Is my new room ionizer working properly?

[MB]

Four weeks ago I bought a room ionizer, made by Dezac Ltd, Cheltenham, that is supposed to create all kinds of positive ions and at the same time grab (filter out) particles circulating the room. Above the t & g ceiling paneling is fibreglas insulation of which particles are circulating-- sun rays show just how much, and I'm inhaling the stuff! Instructions that came with the ionizer warn about all the dust that will be accumulating on the table where it's standing, but after four weeks in use, there isn't any dust at all. Can I assume it isn't functioning properly?

[mike ring]

"MB" wrote in news:dmbupl$27e$01$ [e-mail]:

It certainly seems suspicious - I gave up on them because mine covered about a quarter of the room in filth, and it was my bedroom! Gawd knows where it came from. Maybe I wasn't breathing it, but I couldn't bear seeing it. I think a neon screwdriver might indicate something, IIRC it will flicker if brought close enough, but not very quickly or brightly.

mike

[Andrew Gabriel]

Negative ions, usually.

Does it have a row of needles pointing outwards? Hold a mains neon screwdriver near these, and it should glow. You might even feel a very slight breeze coming off them.

Don't open the unit up -- they normally have a something like a 10 stage voltage multiplier to crank mains voltage up much higher. The exposed needles will be current limited to a harmless level, but the intermediate circuitry may well not be.

[MB]

The screwdriver test: it did indeed light up, but I don't understand why there's no dust accumulated if the ionizer is supposed to be filtering; there's no movement of air (it failed to pass a lighted match test at the openings of the four needles). Thanks, though, for the feedback.

[mike ring]

"MB" wrote in news:dmcb5g$kff$00$ [e-mail]:

Has it got some anti-dirt device; if it works and doesn't cover the area in black muck, it should be better known

mike

[MB]

If by "anti-dirt device" you mean something removable that can be cleaned-- no, it's a sealed unit.

[mike ring]

"MB" wrote in news:dmf2np$nu3$03$ [e-mail]:

I just wondered; some have a sorta grounded plate, etc, but I've never seen one that eally captures the dirt.

I'm a bit of a martyr to me tubes, and as they clearly (except yours!) precipitate rubbish, and one which would also collect it would be nice.

But I don't really want a big air treatment plant.

mike