Ecoquest Air Purifiers

There was even an "Breeze AT," shamelessly close to infringement of Sharper Image Ionic Breeze's trademark.

Ironically, Sharper Image is now bankrupt and another former market leader, Oreck Air Purifier, has fallen from its former position.

Although often associated with the word "complaint," Ecoquest persists.

Ecoquest air purifier is an ozone generator sold through a "Christian" multi-level marketing dealer network.

There are many thousands of these machines siting in garages of a revolving membership group of about 100,000 commission-only distributors around the world. Freshair air purifiers are re-marketed everywhere, often under other names because of arcane marketing agreements. My favorite is "Famous brand" air cleaner, but we can't tell you the name.

A number of copycat manufacturers, especially in China, build fake Ecoquests.

There is lots of information available on Ecoquest air purifiers.

Unfortunately, the data quality is extremely low, tainted by constant sunny user reviews from Ecoquests' "independent" dealers.

Reviews by 68 Epinions users average 3.5 of 5, but are split between marketing copy and sour grapes.

The company is famous for outrageous marketing claims. Poor Al Gore, he only invented the internet.

These guys invented air purification.

Using jargon, they pretend that previously existing technology is proprietary.

When that isn't enough, "nature" imagery abounds.

I like this one:

"Fresh Air by EcoQuest is the safest, most sought after air purifier in the world."

Both points above are, like many other parts of the company's marketing, demonstrably false.

This privately held corporation has sold more than $1 billion worth of air purifiers, the bulk of them in the past five or six years.

Did you just say Billion?.

Yep, now even I'm starting to believe.

Ecoquest International, formerly know as Alpine Industries, was founded by William Converse in 1986.

These products have been advertised heavily on talk radio, including Dr. Laura Schlesinger's show. Dr. Laura is famous for the phrase, loosely translated: "Buy an air purifier or be the air purifier." This apt slogan is perhaps the high point of this Ecoquest review.

The multi-level marketing pyramid holds lavish conventions, with stage shows and music to inspire believers.

Ecoquest Escapes from Minnesota

A favorite historical episode of mine is the failed 1876 Northfield, Minnesota bank raid. The Jesse James gang was sent fleeing from the State of Minnesota, and never recovered.

An era was coming to an end.

Alpine/Eco-Quest has been involved in one litigation after another, losing repeatedly. With each new injunction, slight modifications are made to the marketing claims and the business continues to grow.

One such litigation, in the Minnesota Supreme Court around 1999, caused then Minnesota-based Alpine Industries to reorganize as the current company "Ecoquest International, Inc."

A move to Greenville, Tennessee followed. A string of renamed products reinforces the fly-by-night image.

With sales in 70 countries around the world, and a never ending supply of new believers to parrot the party line, this outfit will survive any jurisdiction's attempt to run them off.

A new era is beginning.

The single biggest problem here is the marketing pyramid - this company sells it's dealerships harder than the air purifiers.

Every single customer is pitched for the life changing opportunity a dealership offers, right along with the inflated claims for the air purifier.

These dealerships have a 60% annual turnover, with garages full of unsold product for sale on eBay.

So can we objectively review Eco-quest's physical product, the actual air purifiers, surrounded by controversy and hype?

With the 2008 recession, these are going as low as $300 on eBay, but still retail from dealers for $725-up, a price range which includes premium air purifiers like IQAir, Blueair, and Clarifier.

This is also the price range inhabited by quality commercial ozone generators producing more than ten times the ozone output of the Freshair.

But, as with Ionic Breeze and Oreck, both ozone emitters, millions of customers actually like this product.

In fact, these high ozone air cleaners are known for heavy odor removal: people with multiple pets swear by them.

Just How Much Freshair does $725 Buy?

The Eco Quest comes in several packages, and the garage factor means older models remain on the market much longer.

Like Sharper Image, the company has added components in response to criticism. This makes it difficult to pin down specifications, what follows is necessarily general.

A 5-speed fan is loud on high where it creates up to 400 cubic feet per minute (CFM) airflow. This is plenty of volume to distribute ozone, especially if mounted high as recommended. Airborne impurities enter through a lint-screen prefilter on the back. This is a coarse filter but will accumulate lots of dust in the typical novice air purifier users dusty home.

There has been an optional "EcoHelp" HEPA-type filter added to the rear of some recent models, accompanied by bogus claims of "great CADR rates."

No official clean air delivery rates exist.

$725 and a HEPA-not filter simply do not match.

Air is then passed over an ozone generating purification plate.

This plate is a powerful oxidizer, early versions were known to corrode completely in less than one year. EBay has many replacement plates for sale.

There is even a Fresh Air after-market, with knock-off 4.5 inch square replacement plates made to fit. These are not expensive, running $15 to $30 on eBay.com. Two are required.

There are both radio frequency and single pin needlepoint ionizers, giving the EcoQuest Living Air a 4 to 3 ratio of negative to positive Ions.

