For all people with allergy! Hamilton Beach TrueAir HEPA Air Purifier 04162(04160) at $99.99($84.99) Amazon.com Free SH

[littlebig]

Hamilton Beach TrueAir HEPA Air Purifier (350 sq. ft.) with UV Germicidal Light (Model#: 04162) = $99.99 with free shipping (in stock soon)
Hamilton Beach TrueAir HEPA Air Purifier (200 sq. ft.) with UV Germicidal Light (Model#: 04160) = $84.99 with free shipping (in stock)

About the cheapest that you can find online. Other models (04161 and 04163) are also available, cheaper than other places. Those models have air quality sensor (not sure how it works though), but cost too much for my taste. I usually run them 24/7 so the automatic sensor is no use.

350 sq. ft. model (04162) sounds somewhat loud even on the quietest mode (not the worst among the other HEPAs that I tried, comparable to mid-sized fans in mid-speed). 200 sq. ft. model (04160) is much quieter but not as effective as the larger one. Only suitable for a small room.

It seems both of the models have quite good reviews by both users (check amazon) and many allergy-product sites. For example, review here.

You can't really compare these cheap ones with $500~$1000 models (Blueair, IQAir, etc.), but these do their job well. The company claims that they are true HEPA filter (99.97%) and as far as I can tell, they are better than cheap brands like Holms or Honeywell. I've tried a lot of HEPAs 'cause of my severe allergies, and never really satisfied with quality/price. This Hamilton Beach purifiers are the only models that satisfied me so far.

Operation costs are: ~$5 every 3 months (carbon filter), ~$50 a year (HEPA filter), depending on the models. It looks like all models come with 3 year warranty.

PS: By the way, yeah, Amazon carries all the models (from 04160 to 04163) and extra filters, and price is just right.

 

[exit88]

I have the 04163 model link which is on the Friday sale today for $149.99.

Everything the op said is accurate. I have found this very helpful with my allergies and the filters are very easy to change. The only downside is that it is somewhat noisy.

 

[littlebig]

True. They are superb quality especially considering the price. If you have noisy computers , the noise from smaller models (200 sq. ft.) are non-issue. Large ones are different story. It's not high pitch noise, but rather low big whirring noise, which could be OK for some people at night.

 

[Ecliptic]

I've been looking for an inexpensive purifier for some time now. Thanks for the post! I'm thinking of getting the 350 sq ft one but am concerned about the noise. Is is a lot louder than the smaller model?

 

[Lanyap]

I may have to try the 04160. I have the 04163 that I orderd from Amazon last year and it's very loud even on the "whisper" setting.

 

[littlebig]

Yes. 200 sq. ft. model is considerably quieter than 350 sq. ft. model.

 

[bigalt]

would this mean i don't have to vacuum anymore?

 

[OCNewbie]

Anybody familiar with the "Sharper Image" Ionic Breeze Quadra they advertise on TV all the time? It any good? Course the commercial praises the heck out of it.

 

[c627627]

Could someone educate on what these things are used for.
You know, from a stand point of talking to a "how do you get alergies from air" person...

 

[Lanyap]

Originally posted by: c627627
Could someone educate on what these things are used for.
You know, from a stand point of talking to a "how do you get alergies from air" person...

There's lots of bad stuff in the air in most people's houses (dust, pollen, dirt, pet dander, bacteria, etc.) This bad stuff does not affect most people but some people are allergic to it. They sneeze, wheeze, cough and have stuffed up heads, noses and sinuses all the time because of this bad stuff. The air purifier with HEPA filters, charcoal filters and now gernicidal lights take alot of the bad stuff out of the air. Makes sleeping more comfortable.

 

[DarkOps5]

Originally posted by: OCNewbie
Anybody familiar with the "Sharper Image" Ionic Breeze Quadra they advertise on TV all the time? It any good? Course the commercial praises the heck out of it.

Dont consider the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze. They are the most ineffective ones on the market. A waste of money. Even consumer reports agrees. The best ones out there are made by IQair, but they cost a small fortune. I plan to try this Hamilton Beach model, too bad I missed the sale.

 

[c627627]

I'm sorry with the noob q's (and thanks Lanyap). I understand that there are people with alergic reactions to the places where they live.

My question is, how helpful is this to a non-alergic person with no pets, living in an average home that's not dirty?

 

[shurato]

I've also read that the Sharper Image Ionic breezes are a rip-off and don't work too well...stay clear from them.

 

[ovenmitt]

I have the sharper image ionic breeze and it is silent, good-looking, small, and easy to clean.

However, it has very little cleaning power compared to normal air purifiers. That is the tradeoff. Also, burning candles makes it dirty fast (it catches the soot) -- they recommend cleaning it within hours after lighting any candles in the room.

If you care about cleaning the air well, the ionic breeze will probably not clean the air enough for you. If you have a room with decent air quality that you want to silently & easily clean up the air a bit, and you don't light candles in that room, then it's not bad.

 

[exit88]

The 04163 model (the best one) link is on sale today (January 23) for $129.99.

 

[Heifetz]

How do these air purifiers deal with dusty rooms? I find my room to be really dusty, even when I clean it, dust just accumulates. Will these air purifiers reduce the dust in my room significantly?

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: DarkOps5

Originally posted by: OCNewbie
Anybody familiar with the "Sharper Image" Ionic Breeze Quadra they advertise on TV all the time? It any good? Course the commercial praises the heck out of it.

