HVAC-Talk: Heating, Air & Refrigeration Discussion banner

Sanuvox vs. Totaline

16K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  breathe easy  
#1 ·
I have been convinced by others that a U.V. purifier will work for my personal home but I have a couple of questions if I can bug you guys for a moment.

1. Sanuvox R4000GX costs 50% more than the equivalent Totaline P103-R3500G but has a 3 year warranty including lamp vs. Totaline's 1 year. Should I hold out for the 3 year warranty?

2. I have an Aprilaire 2400 up against the furnace. I have room either way but would the U.V. purifier be better in the return before the filter or supply after the A coil?

The house get closed up pretty tight up here after October and the HRV works overtime until April. Anything to improve the air is a blessing.
 
Save
#2 ·
you should also check out the RGF guardian air. amazing product. i have one in my own home and the ones that i have sold ive gotten agood response from homeowners. 3year warranty also
 
Save
#6 ·
key said:
gruntly said:
Yup.. and I got it, too. Installed the 4000 in my house last week.
So how is it working?
Works fine. The jury's still out on the effect since it hasn't been in long enough but the house does smell nicer. I ran it for 48 hours right off now cycling it with the HRV and furnace.

It probably doesn't help that I have taken to painting the master bedroom this week either... I've been running it while I'm painting and the smell is gone from the house completely in 10 minutes.
 
Save
#7 ·
Did you install the Sanuvox R4000GX in the return side before the filter or after in the supply side?

I was also looking at this unit. I currently have the Honeywell dual lamp UV unit installed in the return before the filter and thought this unit would be a good addition in the supply side.

Does the Sanuvox R4000GX produce Ozone?
 
#8 ·
Recommended in R/A, which is where I put mine and the claim is no ozone.

Comes with a nice aluminum tunnel, which I put exactly opposite my Honeywell humidifier to keep it out of direct lightstream.

Only a very small amount of the base of the Aprilaire filter, which is metal, is visible to the lamp.

They don't recommend any plastic visible to the direct lightstream, so if you put it in the supply you my be changing the "A" coil in a couple of years, or at the very least the condensate pan.
 
Save
#9 ·
I would be curious to hear if Breathe Easy has any input on the Sanuvox R4000GX.
He seems to be very knowledgable about IAQ and appears to have experience testing different products.
The Sanuvox R4000GX is a very expensive item and I would like to hear from others who have bought, installed or have this in use.
 
#10 ·
Brian Google The Sanuvox R4000GX . Its just a expensive UV bulb in a polished aluminum chamber with a fancy package around it that only samples part of the air stream in the return. It wont remove VOCs or odors. It should have a decent kill rate because it is slowing down the section of air that is passing through its chamber.But why only treat a sample of the air stream? UVGI has great results no matter what the package is if used properly. But you need to turn the air over in the area you are treating at least 5 times an hour and I don't see how Sanuvox's unit can achieve this with this configuration in a furnace under any situation.
 
Save
#11 ·
genesis said:
Brian Google The Sanuvox R4000GX . It wont remove VOCs or odors.
Then why do they say it does in the first paragraph? Also, look under the research section as well. They say they are backed up by a pile of Govt testing. There's even a section about H5N1(avian flu). They say they emit UV-C and UV-V.

Are these just idle claims? Did I just spend a lot of money for 1/2 a job?

I don't get it:confused:

Help a guy out here!
 
Save
#12 ·
UVC Light by its self will not remove VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that is what you smell. UVGI only kills and degrades biologics. You have to add what is called a catalysis (PCO) in the air stream. Breatheasy made some good statements awhile back about over marketing and I think if he reads the literature on this site he will have a field day. And did you notice that they didn't say their equipment was tested by the govt.? They are using other people research to validate their own product. As far as I know we have the only technology that has ever been tested for IAQ by the govt. Other than UV light its self by the Department of Energy . And they sanction the testing through a University in Colorado.
We were requested by the Army to supply equipment for testing at Dugway Proving Grounds In Utah recently. And were told that this is the first time that they have ever tested an IAQ technology. They liked our equipment so well they have started a second round of testing to see just to see what the limitations of our technology is.
My guess is that if they claim that their product controls odors is that their UV bulb isn't coated and produces Ozone. This process is called photo plasma and can be quite dangerous and damaging to a duct system.
I replaced a photo plasma system in a floating casino last year and the particulate was balling up in the duct work and literally falling out of the supplies in large clots of dirt landing on the slot machines. They had to rip out a lot of the duct work and start over. And they had to repaint mostly every thing because of the bronze color that was collecting on the ceiling and walls from the ozone.
UVGI light does alot of good things but has its limitations by its self. If you have an odor improvement with UVGI alone it might be from killing mold spores in the air.
Paul
Genesis Air Inc
 
Save
#13 ·
Where do we start?

