MrStealYourGiF
14570
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I was thinking about doing this Weds, but forecast said smoke was clearing out overnight, then Thurs, ditto.... so now expecting we could have a week of it, I thought I better move my ass.
This is a not very ideal implementation, ancient fan on it's 3rd life, got it greased up and running good though, and some surplus 4 pack of 12" filters I got some time back for $5, so I've probably got $7 in the whole thing. The 12" fan was only somewhere in the range of approximately the idea of 12 inches so it's an OCD nightmare with it not quite squarely on the box and needing patch pieces etc. Also IDK if it's picked up, the 2nd roll of duct tape was half a tone different color white than the first, quelle horreure.
Anyway, here's the more extra properer way of doing it, don't replicate my mess..
https://cleanaircrew.org/box-fan-filters/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi%E2%80%93Rosenthal_Box
I guesstimate mine is probably only good for about 50% reduction and 5-10 cubic meters a minute.. be alright with recirculation in a small room though, knock it down a bit. Also got some activated charcoal on my filters so might do something for VOCs.
Zatagedwe11
Well done.
jetah
there's a yt video of a guy testing filters and he did the same. YT/@The3DHandyman
deadsies
Don't forget the circular shroud on the front to prevent non filtered air from getting pulled in outside the radius of the fans. A tissue paper will show you where it's getting sucked in vs blowing out on the face of the box fan.
MrStealYourGiF
Good point, mine doesn't show from that angle due to depth of slats, I have one mounted inside the fan.
nevergoingtogiveyouupnevergoingtoletyoudown
Make sure you're using a high enough merv rating. Anything under 9 is pretty useless for smoke (Still captures but at a very low rate). Anything over 13 is overkill (only if you want ultra clean air). Higher the merv rating the lower the airflow too. Additional fans for circulation can help move the air around more so it works towards the filter faster to be captured. As overall air circulation affects how quickly it cleans the air more than how much air is pulled through the filters.
Zatagedwe11
Umbrella cover from the sun.
lightfoot2
I'm actually getting good objective data here from Home Assistant: Our Pm2.5 outside was 180+ this morning, in my room (no filters) it was 120, in my living room (normal sized air filter) it was around 40, and in my wife's room (with the Honeywell HEPA round thing) it was 18.
Obviously it's Honeywell round thing for the win, but even the normal filter made a difference.
nadanada1
What do you use to measure the pm?
ElectricSlideOrchestra
Spray the filter with a little bit of light oil, such as baby oil, and it will improve significantly.
asm80dfa8sdfj
The one in my kitchen has been misted with years of oil, no worries
Seethreepeeoh
Not onlyfans (also filters)
charlotteivorfisher
that air conditioner looks like it’s wearing a lopsided hat
twfx
‘You sir, are a steely-eyed missle man!’ - Apollo 13
alabak2002
Well. If it worked for Apollo 13, it should work for you
SnarfyMcSnarferson
Get a 20x20 box fan and same sized filter for the back side
asm80dfa8sdfj
How to destroy a fan in 2 easy steps:
SnarfyMcSnarferson
How?
FetteredJuvenescence
Good job! Any improvement is improvement.
You can actually get this kind of filter working better by buying some of the more expensive furnace filters in the same size, ones rated for lower micron particles, like HEPA filters and such. The way to make that work without spending quite as much money replacing the expensive ones, is to tape them to the cheap filters, with the cheap filters on the outside and the expensive ones on the inside. The expensive ones last longer that way.
abtei
what do you mean crappy. that setup is the best air purifier you can "have" for almost no money, according to rtings - https://www.rtings.com/air-purifier/reviews/best/air-purifiers
martineb72
Box fans are surprisingly extremely loud. You think you can get used to the noise, but you won't. It is just so very loud.
sauron35
got to be careful with something like this though. that fan is *not* designed to endure strain when pulling air through and can easily overheat from the resistance from those filters. with the paper filters underneath and running it for a long time you're setting yourself up for a potentially dangerous situation. at the very least, make sure you don't leave this running unattended eg while sleeping
ihugpeople
To be fair to sauron35, the data on fan safe was a bit buried. To be fair to MrStealYourGIF, Underwriter Laboratories (UL) did test the fans with complete obstruction. UL datasheet I dug around and found: https://chemicalinsights.ul.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/DIY-Box-Fan-Report-2021.pdf
Buried three links deep in the articles posted is the promised safety info: (two twitter/x posts showing a different config (1 small filter) and a dead UL link).
ihugpeople
To save anyone needing to click and interpret the data, the temperatures on the obstructed fans reached their hottest point about 30-60 minutes in and remained pretty consistent. 5 fans were tested and none broke 80c. The non-obstructed fans were closer 20-40c range.
