20 Most Recent Alpine Air XL-15 Air Purifier - Page 5 Questions & Answers

Take a 1 part ammonia and 1 part water solution and an old toothbrush and dip the brush in the ammonia solution and scrub the metal grid on the plate to remove the deposits. Do both sides and then rinse with water and allow it to completely dry before reinstalling. Hope this helps.

About the fault, when the unit is old and accumulates metal particles on the filter, it will start arching. The electrostatic discharge is often damaging the internal on-board components, the parts must be tested at component level.

About the unit, as personal opinion, I think that the high quantity of ozone produced by the units you have at home is dangerous for your health, and ozone generators are bad for your health.

This was sanctioned in court, along with an order to retire from commerce the Alpine air ozone generators. The original verdict was reverted in appeal, I guess consumer association had no more money to pay legal expenses. Here the story as reported from Alpine Home Air: Alpine Air Purifiers - Ozone Generator.

In court it was demonstrated that quantities that are over safety level, can help in determined illnesses, therefore Ozone machines cannot be banned, as they are needed for medical patologies. In this contest quantity of ozone that are far over safety standards are needed.

According to EPA, and to health and safety standard worldwide, National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone is a maximum 8 hour average outdoor concentration of 0.08 ppm.

This unit works indoor, and it is capable of producing far more ozone than safety standards.

This is no medical advice, I am an engineer, not a doctor. As said I think that this machines should be used only if you have a patology that may benefit from inalating Ozone. I would not put this kind of air purifier in a healty kid's room for example.

Here a survey from Canadian govermental authority reporting quantity of Ozone produced by this model: converting...Ozone Purifier Survey.

Mine is older than yours. I rinse mine in the sink and rub it with my finger, if I have to. Let it air dry. It's easy enough to find a spot (put it in a full tissue box) that it will dry in. Can use a dish rack.

The plates should not glow, but on High, you should hear a buzzing sound. But, you should also smell the ozone. I've only worked on two, but the reason they both didn't work was that the connectors on the wires leading to the plates were corroded beyond use. The top connector was the worst. Cutting them off and installing new ones solved the problem. Also, when you clean it, always clean the contacts where they touch the plates with alcohol. Look at the plates to see if they have more than one spot of glue around the center of the plate. (both sides) If so, they will be less noisy than older ones. Hint - Replace the plates when the glue on them turns dark brown.

I have an extra user manual for the alpine. You have to clean the plates at least once a month to get maximum performance. Get back to me at [email protected] for the manual. Also the ion emitter sometimes needs to be replaced. I use one of mine in my FIR sauna. It seems to be OK at those high temps. 50*-60* C..so far.

good day,
hope this link below will solve your problem.

kitchen appliances

They should go as far so the back edge of the plates touch the back stop and the the metal clip on each side of the plate is touching the metal screen on the plate.

As far as noise, depending on the purification setting, they can make a hissing sound. If you see arcing or sparking, or hear any other noise other than a hissing sound, then it is time to replace the plates.
Hope this helps.

You might be able to fix them.
There a couple of things that can go wrong with these units, dirty plates, bad contacts, and bad reostat.

Dirty plates:

The ozone is generated by the purification plates. They should be cleaned once a month with a solution of one part amonia and one part tap water. Use a soft bristle brush like an old toothbrush and scrub the metal contacts on the plates with the amonia solution. Be sure to do both sides. Allow them to sit with the solution for 10 minutes, then rinse off with tap water and allow it to dry completely.

Bad Contacts:

There is a couple of metal strips that make contact with the purification plate. Check the contact strips and wires for corrosion. The metal strips can also be cleaned with the amonia solution as well.

Bad Reostat:

The reostat is the part that attaches to the control knob that sets the purification levels. Sometimes it can go bad. The easilest way to check them is to use a meter and verify that as the knob is turned that the resistance changes with the position of the knob.

