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Reddit Reviews
I bought the airmedic pro 6 with vocarb filter which is rated to 1200 sqft and has 28 pounds of carbon impregnated with potassium permanganate. The performance is mixed. Placing the air intake on the bottom of the unit is a sub optimal design, it doesn't draw in air efficiently like units that have side 360° intake. Anything above medium is unbelievably loud. I run it in my bedroom, and on the days the Volcano erupts and there's a ton of SO2 in the air I'd say it improves indoor air quality by about 50% Meaning I still feel the effects but not as severe. Because my windows are somewhat leaky and the air intake is weak and inefficient it simply can't keep up with the pollutants that are constantly entering the room. Was it worth $900? Just barely.
Regarding your comment about potassium permanganate potentially off gassing as it saturates and loses efficacy, can you please elaborate? I own an Allerair pro 6 unit and opted for the Volcanic Gas carbon mixture that is impregnated with KMnO4, and am concerned as I run it in a room where my twin infant girls sleep. How will I know if it is offgassing? Will the super Hepa filter surrounding the carbon filter catch the particles if they are released (guessing not, given gasses require carbon for removal).
A few months ago I bought the Allerair airmedic pro 6 with vocarb filter which is rated to 1200 sqft and has 28 pounds of carbon impregnated with potassium permanganate. The performance is mixed. Placing the air intake on the bottom of the unit is a sub optimal design, it doesn't draw in air efficiently like units that have side 360° intake. Anything above medium is unbelievably loud. I run it in my bedroom, and on the days the Volcano erupts and there's a ton of SO2 in the air I'd say it improves indoor air quality by about 50% Meaning I still feel the effects but not as severe. Because my windows are somewhat leaky and the air intake is weak and inefficient it simply can't keep up with the pollutants that are constantly entering the room. Was it worth $900? Just barely. Wondering if Airpura will work better with 360 degree intake?
Most home-grade pufifiers are geared towards removing particulates. Such purifiers don't remove odors unless they are specialized units with large carbon canisters. The ones you are considering will move the odors around, and this may help dissipate it (just as any fan would), but they do not contain nearly enough carbon to remove odors. While these products claim to remove odors, these claims are, at best, *heavily* inflated. An example of a unit that will remove odors (and volatile organic compounds, in general) is the AllerAir AirMedic 6 with a 40lb carbon canister filter. This is a large, expensive, loud unit, that uses a lot of electricity, as is the case with all purifiers that can effectively remove odors (as they have to move air through a deep carbon bed, which requires a powerful motor to do so).
Mine is out of reach for most people, but im about to have 3u3 in the middle of wildfire season, so i had to invest in what actually works on the smoke. Allerair Airmedic Pro 6. They are *very* expensive. But wildfire smoke requires at minimum 20lbs of carbon. Mine has 34lbs. For a normal, everyday animal hair/allergens model, Oransi Airmend is great.
I have an allerair that has 25 pounds of carbon. I have it in my bedroom and a cat box. If they use the cat box at night, I can smell it for a couple minutes and then gone. Airpura, allerair and Austin all make ones with big carbon filters.
I would call the Air Purifier Store, they were very knowledgeable and helpful. If you need a large carbon filter for smoke look at alleraire or airpura or Austin. They have models specifically for smoke with large carbon filters, like 25 to 40 pounds of carbon. I have been happy with my 2 alleraires. They will be more than 300 dollars but may be worth it if they work. I’d definitely call and see what they recommend as when I purchased I had decided on a particular model. When I talked to them they explained what was best for my needs, which was cheaper than what I thought I needed.
You might try calling The Air Purifier Store, they are very helpful. I bought a couple Alleraire purifiers from them. They make models especially for smoke. Not exactly cheap, they have some of the largest charcoal canisters.
My experience with an allerair unit with vocarb filter was terrible. It seems highly variable in how people feel about this brand from reading comments online. Essentially the unit I bought will never operate as efficiently as they advertise - will never effectively clean the air at a reasonable rate. They admit it but refuse to take the unit back without a 25% restock fee. Their equipment is misadvertised and they don’t deny it The actual CFM is much lower than advertised but the real kicker is the decibels was 30% higher than the max advertised and way too loud to operate at full speed. Meaning actual operation was again reduced significantly because it has to run at a much lower speed to be able to even be in the same room Airmed 1 with vocarb
End of reviews
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