Thanks for watching! I am working on a second obscenely detailed version of this video at the moment and it would be great to know if I left anything out of this video. How to the charts look, easily readable? etc.
Very well done! Sure would be nice to have the tall prototype autographed and sent over! Looking forward to your next video, Thx! Just as a side note, it would be good to have one of the filter sides as a door on piano hinges so it can easily be opened and vacuumed clean inside.. Be sure to check out my channel as well
@@paramtrx9558 I do like the slide in filter concept. Will have to work on that in the future. As they are they seem to be relatively user friendly. Will do a video on assembly soon. Nice CNC table! I would like to be running one of those one day.
How about providing cadr from particle reduction rather than IAQ reading decay charts? ACE-IT air cleaner efficacy investigation tool makes it easy. Try starting calc from 50% below the initial value to ensure air mixing has settled down.
@@mechaflowmaniac Great find!!!!!!!! I was wanting to figure out the CADR but didn't want to buy the AHAM book on the subject and doubted that my testing space was that good of an Environmental chamber to start with. Thank you for this! (edited... ANSI replaced with AHAM)
Hola!🖐 I'm loving this series of videos, I am learning so much from you. Thank you for creating and sharing this content. This is the third one I watch, now I'm moving on to the next one. Take care and have a good one, Adios! 👊
Thanks, a lot went into it! I have gotten a lot of good info about the use of these filters in in your furnace and I will put it in the long version of this video that will be out in a few weeks or so. The short of it is that you want to pay attention to your furnace if you are using high MERV filters. If your A/C filter is small it could clog quickly and should be replaced at least every 3 months. If you have a lot of pets or other dust going on, you may need to replace them sooner than that. I got a static pressure tester for the house and have a dirty filter to test. At this point the video is about to be 30 minutes long :) As for shop filters, go for the high MERV filters, they preform really well. Breath easy, my friend!
If you’ve never used an air filter these are great. th-cam.com/users/postUgkx_dppjvjF8BYEmPSDTcgCUdRsgWYLXNHN I ended up with three after starting out with one. The noise level depends on the 1-3 settings with how hard you want the machine to work. You can also upgrade the filters and get one better for pet hair and smells which is a must have in my home. I noticed the air seemed lighter and easier to breathe when running the machine for the first time. Works great every time. Highly recommended!
You can consider adding a fan shroud with a 15" open area in the center. It doesn't take the sound level down or improve the performance much but the tone of the fan is more pleasant. I'll do a video on this some time next month or so. Still probably want to shut it down for recording, tho 👍
I just came across your video series while research air filtration for 3D printing. Great content that's thoughtful and uses a reasonable methodology for getting data!
You can often just run the fan on your hvac for circulation. That is what I do year round, to try and keep temp equalized during summer and winter months between my 3 floors.
That is a very effective method with a lot of benefits and it is quiet as well. The only downside that I can see is that it will cost a lot when it comes to energy consumption. If I run my furnace blower non-stop, it works out to about $400 a year in additional electric costs.
Thank you for all the detailed information and drilling into a very large body of information. I Have a young child that’s just beginning to venture into my shop and want to keep the environment as safe as possible. Thank you for all your hard work!
Happy to help! I hope to do a video on VOCs in the next few months as well. They are something else to consider that plain old filters don't tackle very well.
Thank you! Keep in mind that if you are using one of the MERV 12+ filters in you HVAC that you may want to replace it every 3 months if the dust levels in your home are high.
Thanks for the informative video, that must have taken AGES to plan, set-up, film, and edit! I really appreciate that these aren't just taped together and rickety/flimsy
All together it took about 2 months and waaay to much money. lol. After 40 filter changes on the Model C kit is is still as sturdy as day 1. Very happy with them so far!
Thanks for sharing your findings! This was interesting to see as it can relate to my shop fan setup for woodworking. I spent years testing air flow and personal safety in an industrial setting and appreciate the data. I’m curious to see the next video and your results. Cheers!
Thank you! I want to do a video about air circulation and filter positioning at some point. It is really important to the filtration process and I haven't seen any videos on it and it's not necessarily common knowledge. Any thoughts on the subject?
They do seem to be the best. It's mostly down to how much material is in the filter. One thing I should mention is that if you are using one of these (MERV 12 or higher) in your HVAC yet should be replaced at regular intervals to keep airflow as high as possible over time. This isn't a big deal for DIY systems but for your furnace, it can be. I'll talk about it more in an upcoming video.
Thank you for putting in the work investing the time and money so we wouldn't have to! Your channel has helped me tremendously in my pursuit/Quest to my shops filtration!
Whatever happened with the model c prototype giveaway? I was looking forward to it. My elderly father cannot be removed out of his workshop since he retired despite what my mother and his doctor say. He complaints about a irritated throat feeling that constantly has him clearing his throat. Doctor said it's a result from the fine dust particles in the air he's breathing in from the shop. He would really benefit from something like this! Hence what started my rabbit hole journey of finding something diy that can possibly be made cheaply with left over materials since funds are tight right now. Appreciate and thank you for all your time and research on the matter. it's been a huge help!
3M is been the standard i have used since building these air purifiers from all the reading i can see online and research its so good to see your seeing the same values that you are.. Glad i did not get the K&N.
Great video with amazing details. I'm very interested pursuing the DIY filter systems and this has been a great, consolidated educational experience. Thnx!
Happy to hear that! I will be covering DIY filters construction in even more detail in the next deep-dive video on the subject. I hope to have that out by the end of the month.
This is a solid video. Thank you for compiling the information. I have relatives that live near areas of Florida that have been struck with costal Red Tide algae outbreaks. Their allergies have been horrible for over a year now. Using your results, going to build a DIY system with the 3M filters.
Air quality is not always top of mind when in my home, even though I live with allergies for most of my life. It hasn't been since I saw my daughter begin to struggle with similar allergies to dust and dander where I consider looking into cleaning the area around me. Cleaning is a daily thing in our home, but we live off a gravel road and the kids run in and out as kids should, but this adds to the never ending battle with dust. Thank you for running the test on the many different filters. I will have to building on of the model c configurations to help keep the dust at bay.
I hope it helps a lot! I have been running one of these at my girlfriends house to help cut down on pet dander and it has made a significant improvement in her congestion after a month or so of operation. From what I have heard from HVAC specialists, it seems like a better idea to just run a separate filter rather than putting a high MERV rated filter in your furnace. I'll get into that more in the next video.
Thanks for your eye opening series on dust collection and DIY air filters! good info. Clean and concise charts. I prefer the animated and color coded charts. they are easier to read as you are giving the pertinent info. thanks again for the monster effort. Cant wait for "a" and "b".👍
Caught your original video several months ago and plan to build something similar using a blower from our old furnace. Good to see the latest update! The blowers on a furnace are interesting as they usually increase their output with higher static pressure. This is probably why some people say a higher MERV filter in your furnace wouldn't degrade performance. The blower accounts for the increase. With that, it'd be interesting to see if a setup with fewer filters performs closer to performance of a Corsi-Rosenthal or your design with this.
That's a fine idea. Blower motors are great for these, especially if you can get them cheap. I will get into filter surface area in the next video. From the info I've seen its generally better to keep the static pressure as low as possible for the best results. The blower style fan does tend to work really better under higher static pressures than other types of fans tho. I found the static pressure charts on Grainger/Dayton blowers to be really enlightening. You might like to see the details too... www.grainger.com/product/DAYTON-OEM-Blower-Rectangular-1TDT2 Thanks for the comment!
Incredible job! Catching up to your vids.. got busy with work and the holidays. I am glad you also saw the 3M filters are the best... While their more costly... They do have sales.
Looking forward to the next video, I'm eager to implement a low cost solution into my shed. I was able to get a start on one with just a single filter and the same fan you use, and while not ideal, sanding some 3d prints right in front of it definitely reduced the fine particulate that usually accumulates on my hands when doing that.
Very thorough test and much appreciated. When I replaced by home HVAC in 2019, I opt'd for an integrated MERV 13 system with a 4" pleated furnace filter (AprilAire 413)... a nice balance of ability to remove most household pollutants and cost to replace the filters. Those above MERV 13 can be very expensive. As per industry standards, it does 90% or better at particles at and above 1 micron and ~75% at those below. I don't have breathing issues, but those that do may want to look at higher rated systems. I must say it amazes me how dirty the filter becomes after about 6 months when compared to my old 4" system dated back to the mid-90s (probably no more than a MERV 8). I change it every spring and fall with the heat & cold seasonal use cycles. BTW... if your HVAC supports it, run the fan (air cycle) feature when your system is not heating or cooling. Mine runs the fan on low for 15 minutes each hour to cycle the house air. It vastly helps keep the air cleaned.
Your videos are incredible. I’ve fallen down the air quality DIY rabbit hole of yours 🤣 Looking for a way to improve the air in my barn for my horses. Your data has been so beneficial for this learning curve I’m on. The analysis and presentation of real world data.., bar none 👏🏻
I love how detailed you get with your tests. Your format reminds me of the Project Farm channel. I've built 5x filter model using pvc and it's worked well. I've recommended your videos to family and friends living near fires. My brothers first question was if i was going to build one with quick replace filters haha I would be interested in a kit if still available.
That's quite a complement! I have watched project farm videos for years. Happy the 5 filter design is working well for you! Other than the giveaway for this video, I will launch the kits in about 2 weeks. It takes about 3 minutes to replace the filters, hopefully that's quick enough :) All the parts are in for these and I just need to shoot a video on how to put them together. The cost of shipping and wood/cutting is pretty high so I am going to do preorders for them to hopefully bring the price down in larger quantities.
@@buckynine9 Hah, you aint kidding! The giveaway is still a thing. The magic number of comments is almost there... as it is I am about 40% of the comments and I don't want to win the prototype :) I'll announce the winner for this in about 2 weeks.