First, if you already have an Aprilaire 2400, why do you need a UV light at all? If you use a MERV 11 version of the Aprilaire replacement filter, you are going to capture at least 85% of the mold spores in the air stream and probably closer to 95% plus you will capture over 95% of the pollen. What do you hope to achieve by adding UV light?

Secondly, Genesis is right about the literature. What are these people thinking? If you read the literature this product can destroy common odors, chemical pollutants and biological contaminants such as bacteria, body odors, burned flesh, exhaust fumes, fecal odors, melons, viruses, vinegar, etc., etc.. And it kills common micro-organisms like protozoa, measles, influenza, mold, dysentery bacilli, staphylococcus aureus, etc., etc.. Remember - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The pity is this company makes some good products. As they point out, their products was used in the Menzies et. al. study and was tested successfully for the EPA by the Research Triangle people I talked about in another post. Neither of these very sophisticated tests has a direct relationship to the product they sell to homeowners. In the case of the Menzies study the UV was used to irradiate coils. In the case of the Research Triangle study all of the air went through the UV tunnel (not just part of it as in the home units). That's the thing about so many of these indoor air products. Every claim has at least some element of truth in it. It is just that between the tests and the literature you have a deep and wide chasm.

Thirdly, when someone talks about UV or anything else breaking down a whole host of chemicals, it scares me to death. Do you have any idea what is being created from the oxidizers (ozone, hydroxyl radicals, and other Reactive Oxygen Species) when they react with things like paint or cigarette smoke? I sure don't. But I do know that studies have shown that formaldehyde and other aldehydes that are often more dangerous than the original compounds can be the result. And just because it smells good, it does not mean that it is good. Our noses are terrible testers for air safety. Natural gas and carbon monoxide are two great examples.
 
#14 ·
gruntly said:
genesis said:
Brian Google The Sanuvox R4000GX . It wont remove VOCs or odors.
Then why do they say it does in the first paragraph? Also, look under the research section as well. They say they are backed up by a pile of Govt testing. There's even a section about H5N1(avian flu). They say they emit UV-C and UV-V.

Are these just idle claims? Did I just spend a lot of money for 1/2 a job?

I don't get it:confused:
Help a guy out here!
Gruntly: Give Sanuvox a call and talk to Aaron, he will answer your questions with sound technical knowledge.

Mine is up and running. works great...all within government guidelines. breathe easy and genesis have valid points, however it is not as bad as they have stated,

 
#15 ·
Ihave sold sanuvox for 7-8 years and have a few commercial jobs that tell the tale. 500+ people on new years eve. 1/2 smoking. plus the bands smoke machine,. simply put the smoke disappeared. I have a r3500x and will swear by it
 
Save
#16 ·
OK, when you say it made the smoke disappear, do you mean you couldn't see it any longer? Or do you mean that somehow it reacted with the 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke made them disappear? This is an important distinction and one that people should be aware of.

Let me explain. For a number of years we have been bombarded with informercials for ionizers and other air cleaning devices. One of the most impressive demonstrations was when they used the ionizer to "make the smoke disappear." They were so confident it worked they actually had it tested by an independent lab. In the tests they "smoked" cigarettes in two identical chambers. In one they placed an ionizer. The other was the control. Then they measured what happened with the odor, and a number of chemicals including nicotene, solanesol, acrolein, benzene, styrene,3-ethenylpyridine and formaldehyde. The test panel judged that the odor was less in the chamber with the ionizer. Solanesol decreased at a faster rate in the chamber with the ionizer. All of the other chemicals remained the same in both chambers - except for one - formaldehyde. In the control the formaldehyde remained the same. In the chamber with the ionizer the formaldehyde increased. In fact it went from about 80 ppb to over 120 ppb. The NIOSH limit for exposure is 100 ppb. Formaldehyde is a know carcinogen.

So, the lesson is - just because it disappears does not mean it is gone. In fact when we alter the indoor chemistry it just might be worse. Does that mean the Sanuvox or any other product that makes smoke disappear is a bad product? No. But it is up to them to do the testing on the byproducts - not me. I would be glad to take a look at any testing along these lines. Because if it exists, I have not seen it.
 
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.