Need Ventilation and Filtration, Unionaire

[GuyIraq]

Hi Guys,

I'm in Iraq in a trailer with 24 people. We have no ventilation except the door and for security reasons we keep the door closed. Also there is a layer of dust on every surface, it is likely also in our computers and in our lungs. I don't think this is good for any of us but the Army guys are here for 14 months, 12 hours a day, that can't be good for them, you expect rockets but you don't expect lung problems.

We have about a dozen Unionaire IPX4 model TFD050A5HR units in the trailer, there are outdoor units attached by plumbing and wires. The indoor units are about 6 feet 3 inches tall, they only have a screen for a filter, enough to keep chuncks out of the works but they do nothing to reduce the amount of dust we breath.

I want to replace the screen with a filter, it looks like there is room. Ideally one of those washable metal mess electrostatic filters. Can someone tell me if such a thing exitst for this unit? If so where do I buy them? I found a place that will sell custom size filters but don't know if there is a standard size for this unit.

Also I would like to add ventilation. This thing sits on the floor, it looks like there are some knockouts on the bottom of it that would give a hole in the plastic bottom about 4"X4". Would it be ok to knock them out put a small duct on it to an outside box with a large filter and have it pull in air from outside? If so how would I regulate the ratio of outside to inside air? It is often 115F outside (I'm not kidding) so I don't think I can pull all outside air. I also don't want to break the fan by making it work too hard. I would also have to be able to stop the outside air altogether when the dust is bad, it is bad today.

If I know what can be done them I can get all the parts and try to convince the Colonel to get the maintenance guys to do it.

Thanks for any advice you can give me on this.

[21degrees]

Sorry just read your post and would love to help you ,but I am in Canada. Good luck and put another new post and someone should help.

Hi Guys,

I'm in Iraq in a trailer with 24 people. We have no ventilation except the door and for security reasons we keep the door closed. Also there is a layer of dust on every surface, it is likely also in our computers and in our lungs. I don't think this is good for any of us but the Army guys are here for 14 months, 12 hours a day, that can't be good for them, you expect rockets but you don't expect lung problems.

We have about a dozen Unionaire IPX4 model TFD050A5HR units in the trailer, there are outdoor units attached by plumbing and wires. The indoor units are about 6 feet 3 inches tall, they only have a screen for a filter, enough to keep chuncks out of the works but they do nothing to reduce the amount of dust we breath.

I want to replace the screen with a filter, it looks like there is room. Ideally one of those washable metal mess electrostatic filters. Can someone tell me if such a thing exitst for this unit? If so where do I buy them? I found a place that will sell custom size filters but don't know if there is a standard size for this unit.

Also I would like to add ventilation. This thing sits on the floor, it looks like there are some knockouts on the bottom of it that would give a hole in the plastic bottom about 4"X4". Would it be ok to knock them out put a small duct on it to an outside box with a large filter and have it pull in air from outside? If so how would I regulate the ratio of outside to inside air? It is often 115F outside (I'm not kidding) so I don't think I can pull all outside air. I also don't want to break the fan by making it work too hard. I would also have to be able to stop the outside air altogether when the dust is bad, it is bad today.

If I know what can be done them I can get all the parts and try to convince the Colonel to get the maintenance guys to do it.

Thanks for any advice you can give me on this.

[teddy bear]

Being an arrid climate, using make-up air on the air handler should be OK. Most important is determiniming the need for fresh air. 24 men need a minimum of 7 cfm of air per man. A short 6" duct to the outside combined with normal leakage would do. Measure the current filter and take a couple pictures. Will see what we can do. Dry dusty may not be unhealthy. If you could measure the CO2 levels, we could comment on the need for more fresh air. Opening windows also may work. Stretching cloth across the opening would avoid most of the dust. Many of us here will do anything possible to support your efforts. Thank you for what you and your buddies are doing. Regards TB

[flange]

ask the maint men to get you some filter media on a roll for now to cover the return until you can get real parts. Bet they have some of that handy.

[GuyIraq]

There are no vents or windows in this trailer.

I was hoping that someone would be familiar with this type of indoor unit and could tell me if fresh air intake through the bottom was a standard, normal thing. If the company that makes them said it was ok that would likely make it easier to get folks to approve the change. Also if there was a filter recommended by unionaire then there would be no problem with me getting one and putting it in.

Does anyone know this machine or know where I can get info? The sticker on the side of it says it was made in Egypt, so I knew it was a long shot. I found next to nothing on the web.

Here is a picture of an indoor unit that looks exactly like the units in our trailer. It is a Unionaire Free Standing Split System.

http://www.unionaire.us/catalog.php?categoryId=5