I'm glad your data confirms what I've done inside of my house. Every time I've done one of the 3m products it seemed to have been a lot better for the house. We had wildfires the last couple of years and a couple of those times in my apartment the only ones I could get are cheaper knockoff brands.
I kept going after the Merv 13 because of a noticeable difference in the smell of the air but that's cool to know that my 14 is a little bit better. I really appreciate this whole series and I look forward to building one of the little boxes versus just one fan and one filter
It is always great to have a separate test come to the same conclusions. My girlfriend has a few dogs and when I installed a 3M MERV 12 in the furnace the air got a lot more fresh. In the next video I do in this series the filters get tested for airflow and the MERV 14s are a bit more restrictive than the 13s. It would be great if an HVAC tech could way in on how much of an issue that really could be for the fan motor. Testing that might take a decade!
Thank you! It seems like you only need to tape 4 onto it if it sits on the floor. If you go with 5, then you want to put it up on some legs to get better airflow under the unit. th-cam.com/video/lbWiZSsEqPg/w-d-xo.html
Great data; thank you! I'd love a complementary model A kit. My nasal allergies have worsened in recent years, and affordably improving my air quality is top priority! Your future plans for other filtration kit configurations look promising, as well! Keep up the great public service work!
My furnace runs a 14x25x1 filter. I tried running a basic very low merv filtrate pleated filter and it was too restrictive for the system and kept tripping. So the furnace runs basic 3m fiberglass filters. I then made two Corsi Rosenthal style boxes running basic 20" lasko fans with 3m filtrete 2200 20"x30" filters. I catch them on sale and the price is usually the same as the 20x20 however I am getting a little more surface area. My wife has asthma and the diy filters have greatly helped. Along with reading data that air quality can affect the risk of heart attack. We live in a 2,600sq ft two story home and have one filter placed on each level. I have never measured with a particle meter. Fantastic content!
Thanks for real world feedback! I think you are right, it may just not be worth it to run anything fancy in the HVAC unit, there is just too much risk involved. I would have to imagine that with 2 CR boxes running on each floor the air should be very clean. Even on low if they are running all the time they will do a great job. The 3M 2200 20x30s are pretty much the best option out there. Excellent choice! How often do you need to replace them? Is it filter color that determines your replacement time or an amount of time elapsed?
Great video! Wynn makes a nice cartridge filter for a DYI air filtration system. It is MERV 15, just couple that with a 8 inch duct fan and you also have a very efficient filter. I ran some tests to compare with my box fan with 4 3M 20x20 Merv 13 filters and the results are so much better. Thanks to Bill Pentz for the idea and the plethora of knowledge he provides at his website.
Leaving a comment for relevance, but also really looking forward to the next video. It'll help make my decision on filtration for my downtown loft. I just know I'm breathing in more than I think with how much dust we deal with.
So true. I was really surprised at how much particulate matter was on the road when I went to test for it. There was probably only 50 cars at the intersection on a windy day. I have sat in downtown traffic with 10 times that many. I'm sure the pollution meter would be off the charts in such a scenario.
Awesome! Sound like a fun project. My father is the one that got me started in woodworking. We should have probably been more safety conscious, but hey, it was the 90's! :)
Your videos are the ones I watch and keep links to and forward to others. You're doing excellent work - air tunnel, ave speed indicator to measure flow, the question about corner baffling (you're correct on that) and more. Your characterization of the 5 filter off-the-floor and up-higher-off-the-floor provided the quantitative information I was looking for about the benefit, which I surmised would be significant and your data confirmed, with numbers. I wanted better circulation and entrainment in the room so I mounted the box fan on one side rather than top and then tilted the whole unit back a bit by shortening the legs on the opposite side from the fan. It's very stable and this orientation does an excellent job of circulating air in the room or rooms and also down a hallway, and is especially good at night. I was shocked to see how poorly the FilterBuy and others did in comparison to the 3M and wondered if maybe it's a difference in static pressure, which you also picked up on. And yes, 3M is the only one I've found who provides that info. I use a low cost differential manometer with two simple pitot tubes (all sourced via ebay) to measure the drops in my HVAC system, but your wind tunnel should give good insight into whether the performance differences are primarily traceable to the properties of the filter. I'm in Portland, Oregon and in recent years we've been having very serious problems with wildfire smoke that last for days at a time, well into the unhealthy range, somtimes even into dangerous. During those times I run the furnace fan on circulate with 4"MERV13 and, this year, added the modified C-R filter at low speed and can keep the PM2.5 in the house below 10 when it's 150 outside and below 15 when it's 200 outside (Kaiterra Laser Egg). At normal times, it's at 1 even without the C-R, just the MERV13 furnace filter. Thank you for this great work presented in these videos! Ed H
Thanks for the real detailed breakdown of how the C-R filters are working for you. I have not lived within range of a wildfire in my life so I wasn't sure what the real world readings would be in that sort of scenario. I was thinking about picking up a manometer to test out the static pressure of a 6 month old 3M MERV 13 filter in a friends house to see how it preforms after heavy use. It's great that you have a 4" filter for the furnace, that definitely helps with the static pressure issues. For the long version of the air filter video I will test a 4" 3M MERV 11 and see if it can outperform the FilterBuy MERV 13. If so, it would be even less restrictive for nearly the same price. I hope to compete the tests this week. Thanks for the comment!
@@The3DHandyman I went with a digital (very low cost) diff manometer, and it meets my needs. For what you're doing, you're probably going to want higher quality and a way to check the calibration. I've never thought of measuring the drop across a new filter vs one that's used up. The static drop will go up over time even though the filtering performance will stay the same or even improve slightly. Your data on Filterbuy vs 3M really caught my attention. I'll bet there are notable differences out of the box. About wildfire smoke: Over the decades, my filters have always come out grey. Always. Across brands, size, whatever. Except after the 10 days of post-apocalyptic dystopian smoke we had in Portland and all over ther Pacific NW during late Aug thru early Sept in 2020. It was beyond horrible outside. We were fine inside. That filter - after 2 weeks of continuous 24/7 operation came out very visibly brown. Nothing prepared me to see that color on my filter. Something you didn't mention: The 20x25x4 Filterbuy filters appear to be designed for going into a carrier or filter frame. Their dimensions are far enough away from nominal that I have to tape on carboard shims to prevent bypass. Maybe the 20x20's you're using are closer to nominal, but this is only a problem for furnace use, not for a C-R filter assembly.
Thanks for the info! This comment was flagged as spam for some reason. I hope to do more smoke testing with dirty filters in the next few months to see how they preform after some abuse.
Really good content and well presented charts! I have been trying to decide between commercially available air filter and DIY filter. Seems like DIY is better option for me.
Thanks for doing this. I recently moved in with my brother. Now that the weather has grown colder he smokes at the basement door. Needless to say the smoke flows behind him into the finished basement and up through the floorboards and carpet into the main living area. I'm trying to find a good cost effective solution. This video was so helpful.
Happy to help! I had a roommate that smoked for a long time and the smoke would always end up blowing into the house. A box fan and a single 3M MERV 14 filter might be all you need.
I really love your methodic presentation, walking us through your methods and explaining the results. You put a massive amount of time, effort and care into this. I sincerely appreciate it! My one criticism though, is that I wish you would've used a different format for your 'Performance + Cost of Operation' chart. Different shades of green or blue bars, side by side, with different bar thicknesses, and 2 Y-axis typed vertically in opposite directions on both sides of the chart... Not my favourite results to look at. But nitpicks aside, thank you once again for your hard work!
That's good feedback. I do need to work on the charts for the next video. There is a lot more testing data coming soon and it all needs to be cleaned up to be understandable. I'm starting to put together comparison charts on my site so people can just look at them as long as they need the3dhandyman.com/what-is-the-best-air-filter/ Thanks for the comment!
Great video. We came to similar conclusions regarding performance of 3m from testing by LIFTec in Spain. Why they are specified for UK versions of the corsi Rosenthal design. Eager to see your frame kits become available.
Thank you! I'm always happy to hear that my tests came to the same conclusions as others. I will be shooting assembly videos for the kits this week and hope to launch them in the beginning of December.
With the recent wildfire smoke, I dug out some coolmaster box fans I got free and bent some filter brackets from flashing metal. With DuPont 9100 filters, they have done well to end irritation and have helped a lot with allergens now that the AC is not running much. Noisy, but cheap and effective.
Thank you for the video. I built a 5 filter version with a lasko fan to help improve the air quality in my basement. I have a wood burning stove in the basement and some ash and smoke get into the air. Your testing helped me with my design and purchase of the materials. I used the 2 inch 20x20x2 merv 12 air filters. I am hoping the quality of the filters is good. I just purchased the 3m merv 11 20x20x2 filters for when i need a filter replacement and will compare. I am very interested in your model C prototype unit as well as your other units.
Awesome. Thanks for the real world feedback! I would think the MERV 12s should work pretty well for you from any brand. The 3M MERV 11s should also be solid. I will be testing some 4" versions of those for the next video. The video on the Model B should be out in a few weeks. At the moment I am swamped with orders for the kits and don't have much spare time to work on content.
It can definitely help , according the a few commenters. The more filtration the better really. A great dust collection system and an N95 mask or respirator is also a big help. I'll performance test a few more deigns in a similar sized space to yours in an upcoming video and build a few more in the near future. I hope one of these can help get you back in the shop more often!
Great thorough testing and comparisons. If you're open to an Australian, I'd love to try out your unit. I live on the corner of a main road, and am in the middle of a large DIY home renovation. The air quality is always an issue with traffic fumes, mdf, wood, and plaster dust. My Festool vacuum and Winex air filtration can only handle so much.
Sounds great! I think for international orders I will do a small pack of 3D printed parts, screws, threaded inserts, and the construction plans to go with it. I'll have to see how much a small package would run. If you get lucky and win the free one, I am requesting that non-continental winners pay the shipping cost. It may be a very large bill 😬 The Model A might work well for you if you can get a ~17" drum fan. Put some castors on the bottom and it is reasonably portable.... Those plans are free the3dhandyman.com/workshop-air-filter-drawings/
Great work @The 3D Handyman. Im looking for garage filtering options but also bacteria and virus filteration for a bedroom of a person who's immune system is compromised.
