I have a Triton Big Bear air filter on my heating system. I just
installed a new programable thermostat that monitors the number of
hours on the air filter. The most information I can find is to change
the filter at the beginning of each season. My question is. Can anyone
tell me what the recommended change is in hours so that I can make use
of this feature on the Thermostat?

On Dec 6, 7:31 am, Dick wrote:
I have a Triton Big Bear air filter on my heating system. I just
installed a new programable thermostat that monitors the number of
hours on the air filter. The most information I can find is to change
the filter at the beginning of each season. My question is. Can anyone
tell me what the recommended change is in hours so that I can make use
of this feature on the Thermostat?

Every house is different, in some it might last a year in some 3
months, change it when its dirty.

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 05:31:07 -0800, Dick wrote:

I have a Triton Big Bear air filter on my heating system. I just
installed a new programable thermostat that monitors the number of
hours on the air filter. The most information I can find is to change
the filter at the beginning of each season. My question is. Can anyone
tell me what the recommended change is in hours so that I can make use
of this feature on the Thermostat?

Every three months or 2,160 hours. 24x30x3=2160

That doesn't make any sense. Change it when it is dirty.

Steve

On Dec 6, 10:18 am, Meat Plow wrote:
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 05:31:07 -0800, Dick wrote:
I have a Triton Big Bear air filter on my heating system. I just
installed a new programable thermostat that monitors the number of
hours on the air filter. The most information I can find is to change
the filter at the beginning of each season. My question is. Can anyone
tell me what the recommended change is in hours so that I can make use
of this feature on the Thermostat?

Every three months or 2,160 hours. 24x30x3=2160

You realy cant put an hour or date on replacing them, If you have
pets, keep windows open and dont clean often it wont last long, maybe
3 months, and I have seen them nearly clean after 1 year.

"ransley" wrote

You realy cant put an hour or date on replacing them, If you have
pets, keep windows open and dont clean often it wont last long, maybe
3 months, and I have seen them nearly clean after 1 year.

EXACTLY. Some seasons when it's nice weather, one hardly turns on the HVAC.
Like you say, different people have different environments. Pet dander.
Dust. Lots of things. It is absolutely impossible to give any rule for
changing them EXCEPT change it when it's dirty.

It's like asking about how the weather will be tomorrow. It all depends on
where you live, don't it? It's not all the same.

Steve

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:17:54 -0700, SteveB wrote:

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 05:31:07 -0800, Dick wrote:

I have a Triton Big Bear air filter on my heating system. I just
installed a new programable thermostat that monitors the number of
hours on the air filter. The most information I can find is to change
the filter at the beginning of each season. My question is. Can anyone
tell me what the recommended change is in hours so that I can make use
of this feature on the Thermostat?

Every three months or 2,160 hours. 24x30x3=2160

That doesn't make any sense. Change it when it is dirty.


The poster asked for the "recommended" time to program into his
thermostat.
Tell me how you program "change it when it's dirty" into a thermostat?

Looking at a filter is easier than programming a thermostat and looking at
it hundreds of times. What if the thermostat malfunctions. Does the OP
wait three years and exclaim, "The thermostat didn't SAY it was dirty."

Just look at the stupid filter.

Steve

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"ransley" wrote

You realy cant put an hour or date on replacing them, If you have
pets, keep windows open and dont clean often it wont last long, maybe
3 months, and I have seen them nearly clean after 1 year.

EXACTLY. Some seasons when it's nice weather, one hardly turns on the HVAC.
Like you say, different people have different environments. Pet dander. Dust.
Lots of things. It is absolutely impossible to give any rule for changing
them EXCEPT change it when it's dirty.

It's like asking about how the weather will be tomorrow. It all depends on
where you live, don't it? It's not all the same.

The thermostat "monitors the number of hours on the air filter".

What part of that don't you understand?

Bob

On Dec 6, 2:08 pm, Meat Plow wrote:
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:56:38 -0700, SteveB wrote:
"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:17:54 -0700, SteveB wrote:

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 05:31:07 -0800, Dick wrote:

I have a Triton Big Bear air filter on my heating system. I just
installed a new programable thermostat that monitors the number of
hours on the air filter. The most information I can find is to change
the filter at the beginning of each season. My question is. Can anyone
tell me what the recommended change is in hours so that I can make use
of this feature on the Thermostat?

