Replacement HEPA and HEPA-type Filters for Honeywell Air Purifiers

The "Honeywell" air purifier brand has been in play over the last few years, with ownership changes and product line consolidation.

Honeywell air cleaners produce approximately four hundred million dollars in annual revenue, with significant cash flow from replacement filters.

One upside is continued Genuine Honeywell OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) filter availability, especially following the change to modular filter designs shared by multiple purifiers.

That money flow attracts generic manufacturers, offering aftermarket filters which attempt to match OEM specifications.

Some generics may be marketed with misleading language, and/or perform at a lower level than genuine Honeywell filters.

But many generics offer better value, with plentiful buyer reviews in support.

Honeywell OEM filters were formerly sold under a numeric nomenclature, such as "25000".

Kaz, Inc., which licenses the brand from Honeywell International (the real Honeywell many buyers think they dealt with) fought back against generic encroachment with distinctive red and white boxes and a new set of trademarks.

In my opinion, the quality of Genuine Honeywell OEM filters has been deteriorating, making the better generics a reasonable alternative.

Genuine OEM filters are sold at my affiliate, amazon.com, which also lists numerous generics, and at the official kaz.com website.

Note that prices quoted here are approximations, valid at the time of posting only.

Honeywell 14-inch Round HEPA Filters

HRF-F1 / Filter (F)

Honeywell Universal 14" Air Purifier Replacement HEPA filter, HRF-F1 / Filter (F) is the current genuine OEM replacement filter for fourteen-inch round Honeywell air cleaners.

HRF-F1 is a stackable modular filter. honeywell hrf-f1 filter

Honeywell 11520 air cleaner needs 2 HRF-F1 filters to replace one 21500 filter.

Honeywell 12520 takes 2 HRF-F1 filters to replace a single 22500.

Honeywell 17200 needs 2 HRF-F1 filters for the original 21500.

Honeywell 17400 requires 2 HRF-F1 filters in place of the old 22500 filter.

Honeywell 18150 must have 2 HRF-F1 filters to supplant one 21500.

Honeywell 50150 air purifier needs 2 HRF-F1 filters in place of an original 21500.

Honeywell 50200 needs 2 HRF-F1 filters instead of an old 23500 filter.

To replace the 24000 filter in a Honeywell 13520 air cleaner, buyers must have about $63 for 3 HRF-F1 filters.

Likewise best-seller Honeywell 50250 requires big money to keep the purifier alive, 50250 wants three HRF-F1s where the old 24000 sat.

And a big ol' Honeywell 50300, which used the 29500 HEPA, now requires 4 HRF-F1 filters, a mere $84, to remain operational.

Some buyer reviews mention temporary odor out-gassing from new F1's.

This filter situation is a nightmare for "Honeywell" owners, many of whom continue to believe they are in a relationship with the REAL Honeywell.

I seldom buy a replacement HEPA, since they only wear out when occluded, but I would consider shopping around for a generic rather than stacking the Kaz, Inc., replacements.

Amazon has HRF-F1 at $20.00, the filters are Amazon Prime eligible.

Honeywell HRF-F1 14" Replacement HEPA filter at Amazon.com.

Price at Kaz.com is $29.99.

HRF-14

Honeywell HRF-14 "Pure HEPA" Permanent Replacement Filter

HRF-14 is a holdover from the permanent HEPA marketing fad of a few years back.

At that time, the best-selling air cleaners (Ionic Breeze, Oreck, Frederich C90) were electrostatic precipitators.

The big appeal of that technology was "no filters to replace."

Then came the ozone panic and the former high fliers crashed.

But the sales pitch "never buy filters" stuck around.

So a number of lower-echelon manufacturers, including Hunter Fan, Winix, and Honeywell, brought "permanent" HEPA filters to market.

I said then that permanent true-HEPA was a world-class oxymoron, a walking contradiction without basis in fact.

But believers lined up to buy filters that often had service lives about the same as the manufacturer's replaceable HEPAs.

Belatedly, builders began to label the phony permanent filters "lifetime" (of the short-lived air cleaner) and explained that their "permanent" filter's projected service was three to five years to begin with.

This is a modular stacked filter, the package includes 1 filter and 1 spacer, most models need more than one HRF-14.

Application list is the same as HRF-F1, above.

Substitution of cheaper rubber in the seals and spacers has brought some reviewer complaints of odors from new filters.

Some buyer reviews say the primary difference between HRF-14 and HRF-F1 is lettering on the box, and of course the price.

Expensive and getting rare, HRF-14 hangs on because many consumers cannot do their homework, buying the filter listed in their Honeywell owner's manual or on the purifier.

Hint: filter HRF-F1, previous listing, fits one-for-one for HRF-14, and costs ten bucks less.