I would like to experiment with some DIY HEPA options some time soon. Bacteria tends to be a bit larger than viruses to catch but the 3M MERV 14s should preform well on the back of a box fan in this scenario, just not quite as good as HEPA options. There are some $100 options like the Levoit 300 out there that would work well in a small room. amzn.to/3ArjsxR
@@The3DHandyman I've been printing since just before the pandemic and over time, the tips and tricks and experiences I've gained is just incredible. Most recently, accepting the limitations of our hobbyist level machines and how we can incorporate with other traditional methods and materials. I've not watched part 2 of the printer table but I have it on my list to turn on after work today. Awesome stuff!
@@OnlyDadsOG Awesome! I got into printing around 2018. One of my first prints was a camera attachment on the outside of a helicopter! Not sketchy at all! What I like doing most for the last few years is designing things that don't need any support structure. I want it done the moment it comes off the printer! One of my first big projects was the 3D printed table legs. It was a nightmare trying to print those legs solid! So many failed prints. But now, years later, I am sitting at that desk right now and it's as stable as ever 👍
I know that older HVAC systems will not hold up to Merv 11 - 14, the systems were not designed for the heavier loads put on the units. But on the other hand if you have a unit that old you might want to update your whole system.
I think it's worth mentioning that these high MERV filters can cause issues for some people. My plan is to do an update for this video with more tests and a correction to that recommendation. It's really better to do the fine particle filtering outside of the HVAC system. Thanks for the comment!
@The 3D Handyman You can prove out the efficiency of your set up using CFD. A predictive 3D CFD analysis is required for any indoor environment before purchasing an air purifier (AP) and placing it into that place. CFD analyses show that a wrong placement of AP could be inefficient and even counterproductive in some locations. I can connect you to an expert who modelled my dental clinic and the results were surprising and unexpected.
I plan to do a video about this and I did look into CFD a year ago. I cant recall the name of the program I settled on but the resolution of the resulting model was very low. Like, there was no detail in the objects in the room, just large boxes in place of more complex fixtures. I'm not sure if voxel based fluid simulations would accurately predict air movements for something like this. The outputs would look nice and the detail of the room model would be pretty high. After my house flooded last year, this video got derailed and I cant say when I might be able to get back to it. So, what I am going to do is work this concept into my next video that covers some new air filter concepts and kits. Thanks for the opportunity to talk with an expert! The workload here is 100+ hours a weeks and I cant imagine adding anything else to the schedule for quite some time. But I hope I can have time for that one day. Would you mind messaging me on facebook or instagram or etsy with your info? Thanks for your very thoughtful comment!
great video, I'm replacing filter in my C-R boxes, one built with four 25x20x1 and the other with five 20x20x1 filters. The one with 4 filters I put over a vessel of water so it also serves as a humidifier for the dry winter air here - although I am not sure how well that is working, I think if I had it wicking into a suspended towel or something it may work better. I was going to go with a cheaper brand but I think I will stick with the filtrete brand, a 6 pack of UFS made in Canada filters is quite a bit less than the 3M filters.
The humidifier concept is pretty cool. I think you are right about the need to wick the water up into the filter media. I have seen this done with a small water pump and wax coated honeycomb cardboard in "swamp coolers". If you used some breathable fabric and pumped a little water over the top of the sheet (lots of holes in the pump line for even distribution) it might evaporate very quickly. As for filters you can always get a cheap filter and tape it to the top of the more expensive filters. This will increase static pressure but it will probably extend the life of the 3M MERV 13 or 14s. I also want to test some fabric pre-filters for the CR boxes soon.
@@The3DHandyman the simple evaporative humidifier I use here in winters just has a circular foam filter that has the bottom part sit in the water & it wicks up into it, with the fan sitting just above it so most of the air it pulls comes through it. It'll put about 2 gallons of water in the air in 24 hours. I may try one of these just sitting in a large stainless steel bowl & see how that works. While the air being pulled by the box fan would mostly bypass the filter, I imagine some of the water should evaporate just from the air movement inside the C-R box. I suppose if I really wanted to get fancy I could fashion some kind of funnel ducting out of chloroplast or something from the fan down to the top of the round foam filter. I don't want to get as complex as having a pump in it.
I would love one of those prototypes! I currently taped one together using Costco filters. We’ll see how well they do. We have three huskies that are constantly bringing in dirt from the back yard. 😅 I used the Home Depot brand ones before and they worked great! The only problem was they filled up with dirt way too quickly.
Consider yourself entered in the drawing! What I want to experiment with soon is some washable pre-filter material for extending the life of the filters. Stay tuned!
@@The3DHandyman Did I get an entry too? Or is the contest over? 🤔 Could use a couple of filters, lost everything in a fire. Wanna make sure the air is safe, when I return, thanks.
Always informative videos in a digestible way. Have you done a bigger comparison on filter thickness? Just had a new hvac installed and we went for the 20x20x5” but the cost and availability for the 5” thickness makes me think it’s not worth any real benefits. Please try the a,b and c models with 4 or 5” thickness filters even if joust one sample run of a known brand like 3M since they scaled well.
Thanks! I have not done that much with the thicker filters. The 4in Filter Buy does not preform better than the 2in filters, by surprise. In the next video I will talk more about airflow and static pressure and though the 4" filter has more surface area than the others, it does not outperform them. Considering that 1" 3M MERV 11 almost outperformed the 4" Filter Buy in the single filter box fan test, I figure the 4" 3M MERV 11(or 12) filters would preform significantly better than the Off brand MERV 13s. So maybe there is an adapter (or DIY option) that can just fill up that extra inch? I will try to fit in a single filter test with a 4" filter from 3M in the next video.
Interesting results. Operational costs could possibly be decreased with an alternative power source such as a solar panel and battery setup. But of course, that would have a higher initial cost. I’m curious as to how viable of an option that would be.
This was super helpful as I was convinced I needed 2"+ thickness filters to achieve decent results. Once again, you have me rethinking my options. These filter systems are proven to be efficient and effective, but the filters are a consumable and replacement costs add up . My new question is, can I cycle my spent MERV 14 furnace filters in the C&R cube in my workshop? The shop has different needs, mostly sawdust and dirt. Hoping to get 2 cycles of use out of the filters. Am I wrong to think this is a good idea? Can't wait to see the results from the different build variants you have been teasing.
I was also surprised by the fact the the thicker filters only preformed marginally next to the 3Ms. As far as reusing them in your shop, they wont preform like they did out of the box but they will still pull large stuff out of the air. I'll do a video on used filter performance some time soon but until then I can say that the 6 month old extremely dirty Nordic Pure MERV14 filters lose half of their ability to capture smoke (2 hours vs 1 hour to completely the air). Smoke is of course very tiny stuff, so if you are working with larger particles generally, the performance should be better than that...But the only way to truly know is to get a particle/pollution meter.
Awesome video. Can you please test the Castle Filters. It claims to good for 1 entire year! No one else has tested this filter from what I have been able to find.
You are amazing!!! Thank you SO very much! My son has severe MCAS and we have a neighbor that burns green wood every weekend. You rock!! So truly the shortest amount of time that it would clean the smoke is 38 minutes with the 3M MERV 14 using the 4 filters. Do you see any benefit to getting the charcoal filters? Or are standard filters enough to get rid of the smoke? I would love if you did a video on how to read and understand the Air Quality Monitor! Thank you! Do you have a chart comparing the different models A,B and C to show how much air they can filter?
Thanks, that means a lot! So far the 3M MERV 14 is the best I've tested out of all filters including MERV 13+ Charcoal filters when it comes to smoke. I haven't done the video for that filter test yet but but the results are clear. I'll be testing some MERV 16+Charcoal filters on a box fan some time soon to see if they preform any better. They are cost prohibitive tho, so I'll only be using one for the test. In a home with many rooms, sometimes single filters on the back of a fan can be more advantageous because you can put one in every room rather than rely on one large filter in a single space. I have some of the data from all the tests I've run hon my website. I need more charts tho. These only tell part of the picture. I hope to have interactive charts with even more data and results from 25 pending tests in a few weeks. Here is the link the3dhandyman.com/what-is-the-best-air-filter/ I will make a note to do a video on air quality monitors! Thanks for the idea. Hope all that helps and sorry for the late reply!
Another informative video. Have you considered any configurations other than the "box" style? I would think that style would work great with all four sides of the unit accessible, but for small garage shops that may not be practical. So would it be just as beneficial to have four filters all on a single side as long as the airflow can remain the same? Sort of a wall of filters, instead of a box of filters?
I have given some though to wall filters but haven't tested anything out yet. I'm working on some canister filter designs with duct work that will be out soon. Those concepts can be easily adapted to a "filter wall"
Whatever happened with the model c prototype giveaway? I was looking forward to it. My elderly father cannot be removed out of his workshop since he retired despite what my mother and his doctor say. He complaints about a irritated throat feeling that constantly has him clearing his throat. Doctor said it's a result from the fine dust particles in the air he's breathing in from the shop. He would really benefit from something like this! Hence what started my rabbit hole journey of finding something diy that can possibly be made cheaply with left over materials since funds are tight right now. Appreciate and thank you for all your time and research on the matter. it's been a huge help!
Well, that's a long story. Generally things have been in complete chaos since launch and the giveaway hasn't happened yet because I was focusing on things that people purchased first. I will be making a new video soon where I announce the winner and send out the free unit. If you don't happen to win the unit (I'll be using a random number generator) I am going to offer a cheap kit of 3D printed parts/screws/plans so you can make your own with available scraps. I've printed a lot of parts for the upcoming launch, so I should be able to get them in the mail pretty much immediately. There will also be another budget air filter available in the same launch. Money is tight here as well so I get where you are coming from. I really need this to be a mind blowingly successful launch because the home I am living in for the second time in 2 years is being sold and I will find myself without a place to live or work within a few months. All of the spare parts for the model B and C were screwed to the walls of my family's bedrooms for bulletproofing. Things here have gotten really bad really quickly. One thing your father should consider is an N95 mask. They aren't fun to wear, especially for hours and hours on end (the skin on my face can vouch) but they work and they are cheap. I hope to have this video out in a few weeks. Sorry for the wait on the free unit. I really should have done that 2 months ago.
