replacing that furnace filter every 30
days can get very expensive so the
question is are cheap filters
just as good as the more expensive ones
also
why bother replacing your filter when
you can buy a permanent washable filter
like this one
we've got about 14 different filters to
test today so let's get the testing
underway and see which filter
is the best we'll see which air filter
provides the best airflow when it's new
we'll see which air filters do the best
at filtering out contamination we'll see
which provides the best airflow even
after they're dirty we'll take a look at
the filters under a microscope and
compare media design
in order to test hvac filters i built
this air filter test stand the air
filter will be placed at the very top of
the test stand when the test begins
the air filter cover is encased in
plexiglass so that the contamination can
easily be added to the top of the air
filter air will move down and pass
through an observation box that is also
enclosed in plexiglas
air then travels into a six inch air
pipe at the very end of the tester is an
electric fan motor that draws air
through the test stand let's establish
our baseline airflow rate by first
running the test stand without an air
filter in place
i'll place the particle counter inside
the air box the number on the left side
of the screen indicates the number of
the particles between
1 and 5 microns in size the number on
the right side indicates the number of
particles at 5 microns and larger
the manometer is showing static pressure
which is the resistance of airflow from
the filter test box into the observation
box
static pressure is measured in inches of
water column we want this number to be
as low as possible
and the static pressure without an air
filter is .16 inch water column so
there's very little stress on the blower
motor since air is moving freely
before we begin testing the filters a
little more information on how filters
are rated different brands use different
rating systems which can cause a lot of
confusion
fpr npr and merv are the three rating
systems
mir filter rating is the domestic and
international industry standard rating
system established by the american
society of heating refrigerating and air
conditioning engineers
npr stands for micro particle
performance and is used by
3m fpr stands for filter performance
rating and was created by the home depot
to differentiate their hvac filters all
three rating systems can be cross
referenced for every filter
we'll be testing the filters in order
from the lowest to the highest ratings
most of the filters we'll be testing are
merv 8 filters since that seems to be
the most common filter purchased
causing only a dollar eight is this aaf
flanders easy flow brand which is
designed to last 30 days
allows more air flow than competitors
model it claims it's designed to stop up
to four times more dust than the
competition it's a high airflow filter
and doesn't even have a merv rating the
filter media is made of fiberglass the
flanders easy flow filter is made in
north carolina to test the clean filters
i'll power up the fan motor for 30
seconds
the static pressure without a filter was
0.16 and it's only up by .08 for a total
of 0.24 inches of water column
that's an impressively low static
pressure and will be hard to beat
at 4.97 is this 3m basic filtrate brand
which is designed to last up to 90 days
now it's a very basic filter and is
designed to stop
lint and household dust it's definitely
not designed to stop dust mite debris
mold spores pollen or anything smaller
the 3m basic is made in mexico
the 3m basic has 14 layers of filter
media wow the filter is causing 0.27
increase in static pressure for a total
of 0.43 which is very restrictive and
not good
why waste money on replaceable filters
when you can buy a washable
electrostatic filter like this one which
costs 49.99
air care indoor quality specialist
electrostatic air filter
permanent high-tech filter never needs
replacement cleaner air to breathe
removes pollen
dust and pollutants no harmful ozone
emissions made in usa
the 0.38 static pressure is much better
than the 3m but a little higher than
desired
at only 3.99 the dupont 7500 is the most
affordable merv 8 filter we'll be
testing
it claims it can reduce common airborne
allergens in your home including 75
percent of particles from 3 to up to 10
microns in size
according to the chart a merv 8 filter
reduces 75 percent of airborne particles
while a fiberglass filter only reduces
about 20 percent the dupont filter is
made in usa
14 layers of filter media mervate should
filter out more airborne particles than
the previous filters but 0.39 is still a
little bit high for static pressure
at 4.74 cents the true blue is the
second most affordable myrovate filter
we'll be testing now it says it's an
fpr5 which is the same as a merv 8.
