Air Purifiers -- Purchasing Replacement Filters

[WinnieTheKhwai]

It's still a couple weeks likely until the seasonal haze kicks off in earnest, but it might be good to look at air purifiers and/or filters that can be used with existing air conditioning units. Note that I'm deliberately putting this here and not in the pinned haze topic, as people only really visit that topic when the haze has actually kicked in, yet it's opportune to source these things ahead of time. I don't mind to add the info there too though of course.

While air purifiers are readily available these days, for example at Central Department Store, Siam TV, Chi Chang, Home Pro, etc., the same cannot be said for replacement filters.

All of the above mentioned stores are completely terrible when it comes to supplying replacement filters. I wish they would join the rest of Thailand in realizing that this is a big part of customer service: actually supplying consumables for equipment sold, and preferably having them in stock at all times really is important.

As it stands though, you're pretty much on your own here: Some claim they can order it, but then go silent even after repeated visits or phone calls. Others try to charge way too much money for the replacement filters.

However there is a happy end, as it turns out that it's best to purchase replacement filters from the manufacturer. This was Toshiba in my case, last year I bought one of these units:

http://www.toshiba.co.th/TH/page-product-pc2-line.php?category_id=92

Specifically this one, it costs about 5000 Baht.

In case of Toshiba you just call their Bangkok service center (Phone: 02 511 7777 ) and give them your model number, then they will recommend the replacement filter and ship it via EMS. We bought two filters along with an extra of the washable plastic pre-filter, and it all arrived in less than a week's time, for 100 Baht shipping & handling.

And the cost is very reasonable. The main HEPA filter for this unit costs 505 Baht. Not bad at all.

Edited January 31, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Then the other option (or, in addition, for rooms that don't have an air purifier) is of course the 3M Filtrete material that you put on the outside of the existing washable filters that come with air conditioner units.

This is easily available for example at Central or Home Pro and not very expensive. Big C may also have it.

Doesn't hurt to purchase in advance though, this stuff is called "แผ่นกรองอากาศ 3M" (Phaen Krong Akaht Saam M).

(As an aside for non English speakers, it's pronounced 'Fil-treat', not as in the French, or 'Filtretty' or some such. )

Edited January 31, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai

[masuk]

Then the other option (or, in addition, for rooms that don't have an air purifier) is of course the 3M Filtrete material that you put on the outside of the existing washable filters that come with air conditioner units.

This is easily available for example at Central or Home Pro and not very expensive. Big C may also have it.

Doesn't hurt to purchase in advance though, this stuff is called "แผ่นกรองอากาศ 3M" (Phaen Krong Akaht Saam M).

Filtrete.jpg

I got this same advice from this forum 3 years back, and have fitted these over the air con filters, which really only filter out large dirt particles.

The 3M filters really do their job, and worth the effort to replace every month or so.

From my eagles nest on top of my condo, I can see the haze becoming thicker every day. right now I can't see across the city.

To be honest,I haven't seen it this bad even in China.

[cheeryble]

The Filtrete is a HEPA filter which can get at the small particles?

Surprised.

[tyznd]

Then the other option (or, in addition, for rooms that don't have an air purifier) is of course the 3M Filtrete material that you put on the outside of the existing washable filters that come with air conditioner units.

This is easily available for example at Central or Home Pro and not very expensive. Big C may also have it.

Doesn't hurt to purchase in advance though, this stuff is called "แผ่นกรองอากาศ 3M" (Phaen Krong Akaht Saam M).

Filtrete.jpg

(As an aside for non English speakers, it's pronounced 'Fil-treat', not as in the French, or 'Filtretty' or some such. )

Will two of the 3M Filtretes be enough to make it through a typical season like last year? Also, where did you buy your Toshiba air filter? I'm going to need one for a 43 square meter room.

Thanks

[HullyGully]

We have over the years bought parts for household white goods from HomePro

They will order from the manufacturer, ask for a quote before committing to purchase

Delivery normally is 4 - 6 weeks

You will need make and model number

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Then the other option (or, in addition, for rooms that don't have an air purifier) is of course the 3M Filtrete material that you put on the outside of the existing washable filters that come with air conditioner units.

This is easily available for example at Central or Home Pro and not very expensive. Big C may also have it.

Doesn't hurt to purchase in advance though, this stuff is called "แผ่นกรองอากาศ 3M" (Phaen Krong Akaht Saam M).