These filter videos have been really helpful to me. You have done an amazing job with them and I hope to see more in the series. On a side note, I use the 3M Merv 14 2800 filters in my HVAC and have for years. I am going to use 4 of them to make some DIY filters after watching your series. I normally replace my HVAC units every 2-3 months. Any idea how often 4 of them in a DIY unit will last? I am guessing that once the air space is cleared they will just clean up any new pollutants so running them 24/7 might not "use them up" as quickly as you might think. I don't guess there is any way to know other than measuring the static pressure in the chamber or seeing them actually get dark/dirty with dust and whatnot. Any ideas on a simple way of attaching a DIY static pressure device to your 4x units to monitor the static pressure while they are running in the main chamber? Might be some new things to add to your testing for the series.
Good call replacing the filters at the 2-3 month mark. I need to mention that in a future video. The high MERV filters can really restrict your system especially if there is a lot of pollen/pet dander, etc in the air. I ran a Corsi Rosenthal box with Nordic Pure MERV 14s in a friends kennel room for her dogs for abut 6 months and there was only a slight discoloration in the filters after about 6 months. I think it could have easily gone a year but I pulled it out to loan it to someone whos house flooded and the tape all fell apart on it. That was part of the inspiration for the wooden kits. I did buy a manometer to do some tests but haven't gotten to it yet. Maybe next month?
Excellent Video - I would be happy to purchase your kit. Would a 20x20x2 MERV 13 be more efficient by providing more surface area and slightly better airflow.
Awesome! things are a little delayed due to the holiday but they should be available in a few weeks. As far as the 20x20x2 MERV 13 filters go, the Filter Buy and Nordic Pure options both preformed well but not quite as good as the 3M 20x20x1 MERV 13 filter but they do have a bit cheaper starting price.
This is great. I may have to make myself a filter for my shop. Maybe this was covered in one of your previous videos (I'll go watch them again) but what is the CFM differences between the 2 box fans and the barrel fan? Just curious how that might affect how quickly the best filters clean the smoke out of the air.
Thanks! I haven't gotten to the next video in the series which covers all the details on all 3 versions. The short of it is that the drum fan is better because it has a round housing rather than a square one so this limits air being pulled in around the corners of the fan and hurting performance/air quality. The overall fan power goes like this Lasko
Thanks for putting this together! I switched to 3m about a year ago and they have such low pressure drop given the Merv rating. I'd be curious for you to add dB levels to this evaluation as well as that's important even in my shop and I've thought about using a commercial air cleaner just because of their low noise levels Thanks!
Any time! The air flow is high but the noise levels can be to. Here are all the fan's I've tested from highest speed to lowest speed: Background sound 40db Lasko @1 ft - 63, 60, 55 Air King @1ft - 68, 66, 61 Air doctor @1ft - 64, 58, 52, 45 Maxx air @1ft - 71, 67, 57 Caterpillar @1ft - 71, 67, 63, 57
Thanks for the very informative video, sir. I’ve learned something new with the MERV classifications that other videos don’t mention. I’ve very recently stumbled on a duct tape version video that I will most likely use to get rid of pet dander as I rescue cats and currently have 11. I would attempt to make one like yours but my carpenter skills aren’t good nor do I have a 3D printer. Do you happen to sell it?
Thank you! I do sell the 4 filter versions but they are sold out until next month some time. I will also have a 1 filter design as well. There is a lot going on that the moment, so it will just take some time to get them out there. Until then, taping a filter to the back of a box fan actually works pretty good for in-home use. Let me know if you have any questions.
Very useful. I have a large open living space that I'm trying to keep clean. Do I comment here to get added to the list to potentially receive one of these units?
One thing to consider, is pleat count. The total media area of a filter is the frame dimensions, X the number of pleats. If you look at a MERV-7 filter, you might see 15-20 pleats. A HEPA filter could have as many as 60 pleats in a 20" X 20" frame. The restriction (Static Pressure) could be similar, by virtue of the extra total media area, to compensate for the higher static pressure per Sq. In. of the HEPA media. (You will see the difference in price!)
I will talk about pleat count in an upcoming video. Generally the more the better! There is some difference based on filter media but it's mostly the amount of filter material that counts. Thanks for the comment!
Just curious, if you turn the corsi-rosenthal box filter off, do the particles caught get released back into the air if you open a window & breeze hits it, or another fan used to cool the room hits it? 🤔 Thanks‼️😁
@@capcom4eva If the surface of the filter is disturbed/impacted that will knock dust off. Otherwise the dust will stay on the filter. When you change filters, do that outside to limit dust being released from the filter surface. If you blow air into the inside of the filter box (rather than out of it), it is easier to ensure that dust cant be knocked off the filter into the room. This method lowers air movement, though. So, you will need more filters if you are filtering a large space. Sorry about the house fire! My place flooded last year and cleanup was a huge task.
Sure thing! I plan on selling the plans at some point but I am way behind on content production for that launch at the moment. Cant say when that will be ready to go. I am selling the full kits though. If you were to buy one today, it should ship in about 2 weeks Here's the listing www.etsy.com/listing/1373712349 Let me know if you have any questions
Wow very through data collection I am impressed. I mix a lot of cement and mortar which’s creates a lot of fine dust. Which do you think would work better if the fan was pulling the dust into the filter box at the top? Or if the fan was drawing the dust through the filters first?
Good question! The answer relied on how your workspace is set up. Personally I like to work right next to the filter with the drum fan pushing into the filter box. The dust is reliably sucked right in without being airborne for more than a few seconds. This help keep most of the ultra fine cement from getting all over everything. I use my Model A this filter because it can capture ultra fine dust at 5-6ft away (without significant air disturbances). A single filter on a box fan (filter on the back side of the fan) only has a capture radius of about 2 feet. I use that config for some things but the it's not quite powerful enough to avoid blowing some of the dust into the rest of the shop space during a more energetic process. This video has some more info about how I filter cement dust specifically. th-cam.com/video/NmgNQu4zDy0/w-d-xo.html I think I have also figured out a way to insert a dust bag into the filter box so that the big dust does not clog the filters as quickly. I'll make a video about that in December. The parts are in the mail.
Thanks! I can not realistically test all filters because I don't have unlimited resources. No doubt the MERV 16s would probably work even better than the MERV 14s. So, if you want the best performance and price is not an issue, go for the 16s!
Thanks for watching! I am working on a second obscenely detailed version of this video at the moment and it would be great to know if I left anything out of this video. How to the charts look, easily readable? etc.
Very well done! Sure would be nice to have the tall prototype autographed and sent over! Looking forward to your next video, Thx! Just as a side note, it would be good to have one of the filter sides as a door on piano hinges so it can easily be opened and vacuumed clean inside.. Be sure to check out my channel as well
@@paramtrx9558 I do like the slide in filter concept. Will have to work on that in the future. As they are they seem to be relatively user friendly. Will do a video on assembly soon.
Nice CNC table! I would like to be running one of those one day.
@@The3DHandyman Just a suggestion about the door.. Lets get you a CNC.. piece of cake my friend.
How about providing cadr from particle reduction rather than IAQ reading decay charts? ACE-IT air cleaner efficacy investigation tool makes it easy. Try starting calc from 50% below the initial value to ensure air mixing has settled down.
@@mechaflowmaniac Great find!!!!!!!! I was wanting to figure out the CADR but didn't want to buy the AHAM book on the subject and doubted that my testing space was that good of an Environmental chamber to start with. Thank you for this! (edited... ANSI replaced with AHAM)
Thank you for all your research. This helps to clarify a lot of questions for me. I always forward to your videos to see your updated findings.
Glad you are back. Can't wait for the next stages.
Can't wait for these kits. I've been looking for something like this for years.
Thank you for making this so clear and concise. Knowing the cost vs benefit to certain filters is so valuable 🙏
Hola!🖐 I'm loving this series of videos, I am learning so much from you. Thank you for creating and sharing this content. This is the third one I watch, now I'm moving on to the next one. Take care and have a good one, Adios! 👊
Thanks for posting. I have watched all of your videos and found them very informative.
Thanks for watching! The next one will be in the 30 minute range if you want to know even more about filters.
this is a great information source, I have been going back and forth over what filters to be using in the shop and my house.
Thanks, a lot went into it! I have gotten a lot of good info about the use of these filters in in your furnace and I will put it in the long version of this video that will be out in a few weeks or so. The short of it is that you want to pay attention to your furnace if you are using high MERV filters. If your A/C filter is small it could clog quickly and should be replaced at least every 3 months. If you have a lot of pets or other dust going on, you may need to replace them sooner than that. I got a static pressure tester for the house and have a dirty filter to test. At this point the video is about to be 30 minutes long :)
As for shop filters, go for the high MERV filters, they preform really well. Breath easy, my friend!
This guy speaks to my heart.
Thanks for being logical, thorough, and reasonable.
Definitely going to use your filter videos for my workplace and my apartment shop space! A treasure trove of shop knowledge
Awesome! I am hoping to get the deep dive version of this video out next week with lots more info.
subbed in the first 20 seconds.
thank you for all you do.
If you’ve never used an air filter these are great. th-cam.com/users/postUgkx_dppjvjF8BYEmPSDTcgCUdRsgWYLXNHN I ended up with three after starting out with one. The noise level depends on the 1-3 settings with how hard you want the machine to work. You can also upgrade the filters and get one better for pet hair and smells which is a must have in my home. I noticed the air seemed lighter and easier to breathe when running the machine for the first time. Works great every time. Highly recommended!
