How is this not an ad?
I was the one who submitted this to HN.
It is an ad in that I linked to the marketing site. It’s not an ad in that I have no association with the company, and I just thought HN would find it interesting.
Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System
101–110 of 110 posts
Re: Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System
#102I genuinely don't understand how this is supposed to work in a real-world environment. Let's say someone near a fan is infected with Covid and sneezes. The airflow from the fan would then immediately push covid-containing particles around the space and closer to other people than if there were no airflow at all. Is it really possible that their magic "ion" particles would counteract this negative aspect? I'm extremel…
It doesn't "work". The fact that it made it to the front page of HN bodes badly for this community that has been going down hill for a long time. It just one step above a text based Reddit at this point.
Part of the reason I submitted it was because I was skeptical, and I thought HN would have interesting takes on how effective it might be.
At the same time, I think your non-constructive cynicism is the worst of HN, did your comment really add anything to the discussion.
Big Ass Fans is a pretty reputable company, so assuming out the gate that it has to be a scam doesn’t seem like a great approach
Re: Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seems like they just reflect all the UV from the bulb up and are counting on the ceiling not reflecting a harmful amount. With the right ceiling material that could actually be a pretty good idea.
I wonder how one can test if the amount of UV light reflected from the surface is dangerous? Alternatively, determine what is the percentage of the UV light absorbed?
Bananas work well for that according to BigClive:
Re: Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System
#104Ion generators are known health hazards. If you create enough ions to purify the air, the ions themselves create unsafe amounts of ozone: https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/what-are-ionizers...
Unconfined UV-C generators are skin cancer machines, and also damage paint, etc.
I hope use of the UV-C thing is rapidly banned (if it hasn’t been already...)
Per the EPA link, the ion generator is already illegal unless they’ve turned it down so far that it doesn’t work.
Re: Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
why is ozone free important?
Ozone is a pretty damaging chemical. It is very reactive with its extra oxygen atom. It can damage living and non-living things, although in small quantities it probably isn't an issue. Ozone is great at high altitudes where it can block some UV light.
And I would add that - seemingly - to reduce the amount of bacteria a very high concentration is needed for long periods.
I found this "experiment"[1], this is about cleaning/disinfecting a room, by starting an ozone generator in a closed room, keep the ozone level at a certain value for a given time, then switch off the generator and wait at least one hour before re-entering the room:
https://www.ozonetech.com/sites/default/files2/pdf/Ozone_dis...
BTW such a high concentration is likely to affect contents of the room, ozone can accelerate oxydation of most metals and rubber.
[1] it looks like a scientific paper, but it is not AFAIK published and actually comes from the site of a firm making ozone generators, so I would take results about the effectiveness with a pinch of salt, but I don't see how the dangers implied can have been overstated
Re: Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seems like they just reflect all the UV from the bulb up and are counting on the ceiling not reflecting a harmful amount. With the right ceiling material that could actually be a pretty good idea.
> With the right ceiling material There's still a 'sunburn' on the linoleum floor in the basement pantry after I cleared some EPROMs with a germicidal fish-tank tube light. The kind that you can swap in place of a short (24"?) fluorescent tube. You can really see where the EPROMs were :)
I have a wicking humidifier that uses a UV lightbulb to kill some germs on the way from the water tank to the wicking fan. Inside the machine, near the UV light, the dark gray plastic is now fully white.
Re: Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Test that thing in a restaurant or a hair salon with a dozen people continuously interacting in it and then test the quality of the air That's not how scientific studies work.
Of course not, scientific studies create artificial conditions so we can claim that overpriced fans are a magic cure for a virus. They should hire these people at Volkswagen, they'd make great emission testers and splendid scientists
So, do you have a point, or are you just waving around BS hoping something will stick?
Re: Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your link is the medias factoid about mask wearing. And this is the problem, no one is explaining first principals to you. You are probably thinking of this factoid in China about air conditioners and this diagram, which is not what we are talking about at all. (The evidence is downward air is what you want) https://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-restaurant-air-condit...
Fan blows to the ground and separates air from infectious constituents which stick to the ground like a ball of mud. Got it.
Although that is kinda close, I'd stop concentrating on the oga booga marketing you've picked up, like things sticking, and try and learn the science. Plenty of YouTube videos and HN articles have discussed it.
Get back to first principals.
Re: Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System
#109Slightly off topic; I've been reading about putting dispersal disinfectants like Tea Tree Oil [1] into ventilation shafts so they spread around the building. Works similar to O3, but is safe around people. I'm wondering what sort of concentrations these dispersals need to be to actually make a difference. [1] https://www.pathology.uwa.edu.au/research/microbiology/tea-t...
your link mentions nothing about ventilation. vodka is also a good disinfectant, but you wouldn't want to necessarily aerosolize it and vent it through a building.
> vodka is also a good disinfectant, but you wouldn't want to necessarily aerosolize it and vent it through a building.
That pretty much describes both my job and leisure lifestyle in my 20s, and I’m still above ground two decades later.
As an anecdote on HN that’s irrefutable gospel.
Re: Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fan blows to the ground and separates air from infectious constituents which stick to the ground like a ball of mud. Got it.
Although that is kinda close, I'd stop concentrating on the oga booga marketing you've picked up, like things sticking, and try and learn the science. Plenty of YouTube videos and HN articles have discussed it. Get back to first principals.
I'm glad we agree.