Air filters & you: The for cleaner air.

[gomeitsmybday]

Hey everyone...
So there is another thread that was started recently about being able to smoke cigars in the winter. I’ve always just used the garage with my trusty space heater by my side - but let’s face it, I always end up freezing my ass off. And don’t let me get started about wrappers cracking! (The mere mention of the subject makes my stomach drop.)
So I just decided to buy an air filter, and a pricey one at that! I’ve had cheaper air filters in the past but had very little to no success with them. (One almost caught fire one time, apparently you get what you pay for.) I feel like with something like an air filter, you are better off buying nothing at all vs going the el cheaperino route...
But yeah so the air filter I went with is the Rabbit Air MinusA2 which I will post a link to at the bottom of this post. Does anyone have experience with this filter? It’s a sort of Christmas present to myself so I probably won’t use it until Christmas, but I am very much looking forward to doing so! The plan is to use it in a basement/cellar room with the door closed, in hopes to keep smoke from wafting out to other rooms...
But what about you? Do you use an air filter? If so which ones and what has your experience been with them?

https://www.rabbitair.com/pages/minusa2-air-purifier

[massphatness]

No experience with Rabbit Air.

Before I had the smoking lounger built, I used to use a Csonka air purifier when my wife was out of town & I'd sneak a smoke in the house. It did a great job when left to run for a few hours, but definitely did not immediately trap the smoke or stop it from wafting about. Over a fairly short period of time, however, it did completely eradicate any smoke odors. Because the Csonka produces ozone (I think it was ozone - the air smelled like it does after a big lightning storm), it was not recommended to use it in an enclosed space while you're in it. The room then needed to be vented a bit afterwards.

I don't know of a product that is truly able to pull off what you're describing, but please keep this thread updated as a lot of us will be very interested in the results.

[8lug]

I installed a 1200 cfm inline fan in the attic over my office. I used 12 inch hvac flex duct to exhaust the smoke to the outside. I open a window for makeup air. Can easily handle 4-5 guys smoking at one time.

[4WheelVFR]

Originally Posted by 8lug

I installed a 1200 cfm inline fan in the attic over my office. I used 12 inch hvac flex duct to exhaust the smoke to the outside. I open a window for makeup air. Can easily handle 4-5 guys smoking at one time.

This is the option I'd do if I smoked in my den more often. In the past I've just opened a couple windows with a fan in them and it has kept the room pretty clear.
I had a rabbitair filter that I used to use in my old house but it didn't seem to help very much.

[gomeitsmybday]

well, the idea for it is to keep door closed while smoking to keep smoke from getting out and letting filter run afterwards to scrub...well *hopefully* scrub air!
thanks for the feedback Ray, hoping i might have a bit more success with it...not expecting a miracle but hoping it will allow me to get an occasional cigar in during the winter without making the entire house smell foul...will definitely report back with my experience!
btw i somehow forgot to add the word quest to the title of thread, i just noticed that haha

[Weelok]

The cigar shop that used to be near me had two Rabbit Air cleaners in the lounge and two on the shop floor. They don’t immediately help as the smoke volume is too much I suspect but they seemed good over the long haul, eg the shop didn’t smell like an ash tray.

[gomeitsmybday]

The plot thickens!! DUN DUN Duhhhhhh!!!
So, I’ve been staying in a house for the last year that has been in my family for some time. Reason I mention that is because my grandfather built this house in the mid 1950’s! I was looking for a pair of pliers in his shop room and somehow finally noticed this was there the whole time.
Now while I admittedly don’t know a lot about fans, I believe this fan is newer than the 50s, but is definitely still old.
It has a flue of sorts that opens and closes with ease, and runs perfectly and oddly enough, far more quietly than I had expected!
Only downside is that it is mounted on the ceiling of the shop room, which is really hard to get to unless I were to build myself a very tall man-baby-cigar-highchair.
8lug mentioned HVAC flex ducting which I would imagine would work quite well in tandem with this thing, however I don’t really see a good spot to use one of those larger style hose clamps...anyone have any ideas on that? I suppose duct tape is always a last resort provided it doesn’t get hot after running for a while, but I’d prefer to not to be the duct tape guy haha...
But so yeah, I’m thinking with this bad boy running for the duration of a cigar, and being careful to blow smoke in to the ducting, once cigar is over I can run the rabbit air to clean whatever residual cigar funk may be left over!
Any thoughts or questions?

[Wharf Rat]

Blowers like that typically are in a box, like the shell of your furnace. I would put a box around it made of galvanized steel or plywood. You can add whatever kind of mounting flange you need to the box.

[gomeitsmybday]

Okay thanks Wharf...I’m hoping to make a run to Lowe’s tomorrow to price some stuff so I’ll take some measurements and go from there!

[Conch Republican]

Michael - I use a whirlpool air filter on an enclosed porch...works phenomenal! I got it off Amazon - here is the link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[gomeitsmybday]

Hey Conch thanks for the link!! The Rabbitair showed up today however...so I’ll have to see come the holidays whether it does the trick...I have a couple of ideas of how I’d like to implement the filter, one, as I mentioned is somehow running it in the room after using that blower in some fashion...
However if it’s a bust (and it better not be for that price hrmmmmm...) then will definitely consider the whirlpool, it certainly has excellent reviews as well!

