Air Purifier

[cmsally]

OK this air is quite literally killing me; tomorrow I am off to get an air purifier. Any recommendations on types and brands and if you know an approx. cost. I'm aware you can get an extra layer to tape to your AC filters and I'll be off to 3M too to look for that. Still want the air purifier though.

Anyone made any purchases they would recommend.

I actually hate AC but at the moment will do anything for clean air!

[mcgriffith]

I have a Toshiba CAF-G2A model, purchased at Siam TV a year ago.

HEPA grade filter, all kinds of settings; is the dog's <deleted>.

When the filter is unusable, a sensor light tells you to change the filter with a new one.

1 year of almost constant night time use; filter still holding up.

Cost me 6450 THB March 2011.

[Rasseru]

I bought two years ago two IQAir HealthPro units, Swiss-made, based on research I did at the time that suggested they were the best. They have worked fine for me.  They were not then available through any dealer in Chiangmai, but the dealer in Bangkok to whom I was introduced by their headquarters in Switzerland, shipped them to me here.

[ThaiPauly]

You can get them through Amway.

I have had one for 4 years and works very well, although I have just lent it to my son who lives in Bangkok and is expecting to be a father in the next few weeks. But being that he lives there I probably will leave it and get a new one

When we last brought it was 30,000 baht so its probably gone up a bit , but does a sterling job

[Dante99]

1 year of almost constant night time use; filter still holding up. Cost me 6450 THB March 2011.

It sounds good but if the filter is still good after a year don't you wonder? Maybe you do not have enough particulate in the air to clog the filter or maybe it is not grabbing what is there (or maybe you clean the filter often.)

[nikster]

Extra layer to tape to the AC filters? Where can I get that that sounds great!

[cmsally]

I saw

Extra layer to tape to the AC filters? Where can I get that that sounds great!

I saw it here:

apparently a 3M product, so will check the shop that has 3M on Wualai tomorrow.

[jingjoke]

If a washable filter suggest using a little 'haiter' (chlorine) after your detergent, and soak for at least 20 mins in clear water ( doing this at hotels while I'm showering has prevented sore throat - wish the aircon buses would do the same).

If replaceable filters, suggest too that you buy a supply to last the expected life of the air purifier: I did not, there are no replacement filters available, and the Japanese air purifier still works like a dream after 12 years. May try to jerry-rig using the 3M filters mentioned above.

[mesquite]

I can vouch that IQ Air Purifiers were the best in the world ten years ago. Don't know about now, but probably still are.

[WhiteCadillac]

Decided to check it now....attached is a photo of the filter material and a small piece of new material. 4 weeks ago it was white as white. Now look at it....

Where did you actually put it in your AC? In the inside unit?

The easily accessible filters that are in my inside units front panel will filter the air the is going outside IMO. If I put the 3m filters in there I dont think it will affect the air quality inside. What am I missing here?

[harrry]

My Hatari HM1244 which I bought from Big C Chiangmai some time ago for 5000baht is still working exceptionally well. I have changed the filters a couple of times. THere is one trouble as big c now thinks that they do not need to stock filters as they do not sell many. You can get tem direct from Hrtari service though for about 550 baht. I have severe lung trouble and even with the current ChiangraI SMOG i can stay quite comfortably in my room. It is one of the best buys in THailand. I do not think you need to spend more for an import.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Home Pro have several air purifiers, ranging from 6000 baht to 23,000 baht. The 6000 baht one is a fairly small Hitachi unit; it did look good though. Other than the show unit they were out of stock at the Hang Dong location so would need to order it. Same applies to replacement filters: order.

Not sure why some of them would cost that much by the way; it's essentiall a big fan that forces air through a replaceable filter; not too complex technically.

They also had 3M filters that you cut to size yourself and then insert behind the existing aircon filter; 2 packs for the price of one (so 255 baht for two packs). They had just 3 of those left, so I bought all of them.

Edited March 7, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai

[mcgriffith]

I went to Siam TV today to see about a replacement filter for my Toshiba air purifier that I bought from them a year ago.

The service dept said they needed to order from Bangkok, and the estimated price was ~3500 B. Not an exact price, because Toshiba in BKK was closed today because of the national holiday- just a guess price on their part.

I wandered back to the main showroom, and asked to see air purifiers of any brand.

I was told by a salesman that ALL air purifiers, of all makes and models, are completely sold out.

[triffid]

You can get them through Amway.

I have had one for 4 years and works very well, although I have just lent it to my son who lives in Bangkok and is expecting to be a father in the next few weeks. But being that he lives there I probably will leave it and get a new one

When we last brought it was 30,000 baht so its probably gone up a bit , but does a sterling job

Tried Amway today and they neither had nor had known of having had the IQAir. The only purifier they were selling was their own brand 'Atmosphere' for 42k baht (after discount for an Amway membership). Anyone have any idea about the said Amway/Atmosphere?

[MESmith]

I went to Siam TV today to see about a replacement filter for my Toshiba air purifier that I bought from them a year ago.

How do you know that you need a new filter? Does the air purifier indicate this? I'm only asking because, as I was looking into buying one, (not Toshiba), some indicate the filter is good for 10 years (maybe not the cr@p air we're experiencing), hence why filters are so expensive?

[PhotoJohn]

I just picked up a Panasonic F-PMF35A at Home Pro yesterday (the one accross from the Arcade bus station). Paid 6900 baht for it. It's rated for a 26 sq meter room.

