Air purifier?

[chuanz]

why not just on the air con?

air con is not air filter... very different rah...

 

[WussRedXLi]

why not just on the air con?

Ok, if you are wondering why is the haze level a bit lower in the shopping malls and office buildings. Well the AHUs in commercial buildings have these filters that takes care of most of the bigger smoke particles. PM10 is easily taken care of.

There is this thing called MERV ratings, a MERV rating of 12 or 13 filters the air effectively, close to HEPA performance realm. MERV 6 less so.

If they use very specialised air filters, PM2.5 also would be very significantly reduced. Like these :
Filtrete

OR

Your home air conditioner fan coil unit with the so-called air purifying function doesn't do much with the level of haze that we can get hit with.

 

[Joelleyuan]

I brought at Courts Mega store for $349 three wks ago, now waiting to get another air purifier, as told by Sharp agent new stock coming at April.

$349?
yours is AC100 instead of AC150 right?

 

[Hisashiburi]

Thank u!
Does this 3M filter work for all aircon units?
Where can we buy this?

Thanks!

Ok, if you are wondering why is the haze level a bit lower in the shopping malls and office buildings. Well the AHUs in commercial buildings have these filters that takes care of most of the bigger smoke particles. PM10 is easily taken care of.

There is this thing called MERV ratings, a MERV rating of 12 or 13 filters the air effectively, close to HEPA performance realm. MERV 6 less so.

If they use very specialised air filters, PM2.5 also would be very significantly reduced. Like these :
Filtrete

OR

Your home air conditioner fan coil unit with the so-called air purifying function doesn't do much with the level of haze that we can get hit with.

 

[matrix05]

Thank u!
Does this 3M filter work for all aircon units?
Where can we buy this?

Thanks!

If you buy those 3M Filterate, can we turn our aircon into a air purifier? Other than 3M Filterate, is there a comparable brand? (Because 3M are good and expensive). Finally where to buy?

 

[WussRedXLi]

Thank u!
Does this 3M filter work for all aircon units?
Where can we buy this?

Thanks!

No....those are for AHUs in HVAC systems. AHU as in Air Handling Unit. HVAC as in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. Commercial.

The aircon blower unit cannot provide a high enough suction power so that it is able to draw a good enough air past the filters, even if you found a good DIY way to mount it there.

Same goes for those box fans.

Last year PSI 401 period was different. First time we experienced such a high level of intense haze and sudden onset, Tuesday PSI 200+, people here in EDMW jump up and down liao. Every hour PSI value come out and we'd have at least 100 posts on it treating the forum like twitter. PSI 300 on Wed, man maciam like kena 4D like that. Thur PSI 401, huat ah!!! All hell let loose. Those in office building relac ok.....my colleagues went for lunch at 11.30 face turned green and U-turn back to eat at canteen. That was how bad it was. Could barely see the next traffic light some 200m away.

Mind you, I heard some asthmatics in the company had their condition acted up and had to go to the coy clinic for medical assistance.

So some of us were desperate enough to fix up a DIY solution utilizing home furnance filters. Use box fan or those circular ventilator fans which are quite powerful. Use cardboard to fix up a plenum to get the air past these filters. Big and bulky, but who cares.....coz nobody knew that Saturday would clear. The haze really lasted from Monday till Saturday half-day, if you still remember.

Can you imagine if for 1-2 months the PSI stays in the 200-400 range, it's like 3X worse than the Malaysian haze that we experienced 2 weeks ago. That is what Pekanbaru, Tebbingtingi, Medan kena, and presently still kena as well but less serious.

 

[WussRedXLi]

If you buy those 3M Filterate, can we turn our aircon into a air purifier? Other than 3M Filterate, is there a comparable brand? (Because 3M are good and expensive). Finally where to buy?

Right now, the only option is to get the 3M Filtrete air-con filter. It does filter a decent amount of PM2.5. I think like 3 or 4hrs can drop PM2.5 by 50% thereabouts, someone did test with a laser particle counter in his room. Purchase at Self fix DIY shop, centrepoint branch still have. I suppose can try others like Homefix as well, NTUC Xtra etc.

Still far away from the performance of a Sharp A28 (super budget model) working in a 16sqm MBR. But heck it costs only 17.90 at Homefix.
And it's the only option that's still widely available.

You can bet your last dollar that if the haze suddenly comes in 1-3 week's time, or in May and we hit PM2.5 on aqicn to be over 200 for more than 24 hours, this one also would run out of stock in a day or two.

Wah lao eh, last year AMZ only 4.39 leh. Now 9.37. Same 15 x 24 inch size.

Amazon.com: 3M Filtrete Air Conditioner Filter, 15-Inch by 24-Inch (9808-12): Invicta: Home Improvement

 

[Hisashiburi]

so in the event of another 200+ psi haze again, our home aircon units are out of luck?
is there any filter or method available for home aircon?

Thanks!

 

[WussRedXLi]

so in the event of another 200+ psi haze again, our home aircon units are out of luck?
is there any filter or method available for home aircon?

Thanks!

I'd say that the 3M Filtrete aircon filter is good enough for PSI 200. ie after 4 hrs it goes to PSI 100. Ok lah....can tahan.

PSI 400 for extended time, I think a bit tricky....that still means PSI 200 after 4hrs.

If one has allergic rhinitis or something, can work from home and VPN, I suppose can use this and switch on the air-con 24/7 liao loh.

Anything is better than nothing!