it's designed to stop dust lint pollen
dust bite debris and even pet dander
made in usa the true blue has 15 layers
of filter media
compared to the other merv 8 filters
0.33 is much better than the dupont's
.39 at 4.99 this aerostar brand is made
in the usa
and it's a merv 8 rated filter the
mervait has 15 layers of filter material
0.37 is better than dupont but not as
good as true blue
costing 5.86 is this nordic pure brand
it claims your fresh air has arrived you
may now breathe freely this is also a
merv 8 filter made in usa
20 layers of filter material 0.38 is a
little higher than desired
true blue holds onto the lead for the
merv 8 filters
costing 5.99 is this natural ear brand
it has odor eliminator with baking soda
technology the other merv 8 filters only
claim to handle pollen
dust dust mite debris and pet dander but
this mervate also claims to handle mold
bacteria and virus carriers made in
north carolina
16 pleats 0.35 is actually pretty good
but the true blue holds on to the lead
at 9.08 cents this 3m filtrate is almost
twice as expensive as other merv 8
filters
it's a merv 8 filter but it also uses
the mpr rating which is unique to 3m
three months it filters lint household
dust dust mite debris
mold spores and pollen this 3m filter
has 15 pleats
the 3m 600 actually did pretty good at
0.35 but the true blue holds on to the
lead
at 5.48 we'll also be testing this 2
inch filter which is a best air brand
mirv 8 rating last up to 90 days made in
usa
12 filter pleats 0.28 is a very
impressive performance and the honeywell
2 inch filter takes the lead
at 22.99 is this best air honeywell
brand
murf8 filter unlike the other ones this
is a four inch filter
captures dust and lint dust mite debris
mold spores pollen pet dander this
filter will last up to one year made in
usa
12 filter pleats wow 0.23 is the best
filter we've tested yet the four-inch
honeywell takes the lead
the previous filters we tested were
mervates this is a merv 11 equivalent or
an mpr-1085 made by 3m filtry now cost
11.97 which is more than twice as much
as many of the mervate filters we tested
90 days of airflow pollen smoke
particles smog particles
desmite debris lint pet dander mold
spores household dust this 3m filter is
made in mexico
20 pleats 0.38 is a little high but not
surprising since this is a merv 11
filter also costing 11.97
is this honeywell fpr7 now fpr7 is the
same as a merv 11. it captures dust and
lint airborne dust bite debris
pollen pet dander mold spores and
bacteria last up to three months
manufactured in usa 19 pleats
.37 is a little high but not surprising
since this is a merv 11 filter
costing 19.97 is this 3m filtrate 1900
this is the same as a mirv 13 rating
premium allergen bacteria and virus
smoke smog particles
cough and sneeze debris bacteria viruses
last up to three months made in usa with
globally sourced materials
54 plates .37 seems a little high which
makes sense since this is a merv 13
filter
the test stand without a filter had a
static pressure of 0.16
all of the mervate filters have an
asterisk next to them the mirvate 4-inch
honeywell did a fantastic job at .23
easy flow 0.24 2 inch honeywell 0.28 and
trueblue 0.33
to test the filtering capability of each
brand i'll take the perimeter of each
filter to the test stand to ensure a
good seal i'll then spread one cup of
flour across the filter and wait until
the particle count stops climbing then
i'll power up the blower motor for one
minute to measure the static pressure
you can see particles raining down into
the observation box
the easy flow isn't filtering much of
anything the small particle count is
over 22
000 and the large particle count is over
20 000
not good the static pressure was only 26
not a surprise since this filter isn't
stopping much of anything
the 3m basic did a lot better at just
1400 small particles and 1100
large static pressure of 0.87 is very
high and would likely cause damage to
the blower motor over time
the permanent filter didn't do too well
with 4100 small and 3200 large particles
when the blower motor was activated you
could see a white puff of flour entering
the air box
a static pressure of 0.53 is much better
than the 3m basic
the dupont merv 8 filter had 3 100 small
and 2400 large particles the static
pressure was very high at 1.18 trueblue