Filtrete.jpg

(As an aside for non English speakers, it's pronounced 'Fil-treat', not as in the French, or 'Filtretty' or some such. )

Will two of the 3M Filtretes be enough to make it through a typical season like last year? Also, where did you buy your Toshiba air filter? I'm going to need one for a 43 square meter room.

For me two packs of 3M filters is enough, though it may depend on how many air conditioners you have. I replace them at least once during one hazy season.

I bought the Toshiba unit at Chi Chang at Promenada, but it's no different from the other places.

[tyznd]

I want to use an air purifier in the master bedroom that is around 43 square meters. I found I can get Toshiba air purifiers for 43 square meters for between 12,000 and 14,000 baht. Or for what looks like a comparable Toshiba air purifier I can get one for 5,000 baht that cover 33 square meters.

What I am wondering is would it make more sense to buy two of the 5,000 baht air purifiers instead? It would actually be a little less and if I move to another house I might not need an air purifier for a 43 square foot room. Would the electricity cost be a lot higher with the two air purifiers or would I probably run them at lower speeds so the difference wouldn't be that much? Only other item might be the cost of replacement filters for two air conditioners vs one.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone with knowledge in this area before I decide which way to go.

[Utley]

We change our 3M filter every 3 months.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I want to use an air purifier in the master bedroom that is around 43 square meters. I found I can get Toshiba air purifiers for 43 square meters for between 12,000 and 14,000 baht. Or for what looks like a comparable Toshiba air purifier I can get one for 5,000 baht that cover 33 square meters.

What I am wondering is would it make more sense to buy two of the 5,000 baht air purifiers instead? It would actually be a little less and if I move to another house I might not need an air purifier for a 43 square foot room. Would the electricity cost be a lot higher with the two air purifiers or would I probably run them at lower speeds so the difference wouldn't be that much? Only other item might be the cost of replacement filters for two air conditioners vs one.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone with knowledge in this area before I decide which way to go.

I don't think electricity cost is a major factor. It's basically a fan that sucks air through the filter. So probably comparable to running a large fan, so power consumption is low.

[Awk]

I want to use an air purifier in the master bedroom that is around 43 square meters. I found I can get Toshiba air purifiers for 43 square meters for between 12,000 and 14,000 baht. Or for what looks like a comparable Toshiba air purifier I can get one for 5,000 baht that cover 33 square meters.

What I am wondering is would it make more sense to buy two of the 5,000 baht air purifiers instead? It would actually be a little less and if I move to another house I might not need an air purifier for a 43 square foot room. Would the electricity cost be a lot higher with the two air purifiers or would I probably run them at lower speeds so the difference wouldn't be that much? Only other item might be the cost of replacement filters for two air conditioners vs one.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone with knowledge in this area before I decide which way to go.

Sensible questions.

I'm no expert, but I would doubt that the only difference between the 12,000B unit and the 5,000B unit is that the more expensive unit has an, I assume, CADR-rating of only 30% more than the cheaper unit, yet costs 140% more. It would also indicate that by buying two units for the combined sum of 10,000B, you will get a lot (50%) more bang for the buck than you will by buying one unit for 12,000B.

I checked the price on two models from the Blueair company, two models I think are mostly identical except the CADR-rating. From Blueair the more expensive unit has a CADR-rating that is 52% higher, and costs 66% more. Those numbers make more sense to me, so I would double check that there are not some other significant differences between the two Toshiba units. Hopefully some difference you don't need to care about.

I have not measured that power usage of my units, but at the medium setting I think (and this is based on the electricity bill only) it is a small fraction of a modern AC. Not as little as the smallest fan I guess, but perhaps not all that more either. I am sure this will vary quite a bit from air purifier to air purifier though, and some will have more or less efficient designs.

Blueair compares its power usage at the lowest setting to that of a light bulb, which it at least sounded from what I read was an actual measurement. At the lowest setting it doesn't do much good for me though, perhaps due to the low-quality build of the place I live in, with everything leaking.

I assume you can check the power usage yourself by buying one of those plugs that have a display showing how much power is currently being drained and asking to connect through it at the Toshiba shop if you explain why. Doesn't cost a fortune and is probably available at Home Pro or Amorn. I stay away from Big C as much as I can due to the utter junk they sell. Perhaps the Toshiba shop will even have one available for you to use for testing, so you do not need to buy one.

