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A 2kW hair dryer seems a bit out of place - the Russian for hairdryer (фен) happens to also mean a regular fan. I can’t fathom what you would do with a huge die

A 2kW hair dryer seems a bit out of place - the Russian for hairdryer (фен) happens to also mean a regular fan. I can’t fathom what you would do with a huge diesel-powered fan either, but at least it might make a bit more sense than a hairdryer? On a complete side note - people can sometimes have some luck reading Cyrillic if they pretend it’s Greek. In the case above - phi, eta, nu - is roughly how you pronounce it - fen.

Klaster_1 6y ago
The "hairdrier" was probably a joke or slang, as in a "heatgun is a big hairdrier". "Фен" doesn't mean "regular fan", it's "hairdrier", despite sounding very similar.
- NightMKoder 6y ago
  As several folks pointed out, I was wrong with the translation. Evidently my family who are proper Russians have been humoring my half-correctness. Sorry for the incorrect info above everyone! I did learn that фен can actually mean other kinds of hair dryer-like heat guns (from https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Фен https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Фен). I assume that’s what these folks used to heat various components.
na85 6y ago
A 2kw hair dryer might be good for warming engine blocks and other frozen components.
PeterisP 6y ago
Why does a 2kw hair dryer seem out of place? For a hair dryer you'd strongly prefer more power now to get it done quickly, so all the cheap best selling hair dryer models are 2kw (e.g. as amazon shows at https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=hair+dryer https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=hair+dryer), it's pretty much the default power level for a hair dryer, and many hair dryers (intended for hair, not for warming up engine blocks) have more than 2kw. I'd interpret the "diesel-powered" as they likely have a diesel generator for electricity. In USA the default seems to be 1.85kw (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hair+dryer https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hair+dryer) possibly because 2kw appliances are trickier for the 110v wiring. P.S. I'm also surprised by the assertion that "the Russian for hairdryer (фен) happens to also mean a regular fan", as IMHO it does not, a regular fan would usually be called вентилятор, not фен. Фен means either a hair dryer or (as строительный фен) a heat gun for construction work.
- gambiting 6y ago
  It's not about the power, it's about the fact that a hair dryer seems like a weird item to take on such a journey. However, the comments on the article(if they can be trusted) clarified that they meant a heat gun for fixing equipment.
  - AmVess 6y ago
    Useful for heating things up and drying things out.
    - Tiktaalik 6y ago
      I was wondering if the main use could be setting glue or something? Could be useful for repairs?
TheCapeGreek 6y ago
Cyrillic is at least partly derived from the Greek alphabet, yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_script https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_script > Cyrillic is derived from the Greek uncial script, augmented by letters from the older Glagolitic alphabet, including some ligatures.
willyt 6y ago
It’s probably a joke about a diesel fan heater, blows hot air and sounds a bit like a hair dryer. Common in yachts and bigger camper vans.

Klaster_1 6y ago

The "hairdrier" was probably a joke or slang, as in a "heatgun is a big hairdrier". "Фен" doesn't mean "regular fan", it's "hairdrier", despite sounding very similar.

NightMKoder 6y ago
As several folks pointed out, I was wrong with the translation. Evidently my family who are proper Russians have been humoring my half-correctness. Sorry for the incorrect info above everyone! I did learn that фен can actually mean other kinds of hair dryer-like heat guns (from https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Фен https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Фен). I assume that’s what these folks used to heat various components.

na85 6y ago

A 2kw hair dryer might be good for warming engine blocks and other frozen components.

PeterisP 6y ago

Why does a 2kw hair dryer seem out of place? For a hair dryer you'd strongly prefer more power now to get it done quickly, so all the cheap best selling hair dryer models are 2kw (e.g. as amazon shows at https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=hair+dryer https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=hair+dryer), it's pretty much the default power level for a hair dryer, and many hair dryers (intended for hair, not for warming up engine blocks) have more than 2kw. I'd interpret the "diesel-powered" as they likely have a diesel generator for electricity. In USA the default seems to be 1.85kw (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hair+dryer https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hair+dryer) possibly because 2kw appliances are trickier for the 110v wiring. P.S. I'm also surprised by the assertion that "the Russian for hairdryer (фен) happens to also mean a regular fan", as IMHO it does not, a regular fan would usually be called вентилятор, not фен. Фен means either a hair dryer or (as строительный фен) a heat gun for construction work.

gambiting 6y ago
It's not about the power, it's about the fact that a hair dryer seems like a weird item to take on such a journey. However, the comments on the article(if they can be trusted) clarified that they meant a heat gun for fixing equipment.
- AmVess 6y ago
  Useful for heating things up and drying things out.
  - Tiktaalik 6y ago
    I was wondering if the main use could be setting glue or something? Could be useful for repairs?

TheCapeGreek 6y ago

Cyrillic is at least partly derived from the Greek alphabet, yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_script https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_script > Cyrillic is derived from the Greek uncial script, augmented by letters from the older Glagolitic alphabet, including some ligatures.

willyt 6y ago

It’s probably a joke about a diesel fan heater, blows hot air and sounds a bit like a hair dryer. Common in yachts and bigger camper vans.