Re: Sharp FPP60CX/FPN60CX: FZR65HFU/FZN60HFU Replacement Filter Kits

Sharp Power User writes:

Hi Ed -

Did a bit more research today, and there are actually two different replacement filter packages for the 60CX units floating around.

One is the FZN60HFU, which I believe is the replacement HEPA/carbon filter package that Sharp originally sold for the FPN60CX.

The other is the FZR65HFU, which should be the replacement filter package for the FPP60CX (but per Sharp also fits the N60CX).

I've seen two online reviews mentioning that the FZN60HFU carbon filter had less carbon in it than the original filter that came with the N60CX.

One writer stated that the replacement filter had around 15.5 oz of carbon, while his original had 27 ounces.

However, the carbon filter that came with my used P60CX weighs only 11.5 ounces (and it indeed has blue edge piping, and 9 chambers).

Assuming that this is in fact the original filter, I'm wondering whether the FZN60HFU package includes the original thinner HEPA filter that came with the N60CX, along withthe 15.5 carbon filter, while the FZR65HFU package has the thicker HEPA filterthat came with the P60CX but also the skimpy 11 oz carbon filter.

Any guesses if this is correct?

Best,

Ed's Reply

Hey Power User;

You are right, as usual.

Sharp 60 series Plasmaclusters are gone. FP-P60CX was discontinued in late spring 2009.

Replacement filters, always a low-inventory or drop-ship item due to the very long filter life and low failure rate, have become very scarce as users began to stock up.

FZN60HFU

FZN60HFU, Sharp's 5 year HEPA filter and activated carbon filter bag, for Sharp Plasmacluster FP-N60CX air purifiers, does seem to have been changed just as the upgraded FPP60CX was coming to market.

The original FPN60 had a plastic separator grid to retain the carbon bag.

The replacement kit uses the fabric straps that attach to the prefilter to secure the bag, whose weight was cut.

FZN60HFU kits seem to still be in-stock at web vendors, with a price range of $65.95 to $165.00.

FZR65HFU

FZR65HFU, with the thicker HEPA filter and thinner blue edged carbon bag, is actually scarce.

Some vendors show it out-of-stock.

And prices, $89.95 - $129.95, reflect scarcity.

Surmise

You are also correct - this is my best guess.

Here is what I think happened.

All manufacturers have been forced to trim product lines and standardize filters. Honeywell, which once offered a very large number of air cleaners, led the way, starting in 2005. They cut models, and standardized filters.

This left lots of owners without replacement filters a bit sooner than the original planned obsolescence marketing model had intended.

The smart money - notably IQAir - designed their equipment from the start with modular stages, to allow flexible marketing and interchangeable replacement parts.

So Sharp engineers were no doubt pressured to standardize the carbon bags across more of the product line.

In the dry series Sharps, the whole filter assembly is designed to fit properly when held by tension from the prefilter frame and front cover.

To retain this pressure, while standardizing and downsizing the carbon bag, the easiest method was to increase the thickness of the HEPA for the second generation 60-series, FP-P60CX.

This retained the 60-series cassette box and frame recess dimensions, the cheapest way to make the change.

FP-P40CX Filters Adaptation

As a the owner of a 60-series Plasmacluster which still runs fine, I am looking for ways to protect my investment.

I can't see a nickel's worth of difference in the HEPA from my old FP-N60CX and the FP-P40CX HEPA. Maybe 1/32 inch in any direction.

Installing the FP-P40CX filters in the 60-series, we find the skinny carbon bag fails to provide enough pressure to hold the HEPA in and the prefilter out.

But with the original 7-chamber FPN60CX odor bag, the 40-series HEPA fits fine.

Also, the original 7 pocket bag tended to let quite a bit of air bypass the carbon, so the 9 - chamber bag, with its thin profile to keep carbon granules from slumping, might have been seen as an improvement.

Alternatively, the 9-pocket bag could be viewed as necessary to keep the reduced weight of carbon from bypassing even more.

So the solution for me is to order 40 - series filters, available at reasonable prices, and refill the old early 60-series carbon bag as needed.

For FP-P60 owners without a bigger FPN60 odor bag just laying around, some polyurethane foam AC filter could be added between the 40-series bag and prefilter screen, to bring the HEPA tension up. I'd leave some space around the edges to keep airflow restriction down.

To get back to 2-plus pounds of carbon, you could use the skinny 40-series HEPA with a homemade fiberglass carbon bag in your FP-P60CX.

Also realize that activated carbon doesn't need the pressure drop of HEPA to be effective. It can just sit out in the breeze of a fan, or in air ducts, closets, near catbox, ect.

Keep up the good work,

Ed