30×40 Shop Part 8: Mini Split Air Filter Update - 351

- Build video for the filter boxes: • Mini Split Filters - 330
- The filters are working as intended. I have no way of measuring any performance change but the units are maintaining a comfortable temperature in the shop during all seasons. The units remain quiet and the fans never reach full speed even on the hottest days of the summer.
- These are the 20x20x1 MERV 13 filters I use: amzn.to/32rUDzI
- I designed the filter boxes to take the same size filters as my air cleaner cart. When I designed the air cleaner cart I made it fit the same size filters as my previous house HVAC system. Make things the same size and you are more likely to keep extras on hand, as they fit everything.
- I recommend making an air cleaner cart like I did. They are inexpensive and very effective. Contact local HVAC contractors to see if you can get a used blower motor for cheap or even free. For more info on the air cleaner cart: • Mobile Air Cleaner Car...
- This is what I use to monitor the air quality: amzn.to/2QpLZwg
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Coupons to save you money:
- Router bits (use code JAYBATES for 10% off - bitsbits.com/
- EF5 dust collector (use code JAY5 for 5% off) - jayscustomcrea...
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[@geraldmoore3686]

Jay, I finally built me a filtration cart like yours and I love it. I couldn't believe how it works, until I saw the accumulation of dust on the filters. I am a woodworker who specializes in lathe work, so I create a fair amount of dust. Wearing a face mask I can still tell how it helps with the dust in my shop. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

[@brucegibson8053]

I really enjoy your videos and this one is one of the better ones. I didn't think about using the portable vacuum to clean and get extra life out of the filters on my hanging air filter. Duh??? You just saved me a filter change (from the looks of it at least another 3 - 6 months). We did the same as your family and moved out east from the Sierra Nevada mountains ( camp fire burnt us out - Paradise, Ca. Nov. 2018) to North central Arkansas (Mountain Home area). The quality of living is much much higher here. After a career in const. I decided to join the wood working clan. Might as well, I don't drink or play golf, just fish and play in my workshop. Your & others videos have been my only teachers. So..... THANK YOU SIR!!!

[@JurassicJolts]

As an HVAC tech, I approve of this message

[@georgeshaw8276]

Jay, I use blue painters' tape to seal up my filters and it works great.

[@MrClevet3]

Ha, ha, ha! You're very good at what you do. I need a shop which will be at least as big as your's and you've given me some great insight/ideas for my shop.. Love your attitude and discipline.

[@kevinlewis4567]

That's impresive how well they are working.

[@josephkrug8579]

With all the fires out here in California, I use 3 box fans with those 20x20x1 hepa filters on, and when they get so dirty I cycle them into the garage where I have two similar fans for shop dust. Cool video :)

[@bobwhite8638]

Nice idea with the filtering additions. I plan on something similar for my work area. Possible modification for you would be to convert to washable filters. The material I had the most success with comes in a 30’ roll for about $50. You cut to size and it provides you with an easy way to fit them in and your more apt to change/clean them more frequently. You also don’t have to store the extra replacements. Flanders makes the filters and you can find them on line. I ordered mine through Home Depot Customer Service. I used them at a church and home for years. Some modification would be needed for your application but you might like it. Having been the HVAC business in years past, I can’t stress enough about the importance to change the filters quite often. If they get too dirty, Electric bills go up dramatically as well as put a strain on your units. Your use them on your cart also.

[@jimchval2331]

I have 3 air cleaners in my shop and I buy my filters at habitat for humanity dirt-cheap,and you're right air quality is much better.its the micro dust we worry about.

[@joeleonetti8976]

Joys of subtle changes. Could add that aluminum backed tape on the joints to prevent leaks. I've been saving for 3 to 4 years for mini split in my garage (labor is insanely expensive in SF Bay Area). Less than 6 months to have money so just finishing up my last summer. I can't wait.

[@DavidJordan-mq2ob]

Thanks for the update .

[@Sprint15s]

Thank you for the up date.

[@chaseweeks2708]

I'll have to keep the filter size issue in mind when I build something like this. Probably build the frame oversized, but put some 1in wide weather-strip around all sides of each hole so that any size filter will fit and seal.

[@andrewv5104]

Super Interesting, one thing to note is most of these paper filters removal rate increases as they get dirty. The cost is airflow. I think you could run them a lot longer. The nerdy engineer in me wants to suggest a Mattias type tube with water to measure the pressure difference. There might be HVAC gauges that you could use as well. When they installed my system the tech kept mentioning 0.5" of Water for an ideal pressure drop on the intake side.

[@davidcurtis5398]

What about having a lip on the top and bottom ledges (for lack of a better description). fox the top in place and have the bottom on bolt heads where you can loosen the screw/bolt/nut and the bottom will coma down a bit. Then if there is ever any sugnificant change in the size, you will be able to still use the new filters and the ledges (where the filters sit) will,always be right.

[@latherookie]

YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST SHOWED US THE RIBS"

[@JayBates]

instagram.com/jaybates86food?igshid=15ul5h4sdngf0

[@_rlb]

@@JayBates now I'm hungry. That looks so good.

[@mriguy3202]

the dirty filters actually work better than new up to a certain point. You could weigh the filters before/after to quantify the amount of dirt you are catching. The filtration needs for the HVAC are far less stringent than what might harm your lungs, but the filters are also cleaning lung air, so keeping the fan on even when the shop temperature is OK is helpful.

[@reformedllamaman]

I worked in filtration for 15 years. If the filters are too tight in a bank like that and you're worried about bypass in the seams, duct tape the filters together before you put them up

[@joeleonetti8976]

"all horizontal or all vertical". I bet you clock your screws as well. I know I do.

