AC Filter Question...

[ishy]

Hello to all, a buddy of mine and I have been in an on going dispute. He says he was told by an AC pro to use the cheap 2 buck filters for his furnace/blower unit. I am a believer of the mid range 6-8 dollar ones. He states they told him it wpould wear his unit out quicker. I change mine once a month regardless.. Any advice from the wealth of knowledge on this fantastic find anything site?? Thank you

[nobody05]

The name of the game is Air Flow when it comes to A/C the cheap filters flow more air therefore causing the unit to be abit more efficient. A Con to that is that is lets more particles flow through the Evap Coil which can leed to coating it with gunk leading to me less efficient. A higher dollar one will flow less air but keep the coil in the furnace cleaner. That is why people are putting in high dollar 5'' wide Airebare filters to get the best of both worlds. Moral of story is ANY filter is better than NO FILTER.

[fivebucks]

A gal I work with had AC problems last week. She had a service guy in and he said she had too good of a filter. She was using one of those high alergen filters and it was not letting enough air flow and her coils were freezing up. He said much longer and she could have blown her motor. He recommended the cheap filters for summer AC use.

[Scott K]

I use the cheap blue filters. Restricted air will cause the fan to work harder, and you will have less air flow through your vents.

[SkunkedAgain]

Interesting stuff to read

[chad austin]

I just replaced my furnace and A/C unit at the beginning of the year and I was told to use the cheap filters as well. If you have your furnace serviced every 2 years the "gunk" that the cheap filters let through will be cleaned at that time. My

[amateurfishing]

I can agree with the cheap ones for air flow issues BUT if you are doing any kind of work in your house (like i am now) it is best to change out to a better filter as the work is being done to collect any extra dust particles etc then go back to cheap ones after project is done. you may not want any extra dirt/dust flowing thru house when working on a project

[ishy]

Thanks to all. As always a wealth of info.. I guess it's the cheapo's for me from now on.

[Sonicrunch]

Well, if you must, use the cheapes for A/C, but heating does not require the same airflow to be effective, so go ahead and use the good filters in the winter. Besides, the house doesn't exchange nearly as much air in winter as summer, so its a double reason to use a good filter in the winter.

BTW, the 3M filters flow just as well as the el-cheapos. Technology!!