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Rabbit Air purifier vs Ozone generator for cigar smoke

prosspross Posts: 874 ✭✭✭
I was recently given a Rabbit Air Minus A2 air purifier to try out in my man cave which has been well "seasoned" for a year or so. I was also able to test an ozone generator in the same space.

The Rabbitt Air is a purifier rated for 700 square feet with multiple filters (5) to clean particulate and smoke from the air. Ozone generators, as you may know, are a bit controversial due to health risks and work by creating ozone to bind with odor causing molecules, and eliminate smells of all types, smoke included.

First the Rabbit Air. The purifier can sense when the air quality is poor, and kicks on when it senses impurities, I can say it does a great job of clearing the smoke for the air in real time. When smoking in my 200 square foot area, it did a great job at keeping the smoke level down, and allowed me to smoke without running my exhaust system, which rapidly sucks heat from the room. As far as the persistent smoke smell it does not help. I left it on high for 4-5 days straight without smoking, and it did not make a perceptible impact on the room.

I then tried the ozone generator. I ran it for 2 hours while the space was unoccupied. I came back to a room with 100% of the smoke smell gone and replaced with a different odor, similar to that before a rain storm. A bit heavy, but definitely no smoke. I t even removed all traces of smoke from a down comforter I had left in the room for my dogs. It was remarkable actually.

I came to the conclusion that a good purifier has merit in real time, but will not likely avoid the smoke smell from permeating the surfaces and materials in the room. It did not pass the wife "smell test".

In contrast, the ozone generator completely freshened the room, and I am confident would eliminate most odors. The air felt a bit "heavy" for a few hours after treatment, but after that, it was as if I had never smoked in the room. My wife agreed.

Used together and with proper care to avoid potentially dangerous levels of ozone, I think is the perfect combination. The air purifier while smoking, and the ozone generator after leaving the area

Comments

  • BigshizzaBigshizza Posts: 15,659 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'm looking forward to smokin with you in the man shack!
  • Thanks for the advice, Pross! Do you have a line on an ozone generator? I'll be moving here in a few weeks and need to set up a cigar cave in the spare bedroom. Not sure I want to perfume the whole place with my sticks (it's sort of a small condo). Thanks in advance!
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    i have a rabbit air minusA2, and it clears the smoke from the air as fast as you can puff it, the smell your refering to i dont get, i'm left with smell of a humidor type, that sweet tobacco smell, actually like that,ozone generators i have never been to fond of,but depening on which rabbit air unit you have, they produce ozone also just at a lower level, just becareful using ozone in a small area could buildup in hgh concentrations
  • prosspross Posts: 874 ✭✭✭
    The Rabbit Air produces negative ions with a very low ozone output. The ozone generator produces levels too high to be in the room with. It takes an hour or more before it clears and you can go back into the space.

    The odor the MinusA2 left behind is not a "smoke in the air" type of smell, but more of a pervasive tobacco smell in the walls, furniture, etc. Personally, I don't mind the smell at all, but it is very strong to non smokers.

    The experiment all came about as a friend of mine is thinking of converting his basement to a smoking room. We tested the equipment in my cave since it has been heavily used for a year with only ventilation. All of us agreed that while the Rabbit can clear smoke for 1-3 smokers in a small space, it was not adequate alone to avoid residual smells that would not be acceptable to the wives.

  • prosspross Posts: 874 ✭✭✭
    Bigshizza:
    I'm looking forward to smokin with you in the man shack!
    Sounds good to me Shizz. You just have to get to the right coast.

  • Chuck_NChuck_N Posts: 1,088 ✭✭✭
    Did you use the Ozonics generator that is used to cut human odor for deer hunting?
  • prosspross Posts: 874 ✭✭✭
    It was the one at www.odorfreemachines.com. It was the Suite 700.

  • jd50aejd50ae Posts: 7,900 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A very timely post. Thank you.
  • dr_frankenstein56dr_frankenstein56 Posts: 1,612 ✭✭✭
    Awesome Info Guys!

    Aj
  • Gray4linesGray4lines Posts: 4,691 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I've been wondering about the rabbits. Thanks for the comparison!
    LLA - Lancero Lovers of America
  • jarublajarubla Posts: 2,329 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Bumping this as I am considering the rabbit air. Pross' mention of the ozone machines is a good bit of info

    -Jay
    “There’ll be two dates on your tombstone and all your friends will read ’em but all that’s gonna matter is that little dash between ’em.” -Kevin Welch
  • prosspross Posts: 874 ✭✭✭
    Hi Jay,

    I really cant recommend the Rabbit Air for the price.  I have had it in my man cave running 24/7 since the original post.  I replace the filters every 6 months or so with the ones designed for Smoke / Odors.

    In the winter smoking by myself it will keep the smoke level down, however, every time I run it without the exhaust system (to keep the heat in) my clothes just reek of smoke and I have an unhappy wife.

    Over time, the odor in the cave will get so overwhelming that just walking into it, with no one smoking will cause my clothes to smell.  Again, that is with the Rabbit Air running 24/7.

    The only way to kill the odor that I have found is the ozone generator, which beats it back a bit until the cycle repeats.

    My smoking area is only 216 feet, so I highly doubt the 750 sq ft claim of the Rabbit Air.

  • WaterNerdWaterNerd Posts: 3,371 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Great info on both. Looking to get a small ozone generator for the car. Friend has one and has eliminated the cigar smell from his car :)
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt
    — Abraham Lincoln


  • CharlieHeisCharlieHeis Posts: 8,593 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Thanks for the follow up pross. I have a much cheaper air purifier that sounds like it works as well as the Rabbit Air. I have been thinking about getting an ozone machine also.
  • peter4jcpeter4jc Posts: 16,675 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I found an air purifier ozone generator on ebay last year for ~$130, and it works very well.  But I rarely use it as my exhaust works well enough that what little odor is left the next day is pleasant.

    This is the one I have;
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Comfort-Odor-Air-Purifier-Cleaner-Ionic-Ozone-Generator-3-YR-Warranty-/381518541119?hash=item58d446f13f:g:5p0AAOSwL7VWlcFK
    "I could've had a Mi Querida!"   Nick Bardis
  • CharlieHeisCharlieHeis Posts: 8,593 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I've had that one on my Amazon wish list for a year. May have to pull the trigger on that one.
  • jarublajarubla Posts: 2,329 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Thank you for the feedback @pross and @peter4jc
    “There’ll be two dates on your tombstone and all your friends will read ’em but all that’s gonna matter is that little dash between ’em.” -Kevin Welch
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    Honestly the ozone is really horrible for your health! If you have central air get a phi cell. That's about the only thing that will help without even more risk to health
    Money can't buy taste
  • AlbinfkAlbinfk Posts: 1,923 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Getting ready to build my cigar room in the basement this summer to be ready for the cold winters. I'll be able to seal it from the rest of the house pretty easy and will be able to vent directly outside. I don't care about sucking heat out cause after smoking outside all winter in 8 degree weather it will still feel like the tropics. Will I still need an air purifier? Getting excited just thinking about it as I'm sitting outside now with a good cigar on a balmy night at 31 degrees. PS the wind sucks to around here.
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