You can consider adding a fan shroud with a 15" open area in the center. It doesn't take the sound level down or improve the performance much but the tone of the fan is more pleasant. I'll do a video on this some time next month or so.
Still probably want to shut it down for recording, tho 👍
I just came across your video series while research air filtration for 3D printing. Great content that's thoughtful and uses a reasonable methodology for getting data!
Awesome! I want to do a video on VOCs emitted by 3D printers as well. That video is probably a month or two out at this point 👍
You can often just run the fan on your hvac for circulation. That is what I do year round, to try and keep temp equalized during summer and winter months between my 3 floors.
That is a very effective method with a lot of benefits and it is quiet as well. The only downside that I can see is that it will cost a lot when it comes to energy consumption.
If I run my furnace blower non-stop, it works out to about $400 a year in additional electric costs.
I'm always impressed by your focus on real world results and how one solution isn't the best for everyone. Love the content.
Beautiful comment! Thank you. Model C giveaway entry received 👍
This is awesome work man, thank-you🙌🤘🙌
Thank you for going to all this effort for us.
Hope this video gets lots of views.
Any time! More testing on the way too...
Thank you for all the detailed information and drilling into a very large body of information. I Have a young child that’s just beginning to venture into my shop and want to keep the environment as safe as possible. Thank you for all your hard work!
Happy to help! I hope to do a video on VOCs in the next few months as well. They are something else to consider that plain old filters don't tackle very well.
What an amazing video! Just what I was looking for!
Thank you! Keep in mind that if you are using one of the MERV 12+ filters in you HVAC that you may want to replace it every 3 months if the dust levels in your home are high.
Great info, really enjoy how thorough you are. One key takeaway imo, any filter is better than none
Fair point. I will work that line into my next video 👍
Thanks for the informative video, that must have taken AGES to plan, set-up, film, and edit! I really appreciate that these aren't just taped together and rickety/flimsy
All together it took about 2 months and waaay to much money. lol. After 40 filter changes on the Model C kit is is still as sturdy as day 1. Very happy with them so far!
My type of channel. I love this stuff.
Thank you for the very informative video! Might have to pick up one of those air quality monitors...
Thanks for sharing your findings! This was interesting to see as it can relate to my shop fan setup for woodworking. I spent years testing air flow and personal safety in an industrial setting and appreciate the data. I’m curious to see the next video and your results. Cheers!
Thank you! I want to do a video about air circulation and filter positioning at some point. It is really important to the filtration process and I haven't seen any videos on it and it's not necessarily common knowledge. Any thoughts on the subject?
Awesome content. Important information for health and safety in the shop.
Absolutely loved the details you included, I didn't expect such a large difference by brand! Going to have to go buy some 3Ms I guess.
They do seem to be the best. It's mostly down to how much material is in the filter. One thing I should mention is that if you are using one of these (MERV 12 or higher) in your HVAC yet should be replaced at regular intervals to keep airflow as high as possible over time. This isn't a big deal for DIY systems but for your furnace, it can be. I'll talk about it more in an upcoming video.
Thank you for putting in the work investing the time and money so we wouldn't have to! Your channel has helped me tremendously in my pursuit/Quest to my shops filtration!
Very happy to hear that! If you ever have any questions, feel free to throw them my way.
Whatever happened with the model c prototype giveaway? I was looking forward to it. My elderly father cannot be removed out of his workshop since he retired despite what my mother and his doctor say. He complaints about a irritated throat feeling that constantly has him clearing his throat. Doctor said it's a result from the fine dust particles in the air he's breathing in from the shop. He would really benefit from something like this! Hence what started my rabbit hole journey of finding something diy that can possibly be made cheaply with left over materials since funds are tight right now. Appreciate and thank you for all your time and research on the matter. it's been a huge help!
3M is been the standard i have used since building these air purifiers from all the reading i can see online and research its so good to see your seeing the same values that you are.. Glad i did not get the K&N.
Great video with amazing details. I'm very interested pursuing the DIY filter systems and this has been a great, consolidated educational experience. Thnx!
Happy to hear that! I will be covering DIY filters construction in even more detail in the next deep-dive video on the subject. I hope to have that out by the end of the month.
This is a solid video. Thank you for compiling the information. I have relatives that live near areas of Florida that have been struck with costal Red Tide algae outbreaks. Their allergies have been horrible for over a year now. Using your results, going to build a DIY system with the 3M filters.
Awesome. I'm happy to help!
Just binged your last few videos...thanks for making me rethink all my previous plans 🤦😆
The more data to work with, the better! :)
Nate its been years! Love these videos, going to have to make some of your designs for my workshop and home :-). Hope you are well.
What up dude! Happy to hear you are enjoying the content :) I'm doing alright, hope the same is true for you 👍
thanks for doing the Research; that's really the most important of all.
Glad I stumbled across this. I need to build a filter system for my garage come spring or summer
Glad I could help! I'll have even more info in the next video for people wanting to build their own filters.
Nice videos. You have inspired me to attempt the build. My supplies are just waiting on some free time so I can work on this.
Waiting for free time can often be the biggest slow down of them all. One day!
Air quality is not always top of mind when in my home, even though I live with allergies for most of my life. It hasn't been since I saw my daughter begin to struggle with similar allergies to dust and dander where I consider looking into cleaning the area around me. Cleaning is a daily thing in our home, but we live off a gravel road and the kids run in and out as kids should, but this adds to the never ending battle with dust. Thank you for running the test on the many different filters. I will have to building on of the model c configurations to help keep the dust at bay.
I hope it helps a lot! I have been running one of these at my girlfriends house to help cut down on pet dander and it has made a significant improvement in her congestion after a month or so of operation. From what I have heard from HVAC specialists, it seems like a better idea to just run a separate filter rather than putting a high MERV rated filter in your furnace. I'll get into that more in the next video.
I'm loving this content, and looking forward to the dirty filter testing. I have a 4 ton that can at most accept one 20x20x2 filter...
I how to do one of those videos later this year. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for your eye opening series on dust collection and DIY air filters! good info. Clean and concise charts. I prefer the animated and color coded charts. they are easier to read as you are giving the pertinent info. thanks again for the monster effort. Cant wait for "a" and "b".👍
Awesome! Happy to hear that the charts come through well
Caught your original video several months ago and plan to build something similar using a blower from our old furnace. Good to see the latest update! The blowers on a furnace are interesting as they usually increase their output with higher static pressure. This is probably why some people say a higher MERV filter in your furnace wouldn't degrade performance. The blower accounts for the increase.
With that, it'd be interesting to see if a setup with fewer filters performs closer to performance of a Corsi-Rosenthal or your design with this.
That's a fine idea. Blower motors are great for these, especially if you can get them cheap. I will get into filter surface area in the next video. From the info I've seen its generally better to keep the static pressure as low as possible for the best results. The blower style fan does tend to work really better under higher static pressures than other types of fans tho. I found the static pressure charts on Grainger/Dayton blowers to be really enlightening. You might like to see the details too... www.grainger.com/product/DAYTON-OEM-Blower-Rectangular-1TDT2
Thanks for the comment!
I WANT AND NEED ALL DEM PROTOTYPES 😂😂 Great job man I’m extremely appreciative of the amount of work you put into this for us!
Thanks! You are have been entered in the drawing :)
Incredible job! Catching up to your vids.. got busy with work and the holidays. I am glad you also saw the 3M filters are the best... While their more costly... They do have sales.
Very true. There are a few deals out there that make them a relatively reasonable price. Lowes also has quantity discounts as well.
@@The3DHandymanThat's where I got most of my filters and since they don't really expire good to stock up when they are on sale of clearout.
Looking forward to the next video, I'm eager to implement a low cost solution into my shed. I was able to get a start on one with just a single filter and the same fan you use, and while not ideal, sanding some 3d prints right in front of it definitely reduced the fine particulate that usually accumulates on my hands when doing that.
Happy to hear it! I deal with quite a bit of print dust as well and it's one of those things I really don't want to be breathing.
Thx very helpful. Especially for smoke. As I live in wildfire prone area
Very thorough test and much appreciated.
When I replaced by home HVAC in 2019, I opt'd for an integrated MERV 13 system with a 4" pleated furnace filter (AprilAire 413)... a nice balance of ability to remove most household pollutants and cost to replace the filters. Those above MERV 13 can be very expensive. As per industry standards, it does 90% or better at particles at and above 1 micron and ~75% at those below. I don't have breathing issues, but those that do may want to look at higher rated systems.
I must say it amazes me how dirty the filter becomes after about 6 months when compared to my old 4" system dated back to the mid-90s (probably no more than a MERV 8). I change it every spring and fall with the heat & cold seasonal use cycles. BTW... if your HVAC supports it, run the fan (air cycle) feature when your system is not heating or cooling. Mine runs the fan on low for 15 minutes each hour to cycle the house air. It vastly helps keep the air cleaned.
That's pretty much exactly what I run in my home furnace as well. Thanks for your thoughts!
Your videos are incredible. I’ve fallen down the air quality DIY rabbit hole of yours 🤣
Looking for a way to improve the air in my barn for my horses. Your data has been so beneficial for this learning curve I’m on. The analysis and presentation of real world data.., bar none 👏🏻
Thanks! It's good to hear that there are a few others in the rabbit hole with me 😆
@@The3DHandyman I'm starting this week, I've got my baby's first single filter box fan going
@@sandmanlol Awesome!
Great work thank you
I love how detailed you get with your tests. Your format reminds me of the Project Farm channel. I've built 5x filter model using pvc and it's worked well. I've recommended your videos to family and friends living near fires. My brothers first question was if i was going to build one with quick replace filters haha I would be interested in a kit if still available.
That's quite a complement! I have watched project farm videos for years. Happy the 5 filter design is working well for you! Other than the giveaway for this video, I will launch the kits in about 2 weeks. It takes about 3 minutes to replace the filters, hopefully that's quick enough :)
All the parts are in for these and I just need to shoot a video on how to put them together. The cost of shipping and wood/cutting is pretty high so I am going to do preorders for them to hopefully bring the price down in larger quantities.
