"Greg O" wrote in message
...
I do HVAC service for a living. I have yet to see someone service an
electronic air filter often as they needed to. Once the electronic
elements get dirty the filter does nothing. When in use, cooling or
heating season, electronic filters need cleaning at least once a month to
do the job. A pleated filter in place of the electronic elements is a very
good idea.
When I notice that a customer has an electronic filter I ask them how
often they clean it. Most are surprised that once or twice a year is not
enough!
Greg
I agree; coincidentally, the other day, I picked, up for scrap, a used
electronic filter unit.
It appeared to have 'never' been cleaned!
The slide out electronic filtering units were literally jammed with
felt-like lint, comprised of human hair, even a few feathers and some scraps
of tissue paper! Maybe the building it came out of had included a hair
dressing salon?
Anyway the air flow through it must have been virtually nil. With the
electronic filtering action completely negated by the mass of debris.
Curious about how these things work, I removed the mess from one part of the
unit to view the electrostatics and had to use a knife to cut through the
mats of lint, section by section.
By the way it has as a 120 volt 60 hertz AC input 'transformer'. The output
of that, is connected to the electrostatic section, at presumably, a high
voltage. But is that electrostatic section operating at AC or DC? In other
words does the unit 'labelled transformer' also incorporate a rectifier to
convert AC to DC?
Info welcomed.