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DREO TurboCool Misting Fan 516S

Review by Angie Kibiloski

The DREO TurboCool Misting Fan 516S is the most compact member of the brand’s new line of 3 home misting fan models. It provides both cooling air flow and increased humidity to your home, with a decent amount of customization and convenient control. Though small in stature, it still delivers impressive power and performance compared to its larger cousins. I’ve been a fan of DREO‘s products for a few years, including the tower fan I reviewed here in the past, the Purifier Tower Fan MC710S, which I’m still enjoying at home. I was curious how their smaller models would stack up, in fan strength and functionality, and this petite tabletop size did not disappoint. I was a little skeptical about bringing a mister into my home, out of concern for my wooden surfaces, but the TurboCool Misting Fan 516S produces such a fine mist that I needn’t have worried at all. Let’s take a closer look at this little mister’s features, functions, and handy control app, followed by my personal impressions and how it interacts with my existing fan setup.

First up, let’s run through the specs of the TurboCool Misting Fan 516S ($99.99). The fan itself has 6 speeds, blowing at up to 26 ft/s, with a reach of 33 ft, and circulating airflow of up to 512 cubic ft/min. To further aid in circulation, the fan head can self-oscillate up to 150° at 30° adjustment intervals, and can also be manually tilted 10° downward and 20° up. The ultrasonic misting function produces super fine humidifying particles at 11μm in size, with 3 levels of mist volume, and maximum misting output of 263 mL/hr, at a 2.6 ft range. The 1.3 liter water tank is easy to fill and insert, and will last between 3.5 and 12 hours depending on the chosen misting level. Combined, the fan and mister provide a perceived cooling effect of 5°F below ambient temperature. You can control the fan’s basic settings with the touchscreen buttons on the front display, which will also show you the current fan speed, mist level, and ambient humidity. Here you can change speed, mist level, oscillation, and target humidity percentage by cycling through each setting manually, or use the included remote control to do the same. The companion DREO app for iOS and Android opens up a few more settings, like a scheduled timer, child lock, and display lighting options, as well as more precise adjustments to oscillation angle and target humidity.

For my personal experience with the TurboCool Misting Fan 516S, I found it to be user-friendly and effective at both air circulation and humidifying. The water tank was easy to remove, fill, and replace, with no leaking while in use, and just a couple of drops on the nozzle from the on-board reservoir below, when I lifted the tank out to refill after it had run dry. Due to water remaining in the on-board reservoir, I’d suggest not setting the unit directly on a wooden surface, to avoid spilling when you relocate the fan or remove the tank. The mist produced was super fine, and my initial concern about moisture settling on my furniture surfaces was eliminated during my first use. Holding my hand near the misting element, moisture didn’t start lingering on my skin until I got about 3 inches from the sprayer, and even then, it only stayed slightly damp while my hand remained directly in front of the source.

I was impressed with the range and strength of air flow, even at lower speeds. For my small living room, I found fan speed 3 of 6 to be ideal, still feeling it blowing at around 15 feet across the room, with enough force to get my window blinds clattering. This speed kept the noise level low enough to ignore as well, though the motor whine did become noticeable at the higher speeds. At max wind speed 6, the motor definitely made itself heard, and was louder than my DREO tower fan at the same relative speed, but not so loud that it overpowered other room sounds. The oscillation works great and really helps to cool the entire room, though I do tend to find my perfect angle and keep it set there forever.

While the touchscreen on the front has every control button you could need for regular use, as does the handheld remote, I personally enjoy using the DREO app for adjustments. It’s also very efficient, as my tower fan is connected to the same app, and I can control them both from the same screen. It’s extra handy to adjust the target humidity level by single degrees instead of the larger intervals available using the buttons, and very convenient to quickly see the fan and mist levels, as well as the ambient humidity right in my hand, instead of craning around to look at the fan display across the room. Finally, I like being able to name my fans in the app, and though I’m sure this is probably intended to be something utilitarian like Living Room Fan or Mister 1, my little mister has been dubbed Humbug, and joins my beloved tower fan called Wendell.

My single annoyance isn’t really the fault of this fan itself, and only came into play when I tried to pair it in the same room as my air purifying tower fan. The smart air filter in my tower fan detected the mist particles as air pollution, and kicked into overdrive to filter them out of the air only minutes after I turned on the misting fan. Both of my fans were doing their jobs very well, but working at cross purposes and canceling each other out, with my smart mister detecting the need to pump moisture into the air, and my purifier detecting the need to suck it out. Being a small studio apartment, unfortunately this means that I can either have purified or humidified air, but not both at once.

As I mentioned at the start, the TurboCool Misting Fan 516S is just the smallest member of the new misting line. If you want something a bit larger, the TurboCool Misting Fan 765S ($199.99) might be your preference. Its slim tower profile fits snugly in the corner of a room, and features the same ultrasonic mist technology as its compact sibling. It delivers up to 34 ft/s of airflow across 12 fan speeds, with a max range of 59.7 ft, and 1770 cubic ft/min of air circulation. The 17 μm mist particles can travel up to 4 ft, with an output of 800 mL/hr, and can drop room temperature by up to 10°F across 4 mist levels. The larger 6 liter tank can last between 7 and 24 hours, depending on the chosen mist level. If your misting needs extend onto your back porch for summertime outdoor cooling, the TurboCool Outdoor Misting Fan 711AS ($179.99) is a great option. Instead of ultrasonic misting with a built-in tank, this model utilized a direct hose connection and produces larger 86.5 μm mist particles, better suited for outdoor effectiveness, managing up to a 12° decrease in ambient temperature. It features 12 fan speeds, with a max of 33 ft/s and range of 42 ft. The mist can reach 23.2 ft, with a 3000 mL/hr output. Both of these models are also controlled either on their units or from within the DREO app, bringing the whole family of fans into one control hub.

I’m very pleased with my new DREO TurboCool Misting Fan 516S, and find it to be a great addition to my home cooling setup. For someone like me with a smaller space to cool and humidify, this little unit is more than enough, and I’d absolutely recommend it. If your needs extend to a larger room, or an open outdoor area, you can trust that the other models in the TurboCool line will perform equally well. I’ve yet to be disappointed with a DREO product, and for quality, functionality, and reliability, they seem to deliver every time. Check out the TurboCool Misting Fan 516S and all of this brand’s other great products at DREO.com.