They had a fair selection of air purifiers in stock. The main differences seemed to be their capacity and appearance.

The ones I looked at all had filters that were rated to last approx. 3 years. They didn't have any replacement filters in stock and said they could order them. Filter price was 700 baht for the ones in this size range.

I've had it running constantly since I brought it home. A little over a day and the difference is very noticeable. Money well spent. I'll probably order a replacement filter just to be sure I have it.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Decided to check it now....attached is a photo of the filter material and a small piece of new material. 4 weeks ago it was white as white. Now look at it....

Where did you actually put it in your AC? In the inside unit?

The easily accessible filters that are in my inside units front panel will filter the air the is going outside IMO. If I put the 3m filters in there I dont think it will affect the air quality inside. What am I missing here?

It's not going outside. That's where the air intake is. So you attach the filter material to the existing re-usable filter. The 3M pack comes with thin double-sided tape to attach it, though it's a bit fiddly. It also comes with an indicator parch that is attached to the aircon outside case, so you can see the state of the filter.

I hate the hazy season.

[mcgriffith]

I went to Siam TV today to see about a replacement filter for my Toshiba air purifier that I bought from them a year ago.

How do you know that you need a new filter? Does the air purifier indicate this? I'm only asking because, as I was looking into buying one, (not Toshiba), some indicate the filter is good for 10 years (maybe not the cr@p air we're experiencing), hence why filters are so expensive?

Yeah, it has a sensor light that tells when you need to replace.

The owner's manual suggests a replacement of the filter on this model between 6 mo. to 1 yr depending on use.

As my replace filter light has not come on yet, and the other sensor lights (clean, working and dirty) seem to be going through their normal cycle....I'm not too bothered at the moment about no replacement filter available.

I turned off the negative ion generator, as it does produce some ozone, which can irritate the lungs in sensitive people (asthmatics, COPD, etc.).

Here's a photo of the sensor panel, taken when it was very bad air a few days ago. Of course, all my windows were closed and AC running for 1/2 hr. before I took this snap.

It is so expensive for the obvious reasons- high gov't excise taxes on imported goods. The appliance was manufactured in Thailand- I have a hunch the filter packs are imported from Japan.

Some probably visualize a bit of cotton gauze stretched over a frame. In reality it is more like a Mercedes auto air filter++, with deep folds covered with fine mesh and 5 layers total (outer prefilter, fine synthetic fabric dust cover on the top, the corrugated part that filters to HEPA standards, an anti-bacterial/anti-viral layer, and a layer of activated charcoal to remove odors; not necessarily in that order).

Here's a photo I took a few minutes ago- all well at Casa McGriffith:

[mcgriffith]

To each his own.

As I made clear in my above post, the filter on my air purifier is as to a filter on an air con unit, as a Ferrari Testarossa is to a potato.

They are 2 entirely different things.

Of course, an air con has a "filter", and moves a lot of air. My aircon unit also has a filter. That I clean regularly.

The funny thing is, my air purifier which has dedicated sensors that detect tiny particulate matter in the air, cycles on and off all the time, notwithstanding the marvelous air con unit filter, even when the air is running. This tells me something.

The surface area of the air purifier filter is well in excess of a m2. Not a meter in length, a meter squared. The corrugated feature is what increases the surface area, yet maintaining a small appliance size.

If one wishes to believe that going and buying some 3M fabric, and wrapping it about your aircon filter is the way to go- all power to you.

If you can show me an ac unit that moves massive volumes of air, cools efficiently....and filters down to HEPA standards, well then that will get my attention. As far as I know, no such consumer level unit exists.

Of course NASA and computer chip manufacturers have such units. They cost millions.

Read this about air ionisers; scroll down to the Consumer Reports court case (from Wikipedia):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_ionizer

[mcgriffith]

Fair enough, VIBE, and thanks for posting this info.

I will go off to Makro to see if I can buy some of the 3M Filtrete material to use in my aircon unit, to supplement my air purifier.

But I couldn't help but notice that on the Filtrete portal site, there was a page with an extensive line of air purifiers.

http://www.filtrete....Rbe4JCS4VSL3Xgl

I'm sure 3M wouldn't have 4 different models if there was not some value and benefit to the consumer.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Fair enough, VIBE, and thanks for posting this info.

I will go off to Makro to see if I can buy some of the 3M Filtrete material to use in my aircon unit, to supplement my air purifier.

But I couldn't help but notice that on the Filtrete portal site, there was a page with an extensive line of air purifiers.

http://www.filtrete....Rbe4JCS4VSL3Xgl

I'm sure 3M wouldn't have 4 different models if there was not some value and benefit to the consumer.

Not all people in all parts of the world have airconditioners; then a stand-alone appliance is a lot cheaper.

Anyway, you could also do both, and apply the 3M material to both your aircon and your air filter; the built in filter will probably last longer that way.

No argument that a separate air purifier is very nice to have by the way. Yours looks really smart.

Edited March 11, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai

[MESmith]

Not all people in all parts of the world have airconditioners; then a stand-alone appliance is a lot cheaper.

Anyway, you could also do both, and apply the 3M material to both your aircon and your air filter; the built in filter will probably last longer that way.

No argument that a separate air purifier is very nice to have by the way. Yours looks really smart.

Too true. Our house doesn't need AC. But if this smog (pleaze don't call it haze) continues, then our natural cooling by opening the windows early morning & closing before it heats up outside, goes, literally "out the window" Looking into air purifiers.....