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OMG hepa filters are so damn much money! Why??!?!?

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lokiju

lokiju

Lifer
Why in the hell does it cost $20+ per AC HEPA filter?

Just seems crazy to me.

Is there any way to get these things without making my wallet weep?

I rigged a box fan I had over the weekend with a matched in size 20"x20" HEPA AC filter on the back side of it and ran it on high in my bedroom.

When I woke up this morning I was very surprised with how much better I felt. Didn't have the usual irritation in my throat, nose and eyes that I usually have.

With results like that I figured it'd be a good idea to do a HEPA filter for my homes AC as well but it's just so damn painful how much they cost.
 
Because it's not easy to filter out 99.97% of crap that flows through the filter(minimum).

But yes, I do the same thing - tape a 20x20" furnace filter to a 20" box fan. Works quite well, and is cheap.
 
The AC/heater filter is to protect the AC/heater. Leave it at that. Don't try turning it into a filter for better human health. That just causes too much strain on the AC/heater and gives poorer performance all around (such as wide temperature variations in your house when it can't blow enough air to the far off corners).

What you are doing is far better. Use a cheap AC/heater filter and then a separate system to filter air for your health.
 
Correct me if I am wrong but don't they typically last for several years? I got one for my bedroom (which helped ALOT) and people were saying the filter lasted them 5-10 years
 
Exterous said:
Correct me if I am wrong but don't they typically last for several years? I got one for my bedroom (which helped ALOT) and people were saying the filter lasted them 5-10 years
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When we ran a standalone hepa filter/charcoal combo unit, we would have to change the filter every couple months. It didn't move much air. I imagine a do it yourself fan/filter would plug fairly quickly as it pushes more dust off surfaces.
 
IronWing said:
When we ran a standalone hepa filter/charcoal combo unit, we would have to change the filter every couple months. It didn't move much air. I imagine a do it yourself fan/filter would plug fairly quickly as it pushes more dust off surfaces.
Click to expand...

Whats the charcoal filter for?
 
IronWing said:
When we ran a standalone hepa filter/charcoal combo unit, we would have to change the filter every couple months. It didn't move much air. I imagine a do it yourself fan/filter would plug fairly quickly as it pushes more dust off surfaces.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Now that I think about it my filter has a two stage filter. There is a cheaper (charcoal?) filter around the HEPA filter. That one is supposed to be replaced 2-4 times a year (But is about $4 a filter)
 
lokiju said:
Whats the charcoal filter for?
Click to expand...

It absorbs odors. Problem is, they need to be replaced regularly. But the actual HEPA filters in many systems are washable; only the charcoal needs replacing. I still found that the better air filters all seemed to use replaceable HEPA filters though.
 
Be aware that not all "HEPA" filters are true HEPA. Some will claim 99% filtration, which is garbage. Only 99.97%+ is true HEPA.

It's likely that any "HEPA" filter for your furnace falls into this category. It may or may not help compared to a cheapo furnace filter, but dedicated whole house HEPA filters are very expensive.
 
I tried to put a high end filter on my furnace, it totally did not like it. Should have heard the racket the blower made. Not enough air means the motor is working less hard, but spinning faster. I felt like an idiot when I called the hvac company and it turned out to be that. Weird part is, it only did it once the burner would shut off. Maybe the blower slightly speeds up at that point or something.

20 bucks is not much for a high end filter though. You might change it what, every 6 months?
 
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