This is similar to the Sharp Plasmacluster technology, and may be part of the secret of this air cleaner's mysterious success.

The jury is still out on the radio frequency ionizer's safety and utility. Electronic components on a printed circuit board, inside the Fresh Air, are all the evidence for this claim.

The newest Ecoquests have an ultraviolet activated photocatalytic Titanium Dioxide (Ti02) screen near the ozone plate.

With only 4 Watts UV power, this is a very small photocat installation.

Claims of "254nm photocatalytic activation", and "broad spectrum", are published on the web. This is technically incorrect (germicidal and photocat activation frequencies are different, cheap bulbs are not necessarily focused on a narrow spectrum). No specific UV emissions spectrum data is provided.

Users report some UV leakage from the front grill and average $25 bulb life around 6 months.

Ecoquest Air Purifier: Safety

Ecoquest Air Purifier

The highest setting, "away mode", which produces up to 360 mg of ozone per hour, is to be used in unoccupied rooms. Adjustable ozone output is a big plus, but I doubt if many unsophisticated buyers read the manual.

The latest edition of the Fresh Air user manual has it right on page one:

"CAUTION! - The Away Mode feature of this unit
is to be operated in unoccupied areas only."

Some units, like the Living Air depicted at the bottom of this page, have a warning near the ozone control knob: "DO NOT OPERATE WITHOUT OWNER'S MANUAL".

There is even a note about pet safety and ozone.

Ecoquest may be responding to the avalanche of criticism and acting on advice of legal counsel.

12” high by 9” wide by 12” deep, weighing 16 pounds, the Freshair is compact and portable.

90 watts power consumption on high gives it energy consumption equal to the $490, 380 CADR, Friedrich C90b.

Warranty Does Not Cover Plates, Bulbs

The 3 year warranty does not cover the plates. Warranty claims are handled by the local distributor, maybe not the same guy who sold the purifier.

Eco Quest Fresh Air Purifiers carry the Handyman's Club of America's seal of approval. I have always sought health advice from handymen, and am one myself.

1. “My son COULD NOT QUIT coughing after we had the machine in our house for 3 days. When we were out of the house, he was fine.”

2. “trust the American Lung Association and the EPA much more than a pyramid company!”

3. “after running the unit for 2 days, my son was having to use his inhaler, and my daughter had to use her inhaler after 3 days. They were both having the early symptoms of an asthma attack. By the third day, I also had some chest pain, and I don't have respiratory problems.”

4. “I don't know which is worse, my kids having asthma attacks because of secondhand smoke or my kids having asthma attacks because of the (Ecoquest) Fresh Air.”

5. “Highly recommended for people who like to waste their money and/or the odor and "feel" of breathing ozone”

6. “In short, the "Fresh Air by Ecoquest" is really just an ozone and ion generator with a small fan and a UV light lamp (bulb) tacked on for good measure.”

7. “It turns out that Ecoquest and its controversial predecessors, the Alpine and Living Air corporations, has packaged and repackaged the same ozone-ion generators over and over again for years to an unsuspecting public..."

8. “The Ecoquest Fresh Air Purifier has a supposedly "Intelligent" system that alerts you to when the unit needs cleaning or maintenance. Further investigation indicates that it tells you to clean the unit once a month regardless of how dirty it is. Not exactly intelligent.”

9. ..."I have read the positive epinions here on the Living Air and all I can say is, hey, 12% of Americans believe Elvis is alive."

10. "...I developed a chronic cough about 3 months after using it in my home..."

11. "...admit you got taken and get rid of the ozone generator..."

12. "...the American Lung Association and Consumer Reports join me in asserting that your Living Air Classic is a piece of junk..."

13. "...Smell of air purifier made me feel sick to my stomach w/ headache..."

There were numerous 5 star reports also, some of which came from non-dealers.

Air-Purifier-Power Rating Criteria

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: 0 of 10, the only zero ever awarded here.

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

Score: 10 of 10, these products have a very good reputation for pet and mold odor removal.

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

Score: 5 of 10, short life of plates.

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, parts independently replaceable, filter monitor is a 30 day timer.

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

Score: 6 of 10, short plate and product life.

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

Score: 7 of 10, a bit loud on high, low airflow.

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: 5 of 10, 3-year warranty could be longer at this price.

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: 3 of 10, not worth anywhere near $700.

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

Score: 1 of 10, lowest rating ever.

10. Unit is stylish, portable, comfortable, and convenient for consumer use.

Score: 10 of 10, handy remote, easy interface.

Air-Purifier-Power Numeric Rating; 55

Lowest ranking air cleaner ever.

If, after reading this, you still want one, look for it on eBay.

You'll find many former EcoQuest dealers trying to unload obsolete models and lightly used 3-day demo returns.

For example, this Living (Alpine) Air Purifier.

Living (Alpine) Air Purifier

Eco Quest Links