Austin Air Healthmate Review

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Physical Characteristics: The Austin Air purifier measures just over 22 1/2" tall with casters. It has a width and deph of 14 1/2" by 14 1/2" and weighs approximately 45 pounds with filter inside. The unit is constructed of a metal body, rectangular in shape, and slightly subdivided at the top. The top portion of the unit houses the fan motor and exhaust vent. The bottom portion of the unit houses the filter material and intake grills.

The metal body comes painted in various colors (black, white, sandstone, and special order silver). The lower portion of the unit is entirely venting (a perforated metal mesh across the entire surface) which allows air to be drawn in from 360 degrees.

The exhaust vent is on one side of the upper body and the filtered air is directed into one area of the room in an upwards direction. By venting in an upwards direction, the Austin Air keeps from kicking up any dust that might be present on the floor or carpeting.

The unit is very sturdy and on high quality casters. Our only complaint is that the metal meshwork across the body of the unit can be easily dented if not cared for or shipped properly.

The housing on all of the Austin Air standard size units is identical, so in the future different types of filters can be inserted in lieu of the filter originally purchased.

Controls:

This unit is very straight-forward to operate. It has a simple dial on the top portion of the unit which has four settings: off, 1, 2, or 3. Each setting increases the fan speed progressively.

Filters:

The Austin Air has one large filter inside, that is cylindrical in shape, and that is wrapped in a thin cotton prefilter. The thin prefilter serves to catch some of the larger particles before entering the high quality main filter.

These filters are typically purchased and replaced together, not separately. Typical lifespan of the filter replacement is 5 years under normal usage. This should be compared to some of the other air purifiers on the market which require filter replacements as often as every 4 to 5 months. As such, the Austin Air provides an excellent value for a good level of air filtration. If exposed to high levels of pollutants (e.g. tobacco smoke), it is possible for the carbon material to become saturated quicker than normal and for the filter life to be shortened.

The main filter in the unit is 14.5" tall and has a diameter of 13.5". As such, it takes up the entire bottom portion of the unit when installed. This main filter is comprised of both 15 pounds of activated carbon and zeolite and 60 square feet of HEPA filter material. The amount of filtration material helps to explain the exceptionally long filter life. In addition, the large amount of carbon material in the unit helps to provide exceptional odor and gas filtration.

Air passes through the carbon in the main filter, which absorbs gases and odors, before then passing through the HEPA filter materials. This ensures that loose carbon granules are not exhausted into the air.

Maintenance:

Upkeep of the unit is the simplest of any of the air purifiers that we carry. Occassionally, a vacuum brush should be gently passed over the grillwork of the unit to remove any large particles that may be adhering to the grill or to the prefilter just underneath the grillwork. Once every 5 years (or less, depending on usage), the filter will need to be replaced which can be done by removing one screw from the bottom of the unit.

Summary:

Austin Air has a good reputation in the industry and has been in the air purification business for many years. In the Healthmate, the company has a solid air purifier with a large amount of filter material that offers an exceptional price-to-performance ratio with little maintenance required.