How To Upgrade Your HVAC Air Filter To A 5” Honeywell. -6 Month Or More Runtime!-
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 มี.ค. 2023
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In this video we walk you through how to upgrade your filter rack from a 1" to a 4" filter rack. This will allow you to run 4'' filters and have much longer runtimes and better filtration. I hope you found it informative! Cheers
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⚠️ Disclaimer:
This video is for educational purposes. Any and all HVAC repair work is done at your own risk. The DIY HVAC Guy channel is not responsible for any possible damages or injuries caused by the use or misuse of the provided information.
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Wow! I would have never even considered installing this upgrade myself as I did not know what I know now that I have watched this video. Thanks for sharing the information with us.
My respect to many HVAC technicians with valuable information on the internet but you are definitely the best to Watch!! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I’ve learned a lot from all your videos.
God bless you!
That unit had to be starving for air with such a small opening in the heater cabinet. Nice work,
Yea! I didn’t realize how little the opening was until doing this upgrade
I appreciate all your work putting this video together! I've been wanting to upgrade my filtration feom the current 1" into a 4" setup. I now have e confidence to tackle this on my own. I have two furnace units which would benefit from this upgrade. I GREATLY appreciate the step by step instructions! I can't thank you enough!
Paul
You are a master craftsman of your trade. I watched this for curiosities sake, but your skill made me enjoy the show. And… I have a general understanding of how to install a 4” filter to my exchange.
Been thinking of doing this on my own unit, thanks for showing the process.
I just installed one on my unit. Very nice set up and installs quite well
I have 2 furnaces that need to be upgraded from 1" filters. Thank you for this detailed explanation!
Another excellent video. Thanks again for doing these. You’re good at it.
You are an artisan with the sheet metal work. Kudos.
Thank you so much!
This was super interesting and fun to watch and wow I learned a lot! Thank you for your fantastic presentation, you made everything very clear.
Great video and information. I may need to do just exactly this in Austin for my daughter who has allergies. Many thanks.
I have used Carrier Ez flex filters for years. Filter buy is a Great tip for buying filters on line, looks like it will be a money saver. Thanks for the Filter buy tip and showing the sheet metal techniques, nice job.
Of course! Cheers man.
Excellent description of the process. I can try it myself.
Thank you for recording and posting this valuable educational video.
I had a 21" x 26" x 5" filter similar to yours installed on my Trane 5 ton system in 1999. It works great, keeps the indoor coil really clean, but the filters are pretty expensive compared to 1" filters. I use the lowest MERV I can find which is usually 8. Filters tend to cost about $25 to $45 EACH when purchased in a 2 pack. That includes shipping, but I only have to change them every 60 to 90 "Running Days" which are 24 hour actual running periods) calculated by my thermostat. I like them... Nice Job on your conversion, I think you or your customer will be happy with the upgrade. Thanks for sharing the video.
I get MERV 11s for $13 each on Amazon
The perfect multi tool screen roller and a trunk line popper Line
Dude you are an Artist! Great tips! Thanks
Your metal working skills are awesome!
Thank you! I appreciate your kind words 🙏🏻
I always enjoy your videos. I've also have learned a lot , Thanks
This is an excellent transition demo. I don't see many like this one and I always wondered how the attachment happens. Thanks.
He installed this for me in May 2023 and did a great job. He replaced and old Trane Electronic Filter with it, and I'm really liking it. Unfortunately I ordered some Filter Buy 16x25x4 replacement filters and found out they are not a true 16x25x4 size. You have to get the "16 x 25 x 5" FilterBuy or the 16 x 25 x 4 Honeywell filters to fit this module.
No filters are true dimensions. Even the honeywell in this video are 16x19 1/2 x 4.5. ….not 16x20x4 like it says on the filter. The whole system is retarded.
How much did it cost to have him do this for you? I'm in the SLC area and interested in him doing this.