Every three months or 2,160 hours. 24x30x3=2160

That doesn't make any sense. Change it when it is dirty.

The poster asked for the "recommended" time to program into his
thermostat.
Tell me how you program "change it when it's dirty" into a thermostat?

Looking at a filter is easier than programming a thermostat and looking at
it hundreds of times. What if the thermostat malfunctions. Does the OP
wait three years and exclaim, "The thermostat didn't SAY it was dirty."

Just look at the stupid filter.

That's all fine and dandy and pretty common knowledge. But to give the
poster an answer to his question what do YOU recommend in hours he should
program his thermostat for?

For the OP -

It's Trion Air Bear, not Big Bear.

Per a Google search, you should be getting 6-12 months (one site) or
10-12 months (FiltersUSA) out of the filter. I don't know where you
live, but my furnace doesn't run anywhere near 25% of the time each
year, so setting the hours to 2160 seems a little too high. I change
my Air Bear about once a year, but have gone 18 months without it
looking too bad.

Of course, every situation is different, so you might want to try a
setting, and monitor the filter to see how it looks when the t-stat is
telling you to change it. Having lots of pets, or running the fan
more often than "normal" will have affect the change interval.

JK

Meat Plow wrote:
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:56:38 -0700, SteveB wrote:

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:17:54 -0700, SteveB wrote:

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 05:31:07 -0800, Dick wrote:

I have a Triton Big Bear air filter on my heating system. I just
installed a new programable thermostat that monitors the number of
hours on the air filter. The most information I can find is to change
the filter at the beginning of each season. My question is. Can anyone
tell me what the recommended change is in hours so that I can make use
of this feature on the Thermostat?
Every three months or 2,160 hours. 24x30x3=2160
That doesn't make any sense. Change it when it is dirty.

The poster asked for the "recommended" time to program into his
thermostat.
Tell me how you program "change it when it's dirty" into a thermostat?
Looking at a filter is easier than programming a thermostat and looking at
it hundreds of times. What if the thermostat malfunctions. Does the OP
wait three years and exclaim, "The thermostat didn't SAY it was dirty."

Just look at the stupid filter.

That's all fine and dandy and pretty common knowledge. But to give the
poster an answer to his question what do YOU recommend in hours he should
program his thermostat for?


Why do you need a program for the thermostat to tell you when the filter
needs cleaned or changed? Just take yourself to the furnace, remove it
and look at it. If it's dirty, clean or change it. In most cases, once a
month is enough to check and probably clean or change the filter.
What's so difficult about that?

On Thu, 6 Dec 2007 11:46:51 -0800, "Bob F"
wrote:


"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"ransley" wrote

You realy cant put an hour or date on replacing them, If you have
pets, keep windows open and dont clean often it wont last long, maybe
3 months, and I have seen them nearly clean after 1 year.

EXACTLY. Some seasons when it's nice weather, one hardly turns on the HVAC.
Like you say, different people have different environments. Pet dander. Dust.
Lots of things. It is absolutely impossible to give any rule for changing
them EXCEPT change it when it's dirty.

It's like asking about how the weather will be tomorrow. It all depends on
where you live, don't it? It's not all the same.

The thermostat "monitors the number of hours on the air filter".

What part of that don't you understand?

Bob


How can a thermostat determine when a filter is dirty? I clean my
furnace filters (2 of them) once a month. You can put a reminder in
Outlook or other "calendar" software, then dismiss the reminder when
the cleaning is completed. I've done it that way for over 10 years.
The filter on the first floor gets much dirtier than the one on the
2nd floor. I have always heard to clean/replace monthly, and that's
what my neighbors do as well.

On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:45:56 GMT, Phisherman wrote:

On Thu, 6 Dec 2007 11:46:51 -0800, "Bob F"
wrote:


"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"ransley" wrote

You realy cant put an hour or date on replacing them, If you have
pets, keep windows open and dont clean often it wont last long, maybe
3 months, and I have seen them nearly clean after 1 year.

EXACTLY. Some seasons when it's nice weather, one hardly turns on the HVAC.
Like you say, different people have different environments. Pet dander. Dust.
Lots of things. It is absolutely impossible to give any rule for changing
them EXCEPT change it when it's dirty.

