Re: Honeywell HHT-145

A Reader writes:

Hello Ed;

For the past 2 weeks, I have been extensively searching the web for information on Air Cleaners/Purifiers.

I am so happy that I came upon your site. I have read with interest every review that you have written. It appears that all of these air purifiers with Hepa filters, regardless of the price are noisy, especially on high or medium speeds.

After reading your write-up on the IQAir Health Pro Plus, I totally agree on your number 1 rating. Unfortunately, for the average consumer, it is quite expensive. I live in Oakville, ON Canada where the price of this air purifier is nearly $1,000 plus taxes.

You seem to really like the Sharp Plasmacluster. I don't because of the humidity feature.

Since my allergies are mainly dust, pollen, etc related, I had more or less decided on the Honeywell 50250-N but was very disappointed to learn yesterday that the Hepa filter that comes with the 50250-N is not replaceable.

If you should damage the filter while cleaning, you would need to buy 3 filters at$40.00 U.S. each and stack them. Since this does not appeal to me, I am now back to square one trying to decide on what to buy.

I noticed that your reviews do not cover any of the Honeywell tower type purifiers which makes me think that you don't like them.

I have done a lot of research on these and have decided that the machines with the Hepa filters are the best.

Most of the other ones have ionizers that you cannot turn off.

The machine that I am now considering is the Honeywell HHT-145 which has a UV light and ionizer that can be turned off. It also has 2 pre-filters - a washable pre-filter or an odour reducing pre-filter.

I personally like the washable pre-filter as I don't smoke and strong odours are very minimal.

Also, I have read quite a few consumer reviews that indicate the odour reducing pre-filter(must be carbon) releases black specks that dirty the machine and anything nearby.

One thing that I do like is that the 2 Hepa filters in this unit are replaceable.

They are actually the same filter that is in a cheaper model which I was also interested in but unfortunately does not have the oscillation feature.

I live in a 1000 square foot, 2 bedroom apartment and was planning on placing this unit in my bedroom. My original plan was to also have the 50250 running in the living room but now that's all changed and maybe for the best because it also has a carbon filter.

Both of these air purifiers have a 5 year warranty.

I would appreciate anything good or bad that you could tell me about the Honeywell HHT-145.

Thank you.

Ed's Reply

Hey Reader;

You are correct to notice that few "tower" air cleaners are mentioned with any enthusiasm here.

Towers, popularized by the now discredited Sharper Image Ionic Breeze, epitomize the style-over-substance marketing philosophy this site exists to expose.

Honeywell HHT-145 is a good example of this phenomenon.

The over-elaborate name:

"Honeywell HHT-145 HepaClean UV Antibacterial HEPA Tower 3-in-1 Air Purifier,"

"Abraham De Lacey, Giuseppe Casey, Thomas O'Malley, the alley cat.

The HHT-145s sleek appearance and spiffy lighted LCD control panel conceal inferior components, sub-par filters, and low air cleaning performance for the price.

Marketing literature is targeted at the naive buyer, promising a low maintenance relationship the product rarely delivers.

For starters, this Honeywell Tower is a low powered air cleaner.

AHAM CADR ratings are 120 Smoke/120 Dust/130 Pollen. AHAM room size is 185 sq. ft. HHT145 is powerful enough for only the smallest rooms.

Digital fan controls offer a unique 12 speed settings.

HHT-145's "HEPAClean" marketing label is misleading, this is NOT a real HEPA filter.

The HEPA-Type "permanent HEPA filter works to remove up to 99 percent of airborne particles."

This is jargon for one of the inferior 2 micron paper filters now appearing in cheap air cleaners. Real HEPAs capture particles one-tenth that size.

CZF-145 charcoal prefilters are $25 at www.kaz.com, with recommended replacements every 3 months. That starts the annual maintenance tab at $100.

Then there is the cost of replacement UV bulbs, Model HUV-145, two for $26 to $40, every 6 months.

This is a Mercury vapor bulb with safety and environmental issues.

There is one report of a UV bulb melting the plastic housing.

The Honeywell HHT-145 user manual recommends that the ionizer not be used by those with asthma or other breathing disorders. This suggests a lower quality ionizer, which may emit ozone and nitrogen oxides.

To me, the second biggest deal-breaker, after the very high price, is the oscillation feature - "to help circulate the air." This seems designed to fool buyers who think they are buying a cooling fan. Oscillation is absolutely worthless on an air cleaner.

Numerous user reviews report early failures with the HHT-145.

Amazon user reviews report issues with vibrations when filters are misaligned.

Other users report paperwork missing from a brand-new sealed box, and strong plastic odors from new HHT-145s.

I don't blame Honeywell for attempting to cash in on the naive/style-conscious market segment, but with HHT-145 going for $216.99 to $300.92 at a large number of web vendors, this is a seriously over-priced, low quality, air cleaner.

In this price range there are many better deals - Sharp FP-40CX, last of the non-humidifier Plasmaclusters, would be my preference. I bought a KC-K150U humidifier type Sharp and actually like it very well.

The Honeywell 50250, despite the noise, is a far better air cleaner than HHT-145.

Sincerely,

Ed