I bought the same unit 4 months ago installed it with my new furnace in Late February
A+ thanks. This totally addressed my exact same furnace filter rack questions.
Great video to show how to do the sheet metal duck work!
Very nice teaching 👍🏼
You are an excellent teacher. From Taylorsville UT
Thank you so much! 🙏🏻
Bro that is beautiful work 👍🏽
Thank you David. That is helpful.
Furnace efficiency probably went up by 50-70%. Great information as usual!
Thank you!
I can only imagine, makes me want to inspect my sister in laws place now.
@@diyhvacguy It's not hard to imagine the airflow improvement after you snipped 50% sheet metal away from in front of the squirrel-cage fan.
That was a bad ass fabrication job!
Thank you sir!
Nice work bro! 👍
Love your videos. Keep up the good work!!!
Thank you so much!
All My Favorite HVAC Tools: www.amazon.com/shop/thediyhvacguy?ref=ac_inf_tb_vh
Great informative video, thank you very much
Very informative. I like it!
Hope you never have to take that drop apart! Duct seal is also a very good adhesive when dry!
Excellent work
Doooood!!!
Had no idea you were in SLC as well!
I'm trying to get started in HVAC & have a good deal of knowledge.
Please tell me if you'd ever need some help. Love your channel!
Beautiful job!!
My unit came with an Aprilaire 2200 filter (the filter from hell to change) I used the upgrade kit (easy to install DIY) The ugrade took the filter up to merv 13. Easy to change (no crazy plastic slats) just slide in slide out. Filter is now good for 8 plus months
Very informative, Great teacher!
Glad it was helpful! Cheers
Good job
So many variables with 1 inch filters,people see Honeywell,3M, etc and assume that they are good filters,because those companies do produce alot of other good products . I only use Camfil filters in the one inch variety and have zero issues! They are the best filters you can buy and are priced right! I have people that easily get 6 months out of them,some only get a month or so,but they have pets and probably dont clean as often!
nice work
Nice work!!
I use 20x25x4 filters merv 13 in my furnace. I also get the filters from Filter Buy by the case. The filters are expensive but the best price on line.
What is your static pressure with the filter
@@CCCC-tq8yo How do you measure this? And how do you determine if your existing system can handle an upgrade to a higher MERV filtration system?
@@jimsutton8874 hire someone to check the static pressure
Great tutorial!
Thanks for the support! 🙏🏻
Very nice job
Nice work! Would love to see a video on how the flow rate changes by reducing the duct size.
Great suggestion!
I was concerned about that at first, but it's actually a larger overall cross-section in the new piece of duct. There will be some losses in the angled transitions, but not nearly as much as putting a MERV 8 1" filter in the return compared to a MERV 8 4" media.
Before and after static pressure would have been interesting, both with brand new filters ideally.
I'm thinking of doing the same on my own system. I have 1" filters at the return grilles and I have total 3 of them (2 12x24 + 20x25) in my house. I am also planning to add smaller returns 10x10 and 12x12 to 3 of the bedrooms that have no returns. The one time cost of the filter rack will pay itself in 6-8 months at worst as 5x 1" filter can get pricey every 3 months or so.
Man, every time that i mess with sheet metal i slice my fingers idk how you do it without gloves. Also i bet this furnace was having airflow issues with this small return.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks! Yea I didn’t realize that’s how small it was until I took that old return off!
Ha ha, me too. I get cut and nicked up without gloves.
Good to know this "Better" than a battery car in saving a carbin foot print
Nice job,thanks for sharing this.
Funny thing happened after I watched this video, I reached into a pickle jar and my finger started stinging bad.
I think I got sympathetic cuts after watching you fling that sheet metal around! 😅
🤣🤣
looks good
I would've cut my fingers to ribbons doing all that.
Great video... thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Nice - just like that.
