Hand Dryer Herald

Hand Dryer Reviews, thoughts and ramblings.

[handdryerherald]

The Excel XLERATOR® Eco.

This hand dryer has been taking bathrooms around me by storm recently. This powerful hand dryer with a strange name, shines with its chrome finish even in the grimiest of bathrooms.

Offering a tornado of air to dry your hands, it boasts a drying time of ten seconds even though in my tests it averaged out at about 11!

Excel state that the Xlerator  uses 80% Less Energy Than Conventional Hand Dryers. However this appears to be a common boast. They also state that you make a 95% Cost Savings Vs. Paper Towels and comes with a 5 year warranty.

Excel the creators of the Xlerator play on the fact that there an all American company stating that they make the finest American made hand dryers.  

I’ve got to say the Xlerator is a pretty good hand dryer, it dries your hands well for a traditional shaped hand dryer. The sensor picks up hand movments allowing for hand’s free use that actually works. It also makes a noise that gives the impression that it’s doing a good job with a thunderous roar of air.  Overall a very good hand dryer.

5/5 - “Even the noise it makes scream’s power!”

[handdryerherald]

Cannon Air Jet

The Cannon Air Jet Is a hand dryer is a top down Hand dryer in a very similar design to the Dyson Airblade DB. These Squeegee hand dryers use a thin wide blast of air to force the water off of your hands in a similar manor to a squeegee is used to get water off of your windows.

The Cannon Airjet offers surprisingly good hand drying potential, drying my hands in the advertised time of 10 seconds of slowly moving my hands up and down. The size and shape of this dryer is slightly bigger than its competitors such as the Dyson, but boosts a handy instruction sign which I have also included a picture of.

Cannon state that it operates at just 550W and dry’s hands in just 10 seconds which they claim is the fastest of any hand dryer. It has Anti-microbial treatment to prevent cross contamination. This Airjet model also boasts a new wave pattern for its air jets and a triangular silencer (whatever that is) to ensure the quietest operation.

Overall the Cannon Airjet dried my hands in the 10 seconds it said it would, wether this is the fastest drying hand dryer is yet to be established. However there was no need to dry my hands on my jeans so it defiantly works!

 5/5 – “you even git a nifty guide on how to use it”

[handdryerherald]

World Dryer Smartdri

The world dryer Smartdri is a tough hand dryer to review. The one I used was a hand drying dream, with a strong warming gust of drying air. I’m guessing this was because the one I used was set at full power.

The world dryer Smartdri is an adaptive dryer that allows the installer to set power levels between 3 different settings, 425w 600w or 850w. There is also the option to turn off the heating element allowing for just cool air. This means that on it lowest setting it can use up to 83% less energy then other hand dryers.

But as a user you want it on its highest setting so you can dry your hands quickly with warm air. At this setting it runs at 1250W. Overall the experience it gave was a good one. In tests I got a 14 second dry time which isn’t half bad.

Rating 4/5. “let’s hope it’s set up to dry your hands rather then make a noise”

[handdryerherald]

APV Vent-Axia (Unknown Model) 

This is a previous model that Vent-Axia made and I’m struggling to identify which model it actually is, it looks very similar the Ultra dry SX however there are distinct differences between the Ultra dry and the one I used today!

Let just say the above Vent Axia was not the greatest hand dryer I’ve ever used. Its location in a lesser visited public bathroom hidden within the depths of a country park means that the dryer gets limited use, both of the Vent Axia’s in the bathroom offered poor drying times of 27 seconds on average. Offering a strong warmish breeze but surprisingly offering a very limited drying experience.  Motioned detection was good and picked up my need to dry my hands on the first attempt every time.  Noise level was good, not too loud, but enough to at least be fooled into thinking it would dry your hands

APV are known to make allot of air related products for both commercial and industrial use, this hand dryer however left allot to be desired. Let’s hope their newer range of hand dryers offer a better drying experience.

Vent Axia- 2/5 “At least it sounds like it will dry your hands!