Another important factor to consider is noise. The Blueair model I have is tolerable in its noise at the medium setting. After a few days, it doesn't bother me any more at the medium setting, but at the third and highest setting, it makes too much noise. The third setting greatly improves the air in the room compared to the medium setting however, so I would have much preferred to run it at that setting now that we enter the season of burning, but it's simply too noisy. Perhaps I will have to run it at the third setting later this month anyway though, if I see the medium setting is too slow to adequately filter the air as things get worse here in CM. If I had two air purifies per room (rather than one per room), I could probably run them both at the medium setting and get an effect similar to running one at the max setting, but without making the noise intolerable.

Bottom line: if the pricing for Blueair was anything similar to what you quote for Toshiba, I would without doubt prefer exchanging my model for what is an only slightly smaller model at less than half the price. Alas, the pricing at Blueair is very different.

[cheeryble]

.

I assume you can check the power usage yourself by buying one of those plugs that have a display showing how much power is currently being drained and asking to connect through it at the Toshiba shop if you explain why. Doesn't cost a fortune and is probably available at Home Pro or Amorn. I stay away from Big C as much as I can due to the utter junk they sell. Perhaps the Toshiba shop will even have one available for you to use for testing, so you do not need to buy one.

.

You can check the power rating on the technical specs panel look under Watts.

I bought a Hatari machine some years ago for under 5000 baht all it has is a HEPA filter no gimmicks.

Was going to build it into some panelling in a condo until the cabinet maker....or the rub ngaan/designer actually....made the space a centimetre too small.

That's the same guy who left a four inch gap either side of the fridge and using that space meant the microwave fan grille in the next unit was blocked.

Edited February 6, 2015 by cheeryble

[Awk]

.

I assume you can check the power usage yourself by buying one of those plugs that have a display showing how much power is currently being drained and asking to connect through it at the Toshiba shop if you explain why. Doesn't cost a fortune and is probably available at Home Pro or Amorn. I stay away from Big C as much as I can due to the utter junk they sell. Perhaps the Toshiba shop will even have one available for you to use for testing, so you do not need to buy one.

.

You can check the power rating on the technical specs panel look under Watts.

Yes, but that is normally only one rating, for one speed, and it is not always clear for what speed either (average? max? min?). If you want to compare the power drawn by e.g. the bigger unit at a medium setting to two smaller units running at the high setting, or two smaller units at the medium setting to one bigger unit at the high setting, it will be difficult to do without something that measures the power drawn.

[sfokevin]

Also a McGyvqer I saw in another forum is to add the Filtrete sheet to the front of you HEPA filter inside your Air Purifier... This will catch the big particles and can be changed out with minimal cost more frequently and reducing the workload and need to replace the HEPA filter

Edited March 4, 2015 by sfokevin

[malibukid]

i have called and emailed Toshiba service today 3 times trying to track down replacement filters.  no replies.  called Future Electronic in CM.  no replay. no English spoken at these big appliance stores up here in CM.  flake city

[brommers]

Personally I loathe using Future Electronics because their customer service is less than zero. Sadly they are the service centre for many major brands. I am forced to use them to buy replacement filters for my Hitachi & Sharp air purifiers. I even took the manual with me last time and gave them the part number but the dolt on the desk couldn't even understand what was clearly shown in Thai.

[malibukid]

Future Electronics service is very poor.  i just ordered 2 filters from them for my Toshiba purifier and deposited over 3,000 baht into their Bangkok Bank account as requested.  latter Toshiba called me to tell me that the carbon filter for this unit was no longer a available.  well great the money was already in their bank.  Toshiba service agreed to send the Hepa filter and credit my bank account for the difference.  this took a week to straighten out!  i like the Toshiba brand but frankly i need to go with another brand with better customer service who has a website in English where i can simply order replacement filters and use a damm credit card.  very frustrating.

Edited February 4, 2021 by malibukid

[Bill97]

Bought Toshiba filters at SahaPanich on road to Mae Rim.  No problems.  Parts department is in the back upstairs.

[CALSinCM]

I got a generic HEPA filter that fits my Sharp air filter from Lazada.  Do a search on terms like HEPA filters and Air Filters plus the make/model of your unit.  I bought a generic HEPA filter for about 1/3 the price of the Sharp OEM replacements.

Edited February 4, 2021 by CALSinCM