Dont consider the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze. They are the most ineffective ones on the market. A waste of money. Even consumer reports agrees. The best ones out there are made by IQair, but they cost a small fortune. I plan to try this Hamilton Beach model, too bad I missed the sale.

bingo, dead last by a mile in comparisons. in both consumer report tests so far.

 

[gspyer]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: DarkOps5

Originally posted by: OCNewbie
Anybody familiar with the "Sharper Image" Ionic Breeze Quadra they advertise on TV all the time? It any good? Course the commercial praises the heck out of it.

Dont consider the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze. They are the most ineffective ones on the market. A waste of money. Even consumer reports agrees. The best ones out there are made by IQair, but they cost a small fortune. I plan to try this Hamilton Beach model, too bad I missed the sale.

bingo, dead last by a mile in comparisons. in both consumer report tests so far.

The Consumer Reports reports test pure nonsense. They are comparing apples to oranges. I know because I have both the Ionic Breeze and a $500 Honeywell air-purifier. I'll lay it out simple. For those unfamiliar with the report, Consumer Reports says the Ionic Breeze can't clear air well given the test period compared to the HEPA filters. This is completely true. But...

The Ionic Breeze isn't meant to clean air quickly. You leave it on 24/7 and it slowly takes the crap out of the air. This mainly useful for people with allergies or if their room always smells like cooking, smoking, or sex. It uses 30 watts and is as silent as they claim on the infomerical. It won't however clean the air very quickly, it is more like an "air maintainer" than an "air purifier".

Now my Honeywell rocks. It cleans the air extremely well. So well, that I wish I could leave it on 24/7. And that's the problem. On low it sounds like a computer with too many fans. On high, it sounds like vaccumn. Let's say you could live it on low. The next problem is that it needs, I believe, 300 watts. Compared to 30 watts on the Ionic Breeze, this thing is expensive to operate. The last and biggest problem with the Honeywell (and all HEPA filters... I promise), is the filters. These things are damn expensive. Mines costs $100 each and sometimes they get hard to find. You are supposed to replace them every 4-6 months or so. If you don't use your air purifer that often, you don't need to change it for maybe a year. But then it defeats the purpose of having the air purifer in the first place.

The bottomline is Ionic Breeze good for constant "maintenance" of air purification. Bad for really smell stuff. HEPA air purifier, good really smelly stuff, but very very expensive and loud to keep on 24/7. The best balance is having both. Seriously. Then you have both bases covered.

 

[littlebig]

Hint on items at Amazon, which are "in stock soon".
Do not backorder and wait them for delivered. For some odd reason, even though they claim that it's "FIRST COME FIRST SERVE", it is usually "FIRST COME LAST SERVE".
Once the status is changed to "in stock" and yours has not been shipped yet, cancel the order and reorder it. You will get it in 2-3 days, unlike backorders, which will take a couple of months or so regardless of the current stock status.
I backordered 04162 model when it was "in stock soon", and never received shipping notification even though the status has been changed to "in stock" a long time ago. So, I canceled the original order, and reorder it, and voila! It was on my door step the very next day.

Once I had waited for an item which is backordered more than 3 months. I think their ordering queue should be fixed.

By the way, thanks for the good price on 04163 model. I might buy one more for a living room.

 

[Lanyap]

This mainly useful for people with allergies or if their room always smells like cooking, smoking, or sex.

LOL, it cleans up sex odors too? :evil:

 

[gspyer]

I'll explain it a different way. The Ionic Breeze...

Will Clean: the smell of old people
Won't Clean: the smell of dead old-people.

 

[ICXRa]

I recently read a review of air cleaners over on Firingsquad of all places. I know what your thinking, what do they know about air cleaners but it gets pretty in depth about the different models and how they work.

The article compares most common models (as in technology used to clean the air) to one similar to this Oreck. No doubt it is considerably more expensive than the model in this thread.

 

[gspyer]

From the FiringSquad article.

"The main disadvantage of the system is the cost of replacement filters ($100 is not uncommon; some designs last 5 years, some only 1 year). In addition, HEPA filters tend to be bulky and noisy and are often overkill. Some HEPA filter manufacturers have taken on the razor model ? they'll sell the unit at a bargain price, but then make huge profits on the replacement filters."

Wow I guess FiringSquad has been doing their homework. Air filter reviews. What's next, smoked meats reviews. Look out Consumer Reports, Thresh is after your marketshare.

 

[ovenmitt]

FYI, I ordered the Hamilton Beach 350 10 days ago & got it last week. So I was surprised how quickly it came.

IMO it sounds almost exactly like a box fan. Nice white noise. The purifier, on medium speed, sounds like our old box fan on low. On "Whisper Quiet" mode the purifier is audible, but not too bothersome. If it were in the TV room, or if you were studying, it could be annoying. On "high" it's quite loud, but effective. The UV light is a bit bright for night-time.

We're been running it non-stop & it has cleaned up a lot of the dust. The wife doesn't like running it on high (it scares the cats out of the bedroom, which she thinks is bad but I think is good ), but on medium it cleans up a lot. If you were to run it on high a few hours a day it would be even better.

I'm not so worried about filter cost -- our health is more important than saving $50 a year or whatnot. Our allergies are bad enough.