Air purifier which to buy?

[Neeranam]

Above reduced to 2998. Homepro. 

[Neeranam]

14 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

This is reduced, from about 6k to 3k, any good?

[Phulublub]

2 hours ago, motdaeng said:

 

i have a different view on this:

if your air con filter reduces the pm2.5 level from eg. 50 µg/m3 to 40 µg/m3, the air is still unhealthy!

 

my suggestion, use an air purifier to get to a pm2.5 level at least under 10 µg/m3. 

using the air con to clean a polluted air a little bit will not help your health / will not make a different!

 

 

I was not suggesting ONLY using a filter on the aircon. 

 

I thought that would be obvious from the rest of my post which said ".... and may well extend the life of your main HEPA filter in your airpurifier."  But clearly not obvious enough.

 

PH

 

[motdaeng]

11 hours ago, Phulublub said:

I was not suggesting ONLY using a filter on the aircon. 

 

I thought that would be obvious from the rest of my post which said ".... and may well extend the life of your main HEPA filter in your airpurifier."  But clearly not obvious enough.

 

PH

 

 ok, sorry my bad!

[lopburi3]

13 hours ago, Neeranam said:

This is reduced, from about 6k to 3k, any good?

Had older model and worked fine for years - had to buy above model when filters were not available anymore - this unit worked well for about a year then had slight fan click noise and replaced with 3k Sharp model (but granddaughter seems to have fixed old unit and still using).  For me the Sharp is better as takes up less space and filters are about half the price.  Use 24hr a day in bedroom.

[Yellowtail]

4 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Had older model and worked fine for years - had to buy above model when filters were not available anymore - this unit worked well for about a year then had slight fan click noise and replaced with 3k Sharp model (but granddaughter seems to have fixed old unit and still using).  For me the Sharp is better as takes up less space and filters are about half the price.  Use 24hr a day in bedroom.

How often do you go through filters? We have not had to replace ours and we've had the units for several years. 

[TantrikLvr]

38 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

How often do you go through filters? We have not had to replace ours and we've had the units for several years. 

I've had and used this one for the past few years. Haven't yet replaced the filter, although i have a spare one and they are easy to find, because every few months I remove it, then using a strong vacuum cleaner hose only, carefully suck the dust back out of it, and clean the the interior parts. I use a small Mi handheld pollution meter to check the air coming out of it after, and it is good as new. Easy to move from living to bedroom. After a night of it running on 2 out of 4, and using the Plasma setting, the metter shows room has 003 from 045 when I turned it on..  

[lopburi3]

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

How often do you go through filters? We have not had to replace ours and we've had the units for several years. 

I change at the recommended six months - keep the Thai fried fish food odors in check.  Use charcoal version filters (Sharp came with just HEPA).

Edited February 21 by lopburi3

[Yellowtail]

4 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

I change at the recommended six months - keep the Thai fried fish food odors in check.  Use charcoal version filters (Sharp came with just HEPA).

 

Mine has prefilters you vacuum or rinse off every couple month and the actual dust collection filter is not serviceable and is supposed to be changed every ten years. 

[mfinasi]

For those with Xiaomi 3 and 4 versions, what does the room settle at after an hour? I have 1 that always struggles to get below 10, like it's the lowest the sensitivity meter will go, this the 3 model though.  After adding additional filters to the primary room wall mounted air conditioners the other two, which are version 4 lites, have been able to reach 05-06 consistently now.  

[KhunLA]

22 minutes ago, mfinasi said:

For those with Xiaomi 3 and 4 versions, what does the room settle at after an hour? I have 1 that always struggles to get below 10, like it's the lowest the sensitivity meter will go, this the 3 model though.  After adding additional filters to the primary room wall mounted air conditioners the other two, which are version 4 lites, have been able to reach 05-06 consistently now.  

We have original, and v2, only one of each.   Original in the smaller bedroom (23m²), and v2 in the main room (83m²) of the house.   And door between left open when ACs are on.   They will actually take the PM2.5 level down to -0-, if not cooking anything.  

 

The ACs have air purifiers built in also, but don't do much on their own.

Edited February 22 by KhunLA

[mfinasi]

28 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

We have original, and v2, only one of each.   Original in the smaller bedroom (23m²), and v2 in the main room (83m²) of the house.   And door between left open when ACs are on.   They will actually take the PM2.5 level down to -0-, if not cooking anything.  

 

The ACs have air purifiers built in also, but don't do much on their own.

 

I thought the v4 lite up to the same smaller bedroom where the v3 was reporting 10 consistently, ran them side and side, and immediately it's reporting 2 on PM2.5, so I guessing the accuracy on v3 at least isn't great.  

[KhunLA]

18 minutes ago, mfinasi said:

 

I thought the v4 lite up to the same smaller bedroom where the v3 was reporting 10 consistently, ran them side and side, and immediately it's reporting 2 on PM2.5, so I guessing the accuracy on v3 at least isn't great.  