Anyway, today is the first day that NEA is using PM2.5 readings for the 3-hr report. Check this out. Well above PSI 50 and the air still looks so clear.

National Environment Agency


Well done loh, you gotta wonder how much REALLY the PM2.5 level was at for last year's PSI 401. I tell ya, 700-800 also not surprising.

Contrast this with Singapore, Singapore Nearest Air Quality monitoring stations

 

[blues7]

3m filter added to Aircon tax Aircon and in the long run, not good for Aircon?

Try to avoid

Get separate air filter

 

[WussRedXLi]

3m filter added to Aircon tax Aircon and in the long run, not good for Aircon?

Try to avoid

Get separate air filter

Won't tax the aircon if you keep the louver fan and the metal fins part clean.

Just switch on a higher fan speed, at least a medium. Use your hand to feel the airflow. As long as there is enough airflow flowing past the metal fins and the motor inside, there is no risk of anything spoiling.

The problem comes when people don't spend money on servicing, the fan coil unit is like 2 years never service and already pretty much clogged even on high speed. Then add this filter. Of coz spoil.

 

[Hisashiburi]

Thank u!

Where can we get this 3m filter?
Is it easy to install?

Ive never done any sort of aircon work

I'd say that the 3M Filtrete aircon filter is good enough for PSI 200. ie after 4 hrs it goes to PSI 100. Ok lah....can tahan.

PSI 400 for extended time, I think a bit tricky....that still means PSI 200 after 4hrs.

If one has allergic rhinitis or something, can work from home and VPN, I suppose can use this and switch on the air-con 24/7 liao loh.

Anything is better than nothing!

Anyway, today is the first day that NEA is using PM2.5 readings for the 3-hr report. Check this out. Well above PSI 50 and the air still looks so clear.

National Environment Agency


Well done loh, you gotta wonder how much REALLY the PM2.5 level was at for last year's PSI 401. I tell ya, 700-800 also not surprising.

Contrast this with Singapore, Singapore Nearest Air Quality monitoring stations

 

[WussRedXLi]

Thank u!

Where can we get this 3m filter?
Is it easy to install?

Ive never done any sort of aircon work

Already mentioned, Self Fix and Homefix would have. Can try NTUC Xtra if there is one near your place.

The 3M Filtrete works by electrostatic attraction. It does not work like a physical filter, maciam like sieve flour effect. Actually HEPA does not work like a physical sieve also relying on pore size to work.

It's very easy to install. Instructions on the box. Cut and paste, art n craft.

If worried that it would tax your aircon fan coil unit, just cover 50% of the filter. If still worried, heck...just get a regular fan and scotch tape some of it to the back.

Last year's haze. 2 nights worth of haze junk.

 

[WussRedXLi]

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drink-man-woman-16/[sic]-[gpgt]-diy-air-purifier-4256363.html

 

[Hisashiburi]

Lol this is great!

Thanks for the info!
Will check out the 3m filters tmr.

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drink-man-woman-16/[sic]-[gpgt]-diy-air-purifier-4256363.html

 

[WussRedXLi]

Done by a guy called bullfrog. The thread is already gone. But managed to google image this....

3M Filtrete, 7.10 till 7.38 timing. As you can see the bedroom vs living room, the values are all halved.

So yes, it is not a joke. 1 micron also no issue. That said, 0.5 microns also shd be effective.

If you want better performance, just use 2 filters and 2 fans, etc. Scale up accordingly.

 

[WussRedXLi]

Asean haze meeting ends with little progress made

A meeting on Tuesday between Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia delegates to tackle the haze problem has yielded only incremental progress, even as they acknowledged that the weather in the next few months could be dryer than usual. This could lead to unprecedented haze.

A computer system developed by Singapore to monitor the haze and identify culprits behind fires has also been stymied by Indonesia's inability to provide maps that can pinpoint who is responsible for the land plots where the fires occur.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said he was "frustrated at the very slow pace of progress" and "disappointed at the lack of transparency".

This, even as parts of the region are expected to have less rainfall than usual from now until October. A weather phenomenon associated with droughts in South-east Asia may also strike in the second half of the year. The Singapore Government has said these conditions may lead to haze here worse than even last year's record levels of pollution.

 

[s3856]

$349?
yours is AC100 instead of AC150 right?

No, is AC150.

 

[dayromper]

If you buy those 3M Filterate, can we turn our aircon into a air purifier? Other than 3M Filterate, is there a comparable brand? (Because 3M are good and expensive). Finally where to buy?

I'm using the filtrete filter in the a/c in my home.

When the a/c guy came to service the units he said don't use these filters, that they'll block the airflow and spoil the a/c.

But i still left them there anyways

 

[WussRedXLi]

I'm using the filtrete filter in the a/c in my home.

When the a/c guy came to service the units he said don't use these filters, that they'll block the airflow and spoil the a/c.

But i still left them there anyways

Must remember to change out the filters regularly if using them daily. Always be careful to see if there is enough airflow.

If the aircon is clean and you remember to check the airflow, no issue. Coz they do get blocked up if you do not change it out after an extended period, and yes the airflow does get pretty restrictive.
I have been using them for so many months now on a daily basis.

But if your FCU is already dirty and you still put it on, and the airflow is severely reduced and the metal fins freezes or something, then of coz good luck.

Sheesh, it's the same with the stock filter. Try to use it daily and don't clean it for 12 months....also will spoil. Same argument mah.