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Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

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Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#111

Post by breput »

Big Clive made a video and wrote an OpenSCAD script[0] which allows you to 3D print a base and adapter to convert a regular 120mm computer fan into a "true" HEPA air purifier.

You might already have a spare 120mm fan laying around - I am using a $8 ARCTIC P12 fan[1] which is very quiet and is designed to work with high static pressure. The generic filters[2] are two for $17, (supposedly) H13 grade, available from a number of suppliers, and last a very long time. You could use them one at a time but I stack the two filters on top of each other and seal them with electrical tape for more surface area.

The fan isn't super powerful (56 CFM) and the appearance is not as polished as commercial models, but it does have a certain aesthetic to it. The area where I live rarely has any air quality issues but I have noticed it really cuts down on dust.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vmh2Ip2Vxg (script in the Description)

[1] https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GB16RK7

[2] https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08N1FP2WT

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#112

Post by Night_Thastus »

edgefield wrote: post #55
hypersoar wrote: post #51

The Wirecutter is a highly flawed review site, but at least it's a real one. There are vanishingly few left for general consumer products. There's WC, Consumer Reports, and what else? They've seem to have all been killed off. When I'm researching some category of product, I feel lucky if I find any professional reviews written by people who have actually touched the thing they're reviewing. I know we've all had the e…

rtings.com is very good for certain types of products like TVs, headphones, etc.

Agreed, minus the headphones. Their headphone reviews are a joke. It's also worth noting some products have a lot of variation due to poor QC (PC monitors) and they may get an unusually good/bad unit from time to time, skewing the review.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#113

Post by highwaylights »

99_00 wrote: post #47
jefftk wrote: post #41

Agreed: the Wirecutter's emphasis on HEPA is not right for a purifier that sits in a room. Once you get to reasonably high removal efficacy (even 90%, let alone 99.5% vs 99.97%) flow rate matters far more than filter spec. I also wish the Wirecutter would publish more detailed logs. They just check the particle density after half an hour, which is generally super low. Instead they could show the particle density curv…

>HEPA is not right for a purifier that sits in a room Why not? I don't know anything about HEPA, or quality, air flow, etc.

Almost all of these review sites, not understanding the physics involved, believe a HEPA filter sieves particles down to a size of 0.3 microns, which implies that anything smaller passes on through.

This is utterly false. HEPA filters are measured at the efficiency of what’s known as the MPP (the Most Penetrating Particle size). It’s the hardest particle size to capture as it can get by the two methods used to capture large particles (impaction), and smaller particles (diffusion).

Considering almost none of the air in a room is passing through the filter at a given moment, the efficiency of the filter is less important than how much air it moves through the filter media per minute, which IKEA have favoured here.

Essentially this filter performs close to par with more expensive units, while using less energy, and having dramatically lower costs for filter replacements when due.

What they don’t do is give reviewers either kickbacks or basic physics lessons.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#114

Post by systemvoltage »

hypersoar wrote: post #51

The Wirecutter is a highly flawed review site, but at least it's a real one. There are vanishingly few left for general consumer products. There's WC, Consumer Reports, and what else? They've seem to have all been killed off. When I'm researching some category of product, I feel lucky if I find any professional reviews written by people who have actually touched the thing they're reviewing. I know we've all had the e…

I wonder if we can ever have a centralized review site that also has the subject matter expertise in each area. The future of in-depth and unbiased reviews is distributed and perhaps there is a dire need to collect all the scattered reviews on a central platform. Like a sub stack of product reviews.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#115

Post by Der_Einzige »

daenz wrote: post #19

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/1425517352624…

I now run a MERV 16 furnace filter (yes, my aprilair system explicitly supports it, no I will not hurt my furnace) for central air filtration alongside two box-fan filters (the easy slap on the back kind - I think I'm using something equivalent to MERV 13 on the back, can't go higher for the size) around the house and a quiet regular air-filter in our room.