It's like asking about how the weather will be tomorrow. It all depends on
where you live, don't it? It's not all the same.

The thermostat "monitors the number of hours on the air filter".

What part of that don't you understand?

Bob


How can a thermostat determine when a filter is dirty? I clean my
furnace filters (2 of them) once a month. You can put a reminder in
Outlook or other "calendar" software, then dismiss the reminder when
the cleaning is completed. I've done it that way for over 10 years.
The filter on the first floor gets much dirtier than the one on the
2nd floor. I have always heard to clean/replace monthly, and that's
what my neighbors do as well.

Filters like that Trion actually filter better as they get dirty
because the accumulated soil reduces the size of the pores in the
filter media. You are better off not changing it too often. Also, the
big pleated filters are quite expensive. The best way to determine
when it needs to be changed is to check the pressure drop across the
filter, and you can get devices to do this. One simple one is just a
whistle that starts making noise when the pressure drop across the
filter rises. On the other hand, if you don't change when it is truly
dirty, your airflow will be restricted too much and the furnace
overtemp sensor may shut the furnace down.

I'd set the thermostat timer to work out to about a month in prime
heating or cooling season and use its alarm as a reminder to *check*
the filter. If the pleats are uniformly gray and there is a
noticeable layer of dirt, then change it. Otherwise, reset the alarm
and check a month later when it goes off again.

My $0.02

Paul F.

Paul Franklin wrote:
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:45:56 GMT, Phisherman wrote:

On Thu, 6 Dec 2007 11:46:51 -0800, "Bob F"
wrote:

"SteveB" wrote in message
...
"ransley" wrote

You realy cant put an hour or date on replacing them, If you have
pets, keep windows open and dont clean often it wont last long, maybe
3 months, and I have seen them nearly clean after 1 year.
EXACTLY. Some seasons when it's nice weather, one hardly turns on the HVAC.
Like you say, different people have different environments. Pet dander. Dust.
Lots of things. It is absolutely impossible to give any rule for changing
them EXCEPT change it when it's dirty.

It's like asking about how the weather will be tomorrow. It all depends on
where you live, don't it? It's not all the same.
The thermostat "monitors the number of hours on the air filter".

What part of that don't you understand?

Bob

How can a thermostat determine when a filter is dirty? I clean my
furnace filters (2 of them) once a month. You can put a reminder in
Outlook or other "calendar" software, then dismiss the reminder when
the cleaning is completed. I've done it that way for over 10 years.
The filter on the first floor gets much dirtier than the one on the
2nd floor. I have always heard to clean/replace monthly, and that's
what my neighbors do as well.

Filters like that Trion actually filter better as they get dirty
because the accumulated soil reduces the size of the pores in the
filter media. You are better off not changing it too often. Also, the
big pleated filters are quite expensive. The best way to determine
when it needs to be changed is to check the pressure drop across the
filter, and you can get devices to do this. One simple one is just a
whistle that starts making noise when the pressure drop across the
filter rises. On the other hand, if you don't change when it is truly
dirty, your airflow will be restricted too much and the furnace
overtemp sensor may shut the furnace down.

I'd set the thermostat timer to work out to about a month in prime
heating or cooling season and use its alarm as a reminder to *check*
the filter. If the pleats are uniformly gray and there is a
noticeable layer of dirt, then change it. Otherwise, reset the alarm
and check a month later when it goes off again.

My $0.02

Paul F.




Sounds like some kind of special filter system. I've googled and can't
find any info on this particular one. Can you give a description of how
this works and how it is different from a normal slab filter?

On Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:43:09 GMT, wrote:

snip

Filters like that Trion actually filter better as they get dirty
because the accumulated soil reduces the size of the pores in the
filter media. You are better off not changing it too often. Also, the
big pleated filters are quite expensive. The best way to determine
when it needs to be changed is to check the pressure drop across the
filter, and you can get devices to do this. One simple one is just a
whistle that starts making noise when the pressure drop across the
filter rises. On the other hand, if you don't change when it is truly
dirty, your airflow will be restricted too much and the furnace
overtemp sensor may shut the furnace down.