@The3DHandyman I bet you are a super busy cat, just wanted to know if the giveaway was still a thing. Anyhow, the product looks great!
@@buckynine9 Hah, you aint kidding! The giveaway is still a thing. The magic number of comments is almost there... as it is I am about 40% of the comments and I don't want to win the prototype :)
I'll announce the winner for this in about 2 weeks.
excellent review
I'm glad your data confirms what I've done inside of my house. Every time I've done one of the 3m products it seemed to have been a lot better for the house. We had wildfires the last couple of years and a couple of those times in my apartment the only ones I could get are cheaper knockoff brands.
I kept going after the Merv 13 because of a noticeable difference in the smell of the air but that's cool to know that my 14 is a little bit better. I really appreciate this whole series and I look forward to building one of the little boxes versus just one fan and one filter
It is always great to have a separate test come to the same conclusions. My girlfriend has a few dogs and when I installed a 3M MERV 12 in the furnace the air got a lot more fresh. In the next video I do in this series the filters get tested for airflow and the MERV 14s are a bit more restrictive than the 13s. It would be great if an HVAC tech could way in on how much of an issue that really could be for the fan motor. Testing that might take a decade!
Great video I guess I'll have to tape 5 filters to my box fan now
Thank you! It seems like you only need to tape 4 onto it if it sits on the floor. If you go with 5, then you want to put it up on some legs to get better airflow under the unit.
th-cam.com/video/lbWiZSsEqPg/w-d-xo.html
Great data; thank you! I'd love a complementary model A kit. My nasal allergies have worsened in recent years, and affordably improving my air quality is top priority!
Your future plans for other filtration kit configurations look promising, as well!
Keep up the great public service work!
Thank you! The 3rd video in this series will include a Model A giveaway. As a sneak peak, I'll say its the best of the bunch.
My furnace runs a 14x25x1 filter. I tried running a basic very low merv filtrate pleated filter and it was too restrictive for the system and kept tripping. So the furnace runs basic 3m fiberglass filters. I then made two Corsi Rosenthal style boxes running basic 20" lasko fans with 3m filtrete 2200 20"x30" filters. I catch them on sale and the price is usually the same as the 20x20 however I am getting a little more surface area. My wife has asthma and the diy filters have greatly helped. Along with reading data that air quality can affect the risk of heart attack. We live in a 2,600sq ft two story home and have one filter placed on each level. I have never measured with a particle meter. Fantastic content!
Thanks for real world feedback! I think you are right, it may just not be worth it to run anything fancy in the HVAC unit, there is just too much risk involved. I would have to imagine that with 2 CR boxes running on each floor the air should be very clean. Even on low if they are running all the time they will do a great job.
The 3M 2200 20x30s are pretty much the best option out there. Excellent choice!
How often do you need to replace them? Is it filter color that determines your replacement time or an amount of time elapsed?
Great video! Wynn makes a nice cartridge filter for a DYI air filtration system. It is MERV 15, just couple that with a 8 inch duct fan and you also have a very efficient filter. I ran some tests to compare with my box fan with 4 3M 20x20 Merv 13 filters and the results are so much better. Thanks to Bill Pentz for the idea and the plethora of knowledge he provides at his website.
Yes! I am going to do a test with this filter next month. I must see how it stacks up. How many CFM is the duct fan you are using?
Thanks for your very informative videos!!
My pleasure!
Leaving a comment for relevance, but also really looking forward to the next video. It'll help make my decision on filtration for my downtown loft. I just know I'm breathing in more than I think with how much dust we deal with.
So true. I was really surprised at how much particulate matter was on the road when I went to test for it. There was probably only 50 cars at the intersection on a windy day. I have sat in downtown traffic with 10 times that many. I'm sure the pollution meter would be off the charts in such a scenario.
Can't wait for the next one.
Thanks for these. Sounds like these might make economic sense for the wood shop my son and I hope to build soon.
Awesome! Sound like a fun project. My father is the one that got me started in woodworking. We should have probably been more safety conscious, but hey, it was the 90's! :)
Your videos are the ones I watch and keep links to and forward to others. You're doing excellent work - air tunnel, ave speed indicator to measure flow, the question about corner baffling (you're correct on that) and more. Your characterization of the 5 filter off-the-floor and up-higher-off-the-floor provided the quantitative information I was looking for about the benefit, which I surmised would be significant and your data confirmed, with numbers. I wanted better circulation and entrainment in the room so I mounted the box fan on one side rather than top and then tilted the whole unit back a bit by shortening the legs on the opposite side from the fan. It's very stable and this orientation does an excellent job of circulating air in the room or rooms and also down a hallway, and is especially good at night. I was shocked to see how poorly the FilterBuy and others did in comparison to the 3M and wondered if maybe it's a difference in static pressure, which you also picked up on. And yes, 3M is the only one I've found who provides that info. I use a low cost differential manometer with two simple pitot tubes (all sourced via ebay) to measure the drops in my HVAC system, but your wind tunnel should give good insight into whether the performance differences are primarily traceable to the properties of the filter.
I'm in Portland, Oregon and in recent years we've been having very serious problems with wildfire smoke that last for days at a time, well into the unhealthy range, somtimes even into dangerous. During those times I run the furnace fan on circulate with 4"MERV13 and, this year, added the modified C-R filter at low speed and can keep the PM2.5 in the house below 10 when it's 150 outside and below 15 when it's 200 outside (Kaiterra Laser Egg). At normal times, it's at 1 even without the C-R, just the MERV13 furnace filter. Thank you for this great work presented in these videos! Ed H
Thanks for the real detailed breakdown of how the C-R filters are working for you. I have not lived within range of a wildfire in my life so I wasn't sure what the real world readings would be in that sort of scenario.
I was thinking about picking up a manometer to test out the static pressure of a 6 month old 3M MERV 13 filter in a friends house to see how it preforms after heavy use. It's great that you have a 4" filter for the furnace, that definitely helps with the static pressure issues. For the long version of the air filter video I will test a 4" 3M MERV 11 and see if it can outperform the FilterBuy MERV 13. If so, it would be even less restrictive for nearly the same price. I hope to compete the tests this week.
Thanks for the comment!
@@The3DHandyman I went with a digital (very low cost) diff manometer, and it meets my needs. For what you're doing, you're probably going to want higher quality and a way to check the calibration. I've never thought of measuring the drop across a new filter vs one that's used up. The static drop will go up over time even though the filtering performance will stay the same or even improve slightly. Your data on Filterbuy vs 3M really caught my attention. I'll bet there are notable differences out of the box.
About wildfire smoke: Over the decades, my filters have always come out grey. Always. Across brands, size, whatever. Except after the 10 days of post-apocalyptic dystopian smoke we had in Portland and all over ther Pacific NW during late Aug thru early Sept in 2020. It was beyond horrible outside. We were fine inside. That filter - after 2 weeks of continuous 24/7 operation came out very visibly brown. Nothing prepared me to see that color on my filter.
Something you didn't mention: The 20x25x4 Filterbuy filters appear to be designed for going into a carrier or filter frame. Their dimensions are far enough away from nominal that I have to tape on carboard shims to prevent bypass. Maybe the 20x20's you're using are closer to nominal, but this is only a problem for furnace use, not for a C-R filter assembly.
Thanks for the info! This comment was flagged as spam for some reason. I hope to do more smoke testing with dirty filters in the next few months to see how they preform after some abuse.
Really good content and well presented charts!
I have been trying to decide between commercially available air filter and DIY filter. Seems like DIY is better option for me.
Awesome. Glad I could help you make a decision!
Thanks for doing this. I recently moved in with my brother. Now that the weather has grown colder he smokes at the basement door. Needless to say the smoke flows behind him into the finished basement and up through the floorboards and carpet into the main living area. I'm trying to find a good cost effective solution. This video was so helpful.
Happy to help! I had a roommate that smoked for a long time and the smoke would always end up blowing into the house. A box fan and a single 3M MERV 14 filter might be all you need.
@@The3DHandyman especially if the fan is propped right behind his head as he smokes, blowing over him, lol.
@@michealnelsonauthor That might be the best option!
Awesome info!
I really love your methodic presentation, walking us through your methods and explaining the results. You put a massive amount of time, effort and care into this.
I sincerely appreciate it!
My one criticism though, is that I wish you would've used a different format for your 'Performance + Cost of Operation' chart.
Different shades of green or blue bars, side by side, with different bar thicknesses, and 2 Y-axis typed vertically in opposite directions on both sides of the chart... Not my favourite results to look at.
But nitpicks aside, thank you once again for your hard work!
That's good feedback. I do need to work on the charts for the next video. There is a lot more testing data coming soon and it all needs to be cleaned up to be understandable.
I'm starting to put together comparison charts on my site so people can just look at them as long as they need the3dhandyman.com/what-is-the-best-air-filter/
Thanks for the comment!
Great video. We came to similar conclusions regarding performance of 3m from testing by LIFTec in Spain. Why they are specified for UK versions of the corsi Rosenthal design. Eager to see your frame kits become available.
Thank you! I'm always happy to hear that my tests came to the same conclusions as others.
I will be shooting assembly videos for the kits this week and hope to launch them in the beginning of December.
With the recent wildfire smoke, I dug out some coolmaster box fans I got free and bent some filter brackets from flashing metal. With DuPont 9100 filters, they have done well to end irritation and have helped a lot with allergens now that the AC is not running much. Noisy, but cheap and effective.
For sure! That is the standard DIY air filter and it works really well as long as you are using a quality filter.
This is awesome
Thank you for the video. I built a 5 filter version with a lasko fan to help improve the air quality in my basement. I have a wood burning stove in the basement and some ash and smoke get into the air. Your testing helped me with my design and purchase of the materials. I used the 2 inch 20x20x2 merv 12 air filters. I am hoping the quality of the filters is good. I just purchased the 3m merv 11 20x20x2 filters for when i need a filter replacement and will compare. I am very interested in your model C prototype unit as well as your other units.
