Electronic Air Filters

sootmonkey

I went to a customers home on friday. She asked me about her electric air filter. She wanted to know how to clean it. The unit is in the return duct of a Thermopride, oil fired, warm air furnace. The brand name on the unit is Emerson. There are two metal filters that slide out of the side. I think I know how these work, but I'm not sure how to clean them. Can I take them outside and spray them with a hose, let them dry good and slap them back in? Are they "brush and vacume only." I am going back Monday to do some more work on her furnace. Thank you.

Murph'_4

try some ac coil cleaner

or simple green, let them soak then hit them with high pressure at the car wash. seems to work well although I give up on mine and went with large pleated filters for now>



Murph'

sootmonkey

Murph'

Thank you for the reply. The filters could easly be cleaned with a garden hose. My question is....Is it harmful to the filters to do so? I have a small electric "air cleaner" from Brookstone, that I got as a gift. The cleaning instructions say "wipe with a damp cloth, do not immernace in water." The filters on this Thermopride would be difficult to clean with a damp cloth. Again, Thank you.

D lux_2

there is a eac cleaner like coil cleaner

found at supply house's if its not too bad they can be put in the dishwasher . If there is a sink tub they can be soaked in the hottest water with auto dishwasher soap spray foo with hot h2o must be dry before turning on eac. Make sure the ion wires are ok . Dont bend the plates .

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John T_2

Junk

Don't bother washing them simply take out the cells and repalce them with a high efficiency disposable filter. Honeywell or Air Bear are both good alternatives to electronic air cleaners. They should fit your existing electronic air cleaner cabinet. Just make sure that no air can get around the filter as unfiltered air.

In order to work properly (when the do work) those cells need to be washed once every two months. They are hardly ever maintained that often.

When they don't work, either because of lack of maintanence or a malfunction, everything but the largest of particles are passed right through. The next thing downstream to act as a filter is the cooling coil, blocking airflow and plugging condensate drains.

Do your customer a favor, recommend a media air filter that you can change for them on your once or twice a year maintanence visit.

IMHO

Murph'_4

As John says...

these must be kept after constantly, and the garden hose dont cut it!! probaly impossible to clean each fin with cloth to get great results, I did replace mine with the pleated 4" honeywell filters and change them about every couple months, of course we run constant with UV_lights to purify air all year long!!



Murph'

Steve Ebels

Interesting

To see that many others hold EAC's in the same opnion as I do. There's a scorched air contractor in the area here that sells boatloads of 'em so I see a few dozen installed every winter. I can count on one hand the number that are actually working, doesn't matter what brand they are, they all die, Although I have to say I see more dead Emersons than anything else. Cleaning them is a pain in the neck so it doesn't get done and when that is neglected you have a dead, or at best a nonfunctioning filter. Most that I service now have a 4" pleated filter in them for the reasons stated above. These are available in different grades.

If you want the best air filter made get a TFP type filter from Nu-Tech. This is a cabinet with it's own fan in it that can be set up and installed in a number of ways depending on your application and system. They use standard, pleated air filters that are readily available and easily changable. They work well. Period!!!

Jack_23

EAC's

While they are extremely efficient upon installation and right after cleaning, the problem with them is that they "bake" on the residue and therefore make themselves extremely inefficient in a fairly short time. Maintenance headache in the extreme. If you replace the cores with a cartridge filter, look to see if it has a MERV rating. This is the new standard for air filters. You should try for a MERV 8 at a minimum (it is a good filter) and you can now get merv 11 and 12's too. The higher the number the better the filtration. Merv is a good rating system because it give a first day efficiency number. At last, real performance numbers for air filters. If you look at filter performance from previous efficiency/effectiveness ratings they are misleading in the extreme,IMHO.

The best system is a minimum MERV 8 pleat, with a UV in the return air with a by-pass HEPA (check PremierOne.com) for both. I don't represent them but I am the Purolator rep in NE.