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- Great performance
- Can run on batteries
- Compact, quiet and easy to use
- Touch controls should be more sensitive
- USB-C would be preferable over proprietary charger
Last year, Meaco’s Sefte 10in Table Air Circulator set new benchmarks for the desk and table fan, balancing an almost comically massive airflow with an energy efficient motor and low levels of noise. It wasn’t quite strong-but-silent, but it came pretty close. However, not everyone needs that much power from a desk or table fan – or one that’s quite as big. Many of us would prefer something slightly smaller, even if it meant missing out on such a mighty breeze.
Luckily, Meaco’s new, smaller Sefte 8in Portable Table Air Circulator provides exactly that, plus one big bonus. I’ve been testing it out over an unusually warm May hot spell to find out whether it lives up to the 10in model’s lofty standards.
What do you get for the money?
This is an 8in desk fan with a powerful, energy-efficient DC motor. It sticks to the same style as the 10in model, with the base and rear of the fan made from a tough white plastic and a black grey grill covering the blades at the front. On the base, touch-sensitive controls sit left and right of a small circular display, and the whole ensemble can rotate left and right while oscillating, with only the dark grey section that sits on the floor remaining still.
The Sefte 8in stands 384mm high and 261mm wide, including the fan assembly, so it’s a little smaller than the 432mm tall Sefte 10in. You lose the vertical oscillation from that model, but gain a built-in rechargeable battery, which gives you up to 17 hours of cordless cooling from a three-hour charge. That battery is replaceable too, so you can replace it should you eventually run it down, rather than bin the whole fan.
What features and settings does it have?
Like the 10in version, the Sefte 8in has twelve speed settings, plus an Eco mode and a Night mode. The Eco mode measures the current temperature – visible on the display – and sets the fan speed accordingly, running at speed three when you hit 21°C, six when you hit 24°C and nine when temperatures reach 27°C. At lower temperatures you’ll be stuck on speed one or two, and you’ll have to hit 28-30°C before you see speeds 10 to 12.
Night mode turns off the display, LED indicators and touch-control beeps, then gradually turns the fan speed down by one every hour until it reaches the lowest speed. You can toggle between modes with the tap of a button, while the touch equivalent of a rocker button nudges the fan speed up and down. A dedicated button turns the fan’s 80° oscillation on or off.
Using the bundled circular remote gives you access to a 24-hour timer function and a mute sounds button, which can also switch between °C and °F displays if you hold it down. Meanwhile, the battery slots into a space below a panel on the top of the base, and lasts for between five and seventeen hours depending on the speed setting and whether oscillation is turned on.
How well does it perform?
This is an easy fan to use, whether you prefer to use manual settings or leave it in Eco. It’s also very effective. It doesn’t reach the extreme airflows of the Sefte 10in model, but it’ll dish out a powerful 3.8m/sec on the maximum setting and a nice, medium-level 2m/sec on speed setting six. Even turned down to setting three you can get a cooling 1.6m/sec breeze. Cleverly, Meaco has reduced the power at the lowest four speeds, so that the fan works better at close range on a desk or bedside table. The minimum 0.9m/sec is too low to feel at any distance, but it still makes a difference when the fan is just a couple of feet from your face.
What’s more, it’s quiet. On speed settings one to three you can barely hear it, with the noise output at 27.3 to 28.9dBA. Only if you’re sitting right next to it you can barely hear more than a faint whisper. At settings four to six it gets a little louder, reaching 34.8dBA, but it’s still at a level where you could carry on chatting or watching TV without bothering to raise your volume. It never makes a serious racket, even at its highest settings, maxing out at around 43.8dBA. Some other table fans are louder at their medium speeds.
Power consumption is just as low. I measured 4.8W on the lowest setting and only 14.2W at full speed, boosting to 17.2W with oscillation turned on. It actually uses more power (10.1W) while in standby charging, though this drops to 0.3W once the battery is charged.
As always, the quoted maximum 17-hour battery life is based on the lowest possible fan speed, but Meaco plays fair by giving you a table in the manual that tells you what to expect at every speed, with or without oscillation turned on. In tests, with the fan set to its medium (six) speed, it lasted nine hours and 27 minutes. That’s actually beyond Meaco’s claimed nine hours.
Is there anything we didn’t like?
The touch-sensitive controls aren’t the most touch-sensitive I’ve used. Instead of simply prodding the buttons I ended up resting my fingers on the top of the base and pressing them more firmly with my thumb. Otherwise, there’s precious little cause to grumble, though it might have been nice if Meaco had used USB-C for charging rather than a proprietary, barrel-style plug and socket.
Should you buy the MeacoFan Sefte 8in Portable Table Air Circulator?
Yes. It’s an excellent desk and table fan. In fact, unless you really need vertical oscillation and a desk fan that can work as a floor fan, it’s better than the Sefte 10in. It’s easier to fit on your desk and a little less raucous, but it still provides a lot of cooling power. Throw in the option of going cordless when you need to move your fan around, and you have one of the best desk fans you can buy right now.
