Air cleaners

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Ok all you skeptic folks,

You all have beat up the cell phone gizmo's and the rigid batteries.

How about rating the tower air cleaners from Sharper Image?

Just wondering what the experts think.

Tom

 

[Junkman]

Another PT Barnum invention..... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[EdDekker]

There are two forms of electrostatic air cleaners.

The classical electrostatic air cleaner has a fan which blows air between a series of charged plates. The plates are charged with a high voltage, Odd numbered plates are charged positive and the even plates are charged negative (or visa versa). A series of charged wires charges the dust and pollen particles as they enter the space between the plates (with the airflow). With use the plates are covered with the crud removed from the air. These air cleaners are made in various sizes ranging from table top to cabinet sized, to units which mount in the air return ducts on forced air systems.


The ionizer is a simplification of this. It eliminates the need for a fan and provides a source to charge duct (pollen etc) particles in the air near the unit. Ionizers rely on drafts and convection currents within the room since they can only charge particles near the unit. Charged particles are deposited on nearby surfaces.

Twenty years ago I had an ionizer. I left it on the top shelf of a bookshelf. When I moved after three years, I was startled to find the wall behind the unit was almost black. I had to pay the landlord to repaint the room. Since that time I have used a classical electrostatic cleaner.


The Sharper Image tower air cleaners appear to be hybrid technology.

The 'Deluxe Spire Feel-Good Fan with Negative-Ion Feature' is an ionizer with a fan. The 'Ionic Breeze' units appear to be a hybrid. They collect dust on blades, but don't have a fan. I am skeptical that without a fan they can move enough air between the paltes to be useful. The UV lamp seems like a gimmick.


I now have an electrostatic cleaner mounted on my furnace made by Honeywell. Trion used to be the leading maker of the tabletop of cabinet air cleaners. Some Trion cleaners were sold under the Sears name. I don't know if they still are sold by Sears.

 

[Bird]

The TV ads sure look good, but my wife's brother and his wife bought one. Before long, they decided it wasn't doing anything at all so they got rid of it and bought the same Honeywell air filtering machines that we have.

 

[fivestring]

I've used the Ionic Breeze Quadra now for about 4 months.
It definitely works. We have to clean the grids about every 2 to 3 weeks. We have 4 cats, thus the need for the frequent cleanings. Sometimes the plates are completely black.

I wouldn't have believed the claims either until I used one.

You can be about 5 feet in front of the unit and feel the breeze coming from it. Dirty air is brought in through the back and the clean air is expelled from the front.
We have 4 cats, thus the need for the frequent cleanings.
The advantages of this system over filter units are:
* no filters to replace.
* uses almost no electricity...there is no fan inside.

Now if they only made one for tractors....... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Maurice]

I'll stick with forced air and filters.

Anything with forced air is going to have a larger area of effect. The air needs to be turned over x number of times to really be effective. I used to know that number /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif, blasted memory. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

What the particle charging misses is the really small stuff and the stuff that can't/won't take a charge.

Don't get me wrong, any type of filtration system is better than none, but I think this is a case of you get what you pay for. Just like everything else, it's all in what you decide you need and that fits in your budget.

 

[Chuck52]

Consumer Reports just re-evaluated the Sharper Image thingie. They had apparently said it didn't work for sh*t, and were responding to a complaint by Sharper Image that they had not tested the device fairly. So they re-tested and decidec it still wasn't worth sh*t.

Chuck

 

[Egon]

In our last house we had an inline Honeywell electric filter with the furnace. It really worked well and would even remove pollen. Note; this is not an electrostatic filter.

Egon

 

[Docsknotinn]

Egon, how do those work ? Is that a seperate unit that goes in the Duct work or just a regular furnace filter ? Dave

 

[Egon]

It's a separate filter that is installed in the duct work. Cost was around $500. Canadian. To clean you remove and wash the elements in water. When big particles go through you can hear it snapping.

The electostatic elements are just like regular furnace filter elements.

