re: A/C Air Filters

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it could mean the cheaper ones mean more repair work for the AC Guy

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Ding, ding, ding....seems to be a recurring suggestion by people's a/c guy in this thread. Yeah, use that cheap one...it works best. That a/c guy is laughing on his way out of your house. They love dirty evaporator coils. They love when your coil is an ice block especially long term and it kills your compressor. The a/c guy makes money by servicing your equipment. He doesn't make money if it never breaks.

I manufacture a/c coils, air handlers and furnaces. And I've dealt with a/c contractors for 35+ years. The founder of our company was the first person to ever put a/c in a residential home. He is the reason you and I are cool in our homes today. We are pioneers in the a/c manufacturing business and know what does and doesn't work. It is in your best interest to protect your investment with a pleated filter. You just need a minimal rated pleated filter...nothing high rated, nothing expensive. You'll also have a cleaner home with less dust on everything.

The only time I'd suggest a cheap blue filter is for small units such as an apartment "concealed ceiling" units and "in the wall" type units. These have very small motors...1/6-1/4 hp. You do not want to use pleated filters on this type of equipment unless it has a 1/3 hp or up constant torque motor.

I always try to give everyone on Tigerdroppings good advice regarding a/c equipment. I'm just trying to help you select the best equipment, save money and avoid problems.

Rolling down the line right now....

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I`ve heard from multiple AC guys who said go with the old blue ones like the picture above.

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That’s what my A/C guy advised so I buy them by the case at Coburn Supply.

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It is in your best interest to protect your investment with a pleated filter. You just need a minimal rated pleated filter...nothing high rated, nothing expensive. You'll also have a cleaner home with less dust on everything.

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This is what my A/C company recommends. I buy a brand that's recommended to replace every 3 month and I set a reminder each month and inspect them for excessive dust buildup and to make sure they are still in good shape.

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Yeah, use that cheap one...it works best. That a/c guy is laughing on his way out of your house. They love dirty evaporator coils.

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I appreciate the advice, I honestly mean that.

Given that, using the cheap filters costs around $20/ year they are like $1.50 each. Using the better merv 8 filters runs at least $6.50 each online so $80 ish a month on up. It's about $100 to get an AC guy to clean your system, and any joe can do it in under 30 minutes with a little know how. Even with cheap filters they need cleaned maybe every 2 years or yearly if you want to keep it in optimum condition.

Point being, it's not saving you any money especially when you add in extra electric cost to power your ac and any wear and tear the restricted air flow causes.

But, the real answer to this is AC techs don't care about the filter they care about the air flow. Most people have barely enough air flow or not enough due to too small of intake vent sizes. If you have plenty of intake then using the higher merv is perfectly fine.

But again, my point of contention is if you want to clean your air use a separate air filtering device. Use your HVAC system to cool and heat air. Learn to clean your evaporator and condenser coils. It's a very easy job takes under 30 mins a year.

I buy cheap ones when I can find my size. My thinking is, even if they last half as long as good ones, they’re 1/4 the price.