[Da Klugs]

One mans opinion... Filters are good for cleaning up the residual smells but not 100% effective on the main issue of smoke / smoke residue within the room.

Getting rid of the smoke before the particulate can settle is still the best option. Even the best filters don't move enough air/filter at the sub micron level to prevent "settling".

Ozone generators help with the smell. Filters help with visible smoke and some % of the particulate issue. The best solution is probably a combination of all of the above. If you can get rid of the smoke with an exhaust fan it's the best starting point. Filtering the residual air and putting some Ozone in the environment periodically become much more effective.

I've had a smoke room for around 8 months so a limited experience but here it is:

Exhaust - run 3 - 400 cfm fans at varying speeds depending upon how many smokers. At max can turn the air in the room over every minute and a half or so. In reality the air patterns seem to cause the smoke to rise and exhaust fairly completely on a mid to high setting. Tend to leave it on at a low setting overnight after smoking just to flush everything from the room..

Filter - Run a particulate filter continuously, its a tower electronic thing from Sharper Image with many blades to clean. I think this is redundant regarding smoke and smell but I had it so its sits in the corner and runs. Not the same airflow as a filter only system but moves enough air to require cleaning every few weeks.

Ozone - Air Zone 400 - 40-400 MG hr ozone generator. Typically run this for a half hour every week or so on high. Nothing kills the residual smell like ozone. Ozone doesn't smell all that good though.

Spray air freshener - Takes that residual smoke or ozone smell away - primarily for the boss lady so no ashtray comments. Typically give a quick spray when I leave the room.

Cleaning all room surfaces. Every 2 weeks every piece of furniture, tables and floors get wiped down. Jane can smell residual from horizontal surfaces after a week or so - thus the cleaning. After a few hours of post smoking treatment, the only residual smells come from surfaces that particulate settles on. In my case it's minor given the airflow, filter and ozone but it becomes noticeable over time.

Wait what was the question again.

[gomeitsmybday]

Haha great opinions though Dave, I'm taking notes and will be referencing this thread down the line!
I definitely feel like this will certainly be a slow work in progress...and with my luck, I would be willing to bet the farm that by the time I get my indoor cigar paradise sorted, it will be springtime. (And an early warm one at that...but then hey I'll take it)
Good news is that there will primarily only be one smoker though!

[gomeitsmybday]

**UPDATE**

Success!! Last night I decided to run the blower/exhaust fan along with the Rabbit Air while I smoked a Camacho Toro. (Camacho’s seem to smoke up a room more than the average cigar in my experience.)
The room I smoked in is a long thin rectangular shape, approximately 40 x 11 ft and ceiling is about 8 ft or so, and after some careful calculation with my abacus, determining wind direction, and consulting my personal soothsayer, I’ve concluded that is about 3,520 square ft. But don’t quote me on that.
The exhaust/fan blower is on one end of the room and I stood under it the duration of the Toro, and I decided to place the Rabbit Air filter at about the middle of the room lengthwise. Initially I had it placed near the wall sort of behind me but it seemed he sensor wasn’t picking up on any smoke. Once placed at the middle of the room, it would occasionally sense smoke and kick up to about medium power but really nothing more than that. This leads me to believe that the exhaust blower was really kicking the proverbial ass of that Camacho.
About halfway through the smoke, I had a non smoker enter the far end of the room where i was not smoking and slowly walk towards me, when they reached halfway, where the Rabbit Air was, they said they smelled the cigar, but not at all before that!
Post cigar, I turned off the exhaust blower, manually turned the Rabbit Air to the “High” setting, went upstairs and allowed the Rabbit Air to run for about another hour then came back down to turn it off.
This morning, the non smoker & I returned to the room, and we both could not smell even a hint of the cigar!!! No exaggeration, it was as if no one had even smoked in the room!
So, my esteemed colleagues, in conclusion - I am absolutely satisfied with the Rabbit Air. Was the Rabbit Air solely responsible for the elimination of smoke? I suspect not. Or in other words, “nay”. I would have to credit the exhaust blower with about 70% elimination of smoke/odor and the remaining 30% to the Rabbit Air. But that kind of math adds up to a grand total of 100% satisfaction, and that is equal, or equivalent to, one IMMENSELY happy cigar smoker!

[markem]

Congratulations! Finding a working solution for a given room shape and such is always a challenge.

[gomeitsmybday]

Thanks Mark! I honestly was concerned that this project was going to be a complete flop, at least intially anyway...
I even have a few ideas to even improve upon the current set up! But it’s a relief that it would just be for curiousity’s sake rather than necessity.

[icehog3]

Glad it works so well for you, Michael!

You mean 3520 cubic feet, correct?

[markem]

Originally Posted by icehog3

You mean 3520 cubic feet, correct?

He specifically said not to quote him.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by markem

He specifically said not to quote him.

Oh, you Missa Funny Guy now!

[markem]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Oh, you Missa Funny Guy now!

Ah so, Missa Funny Guy be me! Order General Tso chicken before it go bad, honorable sir. Too late. Order anyway.