Last Updated on July 9, 2023
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The best way to cool off is with air conditioning or cold water. The next best way is to move air over your skin, which helps to make you feel cooler in warmer weather. Your best bet with a fan is a larger fan, like a box fan, tower fan, or window fan, but that’s not always an option, especially if you’re traveling or tent camping. For those times when you can’t use a big fan, a small fan might be helpful.
Aldi sometimes sells smaller fans. The grocer sold a 3.5 inch portable fan and also sometimes sells this larger model, a 5-inch fan.
The Easy Home USB or Battery Powered 5-Inch Fan (Product Code: 805118) is an Aldi Find, which means it’s only in stores for a limited time. At the time of this post, the fan cost $7.99, which also happens to be the same price as the 3.5-inch fan. That’s cheaper than most other 5-inch fans I can find online. It is currently available in black or white.
The fan comes with the following:
- The fan
- A DC-to-USB cord
- A manual
- A warranty card
The fan runs either on a USB plug or four AA batteries. The batteries are not included.
The warranty, incidentally, is serviced by Wachsmuth & Krogmann, a common Aldi warranty service provider. The warranty is good for 1 year.
The warranty card. (Click to enlarge.)
The fan has three speed settings — low, medium, and high — that can be cycled through using the power button. The fan also has three timer settings — 1 hour, 2 hours, and 4 hours — if you want to use it.
As the name suggests, you can run this fan either through batteries or a USB connection. Both appear to work about the same in terms of power; keep in mind, though, that if you have the USB cord plugged in, the fan won’t draw from the batteries, even if the USB is not connected to a battery.
The USB can be connected to a phone wall adaptor or into a battery pack, as we do in the video below. We discovered that some smaller USB batteries don’t put out enough power to go beyond the low power setting, while larger batteries can go to medium or high.
This fan seems to do the job well. It puts out a good amount of wind, and it stays stable while running. It’s meant to sit on a surface, so you can’t hang it up the way you can the 3.5 inch fan, but otherwise this fan is superior in terms of wind velocity, size, and features.
The Verdict:
The Easy Home 5-Inch Fan is a good option if you need a larger but still portable fan, either at home or on a trip. It works with both AA batteries and connecting to a USB power source, like a battery pack. I’m not sure yet how long it runs on a single set of batteries, but the fact that it takes different power sources is a plus. Also a plus: a 1-year warranty, which adds some peace of mind.
I purchased this fan and hardly get to use it because the batteries just don’t last. The adjustable tilt doesn’t work very well either. I love the convenience of this small fan and the variable speeds are great too. Only if I could use it. I’ve gone through several sets of batteries and have concluded that the only way I can use this fan is with the USB. Which defeats the purpose of my interest in this item.
I LOVE MY WEE sized fan! However…the plug in is no longer making a connection. Fan works on batteries so the on off switches are working. When I plug in the cord nothing happens. The light used to glow and waited for wiggle jiggle in the plug in, but now nada. Can anyone figure out how to pop it open? I think the seat is shoved in too deep and not making a connection with the power cord. REALLY love this powerful little fan and hope to save it. HELP if you know how to perform open heart surgery on it! THANKS! If you see this on the shelf again, GRAB IT. Worth the brass out of pocket.