A small DIY air purifier

#1

Post by Rondom » Tue, Jan 21, 2020, 7:06 AM UTC

A small DIY air purifier
github.com

Re: A small DIY air purifier

#2

Post by jaclaz » Tue, Jan 21, 2020, 9:27 AM UTC

Nice.

For some strange reasons it immediately reminded me of the scene in Apollo 13:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112384/quotes/qt0476826

Re: A small DIY air purifier

#3

Post by adrianN » Tue, Jan 21, 2020, 9:31 AM UTC

You could probably buy a box fan and tape a HEPA filter in front.

Re: A small DIY air purifier

#4

Post by packetslave » Tue, Jan 21, 2020, 9:31 AM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #3

You could probably buy a box fan and tape a HEPA filter in front.

This works shockingly well. They were quite popular during last year's California fires when "real" air purifiers were sold out everywhere.

Re: A small DIY air purifier

#5

Post by bureaucrat » Tue, Jan 21, 2020, 9:36 AM UTC

Not enough airflow to filter air. Really, it's just an expensive way to waste money.

Seriously? 600mA? Air purifiers are rated like 30W for a reason.

Re: A small DIY air purifier

#6

Post by kn100 » Tue, Jan 21, 2020, 9:39 AM UTC

This is a really cool project but frankly you can do it a lot cheaper. Find the cheapest box fan you can find, and find the cheapest HEPA filter you can, and strap the HEPA filter to the front. To improve air purification even futher, slap an activated carbon filter on the front too, and your air purifier now filters VoCs! For cheap Activated Carbon Filters, look into the kind used for Aquarium filters. They'll work just as well for air as far as I know.

In China there is a whole company founded on doing just this, although they've since pivoted into selling specific air purification hardware at a significant discount. See: https://smartairfilters.com/cn/en/product/diy-1-1-air-purifi...

Re: A small DIY air purifier

#7

Post by wiradikusuma » Tue, Jan 21, 2020, 9:42 AM UTC

Do air purifiers really work? I always have impression they're just sham, or at least placebo.

Re: A small DIY air purifier

#8

Post by mhd » Tue, Jan 21, 2020, 9:56 AM UTC

kn100 wrote: post #6

This is a really cool project but frankly you can do it a lot cheaper. Find the cheapest box fan you can find, and find the cheapest HEPA filter you can, and strap the HEPA filter to the front. To improve air purification even futher, slap an activated carbon filter on the front too, and your air purifier now filters VoCs! For cheap Activated Carbon Filters, look into the kind used for Aquarium filters. They'll work…

I don't know why, but I love the fact that someone is selling filters strapped to fans on a reasonably glossy and well-made page.

Re: A small DIY air purifier

#9

Post by 867-5309 » Tue, Jan 21, 2020, 10:02 AM UTC

wiradikusuma wrote: post #7

Do air purifiers really work? I always have impression they're just sham, or at least placebo.

they probably work around a small area where they are placed, but particulates outside of that will be unaffected and ultimately fall to the ground ready to be disturbed and recirculated as dust. I'm under the impression that for something like this to work, you would need to feel the air current at every point in the room, like a light breeze

Re: A small DIY air purifier

#10

Post by jwr » Tue, Jan 21, 2020, 10:10 AM UTC

I would suggest worrying much more about PM2.5 and getting a filter that does trap those particles. Many health problems are caused specifically by small particulate matter.