All of my wives problems related to allergies or breathing have gone completely away. Guests comment at how good/clean our house smells. Stuff takes longer to mold when its left out. 10/10 would recommend.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#116

Post by Rebelgecko »

daenz wrote: post #19

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/1425517352624…

Compared to a dedicated air purifier, a box fan one is louder, has higher energy consumption, and is uglier (I suppose the last one is subjective).

If it's something you only use a couple days a year when your region is on fire, then absolutely go with the design with lower upfront costs. But if you're running it 24/7, it's worth thinking about the extra 40-80 watts that a box fan uses.

For me, I figure the electricity difference comes out to around $100/yr so getting a dedicated air purifier has paid for itself (although I live in an area with fairly expensive electricity). It also has some nice bonuses compared to a box fan like auto adjusting speeds and a prefilter that hopefully helps the "real" filter last longer.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#117

Post by bombcar »

astura wrote: post #58
hypersoar wrote: post #51

The Wirecutter is a highly flawed review site, but at least it's a real one. There are vanishingly few left for general consumer products. There's WC, Consumer Reports, and what else? They've seem to have all been killed off. When I'm researching some category of product, I feel lucky if I find any professional reviews written by people who have actually touched the thing they're reviewing. I know we've all had the e…

Is Tom's Hardware still around? Personally, I don't trust reviews unless I personally know the reviewer. Too much garbage out there.

ServeTheHome does some review-like stuff, but its not entirely detailed though they do actually run the hardware and measure things like noise, power, etc.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#118

Post by Nextgrid »

tyre wrote: post #90
Nextgrid wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the problem is that it ultimately skews the incentives and contradicts their claim that the editors are totally isolated from the commercial part of their business. Their homepage currently suggests the following: > We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission [emphasis mine] The "about" page claims: > There’s no incentive for us to pick inferior produc…

They make more money from me if their reviews are accurate. If they’re are only motivated by money, then that incentive favors honest reviews. If I buy products that they recommend and they’re shit, I won’t go back and click anything again in my life. Making an extra $3 from on purchase isn’t worth it.

But the problem is that there's a difference between "okay" and "shit". They indeed won't make money if they recommend shit that gets returned, but a lot of products can be "okay" enough for people to keep around even if there are better products out there (that the review site doesn't recommend because the "okay" product provides better kickbacks). The standing desk situation is actually a very good example of that - the hassle of shipping and assembly means that once you've received it you are unlikely to ship it back unless it's absolutely bad despite other models being even better.

Frankly, for "okay" products, most of us don't need review websites. Even with the shit-show that Amazon reviews are it's usually easy enough to tell an outright bad product. The purpose of a review website (as a consumer) would be to find the absolute best product possible out of a sea of mostly "okay" ones.

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#119

Post by idoh »

darzu wrote: post #102
hypersoar wrote: post #51

The Wirecutter is a highly flawed review site, but at least it's a real one. There are vanishingly few left for general consumer products. There's WC, Consumer Reports, and what else? They've seem to have all been killed off. When I'm researching some category of product, I feel lucky if I find any professional reviews written by people who have actually touched the thing they're reviewing. I know we've all had the e…

YouTube or google site:reddit.com usually yields the best actual human reviews for me. Or specific categories like America’s Test Kitchen for kitchen stuff.

site:reddit.com works and I use it often. But I do wonder how long it will be until reddit starts to get gamed as well (if it isn't already).

Re: Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier

#120

Post by geekamongus »

hypersoar wrote: post #51

The Wirecutter is a highly flawed review site, but at least it's a real one. There are vanishingly few left for general consumer products. There's WC, Consumer Reports, and what else? They've seem to have all been killed off. When I'm researching some category of product, I feel lucky if I find any professional reviews written by people who have actually touched the thing they're reviewing. I know we've all had the e…

CNN Underscored is trying to be a competitor with legit reviews, as I understand it, but it still feels a little "affiliaty," if you will. (Disclaimer: I work for CNN Digital).
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