[The Final Dakar]

So, I noticed all the newer fans I own have this awful set up where in order to set the fan to move air at the lowest speed I have to cycle through all the faster speeds first. When I turn the fan on this really isn't a big deal (other than the annoyance two extra steps), but when I'm incoherent and belligerent in the morning, I find it infuriating to have to move through two extra settings and hear the motor spin up and get obnoxiously louder just to shut the damn thing off (which I don't always do successfully on the first try).

I think I understand why they have it ordered that way (Everyone uses "High" practically exclusively) but since I find that setting produces too much noise for my liking, I usually stick to lower speeds.

So, the question is, which set-up do you prefer?

[BLAZE_MkIV]

The motor may also not have enough torque to get started at the low setting.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by BLAZE_MkIV 

The motor may also not have enough torque to get started at the low setting.

In my experience that split second you pass through the higher ranges does jack for that problem.

[Doofy]

I like my fans to blow slowly.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

I like my fans to blow slowly.

[ort888]

When I was a young lad, one of my friends had a fancy-pants ceiling fan that had a special demo mode. You would push the buttons on the wall unit in a special order and it would make little songs with beeps and go through a range of settings. Different rotation speeds. Forwards. Backwards. Dimming the lights. All the way down. All the way up. Forwards backwards. beep beep beep...

It was the dumbest thing ever, but as 12-year olds, we found it fascinating.

True story.

As for the original question, I wonder why there even is a medium setting. Who would even use that? Lowly gutter people I would assume.

[The Final Dakar]

Two votes? Is that enough to certify the death certificate?

[imitchellg5]

All of the fans in my house are off/high/med/low, but I wish it were the other way around. Anybody know how the Dyson Air Multiplier does it?

[subego]

Are we talking about knobs or buttons?

[Laminar]

Or pull strings?

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by subego 

Are we talking about knobs or buttons?

The answer seems so obvious I'm going to be a dick about it.

[subego]

Okay, fine.

Replace yer stoopid buttons with a knob. Problem solved.

[Stogieman]

Set the fan to your desired speed. Plug it into The Clapper™. Problem solved.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by subego 

Okay, fine.

Replace yer stoopid buttons with a knob. Problem solved.

I hate you.

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

Set the fan to your desired speed. Plug it into The Clapper™. Problem solved.

Yeah, that's exactly what i want to hear first thing in the morning. Clapping.

[The Final Dakar]

The results of this poll leave me wondering what fan manufacturers are smoking. All three standing and two window fans I've purchased in the past five years have the idiotic reversed speed order.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

I always assumed that common fan-speed peculiarity had to do with a torque issue.

[andi*pandi]

What I find even more infuriating are the ones where off is in the middle and you have to remember which side is hi or low.

hi * off * lo

'fing stupid.

[sek929]

All the ones I own are off/high/med/low while my ceiling fan is off/low/med/high...

I prefer the latter.

[Doofy]

Mine have all got four exclusive buttons on them: Off, slow, medium, fast. Just push the one you want.

[rambo47]

My fan has one speed: Balls Out.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

"Off"

"Hurricane"