Did you get an answer to this? I have one too that needs to be cleaned. I'm in Atlanta. I paid a lot of money for this thing used and it has never worked. I go t no satisfaction from ebay and now am stuck with it, out $150 and it seems too complicated for me to ever get it working myself and I surely don't want to spend $179 to ship it somewhere else to be repaired.. Don't know what to do.

Hi,

Thanks for writing to Fixya.com.

You need to take the filter off as well the front grill and cleaned whit a soft cloth. Also need to lubricate the fan. Clean it with hot water and ammonia with a toothbrush.

Thank you for contacting Fixya and please accept the solution if it has helped you.

You probably have a burned out high voltage transformer. That's what produces the ozone. Helpful hint...........the high voltage transformer is also the one used in bug zappers

As it has been lying unused for years do not expect it to run at all. It may have several reason for not running at all. The filters could be choked. The vents may be clogged. What it needs is a thorough servicing. Then only can you expect it to function.
Also please use things regularly to keep them in working condition. Nothing stays new if not used at all. All gadgets, electrical, electronic, mechanical or any other type, need to be used on a regular basis.

take the filter of as well the front grill and cleaned whit a soft cloth and lubricate the fan

The ozone plate may need to be replaced.

hot water and ammonia with a toothbrush

If you removed the lint filter screen (on back), note that you have to properly depress the safety cut-out switch in the back (depressed by the plastic nub or C-ring that should be attached to the lint screen. If not properly engaged, prevents electrical operation (O3 plates and fan) of the purifier.

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Jon

If there is only one spot on the fan control dial that turns on the fan, it seems that the fan control pot has failed and needs to be replaced. You can call the company and order one and it should fix your problem 800 989 2299.

John,

"Smokey-acidic" - are you the original owner, and can verify no fires, etc? (People don't always tell the truth when they sell a house).

In my own experience, allergen control is a two-part job
1. Using a purifier/ionizer to oxidize odors and electrostatically sweep particulates from the air (like a magnet in a box of loose hardware - clump the micro-particles that normally float on air currents together so they "fall-out", to be swept, vacuumed or filtered by step #2. My experience is with the EcoQuest purifiers, and I like the ones with needle-point ionizers. I don't have a lot of experience on the RCI technology, can't comment on it. New EQ purifiers run ~$700-1000 USD, depending on capacity; you can probably find used units (older models) on eBay or craigslist for much less, but you'll be doing your own service unless you know a dealer or handyman who will do repairs for you. (and this can get pricey in a hurry too).

2. Use an ultra-high-filtration vacuum cleaner (or a whole-house unit that vents outside/downwind from your house) to remove the "fall-out" and embedded dust/dander/other accumulated crud from upholstered furniture and carpeting. I don't know what kind of "carpet cleaning" you used - some systems just pump hot water into the mud and microbes already in the base of the carpet, **** some of it out, but leave a layer of now-moistened crud in the bottom to grow stuff that you may be reacting to. Some use steam, which is better (kills more of the cooties instead of simply re-hydrating them), others use chemical powders to adsorb dirt and then get vacuumed-out. Just understand, unless the size of the dirt being vacuumed is big enough to be strained-out by the filter media, you'll be inhaling it again when it comes out the back of the vacuum-cleaner, so the really-tiny stuff goes through regardless, which is why you want an ionizer that will clump the little stuff together (and increase the effectiveness of your filter media). Having an external (outside the living space) exhaust on the vacuum would be even better, but probably more spendy and less convenient to routine housekeeping.

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Thanks for using Fixya.com,

Jon

That's a needle-point ionizer, should thread into a little arm/fitting in the fairing forward/front of the fan blades. The red wire (high voltage) should attach to this little arm (probably with a spade terminal). It provides the high-power ionization used to attract particulate air pollutants out of the air.

If I can be of further assistance, or if you have questions about any of my response(s), please let me know before rating me.

If this solves the issue, please rate it accordingly. My goal is to earn a "FixYa" rating from everyone I help.

Thanks for using Fixya.com,

Jon