Nice video. It kinda looks like you could have retained the original ducting and opened it up to accept the Honeywell. Maybe creating an internal transition? My return also comes straight down next to the fan box but has the 1" filter upstairs at the return grate.
Thanks, I bought the same filter frame and installed it. My only problem was the sealing between the filter and the door. On mine there is a gasket around the perimeter of the door, but the door is much wider than the filter and there's at least a 1/2" gap between the door and the filter allowing air to go right around the filter. I added additional gasket to seal the door to the filter, but pressing on the side of the filter isn't the way to seal it properly. It should have framing on more than just 3 sides.
Mine has the gasket on the perimeter like yours but it also has a strip of foam up the middle of the door that comes in contact with the filter.
That bending tool is great now to find where to buy it and hopefully it's not too much money
amzn.to/3yHuptV $20 😎
Man you gave me anxiety for sheet metal cuts on your hands lol. I've been there many times. 😅
I've always thought putting to much obstruction in front of a evap. motor would starve the airflow through the evap. 3M seams to make the filters to Hepa. I also believe if you do go Hepa, you should also upgrade your fan motor.
I watch alot of your videos. You do a great job explaining what you are doing and why. THANK YOU FOR THAT!
I do have a question,
Are there any products that you would recommend to constantly monitor static pressure before and after the filter in order to know when a filter NEEDS changed? Something that is meant to be permanently mounted to the unit that I can simply glance at it to know if pressure is too high.
You would just be wasting your money. Check the filter every couple of months if it is easy access. If your ducts are dirty, just have them cleaned along with your wheel.
I used to work for this pharmaceutical company where we used tens of very expensive Hepa filters. WE used magnetic pressure differential meters to know when to replace the filters. We had to record the readings daily but in the end we replace the filters every 3 months not matter what the meters were telling us!!!! ( about S4000.00/filter) I installed a similar meter on my furnace but it does not really work
Yes. I was also wondering why he didn’t measure the static pressure. Dwyer sells a static pressure probe kit and a magnahelic gauge to measure the pressure. It’s meant to be permanently installed. First I would measure the total static pressure across the furnace with no filter to see how much pressure drop is left for the filter. Most furnaces specify a total drop of 0.5” w.c. Which is 125Pa. The max pressure drop will be on a label inside your furnace door. Say you have 50Pa of pressure drop below the max listed for your furnace, then move the static probes across the filter and mark the gauge at 50Pa and replace the filter when the reading hits the line. Remember the more the filter is plugged, the better it will filter but will have less airflow. As long as you are comfortably under the max static pressure for your furnace you will be ok. Consider a 5” Lennox merv 16 if you have enough pressure drop allowance for it. Residential work tends to be quick and dirty and not designed - if it works it works - but nothing stopping a motivated DIY guy from making some nice improvements that will improve airflow (turning vanes, right-sized ducting e.g.) and improving filtration. Particulate pollution is a major cause of disease and is now linked to cognitive decline.
I thoroughly enjoy your videos. You explain everything in great detail. I have a few questions. How much would you have charged a customer for that job? Is the EPA 608 cert worth it for a DIY person? I am about to tackle my air handler in my attic. I have seen your trouble shooting videos for those. If I am not getting proper air flow upstairs, would that be the problem?
Airflow could be a few things, clogged Evap coil, frozen Evap coil, dirty filter obviously, or if something got sucked in possibly. Pinched flex duct if you have flex ductwork. Fan motor issues. There is a lot of potential things.
On this job, I’d have probably charged close to a thousand dollars. On the epa, yes I think as a homeowner it’s definitely worth having because you never know what hvac repairs you’ll need to do, and in my opinion it’s a great skill to acquire. I’ll be doing a video on getting your epa card very soon!
If you need help with your replacement, check out our membership over at Patreon.com/diyhvacguy where we will give you one on one assistance with any HVAC questions or roadblocks you may run into. Cheers!