Permanent filter buyers (you still here?) can browse the genuine "permanent" Honeywell HRF-14, $25 when last I looked, at amazon.com.

Honeywell HRF-14 Pure HEPA Permanent Replacement Filter at Amazon.com.

Kaz.com, the official Honeywell air purifiers site, says $32.99 plus shipping.

24000/24500 Generic Honeywell Replacement Filter

Despite the number and name in the description, this is a generic copy of a discontinued one-piece round 14-inch true-HEPA filter.

This filter fits Honeywell Enviracaire models that use three HRF-F1 filters stacked, like 50250, and is available at Amazon.com.

Kaz, Inc, made a choice a few years back, abandoning their one-piece round Honeywell filters for a series of stackable modular filters with foam spacers.

Many buyers remain unaware of this, expecting to find exact replacements for the one-piece filter that came with their Honeywell.

Since an integer cannot be trademarked, aftermarket generic 14-inch filters were abundant before the naming switch.

But generic sales really blossomed when users discovered the many flaws in the new modular filter scheme.

Other buyers, finding a filter number on the bottom of their older Honeywell, may not realize the filter now sold under that number is a generic.

The 2400 generic filter fits the following Honeywell Enviracaire models, and does NOT require stacking of modular units.

13500,
13502,
13503 (EV-35B), honeywell 24000 filter
13520,
13523,
13525,
13526,
13528,
13350,
50250,
50251,
52500,
63500,
83162,
83259,
83287,
83332.

At $54.95, this alternative filter fits my 50250 for about $20 less than the genuine Honeywell stack of three.

123 amazon buyer reviews generate 4.4 stars, good feedback for a generic.

Some user reviewers notice the generic is slightly smaller in diameter than OEM filters, but fits well.

Buyer reviews report break-in odors from rubber seals - "smells like plastic and burning tires."

For these smells, I recommend leaving off the carbon wrap prefilter (ruined by odors) and run the air cleaner on high speed for several days outdoors on a porch/patio, or in the garage, to off gas.

People with chemical sensitivities (MCS) should choose the genuine Honeywell HRF-F1 stackable replacement filters instead, they also outgas, but not as much.

Honeywell owners can find the generic

24000/24500 "Honeywell" Replacement Filter at Amazon.com

Honeywell 21600

"Honeywell 21600" is a generic ONE-PIECE, 6-1/4" tall, HEPA filter for 14-inch round Honeywell air purifiers that use two HRF-F filters stacked.

The genuine Honeywell version of this filter is discontinued.

21600 HEPA fits Honeywell Enviracaire models;

8330c,
11500 (EV-15),
11502,
11520, honeywell 21600
11525,
11526,
17200,
17210,
18150,
18155,
32182,
50150,
51500,
61500,
83160,
83161,
83169,
and 83330.

Some user reviews note the lack of protective plastic mesh on the outside of this filter, wondering if filtration efficiency is reduced.

The mesh is added to round HEPAs to protect the filter from impacts, primarily during manufacture and shipping, and contributes to filtration only by preventing breakage.

You can browse the $37

"Honeywell" 21600 Generic Replacement HEPA Filter at Amazon.com

11-Inch Round Honeywell HEPAs

Honeywell HRF-D1

Long Life True HEPA 11-inch round Replacement Filter is a modular stacked filter to fit eleven-inch round Honeywell air cleaners.

Honeywell now calls this a "D" filter, the "1" in the trademarked name refers to the number of filters in the package. honeywell hrf-d1

HRF-D1 is stacked, with varying use of spacer rings, to replace discontinued HEPAs numbered 20500 and 20590.

50100 and 10590 air cleaners need 1 filter and 1 gasket to replace old filter 20590.

17000, 17005, and 10500 air cleaners use 2 filters but NO gasket, in place of 20500.

I recommend 11-inch Honeywell owners avoid generic substitutes ("20500"), several on amazon have weak reviews.

HRF-D1 is very similar to the discontinued "permanent HEPA filter" HRF-11.

I looked at a manual dated 2004, prior to the permanent filter debacle, it appears the product name evolution was HRF-11 Universal > HRF-11 Permanent > HRF-D1 Long Life, all interchangeable.

I do NOT recommend the old HRF-11 to 11-inch Honeywell owners.

A few HRF-11s are still sold, but "returns shipped as new," which tends to increase as inventories wane, is a common complaint.

Reviewer complaints of HRF-D1 break-in odors are common.

The spacer gasket is NOT used on 17000 series air cleaners, confusing many users.

If you hear the whistling noise of air leaking through the gap, I suggest sealing the filters with cellophane tape.

Amazon.com has HRF-D1 for $20;

Honeywell HRF-D1 Universal HEPA filter, HRF-D1 / Filter (D) at Amazon.com.

HRF-D1 is $24.99 at Official Honeywell site kaz.com.