electric air cleaners (FA)

Timco

Can anyone comment on lifespan of Honeywell electric air cleaners? I have a furnace room with 5 total and only one has the light on, even when I have power at the board terminals on all. Could 4 be bad? About 16 yrs old.

Thanks again,

Tim

don_201

try

Try removing the cells and then put the door back on and see if the light comes on.If it lites then some of your wires are broken or, the fins are touching somewhere on the cells.If not then its the powerpack.

If they are that old its time for replacement.Install some aprilaire 5000 they do a much better job then the outdated
honeywell technology.

Wayne_16

The power board


The power boards do fail. A replacement from Honeywell is available, and not hard to install. If you have power to the board, and the door is installed, replacing the board will solve the problem. The Trane units are suposed to be much more efficient at trapping the fine dirt, danders etc. than the older electronic air cleaners ever could.
Wayne

geno54

Unfortunately very short. Why? because barely anybody takes the time to clean the cells. Customers can't or won't, techs can't spend the time to take them out put them in a dishwasher wait for them to dry and put them back in. So cells get dirty and clogged up and maybe washed off with a garden hose once in awhile which is useless. I can count the number of customers on one hand who will do it themselves. I will always tell a customer to eliminate the cells and put in cartridge filters instead.

mark ransley

Junk em, if they are not kept clean to much dust bypasses. Check your equipment for buildup. April Air is junk, I have 2 that bypass at the case, no positive sealing, the rep could not fix them. I used foam tape to seal the filter holder from the case, I had enough bypass in 1 yr where I had to get a pro to clean my clogged AC.

The 4" Air Bear has a positive seal and is a good filter

allan_7

Really...?

Why, or at it least seems to me, that people always want to or seem to gravitate towards, faulting the product rather than taking the time to read the specifications and implement those specifications that the manufacturer recommended??? Case in point... air filters or air cleaners.

Do you know how it actually works??

Do you know how to measure duct static or velocity?

Do you know how to use a duct calculator "properly"?

Did you read the I/O manual and the enginnering data sheet?

Do you know the recommended velocity for the air filter?

Air filters and air cleaners are designed to work at a specific Air Velocity. Feet per minute (FPM) of air flow or how fast is the air traveling through the filter.

If you check the Honeywell speccs you will find that optimum performance is obtained at 400 feet per minute.
It takes a pretty large duct to obtain that reduced flow at the air cleaner.

You just can not slap the EAC on the furnace and expect it to function properly.

If you exceed the rated velocity then you are just ramming the air thru without filtering anything, 400 cfm is the magic number, Check the HW book or the Hart&Cooley manual or the ACCA manual D Class.


The dirty little secret is that the majority of system deficiencies are directly attributed to poor duct work installation and design.

When the client asks "Why is my home always dusty??..... well at 1000 FPM (or more) your air filter or air cleaner is not doing too much filtering, more bypassing than filtering....

Most systems will need a 20 X 25 filter cabinet with a transition between the furnace and air filter cabinet and a return drop trunk of at least 14" X 25" with turning vanes (what's a turning vane??) to slow the air down at the air cleaner inlet.

It like anything else.. installed properly it will work properly.

Paul Pollets

Here's my take...

EAC's have been found to introduce ozone into the building, which aggravates lung problems. They also drop off in particle capture ability within 1 week of cleaning. Few clean the cells on a monthly basis. For 15 years we've been installing Turbulent Flow Precipitators (TFP's) which have the highest capture rate and require yearly filter changes. I also invested in a laser particle counter which shows if any air cleaning device is really doing its job. Most contractors and homeowner want an inexpensive filter (under $500.00) and expect it to remove 99% of dust. Too bad there isn't such a device. Lifebreath independently measured and tested air cleaners and posted both capture rates and decay times, which no other manufacturer was willing to do. The results make EAC's look extremely poor. Indoor air quality is compromised by EAC's in my opinion. Even Honeywell bought TFP's from Lifebreath and re-branded the product, since it has a patent. See for yourself:

http://lifebreath.com/en/consumer/products/residential/tfp/



To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

allan_7

My preference,

is a media-type filter and irradiate the evaporator coil.

Some folks seem to like the EAC, but I recommend the media type...because of the ozone issue(s) and other considerations.

And please keep in mind, that any filter is not a passive device. No air flow, no filtration. A reason to consider ECM type indoor fan motors (as long as you keep 'em dry).

Bottom line, though, any air filter device efficiency or performance is directly related to the air velocity.

mark ransley

Google Ozone Asthma, O3 is poison, you dont need more crap in your air. If electronic are kept clean they work but to many folks wait to long, then everything is by passed. Media filter more on 1st pass as they age. Media wont just fail on you like electronics do.