Customer Reviews

Hamilton Beach 04163 TrueAir HEPA Air Purifier with UV Germicidal Light

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

In the last couple weeks I purchased two air purifiers: The Hamilton Beach 04163 and the Kenmore Progressive 335. The Hamilton Beach was for my bedroom, which is about 200 square feet, and the Kenmore was for my 350 square foot living room. Both were purchased because of my allergies and fairly heavy dust buildup in my apartment.

I chose the Hamilton Beach because of it UV light, since I suspected mold in my apartment, and the Kenmore because of its value for money based upon a Consumer Reports' review and its cleaning capacity, which is one of the best of the affordable air cleaners.

The Hamilton Beach is well built, sturdy and has features not offered by most air purifiers: UV light and air quality sensor, which regulates the purifier's speed. I do agree with someone's earlier comment that it is fairly noisy, even at the lowest speed. If I had received the Hamilton Beach before the Kenmore, I might not have been so critical, since the Kenmore, even at high speeds isn't very loud. The Hamilton Beach makes a higher pitched sound which makes it difficult to sleep with it on and it can be heard through doors. The Kenmore really can't be heard when standing just a few feet away nor can it be heard through doors.

I find that both work very well, but, if I had to do it again, I would opt for a quieter air purifier (the Kenmore) for my bedroom and pass on the added features of the Hamilton Beach.

I have severe asthma and have been VERY pleased with the 04163 Hamilton Beach Air Purifier. I'm not sure what planet the negative reveiwers are from but I investigated all the options regardless of price. I went by Sears and looked at the Kenmore. The reviewer who liked it must work for Sears because it isn't even in the same ballpark as the Hamilton Beach. I briefly bought and returned a BlueAir which cost twice as much and is supposed to be the quietest. Instead it has an irritating high pitched whine that oscillates and would be better utilized as a torture device. The Hamilton Beach, on the other hand, is not only quiet, but the white noise it makes is actually soporific. I prefer to sleep with it on and it runs 24/7. I use to have a constant problem with mold in my master bathroom, but the Ultraviolet light on the Hamilton Beach has kept it from returning. The other day I chased my golden retriever into the bedroom with ear cleaner and to my surprise the automatic fan smelled it, and dealt with it, turning the fan on automatically to a higher setting briefly. I couldn't even smell it myself. To describe it's air cleaing capability, I will just end by saying this, the reason I am on this site is I am getting ready to buy a second Hamilton Beach for my office.

This is my first air purifier so I was not sure what to expect. I am impressed. My 13 year old unboxed it and set it up according to the instruction manual. No problems and she was actually intrigued by the UV light and automatic features. I set it on automatic and it works great, especially helpful when we have a fire in the fireplace. After the first few hours, it usually stays on the low setting. Every once in awhile, it ramps up automatically to high if it senses poor air quality. The high setting can be a bit loud, but it usually ramps back down very quickly. I like the idea of the UV light killing bacteria. I'll probably buy another one for an upstairs room as well.

I ordered this particular HEPA air purifier with the UV light because it was recommended for my two children. They have many environmental allergies and are always sick with some sort of respiratory illness. I also have allergies. I have REALLY noticed a difference in all of us since buying this air purifier. We wake breathing freely and that's unusual for anyone in this house! The whisper quiet mode is pretty quiet. I comfortably watch tv over the sound. You get used to it and soon barely hear it. In fact, the medium is pretty quiet as well. The highest setting is loud, but it is high so I'd expect that. I run mine 24/7 on Auto mode and love that I can see a readout of the air quality and the way the sensor will automatically adjust the speed to clean the air more or less when needed. Once I slightly burned some microwave popcorn - in another room - and I heard it cycle up to high to clean the air! Well worth the money for the features. If I had to point out one negative I guess it would be that I don't look forward to replacing the pricey filters or UV bulb. At least, according to the booklet, they should last a year.

1. Good business reputation for producing quality equipment.
2. Lots of features usually found in more expensive air cleaners for a very reasonable price.

AHAM certified air cleaner

AHAM certified data on high speed:
230 CADR - dust
230 CADR - tobacco smoke
240 CADR - pollen

Model 04163 is good for
up to 350 sq ft, 18' x 19' room
(Air purification area based on 5 ach - air room changes-hour at high speed)

Filters Life continuous use:
Prefilter - 3 mos.
Hepa Filter - 1 yr.

UV light - 250 days

...

Haven't had it for very long, just a couple of months, but I like it. I had a Honeywell room unit that was okay, but I had no idea how well it was working. With the HB, the air sensor gives you some idea of how well it's working. When first hooked up, the HB showed that the Honeywell was doing a good job of cleaning. At first, I thought maybe I should have just stayed with the Honeywell. I had initially stayed away from using the UV light, after reading that it didn't do anything. Wrong. When I finally switched on the UV light, a lot of my nighttime nasal congestion disappeared. That feature, plus the sensor, makes this model a 4- rather than 3-star product. (Keep in mind tthat this is a one-room unit and not intended for people with severe allergies.)

Seems to have a small but noticeable effect on keeping dust down.

Whisper Quiet ... isn't. But it's no louder than the Honeywell. I also selected Super Saver shipping, saved some money, and got it in five business days. If this unit lasts another year without problems, I'll buy another for another room in my house.