This is some pretty ingenious fabrication. But I am curious about a few issues. Other videos I have watched discussed doing the math to determine the proper airflow and losses through the duct work for a given system. Meaning - System A has a certain theoretical air flow. The duct work used to get air in and out of that system have loss factors for each transition, bend and tube size used. So all the ducts and tubes are planned to provide as close to zero loss as possible in the ideal case. Because your transition duct is 10"x20" being fed by a duct that is 16"x20" is there a loss factor on the transition that will cause air flow reduction or maybe also noise as the air speeds up going into the fan box?
Would it be acceptable or within code to mount the filter box horizontally? I'd imagine fabricating the lower duct to match the furnace opening and at 90 degrees match it with the filter box on top. Then duct the top side of the filter box to the original ductwork overhead.
Would you do the same thing if the air flow is from the top of the furnace?
Wondering if that was a good time to clean the blower wheel?
Question, we have a two story home with a large air intake on the second floor with filter -shouldn't we also have a filter down at furnace? Home is 18 years old so newer furnace system-thanks!
I'm curious why you didn't run a straight run from the intake with the 5 inch filter horizontal sandwiched between a 90 degree sheet metal box toward the handler instead of diving around the 5 inch filter mounted vertically.
I have 1" filters (5 total) in all the filtered returns in my house. Would you recommend removing those and utilizing this 4" filter/filter rack for my system? This looks like it would be more beneficial to run the 4".
What are the best websites for purchasing rolls of sheet metal? Thank you
I need to get a 4" filter
I just use a dull flathead screwdrive to create cross breaks
I’m guessing the gauge thickness on your transition is 30 Gauge? Which is much easier to cut than your Bryant Furnace Gauge which is a lot thicker! 20-24 Gauge?
Is the only benefit to having a thicker 4/5" furnace filter instead of a 1" the frequency in which you replace the filter due to the increased surface filter? From a cost point, 1" filters are much cheaper than these thicker filters. Even if you replace them once every 3 months, cost-wise it would benefit having a 1" filter. What are you thoughts?
My mom has a 4" AprilAir in a plastic holder in a plastic piece attached to her system. I have been changing and cleaning it for 20 years because neither her or her husband have been able to do so. When I called the installer to inquire why I cannot pop in from the intake cover they advise they pay him to do it, that was the first time I did it myself. I would love to have it upgraded. The intake sets in a hallway where we have easy direct access so I personally do not understand why they even have that set up. It is not even sealed correctly which is why I need to clean it. I know that would slice my hands if not careful. Can the sealant be used on the outside of ducting. My mom has things wired together in her crawlspace.
Could this size of filter be used on a rooftop package unit?
How can you make sure that adding a bigger but higher MERV filter won’t burn the motor out?
Bigger and thicker means more airflow, but higher MERV means less. is there some sort of formula?
Great stuff. In SLC area... Question, i have seen your other video on cleaning the coil... and so if I have this type of thicker filter as part of my system, will that eliminate the need to clean the coil or just increase the time between cleaning the coil? And how often should I be cleaning the coil anyway with this 4" or 5" thick filter?
If you have a well sealed 4” filter rack then you shouldn’t ever need to clean the evaporator coil. My system had a lot of bypass due to a crappy filter setup. You can always pull the Evap coil cover off and the triangular piece and inspect it! Cheers
No lacerations! How did you manage that?
Watching your very-good videos always makes me a little angry because I see how standard 'Slipshod' installations are for new homeowners! Very good tutorial...🇺🇸 😎👍☕
After lots of research and doing the whole pros and cons, we have made the decision to go with mini splits in our home. We were going to install a Gree 3 ton inverter heat pump. But we chose not to.Mostly because even if we installed our own system, there just aren't any reputable hvac contractors that will work on it should anything happen afterward. The one con to mini splits that I had to just accept is the fact that the filters on them are no different than filters on window units! I really wish someone would invent a way to have a better air filter on them.
