EDIT 9-2-2012. Please read the comments related to this review.Everything is great with this unit so far, except...
There's a noticeable penetrating hum coming from the unit at any distance.
The humming is very noticeable, it lets you know it's on, at any fan speed, at any distance.
I'm going to contact AirPura.
*Update, one week later: AirPura is sending me another unit. The rep said he thinks it's just one unit that had problems with some of the electronics.
EDIT: Airpura had to send me a second replacement unit. The first replacement also made a humming noise. This 2nd replacement doesn't hum. The rep said the original and first replacement most likely had a motor balancing problem. The units were fairly easy to box for returns. Fed-Ex picked it up at my door. They allowed me to keep the unit until the replacement(s) arrived.
I use this unit in my Living/Dining/Kitchen area (optimal 550 sq.foot space they recommend). It's the best smoke aircleaner I've tried so far, which includes BlueAir's top of the line Smokestop (see my review) and before that the no longer made Friedrich C90B. The air exiting the AirPura blows upward rather than straight out, which is good. From the picture, it looks as if air exiting out at the top band of holes would shoot straight out, but the exiting air has an upward airflow to it. The fan at lower speeds isn't as quiet as expensive particle air cleaners, but this unit is made to remove smoke. Higher fan speeds will get this unit whooshing air, as I expected, but medium speed noise is very tolerable by me. Variable speed is nice, but I'd be happy with 5 speed settings. I have to turn the knob a ways to hear a noticeable change in fan speed. I'll probably replace the TarBarrier prefilter and the filter cannister earlier than AirPura recommends in order to maximize effectiveness. I bought this particular brand because of the 26 lbs. of charcoal in the filter. I endure the hum, the return of the defective replacement, and the return of my originally bought defective unit because this brand aircleaner with its 26 lbs. of charcoal is the best out there right now at dealing with smoke and gasses.
Save 13% Off
Is there still a hum with your final unit? I purchased one of these as well. The hum is pretty loud - louder than the whooshing air on medium or low, and it bothers me enough to get me tense. If you final unit really had little to no noticeable hum, I'll go through the effort of working through replacements, otherwise I might go with a different brand. Thanks!
ReplyDelete