MrStealYourGiF
ah, a "Tell me you didn't read the links without telling me you didn't read the links."
UnitConversionBot
12" ≈ 30.5 centimetres
vanderzee
or 2 bananas
lildude52ca
Does it suck air from the room and then blow it down thru the filters? or does it suck from the filters and blows up into the room?
MrStealYourGiF
pulls in through the filter and out through the top. Make sure filter flow arrows point inward if doing it that way.
lildude52ca
Thanks! do you think it matters if it pushes air or pulls air?
MrStealYourGiF
This way round seems to be recommended, see links above. Not sure of filtration difference, but common sense wise, it seems it may peel itself apart blowing inward.
asm80dfa8sdfj
The static pressure from most fans is better when sucking over blowing.
ihugpeople
Static pressure was my biggest worry on the older fan, just because it spins freely and can move some air doesn't mean it can pull much through, but anything helps.
notdavis
I just taped one to the back of the fan
MrStealYourGiF
I was just looking at pressure drops of various types and it seems like a 4" or 5" deep square filter taped on back of fan might do well.
lildude52ca
tried that once when i was about 12. i guess the constant restriction with the fan running over night made the motor start to smoke.
asm80dfa8sdfj
Yep, it'll do that.
SatansRepairDroid
I see an anxious person doing something, anything, to feel less powerless.
Mohareb
You have some weird idea of why people do this and your notion in the other comment that people don't die from it is also weird. Maybe you should chew some asbestos. It won't kill you anytime soon either
SatansRepairDroid
That's right, I'm weird because I analyze emotional motivations for behavior. I'm sorry you weren't able to understand.
asm80dfa8sdfj
You're not weird, you're sad. I pity you. I wonder what has happened in your life that has led you to belittling others over your own misunderstandings. Your musings of "having a higher understanding" that are indeed quite backwards, ironically. You don't seem to understand much of anything. Smoke inhalation is bad. This helps reduce smoke inhalation. That's it, that's all that's going on here. You seem to think it's some sort of firefighting device, which is quite absurd. Please get therapy.
Mohareb
I'm able to understand you're an idiot that think smoke is npnp and people doing things that works against it inside only is because they do it to feel less powerless
Karma1970
He's just an insecure, weak little man that makes himself feel better about his shitty life by insulting and/or attacking others. Your best bet is to block and move on.
TheVillageGrouch9000
thisisnotfineffs
I'm sure this is not new information to them lol
happyrabbitzz
This is exactly what my friend did to survive CA wildfires in the past. He has since purchased a couple of air-purifiers, but this works!
Canigetbannedagain2
A decent filter and fan will help out. Cheap and effective, perhaps not the best but I bet all the air filters systems are sold out at hardware stores.
CallMeCourierSix
It's called a Rosenthal Box, in case people are wondering. 20 inch box fan, and four 20 inch filters, plus masking tape.
SatansRepairDroid
Unless your friend was in direct peril from being burnt to a crisp, your friend was never in danger of not surviving. putting up an air filter was a coping mechanism to a situation that made them feel powerless. Evidence: all the ppl that didn't do that and survived just fine.
SleazyBijou
Heh it’s Elon with all his gay mars posts! Come look!
happyrabbitzz
Annnnd another stupid fuck blocked.
kJerAFK
tell that to my pet that died during those fires due to smoke inhalation. you don't know shit and clearly just want to shit on parades. troll somewhere else
TKpotato
They clearly didn’t have advanced human lungs /s
But I am terribly sorry for your loss :( what was their name and what pet were they?
fartyandbloated
So unless something actually kills you it’s totally fine and you’re a sissy for worrying about it. Got it.
bamblebimble
You do realize that smoke inhalation is cancer causing right? Not to mention it'll fuck up your lungs
Level8Mobius
Are you a retired cigarette industry lobbyist by any chance?
happyrabbitzz
funkystay
Hahaha!
Karma1970
Wow, you're stupid. #Dumbass
happyrabbitzz
DongleDingler
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/wildfire-smoke-deaths-california
happyrabbitzz
invaderjak
psh, those people just didnt find the right coping mechanisms (/s)
happyrabbitzz