Cool DIY Project! HEPA Room Air Filter!

[NokiaDude]

Hate dusty cases? Then you hate dusty rooms! I found a really nice replacement to a HEPA quality air filter. Take a box fan and then buy a 3M Filtrete 20x20x1 Ultra allergen Filter and buy some ( about three ) really big rubber bands and some 20~22 inch strips of foam, like the one you use as a air filter on 80mm fans ( kind you can wash). Hot glue the strips of foam to each edge of the fan so they create a seal in-between the filter and the fan. Place your virus stopping, dusty air cleaning filter and put behind the fan where it intakes air secure with the big rubberbands and voila! HEPA quality room air filter! Just make sure the foam is making a seal in-between the fan and the filter.

 

[PhoenixOfWater]

good idea!

 

[Lithium381]

post pics i want to see this, sounds interesting!

 

[MedicBob]

Good idea. Kinda noisy though. Gives me another winter project to sell to the wife.

 

[NokiaDude]

Since my no good brain doesn't want to work and upload pictures, you can request pictures from me by e-mail avp@cox.net

 

[ProviaFan]

My not-terribly-well-talented brain thinks it's doing a pretty good job of visualizing what you're talking about. It should work reasonably well in theory, but in real life there may be two issues which might arise:

1) The fan is noisy
Solution: Find a quieter fan. Some experimentation can be done, and it might take a while to find one that is satisfactorily quiet, but I'm sure it could be done.

2) The fan won't be strong enough to pull air through the HEPA filter.
Comments: I've never really seen a HEPA filter up close, so I don't know how fine they are. Given that they're fine enough to remove virii and other miniscule things in the air (they're used in Bio-safety Level 4 labs to filter the exhausted air), I would think that perhaps just any little box fan might not be strong enough to keep the air flowing through the HEPA filter efficiently.
Solution: Find a stronger fan, if possible, or just get a real HEPA filter unit.

 

[FenrisUlf]

Yeah, this works well. I've been doing it for about 2 years. I won't claim originality for this idea. A friend of mine has bad alergies, so bad he couldn't even be around someone who owned a cat for more than a half hour. He did this with two fans and now he can have all his cat-owning friends over for LAN parties for as long as he wants. This works best if the air is sucked through the filter rather than blown into it. I use a "strap" on each corner made from a large zip-tie to hold the filter in place. Sealing around the edges helps a little, especially with the more restrictive HEPA filters, but isn't crucial. These are much cheaper, quieter, and more effective than the small dedicated air filters, plus they move air around the house, evening out the temperatures. I always have one running, even with just a cheaper pleated filter to catch dust and other crud in the air.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: FenrisUlf
Yeah, this works well. I've been doing it for about 2 years. I won't claim originality for this idea. A friend of mine has bad alergies, so bad he couldn't even be around someone who owned a cat for more than a half hour. He did this with two fans and now he can have all his cat-owning friends over for LAN parties for as long as he wants. This works best if the air is sucked through the filter rather than blown into it. I use a "strap" on each corner made from a large zip-tie to hold the filter in place. Sealing around the edges helps a little, especially with the more restrictive HEPA filters, but isn't crucial. These are much cheaper, quieter, and more effective than the small dedicated air filters, plus they move air around the house, evening out the temperatures. I always have one running, even with just a cheaper pleated filter to catch dust and other crud in the air.

Glad to hear from someone who's done it. If it works that well, I'll probably build one for myself. Now I've just got to find a HEPA filter...

 

[chocoruacal]

Cut out the middle man....just wrap the HEPA filter around your head and tape secure it with duct tape

 

[NokiaDude]

The filter is supposed to be behind the fan right where it's intaking air. If you requested photos you would see how.

 

[aigomorla]

top chamber has a hvac filter straped up to it..

now i just wish a case vendor would make a case so it could take those without moding

 

[JimmiG]

Good idea! Just bought a cheap HEPA air purifier for the bedroom a few weeks ago. It made a big difference and you can see all the disgusting stuff that the filter has picked up. It's a bit loud though, becasue it's small (small, high RPM fan) Might invest in a bigger/quieter one for the bedroom and move this one to the computer room.

 

[AndreM]

Smart idea, maybe I'll try to incorporate it !

 

[thesmokingman]

I'm down with this. I could help polish the air in the house too. I'm going to fashion a magnetic frame I can put over it. No sense in filtering when the windows are open etc, so since its magnetic I can pull the filters off easily.