[@drmkiwi]

That was pretty impressive showing how clean the aircon filters were. The additional filters may be doing a better job of filtering the air, but they also be creating a heavier load on the aircon, drawing more current to move the air through the additional barrier. You could do a comparison by measuring how much energy the aircon units were using with and without the additional filters over say a period of a week. Having cleaned the filters in my aircon units only a few months ago, I was horrified how bad the build up of fine dust particles were on the filter and the cooling fins. (Yuck!) Thanks for the video. Cheers, David

[@Meyerwoodworks]

He tested it on the original video, I believe that's why there are four filters, something to do with the overall air cavity equals out the draw.

[@jaydee9953]

ok im sold. im building one for mine.....and the stairs to the loft r gone!

[@1toastandjam1]

Hi Jay so happy I subscribed a few days ago. This video is a blessing as I have just installed a 24000 btu Mr.Kool and was thinking I need to filter the intake filters. So glad you show the filters in the three stages of use. New, split air, the floor filter. I am going to copy your split air filter frame work for my system and also your floor unit again thank you. Second question could you or maybe your listeners perhaps address in-depth how you sealed your garage door so as not to loose heat as well as cooling. I have a roll up door that I am looking for ideas to close the gap across the top thanks in advance.

[@Samtagri]

Nice røde mic go hat!

[@loucinci3922]

Show us a comparison of of old vs new filter size diff.

[@josephlee7325]

You might want to make a second air cleaner cart

[@justindesilets3526]

tape the seams between the filters.

[@brassmule]

Have you thought about using 4" depth filters in order to increase your airflow and filter efficiency?

[@johnamenn4300]

Are you still happy with the size of the filter boxes? I'm considering making these, however the 4 filters would take up a lot of space. Is this over kill? Could 2 filters work? My mini split is very similar to yours. Keep up the great videos. Love your channel!

[@JayBates]

It's really one of those situations where the more filter area the better. If I were to do it over again I'd use 4. But that's just on my gut feeling. I didn't measure surface area of the filters. I know I wanted to use MERV 13 filters which reduce airflow. So to compensate for that I added more filters.

[@usmdude1983]

Painters tape the seams

[@michaelbusby1248]

Did you post your plans somewhere on how you constructed and attached your mini split filter box?

[@garrisjr]

My mini splits open in the front so one can remove the inner filter you were showing us. I do that ever so often to vacuum them. Is that the same with your units? I have Mitsubishi.

[@GraemePayne1967Marine]

In my shop (MUCH smaller than yours) I have a through-wall heat pump unit installed by the builder about 2 years ago. The OEM filtering is a couple of mesh filters 😲 on the room intake side. Therefore I started getting filters (something like 10 x 30 x 1) that I tape over the intake grille. I have averaged changing them about every four months. Successes are that the mesh filters have not needed washing, and there is no visible wood dust inside the unit. I am planning to attach a manometer to the unit so I can monitor the airflow reduction over time. Also, earlier this year I installed a ceiling mounted commercial air cleaner which should help more. -- asthmatic woodworker in central Maryland --

[@joedance14]

Your videos have truly been inspiring. I am about to get a mini-split, and plan to build a filter box for it. I also picked up a dehumidifier on sale during the winter. I’m thinking that it would probably benefit from a filter box too. What do you think? I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter. Thank-you.

[@bmay8818]

Not that it'll help much, but my AlorAir dehumidifier uses real filters (not those screen things), so a filter box isn't necessary. Something to consider when your dehumidifier dies. I'm on my 5th one, which is why I bought the AlorAir; it's much better built and worth the price.

[@joedance14]

@@bmay8818 Thanks for the tip!

[@kraken509]

I just got a Dylos. What counts do you typically see? I’m around 1100 fine without my clearvue running and get down to 500 after it’s been running for about 10 mins.

[@Meyerwoodworks]

I built your filter cart about a year ago, the filters get soooo dirty! Do you run it 24/7, or just when you're working in the shop? My shop is the garage, and woodworking is infrequent during the summer, I mostly do it during the winter. I need to check my minisplit filter, but it hasn't yelled at me yet to clean it...

[@m3rdpwr]

When I replaced my HVAC systems, I wish I had kept the old squirrel cage an motor. The motor was practically new, as I had changed it a few years early. Was a simply 4 wire with ground, L, M and H wires.

[@woody350ep1]

You may have covered this in your original video but it's been quite a while since I watched that, but aren't those grills in the filters typically on the intake side of things? If that's true, is there no impact on it being backwards?

[@JayBates]

The wire mesh on the filter? Those are on the exhaust side of the filters. The white cardboard grill is on both sides. Also, there's an arrow that indicates airflow..

[@woody350ep1]

Jay Bates - Woodworking Videos yeah I was referring to the cardboard mesh. In my experience that has always corresponded with the same pointy side of the arrow (furnace side). That they mesh is on both sides answers my question though, thanks!

[@mickeymallette2663]

What mini-split units are you running?

[@hspringsteen]

When you are in the shop just working, do you keep the air filter cart running, or do you just turn it on a few times a day to clean the air?

[@JayBates]

It is on if I'm in the shop. I generally only turn it off when I record narration.

[@hankvoelker6157]

Due to a garage door I can't go 4 wide, do tall think I could go 2x2 verticle?

[@kadenkeck9575]

Yes you can for sure.

[@garybadger325]

Questions... What is mfg of your Mini Splits? What is the size of the units and shop.

[@1toastandjam1]

Hello Gary for what it’s worth I used Mr.kool in my 20x20 it is 24,000 btu. My shop has a peek at 16 feet and the hip is 12 feet. I went with this brand both in my shop and my new 19x15 add on room. Easy to install and excellent technical help when I had a minor issue.

[@kennethnielsen3864]

27th.

[@hankvoelker6157]

Sorry meant yall not tall