Awesome. Thanks for the real world feedback! I would think the MERV 12s should work pretty well for you from any brand. The 3M MERV 11s should also be solid. I will be testing some 4" versions of those for the next video.
The video on the Model B should be out in a few weeks. At the moment I am swamped with orders for the kits and don't have much spare time to work on content.
This will be great, I have chronic COPD which has really slowed my woodworking hobby. My shop is 400 sq feet.
It can definitely help , according the a few commenters. The more filtration the better really. A great dust collection system and an N95 mask or respirator is also a big help. I'll performance test a few more deigns in a similar sized space to yours in an upcoming video and build a few more in the near future.
I hope one of these can help get you back in the shop more often!
@@The3DHandyman Yes, I hope so. I am currently using the RZ Mask.
@@dannapier5305 That's a good one 👍
Good point to convince me to next time buy higher merv
Great thorough testing and comparisons. If you're open to an Australian, I'd love to try out your unit. I live on the corner of a main road, and am in the middle of a large DIY home renovation. The air quality is always an issue with traffic fumes, mdf, wood, and plaster dust. My Festool vacuum and Winex air filtration can only handle so much.
Sounds great! I think for international orders I will do a small pack of 3D printed parts, screws, threaded inserts, and the construction plans to go with it. I'll have to see how much a small package would run. If you get lucky and win the free one, I am requesting that non-continental winners pay the shipping cost. It may be a very large bill 😬
The Model A might work well for you if you can get a ~17" drum fan. Put some castors on the bottom and it is reasonably portable.... Those plans are free the3dhandyman.com/workshop-air-filter-drawings/
Great work @The 3D Handyman. Im looking for garage filtering options but also bacteria and virus filteration for a bedroom of a person who's immune system is compromised.
I would like to experiment with some DIY HEPA options some time soon. Bacteria tends to be a bit larger than viruses to catch but the 3M MERV 14s should preform well on the back of a box fan in this scenario, just not quite as good as HEPA options. There are some $100 options like the Levoit 300 out there that would work well in a small room. amzn.to/3ArjsxR
Thanks!
Thank you!
This dude is not messing around.
Look out dust particles!
i am a new subscriber and would love a filter - I came for your DIY butcher block, but as a 3d printing enthusiast your other videos look awesome!
You have been entered into the drawing! 3D printing is the coolest. I use it, in some aspect, for just about all my projects. Thanks for subscribing 👍
@@The3DHandyman I've been printing since just before the pandemic and over time, the tips and tricks and experiences I've gained is just incredible. Most recently, accepting the limitations of our hobbyist level machines and how we can incorporate with other traditional methods and materials. I've not watched part 2 of the printer table but I have it on my list to turn on after work today. Awesome stuff!
@@OnlyDadsOG Awesome! I got into printing around 2018. One of my first prints was a camera attachment on the outside of a helicopter! Not sketchy at all!
What I like doing most for the last few years is designing things that don't need any support structure. I want it done the moment it comes off the printer!
One of my first big projects was the 3D printed table legs. It was a nightmare trying to print those legs solid! So many failed prints. But now, years later, I am sitting at that desk right now and it's as stable as ever 👍
I know that older HVAC systems will not hold up to Merv 11 - 14, the systems were not designed for the heavier loads put on the units.
But on the other hand if you have a unit that old you might want to update your whole system.
I think it's worth mentioning that these high MERV filters can cause issues for some people. My plan is to do an update for this video with more tests and a correction to that recommendation. It's really better to do the fine particle filtering outside of the HVAC system. Thanks for the comment!
@The 3D Handyman You can prove out the efficiency of your set up using CFD. A predictive 3D CFD analysis is required for any indoor environment before purchasing an air purifier (AP) and placing it into that place. CFD analyses show that a wrong placement of AP could be inefficient and even counterproductive in some locations. I can connect you to an expert who modelled my dental clinic and the results were surprising and unexpected.
I plan to do a video about this and I did look into CFD a year ago. I cant recall the name of the program I settled on but the resolution of the resulting model was very low. Like, there was no detail in the objects in the room, just large boxes in place of more complex fixtures.
I'm not sure if voxel based fluid simulations would accurately predict air movements for something like this. The outputs would look nice and the detail of the room model would be pretty high.
After my house flooded last year, this video got derailed and I cant say when I might be able to get back to it. So, what I am going to do is work this concept into my next video that covers some new air filter concepts and kits.
Thanks for the opportunity to talk with an expert! The workload here is 100+ hours a weeks and I cant imagine adding anything else to the schedule for quite some time. But I hope I can have time for that one day. Would you mind messaging me on facebook or instagram or etsy with your info?
Thanks for your very thoughtful comment!
I'm curious to see what the other models show for performance. I'll definitely be picking up one of the kits either way!
Awesome 👍 I hope to have that video out next week(end)
great video, I'm replacing filter in my C-R boxes, one built with four 25x20x1 and the other with five 20x20x1 filters. The one with 4 filters I put over a vessel of water so it also serves as a humidifier for the dry winter air here - although I am not sure how well that is working, I think if I had it wicking into a suspended towel or something it may work better.
I was going to go with a cheaper brand but I think I will stick with the filtrete brand, a 6 pack of UFS made in Canada filters is quite a bit less than the 3M filters.
The humidifier concept is pretty cool. I think you are right about the need to wick the water up into the filter media. I have seen this done with a small water pump and wax coated honeycomb cardboard in "swamp coolers". If you used some breathable fabric and pumped a little water over the top of the sheet (lots of holes in the pump line for even distribution) it might evaporate very quickly.
As for filters you can always get a cheap filter and tape it to the top of the more expensive filters. This will increase static pressure but it will probably extend the life of the 3M MERV 13 or 14s. I also want to test some fabric pre-filters for the CR boxes soon.
@@The3DHandyman the simple evaporative humidifier I use here in winters just has a circular foam filter that has the bottom part sit in the water & it wicks up into it, with the fan sitting just above it so most of the air it pulls comes through it. It'll put about 2 gallons of water in the air in 24 hours.
I may try one of these just sitting in a large stainless steel bowl & see how that works. While the air being pulled by the box fan would mostly bypass the filter, I imagine some of the water should evaporate just from the air movement inside the C-R box. I suppose if I really wanted to get fancy I could fashion some kind of funnel ducting out of chloroplast or something from the fan down to the top of the round foam filter.
I don't want to get as complex as having a pump in it.
I would love one of those prototypes!
I currently taped one together using Costco filters. We’ll see how well they do. We have three huskies that are constantly bringing in dirt from the back yard. 😅
I used the Home Depot brand ones before and they worked great! The only problem was they filled up with dirt way too quickly.
Consider yourself entered in the drawing! What I want to experiment with soon is some washable pre-filter material for extending the life of the filters. Stay tuned!
@@The3DHandyman Did I get an entry too? Or is the contest over? 🤔 Could use a couple of filters, lost everything in a fire. Wanna make sure the air is safe, when I return, thanks.
@@capcom4eva I am about to decide the winner in the next week or two. I'll put you in there.
Dude does better testing than some scientific studies
Always informative videos in a digestible way. Have you done a bigger comparison on filter thickness?
Just had a new hvac installed and we went for the 20x20x5” but the cost and availability for the 5” thickness makes me think it’s not worth any real benefits.
Please try the a,b and c models with 4 or 5” thickness filters even if joust one sample run of a known brand like 3M since they scaled well.
Thanks! I have not done that much with the thicker filters. The 4in Filter Buy does not preform better than the 2in filters, by surprise. In the next video I will talk more about airflow and static pressure and though the 4" filter has more surface area than the others, it does not outperform them.
Considering that 1" 3M MERV 11 almost outperformed the 4" Filter Buy in the single filter box fan test, I figure the 4" 3M MERV 11(or 12) filters would preform significantly better than the Off brand MERV 13s. So maybe there is an adapter (or DIY option) that can just fill up that extra inch?
I will try to fit in a single filter test with a 4" filter from 3M in the next video.
Interesting results. Operational costs could possibly be decreased with an alternative power source such as a solar panel and battery setup. But of course, that would have a higher initial cost. I’m curious as to how viable of an option that would be.
That would be pretty cool. The power draw on these is less than 100 watts so it might be possible.
This is god’s work - also interested in free model C :)
This was super helpful as I was convinced I needed 2"+ thickness filters to achieve decent results. Once again, you have me rethinking my options. These filter systems are proven to be efficient and effective, but the filters are a consumable and replacement costs add up . My new question is, can I cycle my spent MERV 14 furnace filters in the C&R cube in my workshop? The shop has different needs, mostly sawdust and dirt. Hoping to get 2 cycles of use out of the filters. Am I wrong to think this is a good idea?
Can't wait to see the results from the different build variants you have been teasing.
I was also surprised by the fact the the thicker filters only preformed marginally next to the 3Ms. As far as reusing them in your shop, they wont preform like they did out of the box but they will still pull large stuff out of the air.
I'll do a video on used filter performance some time soon but until then I can say that the 6 month old extremely dirty Nordic Pure MERV14 filters lose half of their ability to capture smoke (2 hours vs 1 hour to completely the air). Smoke is of course very tiny stuff, so if you are working with larger particles generally, the performance should be better than that...But the only way to truly know is to get a particle/pollution meter.
Awesome video. Can you please test the Castle Filters. It claims to good for 1 entire year! No one else has tested this filter from what I have been able to find.
I will see what I can do!
You are amazing!!! Thank you SO very much!
My son has severe MCAS and we have a neighbor that burns green wood every weekend. You rock!!
So truly the shortest amount of time that it would clean the smoke is 38 minutes with the 3M MERV 14 using the 4 filters.
Do you see any benefit to getting the charcoal filters? Or are standard filters enough to get rid of the smoke?
