By Michele Kadison

The new Dyson Air Multiplier is another example of the company’s cutting edge attitude towards household necessities.  A bladeless room fan, the Air Multiplier creates a natural breeze with absolutely zero turbulence.

Creative technicians at Dyson noticed that there was something interesting when they were testing the company’s Airblade hand-dryer.  This dryer blows a single sheet of air upwards at the speed of 400 miles per hour.  You can run your hands through the air stream and they are dry in a flash, with no need for wiping.  Along with the single sheet of air, the team found that a large amount of extraneous air was pulled along with it, something called “inducement” by people in the know.  The techies knew they could do something with this concept, and so began to apply the technology to a household fan.

Using friction and pressure, the concept of “inducement” was successfully applied to the Air Multiplier, whereby a thin sheet of air is blown out of a small opening at the rear of the unit.  Driven by a motor similar to that found in a jet turbine or a turbocharger, the 16 degree wing slope of the fan allows negative pressure to gather around the moving sheet of air, sucking more air along with it so that it is multiplied at 15 times more powerful.  The breeze is created by moving 118 gallons of air per second, which is what high level room fans generally do.  Instead of the chop that one experiences from angled, rotating blades, the Dyson Air Multiplier provides an unobtrusive stream of air that feels natural as it cools.

Right now prices are high at $299.99 for the 10 inch and $329.99 for the 12 inch.  But if you are looking for a natural feel from one of the most reliable companies around, the investment is well worth it.

For information on room fans, air purifiers, and filters, check out the GoVacuum website.

Update: We’ve had to end the contest early, due to threats of dealership cancellation from Dyson (and we can’t afford to lose Dyson business). We’re not sure why they object to this contest, but we will comply. We will be announcing the winner in the next GoVacuum newsletter.

This past week, a couple of us GoVacuum-ers were in Sin City for the VDTA (Vacuum Dealers Trade Association) Convention. We got to talk to a whole slew of manufacturers, see new products, and swap ideas with other vacuum dealers around the country.

Dyson unveiled their newest offering with much hype and good marketing buzz. In the end, it looks like it’s the discontinued DC04PL Canister re-worked to have an electric powerhead (so it will be effective on carpet) and a new name (the Dyson Stowaway). I’m sure it will appeal to those who have always wanted a Dyson, but don’t have a large home with lots of space to waste. It also looks shinier. The people who demonstrated it for me were very helpful and knowledgeable, and the new powerhead seemed very easy to maneuver — it mimicked the turns of my wrist, like the Miele powerheads. It’s not available for sale yet, obviously, but I’ll update here when it is.

Below is a photo of my favorite poster from the convention (yes, I’m obsessed) :

You can see all our photos from the convention at Flickr, including some action shots of the Dyson Stowaway. I have some videos linked below. All in all, I have to say, vacuum salesmen/women are more interesting than people give them credit for. Of course, I’m probably biased.

All VDTA photos