MatrixAir Smoke Eaters Are Now at CommercialAirPurifiers.net: Hand-Built in New Hampshire, From $1,595

For a long time the smoke eater aisle had a gap. On one side sat the $895 portable units that handle a small cigar room. On the other sat the $2,600-and-up commercial ceiling machines from LakeAir and AQE. Nothing lived in between. As of this week that gap is filled: we now carry the MatrixAir line, ten machines across three mounting styles plus every replacement filter kit, at MatrixAir's own published prices.

Who makes MatrixAir

MatrixAir, LLC builds its smoke eaters in Warner, New Hampshire. Every unit is assembled after the order comes in, the same way LakeAir and AQE build theirs, and every model is ETL listed by Intertek for electrical safety. Until now there were only two places to buy one online, and neither carried the full line.

How a MatrixAir catches smoke

MatrixAir uses a three-stage disposable media design. Air is pulled in by a dual-speed blower and pushed through, in order:

1. A polyester pre-filter that takes out ash, lint and the heaviest particles. Swap it every three to four weeks in a busy room.
2. An activated carbon filter that adsorbs the odor and the gases in tobacco smoke. Swap it about every eight weeks.
3. A Proprietary High Efficiency (PHE) pleated filter, rated by MatrixAir to capture 90 to 95 percent of particles down to 0.3 microns. Swap it once a year.

That makes MatrixAir a media-filter smoke eater: nothing to wash, no electronic cell, no ozone. It is not a HEPA machine and MatrixAir does not call it one. A true HEPA filter captures 99.97 percent at 0.3 microns; the PHE filter trades a few points of capture for far lower airflow resistance, which is how a 1/4 hp motor moves 850 CFM through three filter stages at 64 to 68 dB.

Every machine ships with a full first year of filters in the box: twelve pre-filters, six carbon filters and one PHE filter. After that, the matching one-year filter kit runs $350 to $425 for standard units.

The Carbon V-Bank option. Every model can be ordered with a six-inch V-Bank carbon stage in place of the flat carbon pad. It holds several times the carbon, so odor control lasts longer between changes and holds up in rooms where the smoke never stops. It adds $425 to $575 to the machine and is the right call for a true cigar lounge; a bar with a smoking section usually does fine without it.

The three families

CeilingMount: the classic lounge install

Four sizes from 450 to 1,650 CFM, $1,595 to $2,280. The unit hangs from the ceiling on the included hanging kit, pulls smoke in one end and returns clean air out the other, so it sets up a circulation pattern across the room. The 800, 1000 and 1500 come in black or oak; the 2000 is black. Start with the CeilingMount1000 at 850 CFM and $1,880: it covers roughly 950 square feet at six air changes an hour with a nine-foot ceiling and is the volume model in the line.

FlushMount: for a drop ceiling

The FlushMount1000 and FlushMount22 (both 850 CFM, $1,980) and the FlushMount2000 (1,650 CFM, $2,280) are built to drop into a suspended-ceiling grid: about 46 by 23 inches, so they take the place of a two-by-four tile and show only a white or black grille from below. Black is a $100 option.

MaxMount: ducted and out of sight

Three sizes from 850 to 1,250 CFM, $2,495 to $2,895. The MaxMount is an inline unit that sits above the ceiling or in a mechanical room and connects to intake and supply grilles by duct. Nothing hangs in the room. The MaxMount1000 moves 1,000 CFM at $2,695. If you are finishing a space and can run duct, this is the cleanest-looking way to clear smoke. For a room that needs more than 1,250 CFM ducted, pair two MaxMounts or step up to the ceiling-hung CeilingMount2000.

Where MatrixAir sits against LakeAir and AQE

The honest summary: LakeAir's HEPA units capture more of the finest particles, and the electrostatic units from LakeAir and AQE cost less to run over ten years because the cell is washed rather than replaced. MatrixAir gives you a commercial-grade, American-built, ETL-listed machine with real carbon odor control for $700 to $1,100 less up front, and the simplest maintenance of the three: pull the old filter, slide in the new one. For a lounge owner who wants a known filter cost and no cell to scrub, that trade is often the right one.

Size by CFM, not square feet

Smoke eaters are sized by the air they move. The rule of thumb for a smoking room is six air changes an hour, eight to ten for a heavy cigar lounge. Multiply the room's length, width and ceiling height to get cubic feet, multiply by the air changes you want, and divide by sixty. A 20-by-30-foot room with a 9-foot ceiling is 5,400 cubic feet; at six air changes that is 540 CFM, which a CeilingMount1000 on low speed handles with room to spare. The CFM calculator does the math and lists the machines that fit.

Ordering, freight and lead time

Every MatrixAir is built after you order. MatrixAir books the freight carrier from Warner, and checkout shows a flat freight rate for your state: from $225 in the Midwest and Great Lakes to $500 on the West Coast, higher for Alaska, and Hawaii by phone. Delivery is curbside; tell us at checkout if you need a lift gate or inside delivery and we will arrange it with MatrixAir. We confirm the build time with the factory when your order comes in and keep you posted until it ships. Filter kits ship by parcel like everything else in the store.

Which one should you buy?

• Open ceiling, up to about 900 square feet: CeilingMount1000.
• Small cigar room or a tight budget: CeilingMount800 at $1,595.
• Drop ceiling: FlushMount1000, or the FlushMount2000 for a large room.
• Nothing visible in the room: a MaxMount ducted to grilles.
• Heavy, constant cigar smoke: any of the above with the Carbon V-Bank.

Browse the full line in the MatrixAir collection, compare it with everything else on the smoke eaters page, or contact us with your room dimensions and we will size it with you.