I would love if you did a video on how to read and understand the Air Quality Monitor! Thank you!
Do you have a chart comparing the different models A,B and C to show how much air they can filter?
Thanks, that means a lot! So far the 3M MERV 14 is the best I've tested out of all filters including MERV 13+ Charcoal filters when it comes to smoke. I haven't done the video for that filter test yet but but the results are clear. I'll be testing some MERV 16+Charcoal filters on a box fan some time soon to see if they preform any better. They are cost prohibitive tho, so I'll only be using one for the test. In a home with many rooms, sometimes single filters on the back of a fan can be more advantageous because you can put one in every room rather than rely on one large filter in a single space.
I have some of the data from all the tests I've run hon my website. I need more charts tho. These only tell part of the picture. I hope to have interactive charts with even more data and results from 25 pending tests in a few weeks. Here is the link the3dhandyman.com/what-is-the-best-air-filter/
I will make a note to do a video on air quality monitors! Thanks for the idea.
Hope all that helps and sorry for the late reply!
Another informative video. Have you considered any configurations other than the "box" style? I would think that style would work great with all four sides of the unit accessible, but for small garage shops that may not be practical. So would it be just as beneficial to have four filters all on a single side as long as the airflow can remain the same? Sort of a wall of filters, instead of a box of filters?
I have given some though to wall filters but haven't tested anything out yet. I'm working on some canister filter designs with duct work that will be out soon. Those concepts can be easily adapted to a "filter wall"
I watch your video's but maybe I'm not knowledgeable enough, but I don't know what the right way to go is. Will have to watch a few more times.
More videos on the way if that doesn't clear things up! :) Ask me any questions if you've got them
Whatever happened with the model c prototype giveaway? I was looking forward to it. My elderly father cannot be removed out of his workshop since he retired despite what my mother and his doctor say. He complaints about a irritated throat feeling that constantly has him clearing his throat. Doctor said it's a result from the fine dust particles in the air he's breathing in from the shop. He would really benefit from something like this! Hence what started my rabbit hole journey of finding something diy that can possibly be made cheaply with left over materials since funds are tight right now. Appreciate and thank you for all your time and research on the matter. it's been a huge help!
Well, that's a long story. Generally things have been in complete chaos since launch and the giveaway hasn't happened yet because I was focusing on things that people purchased first. I will be making a new video soon where I announce the winner and send out the free unit. If you don't happen to win the unit (I'll be using a random number generator) I am going to offer a cheap kit of 3D printed parts/screws/plans so you can make your own with available scraps.
I've printed a lot of parts for the upcoming launch, so I should be able to get them in the mail pretty much immediately.
There will also be another budget air filter available in the same launch. Money is tight here as well so I get where you are coming from. I really need this to be a mind blowingly successful launch because the home I am living in for the second time in 2 years is being sold and I will find myself without a place to live or work within a few months. All of the spare parts for the model B and C were screwed to the walls of my family's bedrooms for bulletproofing. Things here have gotten really bad really quickly.
One thing your father should consider is an N95 mask. They aren't fun to wear, especially for hours and hours on end (the skin on my face can vouch) but they work and they are cheap.
I hope to have this video out in a few weeks. Sorry for the wait on the free unit. I really should have done that 2 months ago.
These filter videos have been really helpful to me. You have done an amazing job with them and I hope to see more in the series. On a side note, I use the 3M Merv 14 2800 filters in my HVAC and have for years. I am going to use 4 of them to make some DIY filters after watching your series. I normally replace my HVAC units every 2-3 months. Any idea how often 4 of them in a DIY unit will last? I am guessing that once the air space is cleared they will just clean up any new pollutants so running them 24/7 might not "use them up" as quickly as you might think. I don't guess there is any way to know other than measuring the static pressure in the chamber or seeing them actually get dark/dirty with dust and whatnot. Any ideas on a simple way of attaching a DIY static pressure device to your 4x units to monitor the static pressure while they are running in the main chamber? Might be some new things to add to your testing for the series.
Good call replacing the filters at the 2-3 month mark. I need to mention that in a future video. The high MERV filters can really restrict your system especially if there is a lot of pollen/pet dander, etc in the air.
I ran a Corsi Rosenthal box with Nordic Pure MERV 14s in a friends kennel room for her dogs for abut 6 months and there was only a slight discoloration in the filters after about 6 months. I think it could have easily gone a year but I pulled it out to loan it to someone whos house flooded and the tape all fell apart on it. That was part of the inspiration for the wooden kits.
I did buy a manometer to do some tests but haven't gotten to it yet. Maybe next month?
Excellent Video - I would be happy to purchase your kit. Would a 20x20x2 MERV 13 be more efficient by providing more surface area and slightly better airflow.
Awesome! things are a little delayed due to the holiday but they should be available in a few weeks.
As far as the 20x20x2 MERV 13 filters go, the Filter Buy and Nordic Pure options both preformed well but not quite as good as the 3M 20x20x1 MERV 13 filter but they do have a bit cheaper starting price.
This is great. I may have to make myself a filter for my shop. Maybe this was covered in one of your previous videos (I'll go watch them again) but what is the CFM differences between the 2 box fans and the barrel fan? Just curious how that might affect how quickly the best filters clean the smoke out of the air.
Thanks! I haven't gotten to the next video in the series which covers all the details on all 3 versions. The short of it is that the drum fan is better because it has a round housing rather than a square one so this limits air being pulled in around the corners of the fan and hurting performance/air quality.
The overall fan power goes like this Lasko
Thanks for putting this together! I switched to 3m about a year ago and they have such low pressure drop given the Merv rating. I'd be curious for you to add dB levels to this evaluation as well as that's important even in my shop and I've thought about using a commercial air cleaner just because of their low noise levels
Thanks!
Any time! The air flow is high but the noise levels can be to. Here are all the fan's I've tested from highest speed to lowest speed:
Background sound 40db
Lasko @1 ft - 63, 60, 55
Air King @1ft - 68, 66, 61
Air doctor @1ft - 64, 58, 52, 45
Maxx air @1ft - 71, 67, 57
Caterpillar @1ft - 71, 67, 63, 57
@@The3DHandyman thanks for this!
I think you have it. Very similar to my understanding and the data is similar to what I see.
Happy to hear it!
Thanks for the very informative video, sir. I’ve learned something new with the MERV classifications that other videos don’t mention. I’ve very recently stumbled on a duct tape version video that I will most likely use to get rid of pet dander as I rescue cats and currently have 11. I would attempt to make one like yours but my carpenter skills aren’t good nor do I have a 3D printer. Do you happen to sell it?
Thank you! I do sell the 4 filter versions but they are sold out until next month some time. I will also have a 1 filter design as well. There is a lot going on that the moment, so it will just take some time to get them out there. Until then, taping a filter to the back of a box fan actually works pretty good for in-home use.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Very useful. I have a large open living space that I'm trying to keep clean. Do I comment here to get added to the list to potentially receive one of these units?
Happy to hear that! You have been added to the giveaway list. The next 2 videos will also have giveaways for the Model A and Model B
One thing to consider, is pleat count. The total media area of a filter is the frame dimensions, X the number of pleats. If you look at a MERV-7 filter, you might see 15-20 pleats. A HEPA filter could have as many as 60 pleats in a 20" X 20" frame. The restriction (Static Pressure) could be similar, by virtue of the extra total media area, to compensate for the higher static pressure per Sq. In. of the HEPA media. (You will see the difference in price!)
I will talk about pleat count in an upcoming video. Generally the more the better! There is some difference based on filter media but it's mostly the amount of filter material that counts. Thanks for the comment!
Just curious, if you turn the corsi-rosenthal box filter off, do the particles caught get released back into the air if you open a window & breeze hits it, or another fan used to cool the room hits it? 🤔 Thanks‼️😁
@@capcom4eva If the surface of the filter is disturbed/impacted that will knock dust off. Otherwise the dust will stay on the filter. When you change filters, do that outside to limit dust being released from the filter surface.
If you blow air into the inside of the filter box (rather than out of it), it is easier to ensure that dust cant be knocked off the filter into the room. This method lowers air movement, though. So, you will need more filters if you are filtering a large space.
Sorry about the house fire! My place flooded last year and cleanup was a huge task.
Thanks for this info. i need to change the way i have my air filter setup do you sell the plans or sell the kit still.
Sure thing! I plan on selling the plans at some point but I am way behind on content production for that launch at the moment. Cant say when that will be ready to go. I am selling the full kits though. If you were to buy one today, it should ship in about 2 weeks
Here's the listing
www.etsy.com/listing/1373712349
Let me know if you have any questions
Wow very through data collection I am impressed. I mix a lot of cement and mortar which’s creates a lot of fine dust. Which do you think would work better if the fan was pulling the dust into the filter box at the top? Or if the fan was drawing the dust through the filters first?
Good question! The answer relied on how your workspace is set up. Personally I like to work right next to the filter with the drum fan pushing into the filter box. The dust is reliably sucked right in without being airborne for more than a few seconds. This help keep most of the ultra fine cement from getting all over everything.
I use my Model A this filter because it can capture ultra fine dust at 5-6ft away (without significant air disturbances). A single filter on a box fan (filter on the back side of the fan) only has a capture radius of about 2 feet. I use that config for some things but the it's not quite powerful enough to avoid blowing some of the dust into the rest of the shop space during a more energetic process.
This video has some more info about how I filter cement dust specifically. th-cam.com/video/NmgNQu4zDy0/w-d-xo.html
I think I have also figured out a way to insert a dust bag into the filter box so that the big dust does not clog the filters as quickly. I'll make a video about that in December. The parts are in the mail.
Great Video. Why did you not use or test Merv 16?
Thanks! I can not realistically test all filters because I don't have unlimited resources. No doubt the MERV 16s would probably work even better than the MERV 14s. So, if you want the best performance and price is not an issue, go for the 16s!
It would be interesting to see how the Kirkland Costco filters to vs the 3M ones.
I will see if I can pick up some of those 👍