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Madzia M
I have just run out of my air filters for my furnace. All I know is that it uses 16x25x1 and that we have dog. I checked Ace Hardware and Home Depot and there are so many types that I just don't know what to get. I was thinking of some deal at Amazon or Ebay but still don't know what to get. Please help.
Answer
Standard, pleated filters that do not have a higher MERV rating than 8 are what I recommend to my customers, and what I use in my own system. They aren't expensive, and they are what the manufacturers of your furnace had in mind when they designed the equipment.
Filters that are 1 inch thick that are marketed as "3 month filters" or "hypoallergenic filters" should never be used, especially if your furnace serves an air conditioner. These filters have a much higher MERV rating, which means, from the start, they reduce more air flow than a lower MERV rated filter.
Washable filters are even worse. You can never wash all of the crap that is in one of those out, even with a pressure washer. So every time you clean it, its MERV rating is going up and less air is going through. Eventually, it will lower the airflow to problematic levels.
If you are hypoallergenic, then there are much more effective ways of taking allergens out of the air, like electrostatic air cleaners and UV light systems.
The problem with the higher MERV rated filters is that the reduced air flow is harmful to your systems operation and overall well being. A heater requires a certain CFM of airflow to maintain the right amount of heat transfer in the heat exchanger. Too much airflow and the temperature of the heated air will be too low. Too little airflow and the temperature of the heat exhanger and surrounding furnace chassis gets too high. This can be a very serious fire hazard. To keep your heater from burning down your house in this situation, there are safety components in your furnace. One of these is called a high limit switch. It's a very simple switch that opens at a specific temperature. If this happens, the burners will shut off.
I go on service calls quite often where someone is complaining of no heat and the only problem is their filter is dirty and the furnace got too hot. Higher MERV rated filters make a system much more prone to this type of failure. Plus, they are usually fairly expensive, sometimes as much as three times as much as what I recommend to my customers.
Also, if you have an air conditioner and not just a furnace, in the summer when you're running the AC, if you lower the airflow too much, your evaporator coil will freeze up from not enough heat being delivered to the coil. This means the AC will not work. Repeated freeze ups can destroy your AC's compressor, which is a very, very expensive fix.
The filters you should look for are should have a material that looks like cotton paper and are pleated, with wire mesh on at least one side to prevent the material from pulling through. If you are shopping at home depot or the like, I think they stock 3M filters that are pretty good.
One thing I would recommend, just have a service check up of your furnace (and AC if you have it) and tell them you'd like to buy a box of filters before they come out. They should just bring the box out when they come for the service call. I do this all the time for my customers, and it saves them money as buying 12 at a time, even with the contractors mark up, is cheaper than buying one at a time from Home Depot. Plus they get delivered to you, and your furnace gets a check up all in one visit. Just a thought.
What garden hose for a high pressure nozzle?
Steven
I plan to buy a high pressure 250psi spray nozzle which I will put a link in the end. But I want to know if I bought only a 5/8 inch hose, will that limit the water pressure. I just went to the store and saw that 5/8 inch hose is actually quite thin haha. Should I cancel my order and buy a bigger 3/4 inch hose or is the 5/8 inch just fine? Thans
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015AUOSC?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links
Answer
Most household water pressure falls between 60 -80 PSi, with some getting as high as 100 PSI.
Unless you have an unusually high pressure pump or supply source, virtually all common GHT nozzles will handle your service.
Garden Hose is usually rated for between 150 PSI and 250 PSI Maximum Allowable Working Pressure (MAWP).
There are commercial hose products that utilize long shank commercial GHT (Garden Hose Thread) couplings that might be able to exceed 250 PSI MAWP, but would not be likely to be found in your situation.
There are special nozzles, used in the Fire Equipment Industry, that are capable of handling higher pressures, but these are so expensive as to be absurd for your use.
You cannot get more pressure out of the system than goes into it.
When you restrict the flow at the nozzle outlet, by using a smaller orifice (outlet hole) you minimize the pressure drop that occurs and you will have the effect of more force, but at the expense of REDUCED FLOW.
Dixon Valve's "Adjust-a-Power" Nozzle is used by forest firefighters to achieve better reach and minimize water usage. It is also widely used as a "sweeper" nozzle for removing debris.
http://www.dixonvalve.com/search/?searchâ¦
Short of getting a real pressure washer, or getting a special nozzle that requires an air compressor to boost the pressure from you hose, this is the best thing for "hitting" power, but it will not let you put out the volume of water a regular Garden hose nozzle will.
Nelson is a fine company, however realize that the "300% more water flow than a standard nozzle" is ONLY possible when you have the 250 PSI pressure at the nozzle inlet. The increase is mostly due to the higher flow rate at 250 PSI vs 100 PSI.
Putting a high volume nozzle on a smaller diameter hose will somewhat starve the nozzle, resulting in a reduced outlet pressure, and "hitting" power of the stream.
If a high flow rate is your requirement then you should go with the 3/4" Hose.
If you opt for a lower volume nozzle then the 5/8" hose might suffice.
Make sure which ever hose you get is rated for the applications working pressure.
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