites etc. Expensive new but they do show up on auction sites every now then where a bargain can be found

I had looked at dozens of fans before buying this one, another option which I think would be great for the paincave is a carpet dryer snail fan. These can also be found on the auction sites or the tree of gums for around the £50-£60 mark and they also move around 3000CFM so worth a look, but don't but a cheap Chinese model as it won't last

apreading

Flippin' 'eck!

47p2

This is my set-up, small heater on the right to heat the basement before I venture into the paincave, small cooling fan on the right which I usually switch on (remote controlled) once I've done 2 or 3 miles and start to heat up, big fan in front of me for when the going gets tough. Eurosport on the big TV and FulGaz above...sorted