Sharper Image SI724 Ionic Breeze Air Purifier Filter Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Purchased one two weeks ago before the USD50 price increase including a 10% coupon discount. It came with a mini $80 bathroom air cleaner with the purchase.
The design is 5 stars. Finally an air cleaner that doesn't look like it belongs to your Grandma's house. The fit and finish is awesome. Parts are easy to pull out due to simple locking mechanisms from the two grilles, to the blades and the Ozone grille.
The product feature:
It cleans the air via an Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) with 19-blades that holds an area of 1,300 sq inches. This is versus the Ionic Breeze GP that uses a Philips UV bulb that needs replacement and costs a lot to operate. Because of the use of the ESP technology, they eliminated the UV bulb and the product earned an "Energy Star" badge. Sharper Image claims it costs less than USD10 to operate annually.
This product has the highest Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) due its four brushless 120mm fans. Brushless means quiet performance versus the older Ionic Breeze which is whisper quiet due to no fans, but takes much, much longer to clean the air.
And with the seal of approval from the British Allergy Foundation, rest assured the product performs.
My opinion:
1. The product was packaged well. The box comes with a handle so it's easy to cary from the store to the room.
2. No installation required. You just pull out the whole unit, unwrap the electric cord, remove two tapes that hold the front and rear grilles together and viola!
3. Super quiet operation thanks to the 4 brushless fans. You WILL hear the fans SPIN as they pull air from the rear and bring clean air out to the front. But theoretically you won't hear the fans' mechanisms.
However, my experience after one week of use is that one of the four fans was starting to give in by making some noise. At night it sounds like a cricket. So I immediately wrote to Sharper Image and after two days they responded back by giving me a UPS shipping return label which after they receive the defective product they will send me a NEW replacement since I'm within their 60-day guaranty. I politely refused and told them I'm just walking in to the store where I got the product so I can get a quick replacement right there and then.
So I did just that. No hassle. They checked the product I returned and listened to the fan making noise. The guy agreed it was noisy so he got me a new one.
Upon reaching home, I unpacked the unit once again and let it operate. This time the third fan was making the same noise (but very weak at this stage). So I wouldn't be surprised if it would create the same noise a few weeks from now.
But I did check out their floor model and put my ear against all the four fans - it didn't create the kind of noise similar to the two units I had and theirs was in use longer.
If the fans give in again, I will return it straight to Sharper Image for their evaluation. When the warranty expires, I'll search for replacement brushless fans since computer stores carry similar items, too. I did remove one of the fans and it was simple plug and play.
4. The manual states the unit will clean the air fine in the Quiet mode. But for high traffic areas, there are 4 speeds to contend with PLUS an extra high speed BOOST function to clean the air for 20-minutes.
5. There is an unlabled light sensor on the top panel that helps dim the lights on the unit so it wouldn't be annoying bright at night.
6. There is a convenient cord wrap built in the bottom of the unit. So excess cords can be hidden away from view.
7. CLEANING:
There is an included cleaning brush which the manual states this is the only brush that should be used to clean the metal plates. It's as easy as pulling out the plates and bringing it in your bath tub or shower. Spray the plates with a window cleaner like "Windex". Insert brush front and back and gently rub to try and remove stuck dirt on the plates. The tricky part is trying to use the supplied gentle brush because after a few rubbing, the bristles all go out of place which makes rubbing the accumulated dirt impossible to clean 100%. You'll know what I'm talking about when you do the cleaning.
This is the problem with dry Electrostatic Precipitator technology. The dirt will stick to the plates like glue in time so infrequent cleaning will create more stuck dirt. I wonder how the plates will look like in a years' time. Unless one religiously cleans the metal plates weekly, it wouldn't have as much cleaning power in a few years.
Finish cleaning up by using a handheld shower head so you can work your way around the inside of the metal plates (otherwise use a water spritzer). Dry them by either leaving it for hours OR use a small fan and in less than an hour it's ready to use once more - no hassle drying. The unit comes with a protective drying feature that helps the plates dry up IF you insert them damp. I wouldn't recommend it. So by using the fan technique above to help it dry, the drying light will never come on.
8. There is no Negative ION feature. I guess the only logic is that they are reserving this for a better product in a few months. I wonder how much this will cost since this present Hybrid GP has jumped to USD449.99. I had to bite on the old price and hopefully invest in a better one when it's time.
9. The manual states to use the BOOST function when ridding the air from smell after cooking. I did this in the kitchen, but the oil smells still persisted after hours and despite multiple BOOST uses throughout the day. I did have to give in at night and use an aerosol air sanitizer like "OUST" to quickly reach the A/C air ducts. Obviously this is the weakness of the Hybrid GP. It can only clean the air that reaches the unit. You will still need to use an aerosol air sanitizer to clean the other places.
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THE VERDICT:
I don't wake up with as much Nasal Drip if the Hybrid GP is on. It doesn't completely eliminate my allergies, but it helps clear my breathing a little bit better. However, if the central home A/C is on, then I definitely wake up with a clogged nose. The unit can't catch all the flying germs and dirt in time before I breathe them in. Other reviewers will confirm this.
So my concern at this point are the brushless fans which do tend to create noise. Time will tell how sturdy they really are. I hope they are able to offer replacement fans for customers rather than bring the whole unit in for service, which is unnecessary, inconvenient and expensive to do. Anyone with a screwdriver can replace the fan.
So in total 3 stars for the problematic fans, much hype to try and clean the air and cooking smells as fast as the A/C can deliver more dirt and an expensive price tag to boot.
But still a product worth keeping if only they lowered the price.

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