Use 1" furnace filter instead of 5" ?

[Robert Gammon]

sells one from GeneralAire.$14.99.

Find it near the bottom of the Honeywell Whole House Filters page.

[sylvan butler]

That's darn slick.

sdb

[Rick Brandt]

Unfortunately I have no ducting between the filter and the furnace cold air return. The filter box is mounted immediately to the furnace's side. Would the probe for that thing work if it were just placed inside the squirrel-cage area of the blower?

[Robert Gammon]

Yes, when HVAC contractors installed my new unit,they tapped into the case to measure pressure drop, then sealed the hole. I see no reason why you can't do the same thing.

Make sure that the fan can't draw air around your probe. Seal the opening well.

[Allie]

replying to Rick Brandt, Allie wrote: Thank you. I too have the 5" slot for the filter on my new ac unit. Had I known how expensive those dang 5" filters were, I never would've gotten it. I want to use 1 or 2" filters too, with a rigged system to keep it in place. Can you post pics of how you made yours?

[Allie]

replying to m Ransley, Allie wrote: My filter is black after one month. Will never last a year. Theyre $30 each! Didn't know it would be so expensive. Bet you would "rig" it too If you had to pay that every month for a 5" filter.

[trader_4]

That thread is ten years old and Mr. Ransley hasn't been heard from in a very long time. But maybe you can't see how old posts are because your house is full of smoke and dirty air. It seems it would have to be to turn a new 5" filter dirty in just a month. I easily go 2 years on mine.

[Ralph Mowery]

What kind of house is this in ? Must have a dirt floor to get the filter that dirty that quick. I use the inexpensive 1 inch ones and change them every 2 months. The first day of the odd numbered ones so I can remember when to do it. They look as if they could go twice that long, but at a buck or two each it is not htat expensive.

Had to have a man to work on the system a while back and while he was here I let him talk me into cleaning the inside and outside coils. He asked me if I had just changed the filter and cleaned the inside coils as they were very clean. The filter was about a month old and the inside unit was installed about 6 years before and never cleaned.

One thing that may help is that we never open the windows. As the wife and I are both sensitive to pollen, we tend not to want much outside air in the house.

[Paintedcow]

Guess where the air in your house comes from? (Unless you have a company deliver "inside air" once a week.....).

[Allie]

replying to Steve Barker LT, Allie wrote: Not a matter of being a cheap skate. I also have the 5" slot in my new ac unit. I have to change the filter every month. That's 30-40$ a month. Really pricey. Installer told me to change every 3-6 months. Can't afford that every single month. So I'm trying the 2" ones with a frame under it. What would you do?

[Allie]

replying to trader_4, Allie wrote: My house is not smoke filled. I for some reason it's dusty. Could be the florida humidity. I have 3 dogs. 2 years? Wow. You're lucky.

[Allie]

replying to Ralph Mowery, Allie wrote: My house inside is not dirty. Non smoker. Even installer can't figure why it gets so dirty so fast. Can't afford those filters every month. Regret getting this new unit with the big filter box. Going to try the 2" filter. Theyre bad enough. $70 for 4.

[Allie]

replying to Steve Barker LT, Allie wrote: Not a matter of being a cheap skate. I also have the 5" slot in my new ac unit. I have to change the filter every month. That's 30-40$ a month. Really pricey. Installer told me to change every 3-6 months. Can't afford that every single month. So I'm trying the 2" ones with a frame under it. What would you do?

[FromTheRafters]

Taking someone else's advice, he decided to wait eleven years to see if it corrected itself. He's still got one year left.

[makolber]

along the lines of a gauge to keep an eye on things,

I think it is a good idea to buy two probe thermometers and have them more or less permanently stuck into the ducts, one before the heater and one after. Put a mark at the normal inlet and outlet temperature readings and check them regularly. If the before and after readings are normal, that is a pretty good indication that your system is operating normally. Works for AC as w ell. You can get one for the flue as well but of course it will need a hig her range.

mark

[Allie]

replying to FromTheRafters, Allie wrote: Ok so I didn't notice his post was from 2006..let's move on. Can a 2" work with an adapter? Need help, not scarcaism. And I'm a woman, not a man.

[Ralph Mowery]

We loose some air when we open the doors to go out,so I keep a tank of air that I fill up at the service station to replace the lost air. We put that air through a filter to eliminate the pollen.

[trader_4]

How can anyone answer a general question like that? There are many manufacturers of filter housings and filters and many sizes. In theory you would think you could fabricate some kind of holder to get a thinner filter in there. Or maybe there is a size that goes right in. Have a measuring tape? But what it takes is going to depend on what exactly you have. Also, realize that you're going to live with more dirt getting through and/or the filter getting clogged faster. Those 5" media trap finer particles, but they also have much greater surface area.

[Allie]

replying to Ralph Mowery, Allie wrote: No dirt floor..haha. Not. Non smoker, 3 dogs. Florida humidity..sand not dirt outside.

[Arthur Conan Doyle]

The filter material is fan folded, so by using a thinner filter, you are reducing the surface area available for air to flow through. The net effect is that dust will restrict airflow much faster, and require changing far more often.