Craftsman has come out with a new cordless fan, CMCE001B, as part of their V20 cordless power tool system. Craftsman has also recently released a new cordless tile saw.
The new Craftsman cordless fan can deliver up to 650 CFM and has 3 speed settings. The fan head can pivot up to 240° for easier aiming.
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- Up to 650 CFM airflow
- 3 speed settings
- Up to 8 hrs runtime on high, over 24 hrs on low (with a V20 4.0Ah battery)
- AC/DC power options
- Weighs 4.4 lbs
At the rear, you can see a cover to the AC port. You should be able to use any standard extension cord for plugging the fan into an AC outlet. There also looks to be a built-in VersaTrack hook right on the base, saving you from having to purchase it as an accessory.
Price: $59
The fan is sold as a bare tool, meaning you’ll need your own Craftsman V20 battery and charger.
Buy Now via Lowes
Compare: Dewalt Fan via Amazon
Discussion
Compared to Dewalt’s cordless fan, DCE511B, the new Craftsman fan has higher airflow specs, but fewer mounting options and no IP54 rating. It does have 3 speed settings, pivoting head, lighter weight, both DC and AC power capabilities, and a lower price tag.
This seems like a nice addition to Craftsman’s growing V20 cordless power tool system.
It’s available now at Lowes, and will probably (possibly?) be carried by Amazon as well.
Toolfreak
Stuff like this makes me wonder if SBD is going to use the Craftsman V20 lineup to compete with Ryobi and their myriad of cordless offerings, rather than the Black & Decker 20V line.
Kind of makes sense as the Ryobi line in HD stores is fairly extensive, and the Dewalt stuff in Lowe’s is the only thing even close so far, and of course lots of Dewalt stuff is higher tier or at least higher priced than Ryobi.
Steve
Craftsman V20 is squarely aimed at Ryobi 18V, no doubt about it. B&D is basic as it gets entry level homeowner stuff.
Bob
SBD/craftsman/Lowes going toe to toe with TTI/Ryobi/HD makes sense. Roybi has a what 10 year head start? But I think SBD could catch up and capture market share if they tasked the resources to do so.
HD/Ryobi/TTI has the price point/value proposition nailed pretty good. I feel it is also a test market for TTI’s top tier brand Milwaukee. If a tool does well with Ryobi in the domestic US/Home Depot market they consider making a “pro” version in red. SBD/DeWalt could do the same.
If it leads to Craftsman success in “homeowner” type tools and SBD might consider offering in DeWalt ecosystem I am all in favor. I want a DeWalt water misting fan, battery powered cooler, propane blower heater etc. I am tired of hacking DeWalt batteries onto other tool brands.
As an aside the 60v caps that come on flex volt batteries make it really easy now to hack batteries to other brands. Just fabricate electrical contacts to that 60v cap. Marry that contraption to the connection point of the tool brands battery. You can usualy get dead batteries out of the recycling box for free at big box stores. Please return the batteries for recycling after you have stripped the needed plastic parts. Lots of nasty stuff in batteries we all want recycled properly and not mixed into our ground water.
IJK
Can’t help with the cooler or fan, but dewalt makes at least 2 cordless heaters. I have the larger one and it keeps a 1000sf garage pretty toasty dead of winter. Thinking really hard on the portable heater.
Forced air propane heater (classic salamander)
https://www.dewalt.com/product-repository/products-dewalt/2018/11/13/06/22/dxh70cfav
Portable camping heater
https://www.dewalt.com/product-repository/products-dewalt/2018/11/13/06/22/dxh12b
mizzourob
And there is also a cordless v20 heat gun, model #CMCE530B, coming soon too.
Michael
Has anyone tried a 20v to 19.2v adapter
Flotsam
No but I bought a DeWalt to Ryobi adapter. Works great! There are tons of adapters out there for a bunch of different power tool brands so you may find a 19.2 v adapter.
I have 3 Ryobi tools now, a small Circ saw, Caulk gun and Glue Gun. They all work fine. I don’t think Ryobi puts any undervoltage protection in their tools so i am careful to turn off and replace battery if down to 1 bar on the battery. Not sure if DeWalt includes it in their batteries, but Ryobi must because even old Ryobi tools work on either the old NiCd batteries or their newer Lion batteries.
Thom
I have the Ridgid 18v fan. The Craftsman has a much higher CFM but the 4 AH battery means a lower runtime. Still if I see it in the store I might pick it up. The are great for tent camping
Carl J
Looks like a cheap kids toy. Plastic garbage.
Jim Felt
Plastic can’t rust. Or as easily deform if dropped while still maintaining its branded color scheme.
But I still agree it looks kinda Toy Story like.
Steve
I used to be very anti-Craftsman, but some of their tools are halfway decent. Hate to be a brand fanboy, but some of these tools are pretty decent if you’re looking for basic handtools, storage bins, etc.
Christopher
I’ve actually had this fan for 2 and a half months. (Got a Lowe’s employee to pull off pallet stored up in a rack) I love it. Puts off decent air and the price is right. Real convenient when you are working under the hood in 100 degree weather.
Matt
I have this fan and it’s fantastic! My wife put it in her little upholstery shop and it runs every day. I agree with a comment above, these are great for camping.. Craftsman needs a larger battery though. The 4ah is ok but not great.
As a side note I’ve been using their 3/8’s impact wrench quite a bit lately and it too has been an excellent tool.
Pastor Dan
Looks remarkably similar to the M18 version I picked up a month or two ago. Of course, that similarity might fade fast if I could see the Craftsman in person.
Pastor Dan
Oh, but mine has a separate (though included) adapter for 120V use. Mine didn’t work on the 2nd try, so Northern had me take the fan and all back to their (kinda) nearby store while they sent a new one. Fan itself has been good so far.
Matthew
I may have to expand my batteries to include Craftsman in the coming months. I currently have DeWalt for main tools and Ryobi for my less used tools that I didn’t want to pay DeWalt prices for (shop vac, cordless planer, glue gun, portable radio, inflator). They’ve all worked well and I have no complaints.
If SBD/Craftsman come out with a glue gun and offer a similar promotion to the HD Ryobi days (2 batteries and charger with “free” bare tool/s) it will be tempting.
Matt
We’re waiting on a Craftsman glue gun as well. I just wish they’d offer higher end saws and higher end impacts for those of us who need them and are on the platform. That’s their biggest weak spot with me right now. To see they have a heat gun coming made me happy though.
Nathan
ANy thought that there might be a upgraded dewalt version.
since this has features the dewalt doesn’t.
Stuart
I have not heard anything about a new Dewalt fan.
Mike
Can you use porter cable batteries on craftsman and if not with a little persuasion can you wink wink
Stuart
The batteries are not natively compatible.
Mike
I guess that’s the wink wink