Viking 2200 EX Stackable Centrifugal Air Mover & Carpet Dryer

Before I get started and tell you about the Viking 2200 air mover, I want to clear something up that may be confusing.  You may see this air mover branded under the name Viking and/or Maradyne.  They are the same product, just different names.  The other item I want to clear up is fan vs air movement.  You will probably hear me say fan, but this machine is not a fan.  This is an air mover which has a higher velocity and some other differences. Okay, now that I got those items out of the way, let’s talk about air movers.  Air movers are great when you want massive amounts of air movement, such as a flooded basement or other applications to help move air.  Which brings me to the Viking 2200.  Oh wait, one more thing to clear up.  The Viking comes in two models.  The Viking 2200 EX and the Viking 2200 EX GFCI.  They are pretty much the same air mover, which I will get into in a bit.  But as I am sure you know, the GFCI model has the ability to daisy chain air movers together.  So this version has a place to plug another air mover into.  This also has a GFCI breaker built in that adds protection, plus the GFCI model is one pound heavier.  Okay, now I think I have everything clarified, so let’s move on with the Viking 2200.

Let’s start with the outside of the unit.  As you can see, this is made from polyethylene plastic which means it’s lightweight, but can withstand the abuse of tough jobs.  On the top of the unit, there is a wide carrying handle when you have to carry around the 29 lb unit from place to place.  Speaking of storage and moving, on the bottom of the unit, you will notice an indentation.  This indentation allows the user to stack multiple units on top of each other which can save precious room in your truck or van.  On the back of the unit, Viking designed this with a cord management system which allows the user to wrap the 25′ cord up.  This way it’s not getting tangled or dragged around.

As far as operation, the unit is pretty straight forward.  On the side of the unit, there is a 3 poison rocker.  One position is for off and the other two positions are for high and low.  Now when you start it up, I have to admit, it sounds pretty cool.  It sounds a little bit like a jet engine, it has the cool winding noise.  However once it gets up to full operation speed, you no longer hear the 1/3 Hp power motor.  Instead you can hear the air being moved around and the winding noise goes away.

Since this is an air mover, it’s important to be able to place the unit in the direction you need to dry or clear.  Good news is Viking designed this to be used in 3 different positions – 0°, 45°, 90°.  So you can really direct the air anywhere you desire.  Now I know what you’re thinking, this is great and it can move a ton of air, but what about amp draw? No worries there as it only draws 2.5 amps.  As the final news, this comes with a two year warranty, so you can buy this with peace, knowing that it will be backed up by the company.

Currently I have mine in the basement and have used it a ton.  The air mover has been on each day for about 10 hours, no joke.  In my house, we don’t have forced air, so the air just sits.  For me, I like feeling a little breeze.  Now I don’t point it directly at me because I don’t like that much air.  Before this unit, I had a box fan that would run 24 hours a day.  Since the Viking 2200, I got rid of the box fan and stuck with this because it is really night and day between the two.  The box fan was okay for some air movement, but you really had to be in front of the fan to feel anything.  With the Viking 2200, no matter where you are in the basement, you feel the air being moved.  Also, we do get some water in the basement, so when it does get wet, I can point the unit at the area and it dries much quicker.  Here is the biggest thing I found out about the unit.  One day I came home and went into the basement.  I was shocked because it was filled with smoke.  At first I thought it was an electrical fire because there was a ton of smoke, but then I realized it didn’t smell like an electrical fire.  While it did have a distinct smell, it was a smell that I didn’t recognize.  I grabbed my thermal imager and tried to look all over to see what was causing the problem and couldn’t find it.  That’s when it dawned on me about a letter we received a month earlier that our village was going to be testing the rain water drains and will be smoking them.  Well there was a ton of smoke, so I opened two windows, one on each side of the basement.  I set the Viking 2200 into the 45° angle and pointed it at one window.  Within a matter of 10 to 15 minutes, the basement was clear of smoke.  Now if I had just a box fan, I am sure it would have taken a couple of hours.  So in my experience, this is an awesome air mover.

Anyone looking for a good quality air mover should look at the Viking 2200.  Again, I have been using mine everyday and it keeps on working.  I was a little afraid that I would wear out the bearings by using it so much, but I don’t have one squeak.  Bottom line, this is a new product for us, but so far I have been really impressed.