If you have a large room and love the feeling of air blowing on you, then a fan like the Seville Classics UltraSlimline 40” Oscillating Tower Fan should be high on your list. The UltraSlimline measures 40 inches tall and oscillates to deliver a blast of air across the entire width of a room. It ships with a remote and a plethora of settings that give you total control over the cooling experience. We put the popular Seville Classics product through its paces to find out if it performs as well as competing tower fans.
Setup Process: Handle with care
The Seville Classics UltraSlimline needs to be assembled before you use it. The base is shipped in two pieces that hook together and fit on the base. Four screws hold the base to the bottom of the fan. When assembling the base, the cord needs to be wrapped through the guides to ensure the fan fits flush with the floor. Be careful with threading the cable, as you can easily break the tabs that secure the cord. We inadvertently twisted the wire when assembling the base and broke off a few of the tabs. We used a piece of duct tape and the remaining tabs to hold the power cord in place.
Performance: Many features that’ll blow you away
With its four-speed settings (high, medium, low and “eco”), the Seville Classics UltraSlimline outperforms other fans in its class. The lowest eco setting provides a gentle breeze of air and minimal noise. The higher settings ramp up the airflow and the noise. The airflow is powerful enough to cool even the hottest room, circulating ambient air and pushing cold air from our air conditioner You also can choose to have the fan oscillate along a 75-degree arch to ensure everyone in the room gets relief from the heat. On its lowest settings, the Seville Classics UltraSlimline tower is a quiet fan. You can hear it, but it’s easy to tune out. The noise climbs but is still tolerable on the higher settings. You can talk over the sound of the fan and watch your favorite TV show with it running. The only time we felt we had to turn it off was when we received a phone call. The fan has a myriad of settings to control the fan’s output. Not only are there four settings for speed, but there are three different wind modes that vary the cooling power of the fan. There is a sleeping wind mode that starts at high wind speed and then gradually decreases every 30 minutes and a natural wind mode that changes speed randomly. The normal wind mode allows you to choose one set speed using the speed dial. We hardly used these alternative modes because they weren’t very pleasant. The changes in speed were abrupt and not at all like a natural wind. We typically kept the fan on normal mode and changed the speed as needed with the remote. We used the timer settings extensively, especially at night. The timer allows you to easily control how long the fan runs. You can choose between a half-hour, 1 hour, 2 hours, or 4 hours. It worked perfectly to turn off the fan in the middle of the night when we no longer needed it running. We also used it in our home office to turn off the fan at the end of the workday. The Seville Classics UltraSlimline has a handy remote to change the fan settings. The remote has an LCD that lets you control most parameters of the fan. It has five buttons that can turn the fan on and off, change speed settings, set the timer, turn the oscillation on and off, and change the wind mode. The remote works across the room, but you need to be in the line of sight of the fan. It won’t work around corners.
Design: Style in a tall package
The Seville Classics UltraSlimline is tall, slim, and stylish, with a base that fits perfectly in the corner of the room. However, the small support is a mixed blessing, as it also makes the fan feel wobbly on the carpet. If you have pets that may bump the fan accidentally or young children that may lean or grab onto the fan when it is off, then you may want to consider a model with a broader base. We liked that the silver-colored steel intake grill broke up the monotone color of the plastic casing and that a handle in the back made it easy to move the fan when needed. The fan also includes a remote, which conveniently attaches to the back of the fan. The top part of the fan has a control panel with a variety of speed settings and timer options. Each button has an icon for its function, but it’s not clear what each one means. The speed settings and timer are self-explanatory, but we had to consult the manual the first few times we used the wind modes to figure out what they did. The buttons are easy to press and make an audible noise when you change a setting. They also have an LED that lights when selected. The LED is bright enough to view during the daytime but not bright enough to be annoying at night. One regrettable design choice is the fan’s non-serviceable construction. Unlike most fans, which have removable grills for cleaning, the Seville Classics UltraSlimline cannot be disassembled for cleaning. Seville Classics advises owners to clean the unit regularly using compressed air or a vacuum.
Price: Affordable
The Seville Classics UltraSlimline costs around $60, which is reasonable for the features and performance. Yes, there are cheaper fans, but they don’t have the remote and the power output of the UltraSlimline. There are also more expensive options, but they are not significantly better at cooling than the Seville Classics UltraSlimline. The Seville Classics UltraSlimline is a solid performer with a competitive price tag.
Competition: Towers over the competition
When purchasing a new fan, you should choose the fan that best matches your need. The Seville Classics UltraSlimline is a tower fan capable of cooling a large room and everyone in it thanks to its 75 degrees of oscillation. It is quiet while operating on its lower settings, but loud enough on its higher settings that some people may find it noisy. Here are some alternative options that we tested. Vornado 660 Large Room Air Circulator: If you want a whisper-quiet fan with enough oomph to circulate air in a large room, then take a look at the Vornado 660. It’s a powerhouse stationary floor fan that, when positioned properly, will circulate air within and even between rooms. Honeywell HT-900 TurboForce Air Circulator Fan: Not everyone wants a large fan like the Seville Classics UltraSlimline or the Vornado 660, but they still want a powerful breeze. For folks who want a blast of fresh air, there is the Honeywell HT-900. It’s a tabletop fan that fits easily on a desk or nightstand. It’ll blow a stiff breeze within a short distance and is excellent for single-person, small-room use. The Seville Classics UltraSlimline 40” Oscillating Tower Fan is one of our favorite fans. It’s a powerful fan with a handy remote and a myriad of settings to dial in the specific cooling level to keep you comfortable.