[handdryerherald]

Wandsworth Bunnie HD2

This is the previous iteration of the  Wandsworth Bunnie HD 2. A Hand dryer that really is not worth the time and effort it takes to dry your hands. With its partial breeze of slowly warming air, you stand around for an average of 30 seconds to get your hands dry. At this point you may as well wipe your hands on available clothing and have done with it.

However Wandsworth have supposable improved upon this previous design with the Bunnie HD2 now sporting a modern white appearance; however I have yet to see the new design in the wild. Keep a look out for reviews of the new improved Bunny hand dryer.

 Wandsworth Bunnie HD2 (previous design) 1/5 stars : “Probably better just to wipe your hands on your clothes, or give them a little shake”

[handdryerherald]

World dryer A-48

This Iconic looking hand dryer appears to be placed in council toilet blocks around the land. The iconic 360 degree swivel nozzle not only allows you to dry your hands, but also dry your face (and dry out your eyeballs). There is a reason this iconic design is found in the majority of low cost public bathrooms. The World Dryer A-48 and its successor A-48ss are built for their longevity being built out of heavy duty steel, allowing for the bored youth of today to beat on it in a drunken stupor without it breaking.

The push button featured on the device does mean that there is a need for physical contact to start it drying your hands, however there is a tactile response and you can quickly tell if its working or not. Being built for reliability you don’t often find one of these not working and Warner Howard are offering a 5 year onsite warranty if it does go wrong.

 But how does it dry? Well in our tests there was an average of 24 seconds to dry. No way near as quick as some of the modern designs overly doubling the likes of the new Dyson models, however the temperature if produces is good, a warming dry that does not burn. And being a design of 60 year old, it still does a reasonably good job of drying hands!

 Warner Howard say that the A-48ss is :

Vandal resistant

 Ideal for public areas

Manual push button operation

360 degree swivel nozzle

Brush life of 600,000 cycles

Heavy duty steel cover

Chromium plated fittings 

3/5 Rating : “Eventually dry’s the hands, however its iconic design and longevity means that your near enough guaranteed to be able to dry your hands, even in the worst of bathrooms”

[handdryerherald]

World Dryer airforce

This is clearly one of the stronger, faster hand dryers out there. I never pass up the chance to dry my hands on one of these bad boys. 

The Makers World Dryer state that you can dry your hands in 12 seconds and I agree, the force of air that this dryer throws out means you can be done and dry in one of the shortest times if found so far. My Hands on tests confirm the 12 second coming a close second to the Dyson Airblade V.

It Incorporates SteriTouch® antimicrobial technology which from what I can tell means that the plastic coating has antibacterial technology, but lets face it there's no reason to touch it!

World dyer state that the airforce is: 

Energy efficient — uses only 20% energy of traditional dryers; 30% more energy savings over competitive high speed dryers

Quiet operation for sound sensitive areas

Incorporates SteriTouch® antimicrobial technology inhibiting the growth of bacteria, mold and fungus extending the dryer’s service life.

Innovative multi-port diffuser nozzle maximizes drying effective and comfort

Low sound level

Its so quiet they mentioned it twice! 

5/5 “Strong, Quick and powerful, It feels like your drying your hands in a gale”

[handdryerherald]

Could this be the best hand dryer in the world?

The Dyson Airblade V - 60% smaller then the original Airblade this sleek hand dryer offers what is in my opinion close to the best hand drying experience out there. 

Dyson suggest running costs of £40 a year based on 200 uses per day every day of the year. I can hardly believe this cheap running cost compared to this hand dryers pure ability to dry my hands! 

I have always been a fan of Dyson Airblade hand dryers however there have been occasions that  the original Dyson hand dryers had you placing your hands in a small gap with disgusting water just blowing around the bottom of the crevice, Not any more!  You get the same Squeege effect of water being pushed off of your hands without the need to place them vertically into a tight crevice!

Dyson say it has a 10 second dry time and id second this. Another bonus is the air isn't hot, meaning no red hands or burning sensations, however this means its not as warming on them cold winter days. 

Dyson also state that their HEPA filter kills 99% of bacteria meaning your hands are not getting blown on by dirty air! 

I honestly am this dryers biggest fan, you wont find my wiping my hands on my jeans with one of these in the bathroom! 

Could this be the best Hand dryer in the world so far ?