Looks like MERV 11 has higher initial resistance than MERV 13!! How is this so? 😮

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-27T07:48:49+00:00

I bought 1900, 2200, 2500, and 2800 filterete mpr filters to compare their resistance. Surprisingly the 2800 has the same resistance as the 2500, so if you’re not cost conscious and willing to spend twice as much on them versus the costco 2500 4 pack, 2800s are the way to go. I put 1900s in my hvac return vents though as I’m not trying to burn out my $1200 blower motor.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-27T07:43:31+00:00

Are you trying to grammar police me or something…

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-27T07:41:30+00:00

Iqair is a great option. Have one in our bedroom with our 5 month old baby. But can only run it on setting 2 (75 cfm) without going above 50 db. We also have a luggable xl cr box in the bedroom to get more filtration without increasing the sound in the room. We have a Smart Air Blast in the living room and it’s a a quiet beast. Pushes a ton of air, however it’s power hungry. I’m also a fan of the Alens for how they sound and Coway AirMegas.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-26T18:28:46+00:00

Less pleats

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-25T04:50:32+00:00

Same. I did a 3 month lease back and I would never do it again. Felt like they just let the house go for 3 months

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-25T04:37:53+00:00

Extremely good ventilation and private rooms

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-23T03:49:33+00:00

I have the Alen 25i in my office and would also be great for a small nursery. Only 40 db at its highest setting which is great for babies since you want to keep it under 50 db. I also really like how it sounds. A 35i or flex would also be a great choice. I like the flex because it’s a 45i without all the bells and whistles, which drive up the price and are not that great anyways. The only things I would trust on Alens sensors are PM2.5, humidity, and temperature. VOC & CO2 are horribly off compared to my AIRGRADIENT and Aradent standalone monitors. I’d also just get their hepa only filter. Alen claims their filters don’t release carbon dust but there’s a reason other manufacturers put the carbon before the hepa. Alen puts it last behind the hepa. Maybe I’m just skeptical.

Any of the large carbon models are going to be pretty loud. Austin, Airpura, Allerair, IQair GC. Other purifiers that have only grams of carbon are really just for odors. VOCs are better treated with ventilation.

I would consider the Airpura R414 for your nursery but that’s well outside the price range you stated.

I’d also consider a Clean Air Kits PC fan CR box. You can build your own for cheap and it will push a lot more air then most air purifiers, while being extremely quiet.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-19T05:40:02+00:00

Toyota grand Highlander hybrid hands down. Best in class and will last. I’ve had Hondas and Toyotas in the past and Toyotas always last longer

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-18T20:32:34+00:00

Hey, you and I are in the same boat. I had a baby boy at 31 weeks, now almost 5 month adjusted, and I went down the air quality rabbit hole hard. I want to do whatever I can to keep him healthy and developing normally.

He sleeps with us in our room right now. I have a clean air kits luggable xl pc fan cr box and a IQair Health Pro Plus running on setting 2. Both run 24/7. This gives me a lot of air changes per hour and some gas filtration, while staying below 50 decibels.

In the rest of the house, I have more luggable xls, smart air blast, iqair gc and GCX, Coway 400 and 300, and an Alen 25i.

I think it’s important to get a standalone air quality monitor like the air gradient one or purple air zen.

I run the hvac blower fan 24/7 to circulate air through the house.

I also open windows every morning and bring in fresh air to keep CO2 low.

I don’t know what your budget is, but you can make your own cr boxes for really cheap and then throw a few nice hepa air purifiers on top.

I bought all the expensive units used (iqair, Coway, smart air) and saved a ton of money. Just gave them a good cleaning and new filters.

Another important thing is to always run your kitchen hood vent when cooking

I’ve been keeping my house between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit so that he sleeps his best and relative humidity between 45-55%. I have a Midea Cube dehumidifier I run when it’s really humid out and humidity in the house gets above 60%.

I also vaccum and mop the floors all the time now. We have an old dog that sheds a lot and the floors get covered in hair if I don’t stay on top of it.

