Kirby Allison talks about the cost and steps taken in the creation of his $20,000 smoke filtration system for the new studio smoking room to help purify the room of cigar smoke during shoots and when he just wants to have a cigar with his lunch or when in a meeting. He puts it to the test with special guests from halfwheel.com to see how fast the system works after hot boxing the studio with cigar smoke and then turning it on.
ABOUT THE SMOKE FILTRATION SYSTEM
The smoke filtration system is designed around the Camfil CamCleaner 2000, which is an industrial-grade filtration system that allows for both MERV-14 particle filtration and active carbon molecular filtration. The system has a capacity of 2,000 cubic feet a minute, which is insane! This allows the total volume of the air in my office studio to be exchanged once every 3-4 minutes. The result is over 25 air changes an hour, which quickly removes any and all visible smoke from the room. It is so effective that with two to three people smoking at the same time, there is practically no visible smoke at any time!
Another important component of the smoke filtration system is the independent air conditioner. This ensures that there is no positive air pressure to push smoke outside the room or any air return to pull smoke into the office HVAC. I also did not design any negative air pressure because the room is 100% sealed at the door. So, while smoking with the door shut, I am not worried about smoke escaping the room.
In addition to the CamCleaner, which filters the smoke particles and odors, I installed a fresh air exhaust, which is basically a roof-mounted commercial air exhaust fan (the same type used in a commercial kitchen) that is paired with a fresh air inlet (basically a hole in the roof). When the system is turned on, the fresh air intake opens up to allow fresh air to circulate. I generally leave this running overnight after I'm finished smoking to exchange the office air with fresh air to further remove any odors.
JANUARY 2020 UPDATE
I couldn't be any happier with the system. It totally exceeds my expectations. The CamCleaner 2000 is a BEAST that is so effective that I was actually able to dial the unit back from 2,000 CFM to 1,500 CFM. The smoke filtration is effectively silent thanks to the unit being being ducted in from an adjourning room.
I am also happier than I expected with the fresh air intake / exhaust system. Instead of leaving the CamCleaner running all night after I'm finished smoking, I instead switch on the fresh air intake system and allow it to exchange the air in the office with fresh air. This helps further remove any odors and prevent the air in the office from becoming stale.
WOULD I INSTALL THIS SAME SYSTEM AT HOME?
This is the $1,000 question. The short answer is no. Short a $3 mm + mansion, the system would be overkill for most residential applications. For one, the CamCleaner unit itself is quite large and would have to be located in an attic and then ducted down. And the ductwork would be quite extensive in order to get the system to function properly. One day... but not anytime soon for me.
Instead, for a home office or library, I think a commercial-grade air exhaust system that vents smoke and creates negative air pressure paired with a high-end consumer grade molecular air filter such as the IQ Air MultiGas (https://amzn.to/3fQwdqT). Would be ideal. you'd have to be careful to not have any air returns in the smoking room, which would contaminate the HVAC for the rest of the house. But, otherwise, good air exhaust and negative air pressure would prevent smoke from leaking out while the IQ Air MultiGas would eliminate any residual odors if left to run overnight.
CamFil CamCleaner 2000: https://bit.ly/3KPh8Eq
IQAir GC MultiGas: https://amzn.to/3fQwdqT
Rabbit Air A3: https://amzn.to/3sTrACj
Rabbit Air MinusA2: https://amzn.to/3mDZqKj
Blueair Pro XL https://amzn.to/3lKdUGf
$20,000 Air Purifier VS Cigar Hot Box Test ft. Halfwheel.com
00:00 Introduction
00:38 Reasons Behind The $20,000 Air Filtration System Install
01:46 Make Sure To Like And Comment
01:58 Kirby's History With Air Purifiers For Cigar Smoke
02:20 What's Needed For Effective Air Purifying and Filtration
04:12 Air Purifier Brands Ton Consider
04:43 Figuring Out Proper Size Of Air Purifier Needed
05:19 Review Of Rabbit Air A3 Air Purifier
06:51 Review Of EverClear Smokemaster or Smoke Eater
08:32 How The $20,000 Air Purifier Build Came To Be
08:59 The Three Main Design Challenges
09:40 About CamFil
10:08 The CamFil Product Used CamCleaner
10:39 The Math
11:03 Reducing The Noise For Filming
12:00 Making The A/C Independent Of The Office And Why
12:32 Sealing Door
14:21 The Cigar Hot Box Test
15:57 The Final Results and Closing