Boat Forum / Cruising / April 2005

Open the windows?

(sorry, couldn't resist)

Any cleaner that uses a HEPA (high efficiency particulate arresting) filter
will be about as good as you can get when it comes to dust removal.  HEPA
filters are 99.97% efficient at removing dust down to the smallest
particles.  So after checking for a HEPA filter you want to check out other
features like volume of air moved, cost of filters, noise, construction
quality, etc.  A pre-filter ahead of the HEPA filter will make it last
longer.
Some of these units may have charcoal filters to remove odours.  These may
work for a while but eventually their capacity will be used up.  Some units
have ionizers and I don't know if these help much over and above the HEPA
filter.  If dust is your only issue I would suggest getting the largest HEPA
equipped unit that fits your boat.  A large unit run at low speed may move
as much air as a small unit running at max and be much quieter.  When you
are away you can run it at max speed and really do a cleanup.

Panda (?) makes an incredibly overpriced one that I think's 12 volt,
essentially it's an ozone generator, doesn't do much about dust.

Best way to removed dust and stink from a boat is with an electrostatic
precipitator, Trion makes good ones; at least they're good enough for
US nuclear submarines.  Pricey, but you never have to buy filters for
them, and there's no backpressure from a filter, so the fan is low
wattage, "pennies a day", they say.  Been using one for 8 years now,
stink and mold problems are gone, dust problem is much less now.