Air Purification

[LeePitts]

Has anyone ever tried one of those air purification deals like the sell at Wal-Mart and Lowe's for around $150. The box says it has some kinda of helpa filter and removes allergans(sp?) and combats smoke. Sounds wonderful as winter is approaching and I smoke outside. I have kids and I don't want them to have to smell smoke so.I'm sure someone here has tried and I was just looking for an opinion.

 

[Allofus123]

The short answer to your question is yes and no. I'm sure that helps...lol!

To understand what I mean by yes and no do a search on here for Air purification and you'll prob get all the info you need. Other key words to search are Ozones and hepa.

 

[Pyre]

I have one and I know several other guys here use them.

I got mine at wal-mart. It doesn't have any filter, but just the 3 plate system. Creates ozone, which clings to odors and makes them fall out of the air as dust (or so it says).

The good news is that it does really work. If I'm smoking a good cigar the purifier might take a little while to catch up, but it does, and I can notice a big difference when I leave it on.

The bad news is, those things just don't wipe clean with one magical swipe of a wet sponge, like shown in the commercials. I hate cleaning that beast, its a pain. I run it every day and probably clean it once every 2 months now.

 

[IronBar]

My suggestion would be to go to your local library and look up the back issue of Consumer Reports that reviewed air filters.

The thing I found most amazing is the way they ripped on the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze. The basic gyst of the lengthy article on that model is it just plain doesn't work. Sharper Image attempted to sue them over their statements, but the evidence stood on it's own, and the case was thrown out.

 

[Big100HD]

I've been toying with the idea of an Ionizor type air cleaner.

I've been thinking of the Oreck air cleaner

http://www.commercial.oreck.com/prod_more_info_airclean.html

I wonder if this is any better than the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze?

 

[psyktek]

We picked up 2 Hunter units on HSN for about $175 (for both, not each) and my SIL, who is sensitive to smoke, can sit with us while we're smoking without being affected.

they're quite large, about 24x18x10, and have HEPA and carbon filters along with an ionizer.

 

[tedski]

I've been using a Sharper Image Ionic Breeze for a couple of years now and can honsetly say that it DOES do a good job of eliminating room odors (from pets, smoke, etc). As far as removing smoke, your best bet is a simple exhausting window fan. HEPA filtration units do work, but they take a long time.

 

[Seamus]

A HEPA filter will filter smoke particles but it will not remove heavy odors. The filter will trap most smoke particles that make it thought the filter but they actually have to make it into the filter. Small portable HEPA filter rarely push enough air to make the amount of air exchanges you would need to filter cigar smoke in a room. Some also have activated carbon pre-filter in them to help eliminate odors but again you have to get the air though the filter. Also, carbon is very efficient at removing odor but it’s not renewable. Cigar smoke would very quickly use up a carbon pre-filter and would need constant replacement to keep the same efficiency of odor control.

Smokeeters, the large brown boxes you see hanging from the ceilings in bars and smoke shops, are electrostatic precipitators and work by charging a cell that collects particulates. They also have carbon post-filter to eliminate odors. EP’s work very well when they are clean but as they get dirty the efficiency goes down. One thing to remember is that a Smokeeter is a commercial unit and the blower is much larger than you would find on a home unit. A home unit would need constant maintenance and may not be able to deliver the amount of air exchanges needed to deal with cigar smoking.

Ionizers, most home air cleaners you see that do not have filter, work by giving particles a negative charge that makes them cling to surfaces. They have no way of trapping particulates; you have to wipe them from the surfaces they cling to. One of the problems here is if you have allergies you still have to clean up these particulates to remove them and when you do you reintroduce them back into the air if you are not very careful when cleaning. Some also produce ozone and is the reason they are good at removing odors. You may see units advertising they do not produce ozone and if that is really the case, sometimes it’s not, you will have very little odor control so this is not ideal for cigar smoking.

Ozone generators are very good at removing smoke and odors but they are a source of controversy. They also have no way of trapping particulates and any such claim unless they have a filter is false. They are very good at removing smoke and other odors but there is a debate over health concerns with ozone. One of the problems is the amount of ozone that is produced could be too much as most units have no way of controlling the amount they produce. There are many claims manufacturers make about the good effects of ozone but most are debatable except the removal of smoke.

If you are going to be smoking cigars indoors I would recommend running an ozone generator on low while you are smoking and on high after you have evacuated the room until it clears out. If you have concerns over ozone you can turn if off and open a window for a short time to lessen the PPM before you re-inhabit the room.

Hope that helps.

 

[The Master]

I have 4 large hepa units in my pool hall. They worked great at removing smoke( R.I went no smoking so they are not in use anymore).

I also have a large ozone generator for the smell, it also works great. You do not want to sit in a room that has an ozoniator running all the time. The way to use an ozone generator is to let it run after you are done smoking in a room. When you get back to that room, it will smell geat.

If you really want to get rid of smoke, you will need a commercial unit( the small ones sold at Walmart and the like do not move the air fast enough).I bought mine at www.pollutionresearch.com.I have the Mark10 units. They are a 3 stage filter system.