Kobalt Fans: What's The Difference Between Lowe's Two 24V Models?

Alongside the essential Kobalt tools to have in your garage, or just about anywhere inside and outside your home, a portable fan is also a must-have. It can give you instant relief while you're fixing your car in your workshop, enjoying some barbecue in the yard, or watching a baseball match. Plus, it's a handy tool to keep around during power outages.

If you're on the hunt for a portable fan in Lowe's, Kobalt offers two 24V models. They both work with any of the Kobalt 24V Max batteries and have pretty identical designs, measuring seven inches, with three blades and a tiltable head. 

While they do share the same brand, voltage, and general design, these Kobalt 24V fans aren't entirely similar in terms of features. Let's dig into the specs of the Kobalt 7-Inch 24V 5-Speed Personal Fan and Kobalt 7-Inch 24V 3-Speed Jobsite Fan to see how they differ.

The Kobalt 24V 5-Speed Personal Fan works as a basic fan with no misting functionality. It can deliver, at most, 600 cubic feet per minute, or CFM, of airflow, which you can easily adjust using the five speed levels for your comfort.

While this Kobalt 24V fan from Lowe's doesn't come with other fancy cooling features, it does offer two power input options: a Kobalt 24V Max battery or a regular wall outlet. Yes, the 5-Speed Personal Fan is a hybrid fan, so you can run it cordless or wired depending on your needs. 

To use it with a battery, just slide the pack into the battery compartment right in front. To plug the fan into an AC outlet, simply pull up the receptacle cover at the back of the battery compartment and connect your extension cord. In terms of battery runtime, Kobalt mentions that the 5-Speed Personal Fan can last as long as 60 hours on low on the 24V Max 4Ah battery. This is likely because it consumes a low 14.5 watts.

Design-wise, the 5-Speed Personal Fan comes with other convenient features. It has a 240-degree head rotation, there's a key hole at the bottom to hang it on screws, and a pair of hooks on each side if you want to hang it on a fence, scaffolding, or shelf. If you have a tripod, you can mount the fan there, too.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two Kobalt 24V fans from Lowe's is the misting functionality. Unlike the other fan, the Kobalt 24V 3-Speed Jobsite Fan doubles as a misting fan with two built-in nozzles on each side. It's designed to fit on top of a 5 gallon bucket and spray at a rate of up to two gallons an hour. You can run both the fan and mist feature at the same time, but you also have the option to activate just the mist or just the fan.

When it comes to airflow, the 3-Speed Jobsite Fan provides a stronger cooling effect, as you get a maximum of 800 CFM. The downside, though, is that its settings aren't as flexible as the 5-Speed Personal Fan. It features only three fan speeds and three misting levels, which might seem limiting.

Another drawback of the 3-Speed Jobsite Fan compared to the other Kobalt 24V fan is the power input. It works exclusively with a battery pack, so you can't run it via a wall outlet. Since the 3-Speed Jobsite Fan has a misting feature, it even consumes more power, at 20 watts. When paired with the 2Ah pack, it can only run for six hours on the lowest fan and mist setting. 

Naturally, it should stay on for longer with the 4Ah, since a higher Ah on a power tool battery means more runtime. Due to its larger power consumption, however, it likely won't operate as long as the 5-Speed Personal Fan. The 3-Speed Jobsite Fan doesn't come with any hanging or mounting options, and its head tilting functionality is limited to only 60 degrees.