Furnace air filters

Post by **GORDON** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:53 am

Is there any tangible benefit to using a filter that costs $30 over one that costs $5?

unkbill · Post by **unkbill** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:31 am

I'm sure one is better constructed. Do they give a number on how small of a particle they will let pass. You are just going to thro it away next year anyhow. Or is the 30$ one cleanable.

Post by **TPRJones** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:50 am

Can you really put a price on your family's respritory health?

Post by **TPRJones** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 11:37 am

So what exactly is a furnace? Down here we have a heater option on our air conditioners, but I suspect you mean something seperate. I'm familiar with big indstrial furnaces, but it's hard to imagine something like that in a house.

I've lived in cold climates before, but we always had a wood-burning stove to heat the place. I'm not really familiar with this furnace doo-dad and am curious.

Post by **GORDON** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:57 pm

TPRJones wrote:So what exactly is a furnace? Down here we have a heater option on our air conditioners, but I suspect you mean something seperate.

Same thing. Forced air with a heater on it. Air filter to filter the air before it gets heated.

Post by **TheCatt** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:10 pm

We buy the 3rd cheapest one, I think. So it filters more particles than the cheapest one, but isn't crazy expensive. $8 per, I think? The more particles they filter, btw, the harder your system has to work.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 5:08 pm

I buy the cheapo filters which only get 90% or whatever of the particulates.
The extra ton of $ to get the remaining 10% doesn't seem worth it to me.

I breathe unfiltered outside air just fine.

Post by **TPRJones** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 6:15 pm

GORDON wrote:Same thing. Forced air with a heater on it. Air filter to filter the air before it gets heated.

Hmmm, so why have a seperate unit? Or do you not have air conditioning?

Post by **GORDON** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 7:59 pm

TPRJones wrote:
GORDON wrote:Same thing. Forced air with a heater on it. Air filter to filter the air before it gets heated.
Hmmm, so why have a seperate unit? Or do you not have air conditioning?

There's an air conditioning unit outside the house. The furnace is inside and is attached to the fan or whatever it is that moves the air. There are electric furnaces, and I think propane, but mine happens to be natural gas.

unkbill · Post by **unkbill** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:25 pm

TPRJones wrote:I've lived in cold climates before, but we always had a wood-burning stove to heat the place. I'm not really familiar with this furnace doo-dad and am curious.

I just rebuilt my furnace today. Cleaned the chimney. Replaced firebrick. etc. Match, so sticks for kindling furnace works again. Suppose to freeze. End of our gardens unless the warmth of lake erie saves us.

Post by **TPRJones** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:27 pm

I see.

Your strange northern technology confuses and frightens me.

Post by **GORDON** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:36 pm

It's really no different from the forced air AC I had in NC, there's just a heating element attached to it. Which, I guess, is the same as what I had in NC.

Post by **TheCatt** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:38 pm

Our heat part is natural gas too, but it's in the same unit as the A/C, which is electric.

Post by **TPRJones** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:57 pm

Confuses.

and Frightens.

Post by **GORDON** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:04 pm

You're just like unfrozen caveman college administrator.

Post by **Cakedaddy** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:41 am

So. . . your AC compressor is inside or outside the house? The fan that forces the air through the house is inside the house or outside? The part that heats the air in the winter is inside or outside your house?

Our AC compressor is outside. Blows the hot air out into the back yard. The radiator is inside with the fan that forces the cold air through the house. That same fan blows warm air through the house in the winter. The part that heats the air is inside the house and is built in with the fan that forces the air.

How in the world do you do these things, if not like that?

I can only imagine that we are all using the same system. Except, up here, we say we have a furnace with an AC option attached.

Post by **TPRJones** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:07 am

The air conditioner is a two-part unit, the first part being the compressor outside the house. The second is inside the house built into a wall somewhere and contains a fan to push air through the duct system and a coil that cools that air on the way. There's also a small heating element in it that almost never gets used.

It's not some big separate thing, though, lurking in the basement. And it doesn't require someone to shovel in coal, or provide it with various explosive gasses. That's just weird.

Post by **TPRJones** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:23 am

According to my extensive research, this is a typical example of these furnaces:

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Pretty scary if you ask me.

unkbill · Post by **unkbill** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:15 am

TPRJones wrote: The second is inside the house built into a wall somewhere and contains a fan to push air through the duct system and a coil that cools that air on the way. There's also a small heating element in it that almost never gets used.

Our cooling coils are attached to our furnaces. This makes things easier because it can use the same ductwork as the furnace.

Post by **TheCatt** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 9:16 am

Electric heat is expensive, relative to gas heat. Although, where tpr lives, that probably doesnt matter.