Homemade Air Purifier - Where to Get HEPA Filter?

pizzaofpeace on 04/12/2019 - 08:14
Last edited 04/12/2019 - 10:23

My wife and I can’t deal with the bushfire smoke anymore, so we’re looking to get an air purifier.

But after some googling, it looks like slapping a hepa filter in front of a box fan does the job and I’m an Ozbargainer, so here we are.

Ideally looking for one around a flat square 50cm by 50cm but can’t find any in Australia.

Amazon and EBay mostly list vacuum filters, round circular ones, or small ones for specific purifier models.

Does anyone know where we can get one like that: https://youtu.be/kH5APw_SLUU (1:52 mark)

EDIT: Thanks all, I'll have a look at all the links! Maybe I need to have a smaller set up with smaller fan and filter…

Health & Beauty Air Purifier

Comments

  • FuzzyWolf on 04/12/2019 - 08:32

    You could try looking at filters replacements for air-purifiers. I have a homedics air purifier and they use a square(almost rectangular)filter like that, size is around 35cm*30cm though, so not as big as what you're looking for.

  • scrimshaw on 04/12/2019 - 08:59

    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32859000043.html?

    $16.81 USD + GST for a 400x400x25mm piece of filter.

  • nfr on 04/12/2019 - 09:36

    Yeah I saw the video before. After some thought I still prefer using an enclosed system.

  • kombi17 on 04/12/2019 - 09:44

    I've been getting my replacement filters from here. http://www.mcssl.com/store/nextronproducts and they sell on ebay as well. Not sure if they sell the size you require but they do stock a lot of different filters.

    The filters themselves are great and a much more economical option than the genuine filters.

  • LTS on 04/12/2019 - 10:20

    I just bought this one, not the right size but seems to be one of the best/cheapest options: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/IY-Air-Filter-HEPA-ust-Filter-Fo…

    Also got a cheap monitor: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Digital-LCD-Formaldehyde-PM2-5-M…

    Arrives early next week, so can't speak to either product just yet…

    • tlai on 21/12/2019 - 18:15

      How's the cheap monitor?

    • FreshAirCanberra on 02/02/2020 - 21:42

      I got the same air quality meter. I tested it against a $300 one and PM2.5 was reasonable, about 30% lower on average but does the job. PM10 was always much lower though so ignore that.

  • hawkeye on 04/12/2019 - 10:39
    +1

    If your complaining about how bad it is then how long do you think the filter last before it clogs in 10 minutes time.
    I don't think they'd be designed for that extreme use. Or at least putting something like a larger um prefilter to protect it.
    500 mesh stainless steel is 25 um washable or a 300 mesh filter bag $5 from ebay probably filter the larger dust and let the Hepa work easier

    • pizzaofpeace on 05/12/2019 - 14:25

      Yeah, definitely going to get a pre-filter to ease the load on the hepa filter.

    • tlai on 06/12/2019 - 23:15

      Looks like if you run it 8 hrs a day you are meant to swap it out every 140 days based of testing here:

      https://smartairfilters.com/data/en/

  • [Deactivated] on 04/12/2019 - 15:16

    This is really rousing my curiosity. Just how bad is the air there at the moment?

    • mubd1234 on 04/12/2019 - 15:31
      +4

      It's really, really bad here in Sydney. Visibility is down to about 1km, outdoor activity is noticeably less than a normal day. I pity the folks who are forced to work outside without an appropriate mask.

      • [Deactivated] on 04/12/2019 - 16:06

        1km? That's pretty good.

        When I was a kid, they dropped some napalm not far from where I lived. It cause a huge fire with ashes flying around for months. 50m visibility tops.

        It's the kind of bad visibility that slows down traffic but then again, traffic hardly moves there.

  • Bargainbeth on 04/12/2019 - 18:39

    If you wanted a brick and mortar store (since I assume the air will only be bad for max another fortnight), godfreys and rainbow filters apparently sell them. The latter are custom and likely expensive though. I'm looking to make one as well! Got a spare exhaust fan at home luckily :)

  • tingbonnie88 on 05/12/2019 - 23:58

    HEPA can’t get the smell, have to get one with active carbon. Bought a Philips one, not bad so far

    • PvsNP on 20/12/2019 - 01:02

      Which model?

  • Flop on 06/01/2020 - 13:49

    Great thread. I have been looking to do the same with a box fan, Has any located a fan and filter that is a suitable size yet?
    It would be great to get an update.
    Smokes just hit 'unhealthy' levels in melbourne today.
    The smoke makes me feel like I have gone out drinking last night and had too many cigarettes.

    • FreshAirCanberra on 02/02/2020 - 21:46

      I got a 40cm MERV 13 filter off Amazon. Tie it onto any fan really, the more watts the bigger the room. 75 watts does 40m2 for be without trouble. I wrote it up here

  • CacheHunter on 18/01/2020 - 01:00

    Check out Amazon for Filtrete furnace filters. Free delivery if you have Prime.

    3M use a different, non-MERV rating system. Comparisons are in this pdf: https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1740587O/filtrete-merv-v…
    MPR1900 exceeds the minimum requirements of MERV13 slightly, so probably the closest comparison.

    Two other documents I found useful in my research and trying to understand the different rating systems:
    - https://www.nafahq.org/understanding-merv-nafa-users-guide-t…
    - https://www.filtrete.com/3M/en_US/filtrete/about-us/the-righ…

    Amazon AU sells the MPR 1900 (approx $A70 for 2) and a MPR2800. I'm going to try both and will report back if the 2800s blow up the Bunnings box fans.

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