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Air Bear filters–worth it??

tab1 | Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on October 9, 2003 12:47pm

My HVAC contractor is suggesting putting in an Air Bear filter with the new Trane furnace he is installing.  Installed cost is about $100 and he says filters are about $30 each and should be replaced every 1-2 months!  I’m not suggesting it’s not a good filter, but it seems to me that this may be like buying a Lexus when all I need is a Ford.  Anyone had experience with these?

Thanks.

Thon

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  1. fortdh | Oct 10, 2003 03:14pm | #1

    I prefer return air filter grilles with a pleated Merv 6-8,($7-8 for 20x20) and change them every 90 days. During allergy season, which is a lot of the year in Virginia, I sometimes go to Merv 10-12.

    If you have more than one return grille per system, you likely will have more sq in of surface area than at the air handler. More surface sq in = slower air velocity=greater dust capture.

    Also, with return filter grilles, I have taped the leaky seams of the air handler filter door.

    Nothing against Air Bear, I just like to catch the dust before it hits the return duct work, and a lot of people ignore filter changes too long when in crawl space or attic.

    Are you sure he said to change every 1-2 months....$180 to $360/ year?

    Paul

    Energy Consultant and author of

    Practical Energy Cost Reduction for the Home

    1. tab1 | Oct 14, 2003 05:21pm | #6

      <If you have more than one return grille per system, you likely will have more sq in of surface area than at the air handler. More surface sq in = slower air velocity=greater dust capture>

      I have 3 (and 1/2) each about 5 x 20.  Don't know if that's a standard size/available?

      <Are you sure he said to change every 1-2 months>

      No, there's not much I'm absolutely sure about.  :-)   Will ask.

      Thanks for all the replies.

      Thon 

      1. fortdh | Oct 14, 2003 07:15pm | #7

        Thon

        Do you know the CFM of the Trane blower in the air handler, or

        how many tons of cooling if it is A/C as well as a furnace.

        Three 5x20 returns (may be 6x20) is only 300 sq. in., less the grille interference of probably 25%, net about 225 sq in. What size Air Bear filter was your HVAC man suggesting?

        PaulEnergy Consultant and author of Practical Energy Cost Reduction for the Home

  2. jimz | Oct 10, 2003 03:53pm | #2

    Last year I installed one of those pleated filters into my 90+ efficient Lenox gas furnace and had problems. Seems that the filter blocked the necessary air flow to clear out the system and therefore kept tripping the furnace from firing.  The repair man suggested not using it and either re-installing the”$.50 cent” filter, or ordering an air cleaning unit specifically designed for the furnace.

     

    A cheaper( and admittedly not as effective solution), I adopted is to LIGHTLY spray a (new) cheaper filter with WD40 oil and keep using it until it gets to the point where I only see approximately 50% of the daylight through it.  Except for slight odor of oil during the first cycle, this seems to work for me.  I'm sure that this solution will draw some comments from the "HVAC world".

    JimZ

  3. ClaysWorld | Oct 13, 2003 04:52pm | #3

    The filter blocking should cause the furnace not to cycle. But I don't know about the short time frame that was suggested. I have a customer that we put in this system and she gets 6 to 8 months. But when it does cause the supply air fault it's a pain for her, cause I do the replace. You would like to do it on a normal maintenance schedule but due to the cost of the filters you tend to wait a little longer. We finally went to a 2" pleated filter that wasn't so expensive. It doesn't go as long and it's not quite as good as the original but it solves the problem. The inside of the filter box allows for standard size filters to be used in it.

     Clay

  4. smijal | Oct 13, 2003 11:43pm | #4

    Had a 03% efficiency furnace with and Air Bear filter installed a little over a year ago. No problems as the others had--furnace never fails to fire.

    This is subjective, but the filter seems to keep the dust down better than ordinary filters or the electrostatic (non powered) that we had before. Our installer recommended a 6 month replacement cycle, which so far, has been pretty much on the mark.

    I have to admit I cringe at $35 for each replacement filter though!

  5. JerryAlbrech | Oct 14, 2003 03:49am | #5

    I have an Air Bear on my home furnace and just put one in my cottage.  Home furnace is old Lennox with central air, I change the filter every 6 months.  I have asthma and allergies couldn't live without it.  The real test is the lack of dust on all our glass tables.  I have found the filters available from a number of sources in the $20 - $25 range.  I think the local HD actually started carrying them.

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