perel
06-12-2006, 04:36 AM
Posted on residential: http://www.hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=106886
It was suggested that I ask over here as well. I'll narrow this one down a bit.
I would like to add some carbon/odor filtration to my new system. Carrier Infinity, no zoning, 4 tons on high cool. Ductulator says that the existing ducts (50yo, all tin, house was built in 1955 w/ central air) will be adaquate but possibly a bit noisy when on high cool. There are individual returns in each bedroom. Primary air filtration is planned to be a 20x25 4" media filter cabinet. The old system loaded up 1" rockstoppers within a few days and low-MERV 1" pleats within a couple weeks.
I'm moderately chemically sensitive and, while choosing low-VOC materials and having an old leaky house (sealed as much as possible, but still moderately leaky) helps a lot, pulling out a bit more would be good. Not that the outside air is particularly clean on smoggy days either.. add in infiltration of fresh cut grass fumes (which I'm allergic to) etc. Also have four cats in the house and a relative who comes over sometimes and insists on smoking in my NON-SMOKING house.. basically a bunch of little things, none of which can really be eliminated.
Since I know it'll come up - this is not about musty/moist odors. The new system's dehumidification should take care of that, and it's not a problem now anyway. Also, the house is NOT tight construction and definitely does not need additional mechanical ventilation.
This is more of a "would be nice" than a must. As such, I'm looking to not spend in the Amaircare price range.. was looking at the Fantech 3000P but that is probably overkill as well. Haven't been able to find any feedback about that unit yet.
First off, the most important question is whether the drop-in carbon filters work. The feedback I've gotten so far is that they do.
What my installer was thinking about was a secondary 2" filter rack behind the 4" media filter that I could put a relatively inexpensive carbon filter into. I'm a little concerned about the pressure drop though.
The advertising for these 4" carbon pleats portrays them as a drop-in replacement for a normal medium-efficiency 4" media filter. They are significantly more expensive than the plain filters though, which makes me less inclined to just switch the existing filter out for a carbon one. The pressure drop across the carbon filters isn't much more than across the regular media, so I don't think that will be a problem in and of itself.
What about using a rockstopper to grab the big junk before the media filter? Would that be a good idea? Or twin two media filters to increase the 'dwell time' over the carbon?
It was suggested that I ask over here as well. I'll narrow this one down a bit.
I would like to add some carbon/odor filtration to my new system. Carrier Infinity, no zoning, 4 tons on high cool. Ductulator says that the existing ducts (50yo, all tin, house was built in 1955 w/ central air) will be adaquate but possibly a bit noisy when on high cool. There are individual returns in each bedroom. Primary air filtration is planned to be a 20x25 4" media filter cabinet. The old system loaded up 1" rockstoppers within a few days and low-MERV 1" pleats within a couple weeks.
I'm moderately chemically sensitive and, while choosing low-VOC materials and having an old leaky house (sealed as much as possible, but still moderately leaky) helps a lot, pulling out a bit more would be good. Not that the outside air is particularly clean on smoggy days either.. add in infiltration of fresh cut grass fumes (which I'm allergic to) etc. Also have four cats in the house and a relative who comes over sometimes and insists on smoking in my NON-SMOKING house.. basically a bunch of little things, none of which can really be eliminated.
Since I know it'll come up - this is not about musty/moist odors. The new system's dehumidification should take care of that, and it's not a problem now anyway. Also, the house is NOT tight construction and definitely does not need additional mechanical ventilation.
This is more of a "would be nice" than a must. As such, I'm looking to not spend in the Amaircare price range.. was looking at the Fantech 3000P but that is probably overkill as well. Haven't been able to find any feedback about that unit yet.
First off, the most important question is whether the drop-in carbon filters work. The feedback I've gotten so far is that they do.
What my installer was thinking about was a secondary 2" filter rack behind the 4" media filter that I could put a relatively inexpensive carbon filter into. I'm a little concerned about the pressure drop though.
The advertising for these 4" carbon pleats portrays them as a drop-in replacement for a normal medium-efficiency 4" media filter. They are significantly more expensive than the plain filters though, which makes me less inclined to just switch the existing filter out for a carbon one. The pressure drop across the carbon filters isn't much more than across the regular media, so I don't think that will be a problem in and of itself.
What about using a rockstopper to grab the big junk before the media filter? Would that be a good idea? Or twin two media filters to increase the 'dwell time' over the carbon?