Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test

cbc.ca

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

411–420 of 602 posts

Re: Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test

#411

Post by hinkley »

clarkevans wrote: post #183
reaperducer wrote: post #112

The cobbled together box fan may work better than a Dyson, but my wife isn't going to let me put a cobbled together box fan in the library. People care about aesthetics. There are entire industries built around this, even in technical areas (industrial design, UX, etc...) So the Dyson wins simply because it will exist in the house and clean a portion of the air, while the Sanford and Son rig won't be in the house and…

> my wife isn't going to let me put a cobbled together box fan in the library Perhaps https://smartairfilters.com/en/product/sqair-air-purifier/ ? It's simply a fan + filter in an attractive box.

Vornado has a similar model (qube50) and I would trust them to stick around longer.

Re: Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test

#412

Post by toast0 »

Angostura wrote: post #403
SamBam wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have two cheap, basic standing fans with the standard wire guard around them. At various ages we wondered if the kids could put their fingers in and touch the blades, and so prompted them to (while the fans were off, of course). At no point could the kids' fingers get to the blades. Either their fingers were too short, or, eventually, too fat.

I bet they could get pencils in there though. I Know I did.

newer fans have much tighter spacing on the guards. Of course, plastic is still plastic, so 10 year old fans that had tighter spacing are going to have lots of broken off sections so you can make cool noises with the fan and [other objects]

Re: Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test

#413

Post by technics256 »

ahaucnx wrote: post #285
Bakary wrote: post #190

I've spent many hours navigating the air purifier market and it is one of the most opaque and customer-unfriendly ones I have ever seen. Beyond the advice given in the article, it's also important to check what the filter exactly is. Some filters are washable, but it often means that they are not as thorough as HEPA filters, which is a big deal if your goal is to avoid the dreaded PM2.5 that are as far as I can tell…

Yes I agree. There are a lot of non or low performing units out there that are hyped up by marketing and dubious claims. My startup [1] does air quality measurements primarily for schools and we very often come across schools that wasted a lot of money purchasing non performing units. The best is really to get a PM2.5 meter and compare the performance of different units. [1] https://www.airgradient.com/schools/

What about something like VOCs? Important also or?

Re: Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test

#414

Post by Symbiote »

mattgreenrocks wrote: post #392
rootusrootus wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Washers seem to be an exception. My gut feeling is that the real HE improvement was switching everyone from top loaders to front loaders. Front loaders do a great job cleaning and use a whole lot less water in the process.

Front loaders have bad mold issues with the liner though. We switched away from an old one. No regrets.

When you're not using a front loading machine, leave the door and soap tray ajar.

Re: Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test

#415

Post by smileysteve »

dwaite wrote: post #301
WiseWeasel wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They’d probably only do it once. It builds character, similar to == in JS or PHP.

They'd probably do it no more than ten times.

Assuming now tongues, toes, or ears.

Re: Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test

#416

Post by roelschroeven »

crmd wrote: post #279
sjwalter wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That video you linked is absolutely solid. Learned a tonne watching it. Never woulda thought 45 minutes about hair dryers would be so great. That dude is awesome.

I’m glad you enjoyed it! When you have time, check out one of his BOLTR (bored of lame tool reviews) videos for more of the same. He’s a piece of work.

And in case there's something you don't understand, refer to https://avedictionary.com/browse/ for enlightenment.

Re: Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test

#418

Post by ryeguy_24 »

ortusdux wrote: post #4

I still cannot get over this product. They whole selling point of a dyson fan is the 'air multiplier' tech, which creates a low pressure zone that propels air through the ring. According to dyson, this tech can move 15x more air than the fan in the base of the unit. Why in the world would you build an air filter around a system that does not directly interact with 93% of the air it moves? https://www.jameco.com/Jamec…

Isn’t “creation of a low pressure zone” a fancy term for a fan?

Re: Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test

#419

Post by dmix »

ahaucnx wrote: post #285
Bakary wrote: post #190

I've spent many hours navigating the air purifier market and it is one of the most opaque and customer-unfriendly ones I have ever seen. Beyond the advice given in the article, it's also important to check what the filter exactly is. Some filters are washable, but it often means that they are not as thorough as HEPA filters, which is a big deal if your goal is to avoid the dreaded PM2.5 that are as far as I can tell…

Yes I agree. There are a lot of non or low performing units out there that are hyped up by marketing and dubious claims. My startup [1] does air quality measurements primarily for schools and we very often come across schools that wasted a lot of money purchasing non performing units. The best is really to get a PM2.5 meter and compare the performance of different units. [1] https://www.airgradient.com/schools/

Are there consumer tier air monitors for home use worth using?

Also great startup idea. This will have long term demand. IDK if targeting (public) schools and their gov acquisition processes is wise but definitely a need there and probably plenty of new budgets for this stuff.

Btw your mobile marketing site could use some work. The spacing is off in a WebKit browser.

Post reply on HN