I use my own meter, and not the app, as ours don't have displays. 

Now outside:

 

Inside:  

 

Edited February 22 by KhunLA

[prb]

Hi,

 

Doing research for my studio, I shortlisted the sharp J40TA and the Toshiba H30.

 

They are both in stock in the shops near me and the Toshiba is 2500 THB cheaper.

 

However, if you read the tech the Toshiba seems a lot better.

 

Up to 36 sqm for the Toshiba and 30 sqm for the sharp.

24 db noise for the Toshiba vs 45 for the sharp.

More speeds and longer warranty for the Toshiba as well.

The CADR seems better for the Toshiba as well 300 vs 240

They both rated HEPA12, have a similar size and design.

 

So, two good brands and the cheapest seems to be the best.

 

Too good to be true? If you have any idea or experience...

 

Below links and screenshots

 

https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1153296

 

https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1104858

 

 

[norbra]

On 2/16/2024 at 1:24 PM, lopburi3 said:

Have found Sharp units under 3k to be both very effective, high air flow, low noise and easy to obtain filters.  And use 24 hours a day without issues.

Hi my Sharp HEPA filter is now emitting stale smelling air,smell is in the filter cartridge have you had any problems with your units?

My unit is about 3 months old,running 12 hours daily.

[lopburi3]

29 minutes ago, norbra said:

Hi my Sharp HEPA filter is now emitting stale smelling air,smell is in the filter cartridge have you had any problems with your units?

My unit is about 3 months old,running 12 hours daily.

No such issue and mine runs 24 hours a day - replace at six months - use the more expensive filter with charcoal odor type rather than just HEPA that it came with.

[norbra]

13 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

No such issue and mine runs 24 hours a day - replace at six months - use the more expensive filter with charcoal odor type rather than just HEPA that it came with.

I guess my problem was due to unit being off for 3 days while we were away from home.

Since posting I have held the filter in front of a desk fan blowing onto the clean side of the filter,smell has all but cleared after 5 minutes.

Can you provide details of your new filters please, currently I have adequate air flow.

Thanks

[lopburi3]

16 minutes ago, norbra said:

I guess my problem was due to unit being off for 3 days while we were away from home.

Since posting I have held the filter in front of a desk fan blowing onto the clean side of the filter,smell has all but cleared after 5 minutes.

Can you provide details of your new filters please, currently I have adequate air flow.

Thanks

2in1 HEPA+Carbon sheet 429 baht - Note I have front of Sharp unit face wall as that provides better clean airflow to room IMHO.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sharp-air-filter-model-fp-j30ta-fp-f30ta-fp-gm30b-b-fp-jm30b-b-kc-f30ta-w-fu-a28ta-sharp-air-filter-fz-f30hfe-fz-y28fta-fz-f30dfe-i1594486541-s19777206290.html?

Edited March 24 by lopburi3

[norbra]

15 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

2in1 HEPA+Carbon sheet 429 baht - Note I have front of Sharp unit face wall as that provides better clean airflow to room IMHO.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sharp-air-filter-model-fp-j30ta-fp-f30ta-fp-gm30b-b-fp-jm30b-b-kc-f30ta-w-fu-a28ta-sharp-air-filter-fz-f30hfe-fz-y28fta-fz-f30dfe-i1594486541-s19777206290.html?

Thanks for the link, I also have my unit facing a wall directing air flow into the room,makes sense to me.

I was surprised when I first cleaned the pre filter the amount of black "soot" that washed off.

[demgone]

On 2/17/2024 at 3:45 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The unit you're posting on appears to have a relatively lower quality/ low efficiency filter used that's not a true HEPA filter (99.97% rating):

 

"Filters meeting the HEPA standard must satisfy certain levels of efficiency. Common standards require that a HEPA air filter must remove—from the air that passes through—at least 99.95% (ISO, European Standard)^[4][5] or 99.97% (ASME, U.S. DOE)^[6][7] of particles whose diameter is equal to 0.3 μm, with the filtration efficiency increasing for particle diameters both less than and greater than 0.3 μm.^[8] "

 

On their website, they list for sale a replacement so-callled HEPA filter rated as H11 and claim it can remove 99.5% of pollutants.

 

https://wedo-air.com/product/sqair-hepa-filter/

 

For their larger purifier unit, they say "The Sqair’s H12 HEPA filter effectively traps 99.5% of viruses,"

 

https://wedo-air.com/product/sqair-air-purifier/

 

No explanation I can find for why they list one type of filter as their replacement filter (H11) but a slightly higher (H12), but still not true HEPA, filter in the writeup on their unit. True HEPA filters start with H13 and H14 ratings as noted in the chart below.

 

HEPA filters are graded by "H" number reference. The lower the number, the lower the efficiency of the filter.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HEPA

 

All of the above is not to say that their air purifiers and filter won't work. They will work, just not as efficiently / effectively as units/filters that actually meet the real standard for true HEPA filtration. Obviously, though, any level of filtration of polluted air is better than none.

