Blueair 501 Air Purifier

Blueair Air Purifier

The Blueair 501, rated #6 by Consumer Reports, combines mechanical (HEPA-like) and electrostatic technologies in one air purifier.

Blueairs are among the most popular air purification products at internet allergy/asthma shops. Also marketed in upscale malls, the 501 Blueair has come far from its Swedish origins.

There are a pair of customer reviews at Amazon.con, averaging 4.5 of 5. Eight Epinions.com users rate the 501blueairs 3.5 of 5, there are a couple real sour reviews there among the raves.

AllergyBuyersClub.com has 4.5 stars on the Blueairs.

Unlike some, a Blueair 501 review is pleasant to do. CADRs are astronomical; Smoke 388, Dust 377, and Pollen 378. Rated room size is up to 620 square feet for the 501. 501 is a strong performer, but Air-Purifier-Power prefers a more realistic room size: 380 square feet, approximately equal to the average CADR. Remember, your home environment will vary, pollutant reintroduction rates are vastly different from home to home and even room to room.

Blueair501 purifier air cleaning technology is said to achieve 99.7% purification at .1 micron! That is well beyond HEPA standard (.3 micron), down into the fine-lung-penetrating-particle range.

Let's Look Inside the Blueairs

Blueair aircleaner is a metal box with a big motor paired with a slick looking fan under the bottom. A metal cage fits over the fan, providing user safety and support for three cardboard bound filter boxes. As intake air clears the fan it passes near a series of electrostatic brushes centered within the cage. These look like small craft-store paint brushes, and charge all sizes of airborne particles more effectively than corona discharge pins or points.

Air exits through three activated carbon impregnated polypropylene filters. Charged particles are electrically attracted to airfilter media, which is not actively charged. This electrostatic attraction allows less restrictive non-HEPA air filters to achieve HEPA performance.

Blueair 501s: Electrostatic Without Ozone

Unlike competing electrostatic and most ionizer air cleaners, Blueair 501 aircleaners produce no ozone.

Laboratory testing has shown that when a 501 is running, ozone levels fall.The 501Blueair passed the 24 hour Ozone Test specified in section 37 of the Underwriter's Laboratories Electrostatic Air Cleaner Standard (UL 867).

The Blueair501 tests at .003 ppm of ozone, almost beyond measurement. This is a far cry from other electronic air purifier units struggling to stay under the ozone standard at .050 ppm.

Using a set of brushes, Blueair 501 purifier ionizes air with as little current as possible: lower current means less ozone is produced.Collision with the steel cage inside a Blueair strips ozone molecules of their third oxygen atom, rendering them harmless.

How Quiet is Blueair?

The Blueair airpurifier purifies larger volumes of air with less noise than most HEPA air cleaners.The 501 has four fan speeds: “HEPA Silent”, low, medium and high.The full Air-Purifier-Power noise spec is;

Only the medium speed, 247cfm@49dB, sticks out as super quiet performance, remember it's not just how loud, but how much air is purified relative to noise. The low speed is quiet enough for all but the lightest sleepers. A few find the air purifier's unusual whistle-like pitch very annoying.

Three501 Filters

Three Blueair particle filters or three Blueair SmokeStop filters drop into the air purifier's steel case.

Recommended filter life is a short 6-months and replacements are $79 for normal or $147 for recommended smokestop filters. Here is the inevitable Achilles heel of a fresh design: $160 to $300 annual filter costs, higher than the typical HEPA air purifier.

As a percentage of original purchase price, only the Blue-air smokestop option is high by industry standards. Many air purifying machines have annual filter costs equal to the purchase price. Without exception, every residential aircleaner design involves tradeoffs.

Filters contain millions of ultra thin fibers in 3 sizes. Larger airborne particles are trapped first, followed by medium and then small.

The Blueair 501's optional "SmokeStop" filter adds activated carbon for odor and chemical reduction.

Eco-Friendly Blueair Purifier

Blueair uses polypropylene filters in its 501 instead of glass fibers, which can harm the environment. Polypropylene naturally prevents mold and mildew growth, so chemical-based bacteriostats or mold inhibitors are needed.

Blueair air purifier is designed for a long life and nearly complete recycling.

Using 15-95 watts, depending upon speed, the 501 is Energy-Star rated.Weighing 35 pounds and measuring 20”w x 13”d x 26”h, the steel unit is a bit heavy for the elderly or infirm to move up stairs.

This is a very good quality purifier; vendors report few returns or complaints.

The Blueair 501 comes with a long 10-year limited warranty, with the stipulation that filters must be changed on schedule. Participation in the company's filter subscription plan or filter receipt retention might be a good idea.

Blueair 501 Problems

With all the above in its favor, what could be wrong with the 501?

Blueair 501 is a highly regarded aircleaner, among the best. It is good, but not perfect. The first significant defect is the lack of a prefilter. To attain high throughput, the inner workings are left exposed to impure air. Dust particles and other fragments build up on the fan blades, and in the metal cage. This accumulation is very inconvenient to clean. Human and/or pet hair will also build up here. Multiple pet and/or very dusty households will be probing the Blueairs' weak areas.

The absence of a prefilter also impairs main filter life. A Blueairfilter near the end of it's life shows large airborne dust particle accumulation that should be collected by a cheaper prefilter.

Second, the three filter boxes are not tightly sealed, especially the middle/top filter. Examination of a Blueair 601 with enough hours to need filter replacement reveals a small amount of bypassing. Fine dust slips by the top filter box, which is not held as tightly as the two side mounted boxes.

I'd like to see a prefilter and better sealing and gasketing on the Blueairs. This would degrade throughput a bit, but would reinforce the company's upscale quality image.

Principal defects are the bright blue-air light, whistling sound that irritates a few, interior cleaning difficulty, and expensive air filters which require semi-annual replacement.

AirPurifierPower Rating/Review

Each of ten factors gets up to 10 points, 100 is perfect and very unlikely.

1. First do no harm; minimal out gassing, no ozone.

Score: 10 of 10.

2. Serious airborne gas and odor removal is a requirement if health benefits are expected: aircleaners with real carbon VOC capability rank higher.

Score: 7 of 10, (9 with optional carbon filters)

3. Quality construction; case, gaskets, seals, and precision fitting eliminate bypassing impure air and assure high efficiency at filtering sub-micron particles from the airstream.

Score: 8 of 10, no prefilter, loose fit of top/middle filter allows light bypassing.

4. The design maximizes the lifespan of each filter stage by allowing independent filter replacement. Ideally this is combined with electronic filter monitoring.

Score: 8 of 10

5. Aircleaner has long filter life, low maintenance requirements, and reasonable operating costs.

Score: 8 of 10, filter costs high, service life long.

6. Purifier produces low noise levels and meaningful airflow rates relative to noise.

Score: 9 of 10, a bit loud on high, but really going.

7. Manufacturer has a track record, with many units in the field and a reputation for supporting what they sell. Warranty period and average service life are long.

Score: 9 of 10, 10 year warranty, well built.

8. Purifier is a value in terms of price/performance ratio. Every price range should be included, “models above $1,200 are best”, while true, is not useful to most consumers.

Score: 10 of 10, better value than most.

9. No dirt; aircleaner and manufacturer should be devoid of class-action suits, high returns, recalls, repairs, consumer complaints, and legitimate negative consumer reviews.

Score: 10 of 10

10. Airpurifiers are stylish, portable, comfortable, and convenientfor consumer use.

Score: 9 of 10, large and boxy but attractive.

AirPurifierPower Numeric Rating; 88, very good.

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