I'd set the thermostat timer to work out to about a month in prime
heating or cooling season and use its alarm as a reminder to *check*
the filter. If the pleats are uniformly gray and there is a
noticeable layer of dirt, then change it. Otherwise, reset the alarm
and check a month later when it goes off again.

My $0.02

Paul F.




Sounds like some kind of special filter system. I've googled and can't
find any info on this particular one. Can you give a description of how
this works and how it is different from a normal slab filter?

http://www.fedders.com/catalog/residential/airbear.htm

or google "trion air bear filter"

Honeywell makes a similar media type filter. They are designed to
compete with electrostatic air cleaners without generating ozone.
They are also cheaper to purchase and install initially than
electrostatics, but media replacement costs over time are much higher,
since electrostatics are just cleaned in the dishwasher.

The media cartridge is about 6 inches thick, with accordion bellows
shaped media with thick folds. This gives it a lot of surface area so
the pores in the media can be made smaller to filter better without
restricting the air flow too much.

Paul F.

On Dec 7, 5:18 am, Paul Franklin
wrote:
On Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:43:09 GMT, wrote:

snip







Filters like that Trion actually filter better as they get dirty
because the accumulated soil reduces the size of the pores in the
filter media. You are better off not changing it too often. Also, the
big pleated filters are quite expensive. The best way to determine
when it needs to be changed is to check the pressure drop across the
filter, and you can get devices to do this. One simple one is just a
whistle that starts making noise when the pressure drop across the
filter rises. On the other hand, if you don't change when it is truly
dirty, your airflow will be restricted too much and the furnace
overtemp sensor may shut the furnace down.

I'd set the thermostat timer to work out to about a month in prime
heating or cooling season and use its alarm as a reminder to *check*
the filter. If the pleats are uniformly gray and there is a
noticeable layer of dirt, then change it. Otherwise, reset the alarm
and check a month later when it goes off again.

My $0.02

Paul F.

Sounds like some kind of special filter system. I've googled and can't
find any info on this particular one. Can you give a description of how
this works and how it is different from a normal slab filter?

http://www.fedders.com/catalog/residential/airbear.htm

or google "trion air bear filter"

Honeywell makes a similar media type filter. They are designed to
compete with electrostatic air cleaners without generating ozone.
They are also cheaper to purchase and install initially than
electrostatics, but media replacement costs over time are much higher,
since electrostatics are just cleaned in the dishwasher.

The media cartridge is about 6 inches thick, with accordion bellows
shaped media with thick folds. This gives it a lot of surface area so
the pores in the media can be made smaller to filter better without
restricting the air flow too much.

Paul F.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Maybe set it for 400 hrs then see how it looks

Paul Franklin wrote:
On Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:43:09 GMT, wrote:

snip
Filters like that Trion actually filter better as they get dirty
because the accumulated soil reduces the size of the pores in the
filter media. You are better off not changing it too often. Also, the
big pleated filters are quite expensive. The best way to determine
when it needs to be changed is to check the pressure drop across the
filter, and you can get devices to do this. One simple one is just a
whistle that starts making noise when the pressure drop across the
filter rises. On the other hand, if you don't change when it is truly
dirty, your airflow will be restricted too much and the furnace
overtemp sensor may shut the furnace down.

I'd set the thermostat timer to work out to about a month in prime
heating or cooling season and use its alarm as a reminder to *check*
the filter. If the pleats are uniformly gray and there is a
noticeable layer of dirt, then change it. Otherwise, reset the alarm
and check a month later when it goes off again.

My $0.02

Paul F.



Sounds like some kind of special filter system. I've googled and can't
find any info on this particular one. Can you give a description of how
this works and how it is different from a normal slab filter?

http://www.fedders.com/catalog/residential/airbear.htm

or google "trion air bear filter"

Honeywell makes a similar media type filter. They are designed to
compete with electrostatic air cleaners without generating ozone.
They are also cheaper to purchase and install initially than
electrostatics, but media replacement costs over time are much higher,
since electrostatics are just cleaned in the dishwasher.

The media cartridge is about 6 inches thick, with accordion bellows
shaped media with thick folds. This gives it a lot of surface area so
the pores in the media can be made smaller to filter better without
restricting the air flow too much.

Paul F.


Well now. That's a horse of a different color.