Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier • Hacker News Board

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#11

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 » Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 5:04 PM UTC

kn0where wrote: post #9

Wirecutter really illustrates the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect. Some of their recommendations are fine, but whenever they review something more niche than phone charger cables, I go to the comments/Reddit/forums to find out why their pick is overpriced/underperforming compared to whatever the community prefers. Edit: also, I’m finding Reddit to be a less useful term to append to my google searches over time. Many Reddit…

I think that if a product requires that much hair splitting then at the end of the day it's a wash, pick any recommendation and live with it.

Reddit is full of shills as well.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#12

Post by jacobolus » Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 5:04 PM UTC

kn0where wrote: post #9

Wirecutter really illustrates the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect. Some of their recommendations are fine, but whenever they review something more niche than phone charger cables, I go to the comments/Reddit/forums to find out why their pick is overpriced/underperforming compared to whatever the community prefers. Edit: also, I’m finding Reddit to be a less useful term to append to my google searches over time. Many Reddit…

Warning: “community preferences” have plenty of their own arbitrary biases.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#13

Post by EnderWT » Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 5:05 PM UTC

On the first point in the article, there is a definition for HEPA which for ISO is 99.95% efficiency. The Ikea purifier doesn't meet this. It meets the EPA standard, hence the designation of E12 (99.5%).

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#14

Post by chrischen » Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 5:06 PM UTC

kn0where wrote: post #9

Wirecutter really illustrates the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect. Some of their recommendations are fine, but whenever they review something more niche than phone charger cables, I go to the comments/Reddit/forums to find out why their pick is overpriced/underperforming compared to whatever the community prefers. Edit: also, I’m finding Reddit to be a less useful term to append to my google searches over time. Many Reddit…

I’ve noticed that problem with reddit as well. Someone will make a comment as if it is a well known fact but it turns out it was just one youtube reviewer saying it… and they don’t provide sources.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#15

Post by pubby » Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 5:07 PM UTC

If filters struggle to trap particles around some specific particle size, wouldn't it make sense to combine two filters with different ranges together?

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#16

Post by rahimnathwani » Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 5:08 PM UTC

Saint_Genet wrote: post #3

Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but the IKEA one which they singled out as not recommended to buy is the only one in the article they don't earn a commission on when someone buys it

This is mentioned in the first line of the article:

"you should instead buy a different purifier that totally coincidentally happens to pay affiliate marketing commissions."

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#17

Post by r12343a_19 » Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 5:09 PM UTC

I am legit wondering if air purifiers wouldn't be a good addition in preschools. A classroom isn't that big and one of these things would probably be enough. A school year would require 2-3 replacements, ie. not much.

Anybody did something like this?

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#18

Post by Ataraxic » Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 5:10 PM UTC

Looking at the wattage comparisons, the article talks about the "Wirecutter recommended air purifier" but seems to go out of its way to not mention it by name. Why?

Second, I don't believe this air purifier, or really any recommended air purifier is going to use 45 watts for any extended period of time. The main power draw is simply the fan and a fan using 45 watts is going to be extremely loud.

Secondly, I think there is an argument to be made for an air purifier quickly reducing particle count and then switching back into a lower noise mode.

The suspicious CADR numbers do require more investigation on the wirecutter side though.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#19

Post by daenz » Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 5:10 PM UTC

Protip: you can turn a box fan into an incredibly effective air purifier[0] (particle measurements in thread). The one they show is pretty elaborate, using 4 filters and some construction, but you can also use a single filter and slap it on the back of the box fan and have similar results. The air purifier industry is more about aesthetics than it is function.

0. https://twitter.com/LazarusLong13/status/1425517352624410627

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#20

Post by rahimnathwani » Mon, Jun 20, 2022, 5:10 PM UTC

EnderWT wrote: post #13

On the first point in the article, there is a definition for HEPA which for ISO is 99.95% efficiency. The Ikea purifier doesn't meet this. It meets the EPA standard, hence the designation of E12 (99.5%).

The article didn't say HEPA has no definition. It said that 'true-HEPA' has no definition.