 

FWIW, Xiaomi used to do the same thing with their Chinese produced air purifiers, calling them HEPA but actually using filters that were rated at less than HEPA standards. Truth in advertising isn't a particularly strong thing here.

 

 
From what I know Smart Air changed the H11 to a H12 in the Sqair. The wedo air page is probably not updated yet. But I found interesting info in their article about HEPA filters. 
 

"Important to know: Before 2009, all filters were known as HEPA filters. But in 2009, the naming changed to EPA/HEPA/ULPA. Most people are more familiar with “HEPA 11” than “EPA 11.” That’s why many brands still refer to the HEPA terminology." 

The industry just changed terminology but the filters and their ability to capture fine dust remained the same. 

That's good to know. 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The optimal HEPA filter for general public use is the H13 or H14 types, which roughly equate to the U.S. "True HEPA" standard, the prevailing one, of 99.97% filtration effectiveness.

 

The "True HEPA" marketing term was born in the U.S., AFAIK, because of the practice of some manufacturers to sell so-called HEPA purifiers and filters that in fact contained substandard filters (those with below 99.97% effectiveness).

 

If you're going to pay money to buy and use a HEPA air purifier, why settle for one with substandard / less than optimal air filtration capabilities?
 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 3/24/2024 at 2:53 PM, lopburi3 said:

2in1 HEPA+Carbon sheet 429 baht - Note I have front of Sharp unit face wall as that provides better clean airflow to room IMHO.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sharp-air-filter-model-fp-j30ta-fp-f30ta-fp-gm30b-b-fp-jm30b-b-kc-f30ta-w-fu-a28ta-sharp-air-filter-fz-f30hfe-fz-y28fta-fz-f30dfe-i1594486541-s19777206290.html?

 

I've found you have to be careful, particularly in Thailand, with third party vendors selling Chinese made substandard filters for Sharp purifiers, often at very low prices... and they're low-priced for a reason.

 

Yes, they FIT the Sharp purifier models cited. But they're substandard filters to the OEM version that came with the Sharp units. I know, because one of Sharp's vendors sold me one on the cheap a while back because they claimed it was the only version they had at the time.

 

And when I finally went to use it, that brand new replacement filter did a noticeably poorer job of filtering the air in my room where it was used than the by that time very well worn 3-year-old original Sharp filter that came with the unit. I ended up reinstalling the original filter and putting the replacement away in the closet.

 

Sharp Thailand has an official store on the Lazada site, where they're selling their original FZ-F30HFE HEPA filters for 1,290 baht. I'm as much of a bargain hunter as the next guy. But color me suspicious when the third party Lazada seller you linked to above is selling supposedly the same filter for 279b...

 

Sharp official store on Lazada:

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sharp-filter-fz-f30hfe-f40sfe-f50dfe-f50hfe-i1264922053-s21405884232.html

 

[lopburi3]

Actually they (and most things) can be much lower price without OEM front plate and fully understand the quality might be a bit less - but for my use want odor removal which requires short lift carbon type filters and these fit my needs at a reasonable cost and work very well for home use.  If I was running an operating room would have more concern with 99.5 or 99.9 type figures but for use in home these are secondary to having full time breathable air.  Howard Hughes - I am not.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I PM'd via Lazada chat the cheapo filters supplier above who's selling filters for Sharp purifiers, and the best they could offer is that the filter they're selling is "similar" to the actual Sharp filters.

 

In the end, after some back and forth, the seller conceded that the filters they're selling are not in fact official Sharp filters, despite them posting photos of actual Sharp logo filter boxes on their Lazada listing.

 

So goes it in Thailand.  Given their lack of honesty/truth in advertising about the product they're selling, it's kind of hard to believe whatever they may be claiming about the actual quality of the filters they're providing.

 

 

Edited April 11 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Yellowtail]

Do you guys not have rinseable prefilters? The primary filter in my unit is supposed to be good for ten years 24/7.  I checked it a couple years and it still pretty much loos new. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Do you guys not have rinseable prefilters? The primary filter in my unit is supposed to be good for ten years 24/7.  I checked it a couple years and it still pretty much loos new. 

 

The Sharp purifier we've been discussing here comes with its own built-in (and removable-rinseable) pre-filter that's built into the back cover of the unit. In addition to that, I've always added a sheet of carbon filter between that prefilter and the unit's HEPA filter.

 

As a result, I was able to continue using the original HEPA filter that came with the Sharp unit (that's rated for 1 - 2 years) for almost 5 years with it still having good/effective purifying effect. I'd also periodically take out the HEPA filter and vaccum it off with a HEPA filtration vacuum I have at home.

 

[KhunLA]

Spring cleaning ... don't forget your air purifier ...

... and yea, that's embarrassing 

 

Amazingly, they still work fine, taking AQI/PM2.5 down to single digit, if now -0-

Guessing will work a bit more efficiently, with less stress on motor now.

 

Edited April 18 by KhunLA