Egon

 

[Egon]

This may be a link to the type of filter I was mentioning.

Egon
http://customer.honeywell.com/catalog/pages/images/AirCleRes_Fam.jpg

 

[PineRidge]

The only time that an electronic air cleaner is effective is if the air from your home is passing through it. A compact unit sitting in a single room can't possibly give you the cleaning ability of a unit that is installed in your central heating system ductwork. It’s like comparing a window air conditioner to central air.

There are a number on manufactures of cleaners today. I have owned a Honeywell electronic air cleaner for years and swear by them. However as with any air cleaner the system blower on the furnace should be set to manual so that it runs constantly, cleaning and circulating the fresh air. That way the entire home is benefiting from the air cleaner 24 hours a day.

Once dust, pollen, or other contaminates have settled on your furniture and carpets no air cleaner in the world will be able to pick them back up again. That is the best reason in the world to run that blower and pull the contaminants from the air before they have a chance to settle out.

 

[fivestring]

"Consumer Reports just re-evaluated the Sharper Image thingie. They had apparently said it didn't work for sh*t, and were responding to a complaint by Sharper Image that they had not tested the device fairly. So they re-tested and decidec it still wasn't worth sh*t."

Like I've said before, If CR hates it, I'll love it !
CR is very, very over-rated.

Same with movie critics; if they hate it, it's a good movie.

 

[reb]

My CEO (wife) was complaining about my dog affecting her allergies, so I told her I would get one of those. First I did a bit of research and learned that apparently the ions produced can create or aggravate lung problems. Therefore, we got a Hunter air filter (found it less expensive than the Honeywell units).

reb

 

[thcri]

The filter that we sell and install the most is the Space Gard Air Cleaner. It is a 6" pleated filter with about 80 square feet of filtering material. The unit installed runs around $250.00 to $350.00 if there is room in your return duct. It is comproble to the Honeywell Electronic but it is a media. Pretty close to the same efficiency as the Honeywell but no moving parts. Just a filter that as it gets dirty it gets more efficient. You replace the media about once a year as an average and it runs about $26.00 per year. Honeywell has even come out with one now to compete.

Murph

 

[PineRidge]

Murph we have installed thousands of the non-electronic high efficiency air cleaners such as the Space Guard and Honeywell but they still don't hold a candle to the electronic models and they can't remove saturated odors in the home like the electronic models do. With the cheaper price comes a small trade off on the efficiency

 

[thcri]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Murph we have installed thousands of the non-electronic high efficiency air cleaners such as the Space Guard and Honeywell but they still don't hold a candle to the electronic models and they can't remove saturated odors in the home like the electronic models do. With the cheaper price comes a small trade off on the efficiency )</font>

The Mayo Clinic here in Rochester would disagree with that statement. Even the Honeywell Reps have made statements of the media being the way to go. As far as efficiency they are rated pretty close to the same. The problem with the electronics is the major expense of keeping them running even with the warranties they have. This year we will sell over 400 of the Space Gards and we may sell one of the electronics. That is just the way it is here and my competitors sell the media also. Not many electronics.

murph

 

[PineRidge]

Murph they don't install electonic air cleaners anywhere that oxygen might be used. They do make sparks when working and that does not mix well with oxygen. I suppose that different areas also use more of one type than anoher area might. Then again maybe Ohio has all the big spenders living here? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[thcri]

im not talking about for their use, I am talking about the newletter they put out to their patients. That is why we put so many in houses here in Rochester because of what the Mayo Clinic recomends. It has nothing to do with ones at the clinic itself.

murph

 

[slowzuki]

Remember to read the earlier post. Plate type precipitators don't emit charged particles.

The ion emitting ones generate ozone, especially in high oxygen environments. Ozone is an irritant to lungs. The plate types dont' emit significant charged particles as they fall on the collector plates imediately and don't have moving parts.

If you have ever worked in a power plant you know what an electrostatic precipitator is.