I saw better air filter for them on a video on youtube of someone who installed one, filters just like for furnaces. They exist
My Pioneer mini-split screens (not really filters) look horribly flimsy yet capture an amazing amount of dusty and debris. Without then the unit would be incredibly clogged up. I have to clean mine every 3 months. No problem.
How about a cheap pizza wheel type cutter, for the sheet metal embossing.
Very informative video. We want you (and viewers) to stay safe, so, please wear cut-resistant gloves when working with sheet metal. They're cheap protection (e.g., ~$5/pair @ Harbor Freight) against potentially very serious injury. Take a hint: Professionals are required, by OSHA regulations, to wear such protection; if professionals need such protection, surely DIY'ers do.
I live in salt lake City Magna and I have a horizontal furnace
Nice work. Not common anymore.
Do you think an Electronic media filter is worth it? I just had a tech reccomend one but it would cost $1K....
Great video. I always wonder - who were the people who did the original mickey mouse installation job. . . Bodgers Incorporated.
Looks like you are missing a p-trap for the condensate. I'm also missing that so that's why I noticed :)
Yea never had any problems with it so I never changed it lol
I know little about HVAC, other than being a consumer. This is a wonderful video! Your expertise is evident and laudatory. However, wouldn’t it have been easier just to keep your original setup and cut out a hole in the bottom left corner in which to integrate your new filter assembly? Might have had to cut out an access portal on the right bottom, but that would be replaced and taped. As a person with minimal sheetmetalworking skills, that’s certainly what I would have attempted. And, the entire job would have taken a third of the time. Am I missing something obvious?
Aerodynamics. Air tumbles, so the corner of that filter rack jutting into the airstream can drastically affect the flow of the air and cause static pressures to be too low in the return duct. Sloping it gives the air a smooth path to lessen the drag. Think of it like a car, jutting angles cause air drag and reduces efficiency which is why older boxier cars get such terrible mileage.
What’s the model number for the rack?
Did you make those S clips yourself?
Ever check the before and after static pressure of the system? You may have just increased the resistance by .2-.4 inwc. Cuz this will be detrimental to the air flow!
No way, I didn’t need to check static. It absolutely was lowered by doing this. We opened up the side of the furnace by like 1/3 and the 4” filters have so much more surface area then a 1” filter.
Hi David, question, I have a horizontal furnace that is 20in deep and 14in high. Honeywell does not have this size, but if I install the 16x20 rack would I be loosing the 2 inches of filtration? Or should I extend the return box from 14 to 16 inches but the furnace will still be 14 as there is not more room to open a horizontal return. Thank you
Just tackled this, its definitely turned out pretty straight forward with what I already had. Just removed the entire return as it was not super big and was hanging in the air by two screws. Moved the return out more, then snuck in the Honeywell rack, had about 1 1/2 inch of gap on the top from both sides of the rack. Hacked it with tape and bubble wrap until I cut out a few of the metal pieces I need with some shears.
What happens to the static pressure? You opened a bigger hole in your furnace intake
I didn’t measure it but I probably should have. I’m sure the total static pressure went down by opening that up.
Whoever installed that Furnace before didn’t read the manual for air flow and use of the cut out as Bryant described in the manual. No wonder Heat Exchangers don’t last. I also don’t like the newer Honeywell Filter cabinet with the cheap magnet.
Did that replace your regular return filters? I have three filters that pull through the ducts, none on my NG furnace.
Yes this would replace all three of your small ones. So it would be a great upgrade for you 👍🏼
Your transition duct took the cross sectional area down from the original 256 square inches to 200 square inches. Is that going to be a restriction now or was the original 256 square inches already overkill?
11x16 original is 176 sq in... while there will be some losses in the angled transitions, the new duct is actually larger total cross sectional area. Plus, the furnace had a tiny opening to the return, the larger opening will be massive. And then probably close to 4x area on filter, should amount to a huge reduction static pressure drop.