didn't do nearly as good as the dupont
at over 9000 small and 7600 large
particles
the static pressure of 0.95 is high but
much better than the dupont
the aerostar did better than a true blue
at 6100 large and 5 000 small particles
the aerostar also had a better static
pressure of 0.74
the best of the mervate filters nordic
pure did better than the aerostar at
5000 large and 4100 small particles
it also had a slightly better static
pressure of 0.73
the best of the mervate filters natural
air didn't do as well as the dupont
aerostar or nordic pure with 6
600 small and 5 500 large particles
it really struggled with a static
pressure of 1.07
the 3m600 did by far the best yet at 500
large and 400 small
particles and as you might expect it had
a very high static pressure of 1.31
the 2-inch honeywell did even better yet
at just under 300 small and around 200
large particles the static pressure was
the best yet at only 0.34
showing a lot of life left in the filter
the 4 inch honeywell was almost
identical to the 2-inch honeywell at 300
small and 200 large its static pressure
was extremely impressive at only 0.22
before adding the flower to the top of
the filter the 3m mirv 11 had a particle
count of 57 and 4. it did a fantastic
job and did not show a particle count
increase
however the static pressure was high at
0.8
just like the 3m filter the honeywell
merv 11 did a fantastic job and did not
show any increase in particle count
however the static pressure was 1.01
which is higher than the 3m
both merv 11s actually did slightly
better than the 3m merv 13 which had an
increase of 70 small and 50 large which
is still really good
what's more impressive though is that
the static pressure was only 0.52
let's compare the large particle
filtering performance of the filters
since the merv 8 filters are really
designed to capture large particles such
as dust the first three filters are merv
11s and 13 and did a very impressive job
the two and a four inch honeywell and
the 3m600 did a terrific job at cleaning
the air as well
while the 3m 1085 and the honeywell both
tied for first place for removing
particles their static pressure was
pretty high
obviously one cup of flour on a 16 by 20
filter seems like an extreme test but
the 3m 1900 a merv 13 filter did very
well at .52
the honeywell 2 inch and a 4 inch
filters both handled the 1 inch cup of
flour with ease and could easily handle
more while the easy flow filter had a
terrific static pressure of 26 it did
the worst job at filtering as well to
better understand why the 3m 1900 which
is a merv 11 as well as the two and a
four inch honeywell filters did so well
i disassembled all the filters and
measured the length of the filter media
i also took a look at each of the
filters under a microscope to compare
the media design 3m 1085 and the
honeywell both did a great job of
filtering but only had 760
and 640 square inches of filter media
respectively they obviously have a very
tightly woven filter media design
restricting not only dust but also
airflow with such a tightly woven design
and limited surface area they can only
handle so much dust load before the
static pressure reaches a critical level
even though the 3m 1900 which is a merv
13 filter does have a very tightly woven
filter media it overcomes the static
pressure challenge by having 54 pleats
and 1
560 square inches which is more than
twice as much as any of the other
one-inch filters the mervate 2-inch
honeywell as well as the 4-inch
honeywell greatly benefited from having
far more surface area than the
competition
the other filters which had much less
surface area quickly became clogged
an air filter that's too restrictive
just isn't going to allow that hvac
system to properly manage temperature
humidity and airflow
so if you can go with a two three or
even a four inch air filter that's the
way to go but a lot of systems just
won't accommodate anything beyond a one
inch filter so if you don't have an
issue with allergies going with a filter
with a lower merv rating
and more filter plates is probably going
to deliver a lot better airflow
all my video ideas including this one
come from viewers
so if you have a video idea i hope
you'll take time to leave a comment
thanks so much for watching the video
please take care and look forward to
next time