Reclaiming the Backyard; a review of the NewAir AF-520B Misting Fan

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog at all, you know we love the summer here in the Sunshine State and we’ve been anxiously awaiting its arrival all winter. In fact, not too long ago, I wrote a love letter of sorts to Summer. Needless to say, we are all excited that we can once again enjoy our favorite summer activities.

Now don’t get me wrong; it can get downright HOT here in the summer and sometimes it’s so hot we don’t even want to go out into our backyard. The kids have some fun ways they can stay cool but these methods aren’t really practical for me.

So, when NewAir contacted me about the opportunity to review the NewAir AF-520B Misting Fan, I jumped at the opportunity. I spend a lot of time on our back porch and I was excited about the chance to stay cooler while I hang out, grill or watch the kids.

When I got the fan I had to assemble it but that was quick and painless. I think I only looked at the directions after it was together to just double check I did it right. Next I hooked up the water hose, plugged it in and gave it a test run. I couldn’t believe how immediately it seemed to drop the temperature on my back porch. After some adjusting of the fan tilt angle and determining the right distance my rocking chair needed to be, I was able to relax and enjoy the day.

We have since taken the fan out into the yard and turned it toward our picnic tables while eating lunch and it works great for that too. An added benefit is the extra breeze also discourages any flies or mosquitoes from hanging around.

The thing that stands out to me is how quiet the thing is. It really blows the air and mist a good distance but it is the quietest fan I’ve ever (not) heard. That’s nice so when we’re hanging out we don’t have to scream at each other.

The fan seems to be very sturdy and the base, which is metal on the bottom, is the perfect weight to make it heavy enough not to tip over but not too heavy that it’s awkward to move around.

It has straightforward controls to adjust to fan speed.

It also has a valve where you attach the water hose that allows you to turn the water flow on/off and adjust it some as well. However, after spending some time adjusting the mist by the valve I found it easier to just leave that open and adjust the water flow at the spigot.

I also have a bit of a funny story about the second day we went to use the fan. It was a crazy hot day and the fan was still all set up from the day before. The kids and I went outside and turned it on to enjoy some nice cool misting breeze. Well, what came out at us was 120 degree stinky water. The kids were running around as if the world was about to end, yelling “it stinks, I’m burning.” It was quite the sight. I still get a chuckle thinking about it now.

I had overlooked the fact that water sitting in a water hose in the sun will get really hot and you have to let it run a little bit to flush that water out. On top of that, the rubber hose attached to the fan still had it’s “new rubber hose” smell and when heated it imparted that smell to the water too. Hence, the hot smelly water. When my wife got home from work she could still smell it on our clothes and asked us why we smelled weird. We all had a good laugh recounting the “burning stinky water.” Needless to say, I always make sure to run the water out of the hoses before I turn it on and we haven’t had any issues since.

The fan can be used without the misting if you just want a breeze but that isn’t nearly as much fun. Although, when I was trying to send some e-mails on my phone and the mist was getting on my screen, I was thankful for the water shutoff valve at the fan so I could finish up my e-mails without the mist.

If I had any improvements to suggest I would say a remote would make for the ultimate in lazy backyard enjoyment. I might also suggest making it easier to adjust the amount of water that comes out right there at the fan, maybe with a different valve or by giving me the option to decide how many of the 3 misting nozzles I want to use.

All in all, we have thoroughly enjoy the NewAir AF-520B Misting Fan and I’ve been impressed with it’s quality and quietness. If you’re in the market for a misting fan, I can definitely recommend this one. I’m looking forward to enjoying it all summer and I’m excited to do some entertaining as BBQ season is upon us!

Here is a video of the first time two of the kids got to see it in action and how they reacted plus you can really get a good feel for how quiet the fan is at the end.