Blueair 402 Air Purification System
by Blueair
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Our Price: $499.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $250.00 (click here) Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Blueair 402 Air Purification System
Customer Review: Quiet and Effective... Emphasis on Q-U-I-E-T!
Summary: 5 Stars
I did a ton of research before deciding on the BlueAir. You'll find that the Blueair, although maybe making a bigger dent in your pocketbook than other big-name air cleaners, is your best bet for a quiet room with clean air. I've tried many other brands who claimed to be "whisper-quiet" and the like, and so far, only the Blueair has lived up to its claim.
If you put it on the HEPAsilent mode, you'll have to look twice to even see if it's on. And that's not an exaggeration! Even in this mode, you can see particles going into the intake, so it's still effectively cleaning the room. It also takes very little electricity, so it's no strain on your utility bill to leave it on all the time to maximize room air quality.
The unit is rather large, as other reviewers have mentioned, but once you get it against a wall, or under a console table, you're good to go. The only other potential issue you may have is the blue LED which tells you the unit is on. I'm a light sleeper (hence requiring a very quiet air cleaner) and the LED was so bright that I had to cover it so I could sleep. A very minor issue which will only bother the most sensitive sleeper.
The filters are very easy to change, and are also conveniently available on Amazon! They require a switch-out every 6 months, in addition to a quick vacuum of the ionizing brushes inside the machine. If you deal with odors, then try the SmokeStop filter. It's quite a bit more expensive, but it works wonders. My neighborhood had a methane gas leak, and the SmokeStop filter took all the odor and toxins out of the air. The room with the BlueAir was the only "safe" room I could be in. So I'm sure it handles cigarette smoke with ease.
You won't go wrong if you invest in one of these. Oh, and a sidenote, I have 2 cats, and a cat allergy (as well as a myriad of other allergies), and the Blueair allows me to keep my kitties close, and get a good night's sleep!
Customer Review: Getting a filter is a pain
Summary: 2 Stars
Sorry for my -not so good English.
402 it self is ok, it is quiet when used on it's two lowest speed-setting, furthermore it consumes only 15-20W worth of power (220volts) and despite of the low power consumption, the air flows through quite nicely even though it is using "paper filter" technology. The filter is large.
Speed one is really quiet if the filter is clean, but when it gets some dirt the fan speed increases causing it eventually reaching some resonant speed with whistling sound. That is annoying to hear when trying to sleep as the slightest variation of grid voltage makes a sound disappearing and re-appearing.. But this is not that big problem. Speed two is nearly as quiet, but does not produce resonant noises. Other thing i like is that 402 does not produce 50hz "grid noise".
But getting a filters is something that pisses me. Locally (Finland/Joensuu) there is no place to get them, not even the market i bought had never any replacement filter to it. Didn't found any online store near me to have one. Then i tried purchase it through Swedish online dealer. They replied me in Swedish, but soon as i asked to have it translated they ignored me and replied nothing. Finally i ordered a filter from amazon.com. They do send it. But when writing this, the filter is sitting on Finnish customs and again the price is going up. So i can be happy IF finally i get a new filter with less than 100.
So i won't never buy a filter for 402 again, but continue to vacuuming and blowing the filter with compressed air until it (they) will rip a part. Has already do so god knows how many years for the first filter. so can it anymore be called a HEPA filters, don't know... When, or if a bearings of the blower gives out, i wont miss my 402 after throwing it to metal recycling. btw, bearings still are quiet, so i expect them to last many many years.
-Reijo
Customer Review: Works well and quietly
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading reviews a number of places online, I decided to buy the Blueair products. In ended up sampling the 402, 501 and 601, and ultimately returned the 501 and 601 and replaced them with 402s.
The 402 is truly quiet. This was an important consideration for me; the reason I returned the 501 and 601 was because they were noisy. The 402 has four fan speed settings. The fastest is unpleasantly noisy; I would not want to be in the room while the unit is in this mode. The next fastest, though, is *much* quieter. We usually leave the units in this mode. Sometimes we use the next-to-slowest mode, for example when I'm watching a movie and sitting in a chair right next to the 402. The middle two speeds are sufficiently quiet that I never feel like I need to use the slowest speed. (The 501s and 601s are unbearably noisy at any but the slowest setting - which is slower than the middle speeds of the 402. For 2/3 the price you can move more air, more quietly. Go figure.)
The only downside to the unit is size. It is about the same size as a tower PC. It's tall enough not to easily fit under furniture, and it's airflow pattern (in one of the skinny vertical sides, out the opposite side) means that the best placement is with one of the long sides against a wall. If wall space is at a premium, it can be hard to find a place to put it.
I haven't had the units long enough to replace the filters yet, but I have taken out the filters that came with them, and put them back in. It was very easy to do. After two months, only one filter is showing any visible dirt - but the house is *much* less dusty.
Customer Review: Great unit but larger than I expected
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great unit but it larger than I expected. If you have a small bedroom or office, it may look a bit imposing.
It runs very quiet at the two lowest settings and even at the third setting, I found the sound soothing enough to sleep with!
On the negative side, it has no electronic timer, remote or digital display like some of the other units have. It's also quite cumbersome and heavy to move and includes no caster wheels to make that easier.
On the plus side, it works very well and is more efficient and quiet than smaller units. The design is also more proven; I compared it with a smaller unit (the 250E) and the 400 series works a lot better for a number of reasons (better filter, it charges the particles so that they stick to the filter, larger, etc.) Also, because of the design, you can put things like books on top of it if you want to since it takes in and output air from the sides. You can also place it against a wall, something you cannot really do with the smaller 250E as it has the filter on the back.
All in all, this is a great unit as it performs very well is very quiet and well made.
Customer Review: Well built, quiet, works well
Summary: 5 Stars
I have always had bad allergies. I've had several HEPA filters. Based on how well this is constructed, I can imagine it may be the last HEPA filter that I purchase. It is made of galvanized steel and is solid down to the speed setting dial. Filters are of average price for a unit of this size (about $50 every 6 months).
The unit is very, very quiet. Inaudible on the low speed. I keep it on 3 which you can hear, but it moves a lot of air. 4 is loud but good for quickly cleaning up the air if necessary. Air is electrostatically charged before moving through the filter media, which I have found is a worthwhile feature for HEPA filters.
If you have pets or a smoker in the house, you can purchase replacement filters with activated charcoal at an increased cost. Another nice feature. Filters are very easy to change and it takes only seconds to replace them.
Overall, I am most impressed with how well built the unit is. Nothing else I have ever seen even comes close. Most look like toys in comparison.