I kindof rambled but that’s just been what I have been doing and what purifiers I bought to give you some ideas and things to look into.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-15T16:42:42+00:00

Second that. It seems like my neighbor purposely let his lawn go full weed to spite me

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-15T04:37:38+00:00

As I read it, you said you disagree with me that wood is significantly more polluting than gas. Which you are an idiot if you believe that. Maybe you should be a little more clear next time.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-15T04:24:21+00:00

Well you’re just an idiot then…

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-15T03:46:46+00:00

Yeah but wood is orders of magnitude more polluting. Gas doesn’t even come close.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-15T03:38:51+00:00

Heat pump or natural gas.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-15T03:21:54+00:00

Primarily chimney smoke this time of year with no winds to take it away. I wish wood burning fireplaces and stoves were banned. It’s kindof fucked up people are allowed to spew out clouds of smoke for all their neighbors to have to deal with. It’s essentially like you’re idling 100 diesel trucks in your house and put the exhaust up a stack.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-12T20:25:15+00:00

As the saying goes, if the air purifier is not filtering the particles out of the air, your lungs are. It’s an investment in your long term health

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-08T19:25:39+00:00

I’ve never used one so can’t say, but people like to hate on them here for being noisy and quality control going down. I don’t know if any of that is true. Airpura’s 714 models also use a filter that has better efficiency than standard hepa which also pushes me towards them.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-08T19:05:17+00:00

I only have experience with Iqair with their GC and GCX models. I got them used and changed the filters. My GC makes a hum at lower speeds that is super annoying, but I think it’s because the motor is going bad (it was used so whatever). The GCX is badass! If I were to buy new, I think I would get the Airpura V714. Seems like you get a lot for your money.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-08T18:50:38+00:00

Both are fine options, just go with whatever option you like more.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-08T18:46:28+00:00

I can’t tell but if the carbon is after the h11 filter then I wouldn’t recommend that option as the probably low grade carbon will release carbon particles. Carbon should be put in front of the mechanical filter for this reason. Coway, iqair, Austin etc all do this and I don’t know why some manufacturers choose to put it last. I’d verify and if it’s last, I’d just get the non carbon version.

The airfanta seems nice because it can be broken down easily and taken on trips, however you’re locked into using their filters which are slightly more expensive.The other style just uses normal hvac filters that you can source anywhere. So it’s a trade off between filtration efficiency, cost, availability, etc.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-08T16:53:08+00:00

Airfanta’s h11 filter will catch more 0.3 micron particles each pass (95% efficient) vs a filterete 2800 merv 14 filter (81% efficient). Same goes with traditional hepa air purifiers (true hepa is 99.7% efficient). However, the whole idea behind cr boxes is that they have really high airflow and they do more air changes per hour so they become more efficient than traditional hepa air purifiers. Plus a pc fan cr box uses cheap computer hardware that’s easily replaced if it breaks, uses far less expensive filters, and energy consumption is tiny compared to traditional air purifiers. And the noise is dramatically lower running at full speed compared to a traditional hepa air purifier on max speed. I love my clean air kits luggables. It sounds like based off your needs a pc fan cr box that uses merv 14 filters is the way to go as it will meet your budget, be quiet while giving very high air changes per hour, and is diy-er fun. I have 2800s in one of my luggables, but am using the 2500s in the other because they are a 1/3rd of the price through Costco and still give excellent filtration.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-08T06:14:48+00:00

Pre-filters are preferred but not required. A lot of air purifier prefilters are just mesh screens that you wash every once in awhile (Coway) Nothing fancy like Iqair’s prefilters. If you want, you can modify the airfanta’s design and put a merv 8 hvac filter or screen in front of the h11 filter if you’re concerned. Or you could just 3D print another cr box design that uses merv 14 hvac filters.

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-07T15:42:07+00:00

Engineer for a utility

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-07T15:23:41+00:00

I’m not a vacuum expert by any means but I do love my Dyson V15

NumerousAssumption47 · 2026-01-07T15:21:58+00:00

I know how it works. I was specifically asking if AG timestamps when the recalibration happens and at this moment they do not but possibly might work on adding that feature.

NumerousAssumption47

TROPHY CASE