NOTE ADDED 8/13/06: The unit is still going strong and with no sign of wearing out.

NOTE ADDED 1/4/10: The unit is STILL going strong and with no sign of wearing out!

Radio Shack Sound Level Meter at 1 meter away from air filter:
65db HIGH
58db MED
56db LOW

I have allergies... bad allergies. And my doctor ordered me to get a purifier since I won't get rid of my cats or move away from the lovely tree abundant neighborhood I live in. I did a lot of research and the 04163 fit my needs: fits in a corner, has a HEPA filter, and has economical parts. Also, the reviews were astoundingly positive. HOWEVER, here is what I wish I knew before I bought the machine:

I was stunned at how huge the box was when the purifier arrived at my door. I was able to carry the box upstairs, but when I pulled the machine out, I was still shocked at the size. I'm 5'5" and the top of the machine hits my knee. I'd say the 'footprint' of it is about the size a long shoebox (men's size 10?). Its not small. But, the assembly is easy enough for a child to do and did take less that 5 minutes.

I started the purifier at 8pm that first night and received another surprise when I went to turn it off at 10am. The UV light was off! I didn't know what was wrong so I called the Customer Service line who insisted it was I who didn't install the light bulb properly. But after much pleading, I finally convinced her that something was really wrong so she sent me a new light bulb and starter plug (for free). Well, it turns out that the starter on my brand new machine blew its fuse. (Note: Hamilton Beach's Customer Service is not the friendliest, and each time I called I had to cajole them into understanding that there was something wrong with their machine and not with me!)

While I was waiting for the UV bulb, I ran the machine every night but didn't experience the `mountain fresh air' or unstuffy-morning-nose that other reviewers did. And despite all the other reviews, this machine is not `quiet'!!! I read the reviews about the `white noise' and even the Radio Shack decibel experiment one, but this purifier has a fan, and the fan does sound like a fan. The WhisperClean mode is definitely not whisper-like quiet, but very tolerable. In fact, I do seem to get to sleep faster with the steady `white noise' it creates (and you will have to turn the TV volume up when it runs). However, the QuickClean mode is LOUD! There is no way you can sleep with this mode on. Its louder than a hair dryer (but not as high pitched)!

Frankly, after the first couple of weeks I was disappointed. After doing all my research, I received a machine that was broken, sounded like a desktop fan, and was huge. However, once I installed the new starter, I ran the machine nightly with the UV bulb. The bulb is what makes this machine fabulous (just remember not to look at it directly). I've had the machine for 3 months now and finally (!) I can tell the difference. I've gotten over the size as it sits nicely in the corner. And I've come to the realization that nothing, NOTHING that has a fan will ever be `whisper quiet' despite what anyone else writes. But best of all, I no longer have to blow my nose in the morning to relieve my nighttime stuffiness! For that, I give this machine 5 stars. Just be realistic about your expectations!!!

I suffer from chronic sinusitis and various other scary sounding things having to do with the sinuses and breathing in general. I also live in a house that I swear oozes dust out of the walls. If you were to lie still for a few days you could be buried. Really. Well not really, but you get what I mean...

I bought this purifier because I wanted something to help eliminate the gobs of dust that form in the rooms I spend most of my time in. I have had the unit for a few weeks and can say that it has made a dramatic difference in the ammount of dust in the rooms it operates in. I wake up less congested than before and I haven't gone on a 30 minute sneeze-off since I got the unit. (Though I sorta miss the buzz you get when you sneeze that much...)

The only real downside to the unit is that its higher settings are LOUD. The whisper setting, however, is pretty quiet and is not any more annoying than having an AC unit running in the room. Over time you don't even notice it any more. I have become so used to it that I only really hear it when it kicks into overdrive because of poor air quality.

Replacement filters are a bit pricey, but if you use the unit properly you shouldn't need to change them much. The purified air from this unit is almost as good as fresh air. The unit performs as advertised though it is a bit bigger than I had anticipated. As yet I have barely used the UV light on the unit. I just turned it on a couple of times to see if I could hear the germs scream. But hearing nothing, I got bored and decided to save the light for when there are bugs floating around.

If you are looking for a decent HEPA filter to cut down on the allergens in your house and to help reduce the ammount of dust and airborne nasties and you don't want to pay a lot for this muffler...er...um...purifier, then this is your unit. If this unit isn't powerful enough to clean up your air then you probably need to move. Simple as that.

I think the light is not a problem although I found only one place on the internet that sold the replacement bulbs. I bought two for the future. I think if amazon.com sells the machine it would be nice to sell the basic refills. ... The sound is very quiet compared to any other air cleaner that I've had and I have had a lot except for the totally silent sharper image ones. I find it hard to believe they really work. Much of what i've bought from them is so-so. Maybe they work...

But this from Hamilton is very very nice. The grills are removable so that you can wash it off in the shower instead of the bionare problem of trying to wipe it off while attached to an electrical appliance. I like the vertical layout a lot and the air is coming out of the top just at the right angle so that it goes up but not wasted straight up. The air volume that is cleaned seems large on the lowest setting but diffused enough that it isn't an obvious blast.

And the bottom line. It works. The air is really clean. I am giving it five stars but I can't say anything about it's durablity. I have only had it for six months.