Vornado Flippi - Viable circulatory fan for small tent?

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
I'm currently using a tower fan in my 2'x2' tent, but it's just taking up way too much floor space and doesn't push as much air as I'd like. I thought about getting a 6" clip fan, but I'd have to make something custom for it to clip onto or hang from my tent, and the fan would be absorbing light as it would be placed between my lights and the canopy.

Then I "caught wind" of the Vornado Flippi. The Flippi V6 has gotten some iffy reviews on Amazon; people saying it doesn't push air very well, gets loud on its high setting, collects dust, etc. So off the bat I was a little put off, but after seeing the measurements this thing looks tiny. I like that I could place one of these in the corner of my tent (or even one in each corner) and have it push air up through my plants' canopy. Well, I searched the indoor section of this forum for "Flippi" and surprisingly found very little info on these fans. Right now I'm looking at the V6 because it's so cheap ($15-$20) and has such a small footprint, but I'd imagine the V8 could be put to good use in a slightly larger tent. I imagine they push a perfectly adequate amount of air for my/our intended purpose, too, even if it sucks at cooling an office cubicle, or whatever.

For $15 shipped I say it looks like a good deal. I plan to bite the bullet and place my order tonight, but figured I'd make this thread:
A) For people to talk me out of it (although I really don't think it's much more expensive than a simple PC fan after factoring in the 12V power supply)
B) If/when I do get the fan I'll have a place holder to post my findings/opinion on it.

I'm kind of surprised others don't seem to have as big of an issue with circulating fans in their small tents as I do. Clip fans seem like a hassle to get hung, tower fans take up too much space (at least the ones >20" in height do, imo), and multiple PC fans requires me to either pay through the nose on shipping/used prices of 12V wall warts or drive around to every Goodwill in search of cheap wall warts with the correct voltage/current output. Am I the only one saying, "Wth?!"
 

Dogenzengi

Well-Known Member
I found a wall mountable fan, put eyelet screws into the base. I simulated the top of the screw with a nut glued in place w super glue. With 2 loops sticking off the bottom I have it hanging from my carbon filter at the top corner of my tent. I have it angled between my hood and my screen.
I hung both with a pair of 3' zip ties passed around a roof brace.
look at my album if you want, lots of photos of it setup.
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the input. How big is that tent? Looks like a nice, clean setup.

I actually saw a pretty ingenious DIY thread here at RIU on mounting a wall mount-able oscillating fan inside a grow tent. I thought about doing it, and it would probably be pretty cheap aside from the actual fan, but for the size of my tent I just decided to buy two of the Flippi V6's. They should get here in a couple days. I'll post my initial impressions and if anything goes wrong with either fan I'll try to remember to come back here and update with details on reliability, or whatever.
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
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That little circular one in the middle pushes just as much air as the Flippi V6's, was like $5.50 at Target on clearance (same as the Flippi, actually, for about twice as much if I recall), but it pushes air in a wider spread. The Vornado's have a spiral plastic fan guard on the front that spins the air and pushes it in a slightly more intense beam. The Flippi's are also louder than the cheaper fan. On high, I would not want a Flippi on my desk, it's too loud. For growing, inside the tent with my closet closed I can't even hear it, especially over my AC unit.

I'm consuming about the same wattage with these three fans as I was before with the tall tower fan and get more airflow. I also feel these small fans give me more freedom in my grow space.

In retrospect, however, if I were to do it all again, I'd just buy two of the small 15" oscillating tower fans at Walgreens. They are relatively cheap, don't consume much more energy than a Flippi, push more air, would take up less floor space, and cover a wider area. I'd try to stack one of top of the other to try and minimize the footprint.
 

Banana444

Well-Known Member
Hey if tou have a target near you, go there. All the fans are on sale because its a seasonal item. I got a honeywell air circulator fan, bigger than a 6" but still very compact for the amount of air it moves. I keep mine on medium speed and only cost me 8$, and it can mount to a wall/ceiling. Not any louder than my 6" mini fan either.
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
Yeah, that's what I did. All these fans were on clearance at Target (and I'm sure other stores). NOW is the time for everyone to buy fans if they need one and if stores near them still have any left in stock. Not sure if that honeywell would fit my tent well, I'm strapped for space which is why I'm trying to get fans that the plants can grow over.
 
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