Ticking Timer

The Soleus FTY-25 is a quiet fan with a noisy timer.

We use fans at night to create a soft breath of air as we go to sleep. For this purpose, "quiet" is good. We live in the country and the natural sounds are pleasant and actually reassuring. "White noise" is unneeded.

Except for the timer, the Soleus is a good, quiet solution. The timer makes a fast ticking noise like some older kitchen timers.

A complete explanation of the Soleus controls and operation is surprisingly wordy. I'll try to cut it short...

The timer is mechanical. Once the timer dial is turned, the mechanism will tick for the maximum period that it was turned to, even if turned off in the meantime. In other words, if the dial is moved to the 2 hours position and then immediately moved back to "off" (even unplugged), then when the fan is turned back on the next day (even to just the untimed "on" position), it is going to tick for 2 hours.

The Soleus can be made to operate quietly. Just never move the timer dial to a timed-setting position.

Since we don't care about a timer when we are awake and can't use it to go to sleep, we taped the timer to the "on" position. With the timer dial in the "on" position, the fan can be turned off and on with the Fan Speed Switch, which has an "off" position, or with a quiet external electronic timer.

For those who want a smallish fan that moves a lot of air, the Vornado 550B moves more air. Unfortunately, the 550B has a variable speed controller that hums like an old fluorescent light, which makes it unacceptable to those who want a truly quiet low-speed fan.