Furnace mounted Honeywell electronic air cleaner.


 
Steve Hoch

Steve Hoch

TVWBB Hall of Fame
Does anybody else have one of these and have it quit working? It's starting to get cold here at night so I decided to clean the filters in my Honeywell electronic air filter to get ready for winter and discovered that it wasn't working any longer. Several YouTube videos later I decided my best and cheapest option was to convert it to use a regular filter. Honeywell makes a paper filter that is the same size as the two electronic filters that fit the space inside the housing. The only thing you need to do is buy the right filter and remove a plastic clip inside the unit so you can slide in the filter. My furnace is nearing the end of it's life cycle so I didn't want spend the money on getting it repaired or replaced. The filter is supposed to last a year, I'm guessing due to it's massive size. With the washable wire mesh pre-filters still in place it may actually last that long, we'll see. Anyway, I just wanted to post this in case anyone runs into the same problem.IMG_20241015_233627268.jpgIMG_20241015_234748900.jpgIMG_20241015_234737485.jpg
 
The only comment I have to offer is to make sure the air filter does not restrict the air flow too much.

If so the fan on the furnace struggles to get airflow and the overall performance tanks.

If you need air cleaned, a standalone HEPA air filter will server you better.

Or so I've learned...
 
DanHoo said:
The only comment I have to offer is to make sure the air filter does not restrict the air flow too much.

If so the fan on the furnace struggles to get airflow and the overall performance tanks.

If you need air cleaned, a standalone HEPA air filter will server you better.

Or so I've learned...
Click to expand...
Points well taken. Honeywell makes a filter housing that is nearly identical to what I have to hold this particular filter minus a couple of provisions for the electronic filters. I will of course monitor it now that I have changed something but feel confident that what I've done will work just fine.
 
Count yourself lucky it quit. Those things emit HUGE quantities of O3 (ozone) which is VERY corrosive and actually harmful to breathe as it is a lung irritant.
 
LMichaels said:
Count yourself lucky it quit. Those things emit HUGE quantities of O3 (ozone) which is VERY corrosive and actually harmful to breathe as it is a lung irritant.
Click to expand...
<scratches head> Really? Those devices should just be applying a small electrostatic charge to each side. I didn't think you'd get ozone production until a much higher potential, nearing arcing range.

As far as the filter itself goes, my Aprilaire branded filters are the same size.
 
JKalchik said:
<scratches head> Really? Those devices should just be applying a small electrostatic charge to each side. I didn't think you'd get ozone production until a much higher potential, nearing arcing range.

As far as the filter itself goes, my Aprilaire branded filters are the same size.
Click to expand...
They use quite high voltages. Years ago my wife's uncle had one. And yes it did arc (quite badly) when the furnace would turn on you could hear that thing "snapping" away. Ozone makes a great deodorizer but best to not breathe it.
 
LMichaels said:
They use quite high voltages. Years ago my wife's uncle had one. And yes it did arc (quite badly) when the furnace would turn on you could hear that thing "snapping" away. Ozone makes a great deodorizer but best to not breathe it.
Click to expand...
That's ..... ummmmm.... interesting. If electrostatic filters really do arc like that by design, ain't no way I'm gonna have one of those in my house. While ozone isn't anywhere near as much of a problem as something like carbon monoxide, it's is a problem in it's own right. FDA limits on continual exposure is something like 0.10 parts per million, and if you can smell ozone, I'll bet it's far higher.
 
JKalchik said:
That's ..... ummmmm.... interesting. If electrostatic filters really do arc like that by design, ain't no way I'm gonna have one of those in my house. While ozone isn't anywhere near as much of a problem as something like carbon monoxide, it's is a problem in it's own right. FDA limits on continual exposure is something like 0.10 parts per million, and if you can smell ozone, I'll bet it's far higher.
Click to expand...
While ozone may not "kill" or poison you at the same concentrations that aside it is VERY harmful to your health, and very harmful to other things as well due to oxidation.
I know there are companies out there that sell these so called "air purifiers" as stand alone and all they are is ozone generators. Bad stuff they are.
 
LMichaels said:
They use quite high voltages. Years ago my wife's uncle had one. And yes it did arc (quite badly) when the furnace would turn on you could hear that thing "snapping" away. Ozone makes a great deodorizer but best to not breathe it.
Click to expand...
The absence of that snapping noise was my first clue that it wasn't working. I had no idea that it was generating ozone though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top