Furnace filters

JimDRIl

Member
My new house has a 5" thick filter. What's the deal on those? How often are these replaced? Never had anything but the 1" thin jobbers before.
 
The thicker filters have more surface area so they can increase the density of the media and "Catch" more and smaller particles without restricting the airflow. They cost quite a bit more than the 1 inch thick filters. The life of the new thick filters depends on the amount of particles in the air in the home that have to be filtered out. If I run my saw or sander it decreases the life on my thick filters to about 6 months otherwise it will last for about a year.
 

Some where I've got a plastic whistle that was to be stuck into the filter and when you could hear it it was time to change the filter.
Never used it.

Dusty
 
Those would be the pleated (paper?) media.

They go with the extra thickness to increase the surface area. Increased surface area because the paper is more restrictive than the spun poly filters.

Seems the idea of filtration has gone more toward air purification than simply trying to keep the evaporator coil from clogging.

How often to change? That depends on the conditions in the house. If there are pets or smokers, it will need changing a lot more, only time and experience will tell.

The thick paper filters are quite expensive. You say it is a new house, as in new and under warranty? I would stay with the recommended filters just in case there is a problem with the system.

If you have allergies, or want to keep the air quality (less dust, cleaner ducts, etc.), and the cost isn't prohibitive, and you don't mind changing filters often, then stay with the paper.

If cost and less maintenance is more important, then you could stack in several poly filters, rotate out the first one or two with new ones every 3 to 6 months, depending on the conditions.
 
On average, once a year. I have a 4" filter in my house along with a magnehic gauge. Once the gauge hits set point the filter is changed. As stated earlier, about once a year.
 
As WGM said depends on the house and what goes on inside of it. Also depends on if you have A/C and how much it get runs.

My wife keeps a real clean house, no pets, no smokers and central A/C. We change it once a year but it could easily go longer. Not difficult at all once you get the hang of them.
 

hey, my polish neighbor says to turn it over and use the other side as its still clean. So.. I flip it top around to the bottom and its still dirty.....
 

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