If you're in an area that's frequently disconnected from Eskom, Meaco's smaller Sefte is an excellent choice to cooling your immediate space. We'd argue the fan is even better when hauled on your glamping trip. But Meaco is a victim of its own success, and this fan's biggest competitor comes from inside the house. If you're just planning on cooling your bedroom, opt for the pricier Meaco 1056. It's worth the extra five hundred bucks.
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Value
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Battery
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Silence
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Cooling
We’ve seen Meaco’s fan skills (the company likes to call them ‘air circulators’) in the past, with the best value for your cash being the Meaco 1056. If you’ve got a burning need to use your high-end fan absolutely anywhere, though, the Meaco Sefte 8″ would like a word with your wallet.
It’s distinct from the 10in version of the fan with the same name in that it’s highly portable. Both operate via mains, with an internal battery that’ll let it operate when the power’s off. And in South Africa, the power’s off an awful lot of the time.
Delightfully uncomplicated
Unlike most of what Stuff sees regularly, Meaco’s little fan doesn’t have a ton of moving parts. Figuratively speaking, anyway. A fan is the very definition of ‘moving parts’. But you’ll haul the Sefte out of the box, pop off the lid for the battery, and slot the included 2,500mAh battery in. It’s very much like using a cellphone from the 1990s in that respect.
You’ll also have to use the included power cord, since the battery doesn’t have an independent charger. But when the power’s out, this little critter will just keep blowing. Until the battery dies.
Control of the fan is equally uncomplicated. It uses the same interface as Meaco’s older units, missing only the vertical oscillation control found in the 1056 and its antecedents. One touch powers it on or off (it’ll also light up the LCD panel). Another button controls sleep and eco mode operation. Then, there is fan intensity (it goes up to 12) and horizontal oscillation.
If you’re really lazy, there’s also a circular remote control that’ll let you do all this from across the room. One of the buttons there will silence the Sefte’s beeps, to boot.
Operational efficiency
The Meaco Sefte 8″ should outlast load shedding, too. The company claims it’ll handle itself for seventeen hours off the grid, which is enough to make this a compelling camping choice. That’s especially true if you have some way to charge the fan while you’re out fishing. But plonking it on your desk or next to your bed are equally valid choices. We found that the battery runs for longer in Eco mode, as you’d expect, so don’t go expecting that uptime when the Sefte is cranked all the way up.
As with all Meaco fans, it’s silent. Very silent. You’ll hear it if it’s operating next to your head, but put it a couple of metres away and it’s virtually silent. It’ll make for an excellent sleep fan, especially if your partner is bothered more by noise than by heat. This way, you’ll both be happy.
The fan head can be angled almost vertically, so it’ll suit just about any scenario. Just want to bother the moths around your battery-powered tent light? Consider it done. The air it pushes out isn’t as vigorous as we’ve seen from other Meaco products — again, the Meaco 1056 is the gold standard here — but it’ll fill a compact space without getting overbearing. And, for some reason, the air always feels cold. Even when it’s horrendously warm everywhere else.
Meaco Sefte 8″ air circulator verdict
There’s just one slight problem with the Meaco Sefte 8″, one that can’t really be offset by its off-grid smarts. The price. You can expect to pay R3,000 for one of these, and if you’re frequently in a tent, caravan, chalet, or some other remote location, it could be worth the effort. But if you’re using it almost exclusively around the home, an extra R500 gets you better performance, reach, features (by which we mean ‘vertical oscillation’), and cooling across the board.
