GK Products

I was recently asked by Gordon Harris of Filtair to conduct a test for him using the new BK Products line of odor, ethylene and moisture control products. I was given an Awesome Air unit for the house as well as Mega Fresh and Mega Freeze units for my refrigerator to conduct the test with. Now, I can be a little skeptical at times, (past training you know), and normally you have to prove something to me before I'll believe it. I use the old adage, believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see and you'll be all right.

First a background on the three products I reviewed. The Awesome Air unit is supposed to supplement your air conditioning system by removing the humidity load while the evaporator lowers the air temperature so cooling systems operate more efficiently. The Mega Freeze unit is supposed to provide colder temperatures, protect ice build up on equipment, freezer surfaces, stored products and cause a reduction in defrost cycles to help your freezer operate more efficiently. The Mega Fresh unit is supposed to extend the shelf life of perishables, providing fresher, higher quality produce. It maintains proper humidity, reduces ethylene gas and removes the cross transfer of odors.

I was told that all three units can be reused. The only thing you have to do is put them out in the sunlight or oven to draw the moisture out about once every six months or so and they are ready to be used again.

Now my scientific test. I decided that these different units all had to weight a certain amount to begin with when they were brand new. Having already installed all three, I decided that they should weigh more from pulling in moisture from their different environments. That's simple, water has weight to it. So I pulled them and weighed all three. The Awesome Air unit had been installed just over my return air filter for about one month and the Mega Freeze and Mega Fresh units had been in my refrigerator for about two months. Here are the weights I got. I used a standard house scale and a Normark electronic digital scale to conduct the test with. The Awesome Air unit weighed approximately 12 pounds. The Mega Freeze unit weighed approximately 7 ounces and the Mega Fresh unit weighed approximately 8 ounces. l left all three units out in the sunlight for 6 hours and then put them on my garage workbench over night to make sure that all the moisture had evaporated. The next day I weighed them again.

The results from my experiment were that the Awesome Air unit had reduced in weight to approximately 11 pounds, a reduction of 1 pound. The Mega Freeze unit reduced in weight to approximately 6 ounces, a reduction of 1 ounce and the Mega Fresh unit reduced in weight to approximately 7 ounces, a reduction of 1 ounce.

My next step was to find out how much water had evaporated from each of the units, so I had to find the weight of the water and how much space it occupied. So off to the Internet I went. It's been a long time since school and I needed a little help remembering what the conversions were. I used the measurement known as Avoirdupois Weight. In simple terms, this is the system of weights and measure based on one pound and has been the same since the 1800's.

My findings are as follows: the Awesome Air unit lost 1 pound of water which is equal to 16 fl. ounces, 455 ml or approximately 2 cups of water. The Mega Freeze & Mega Fresh units each lost 1 ounce which is equal to .8 fl drams. 30 ml or approximately 1/8 of a cup of water. I'm pretty sure these calculations are correct from the conversion tables I used.

My final analysis is that I found that the Awesome Air unit did collect moisture from the air and that I didn't have to run my thermostat as low to cool the house down. The house also felt a little cooler. The Mega Fresh unit did collect moisture and that the refrigerator had no bad smells. The Mega Freeze unit did collect moisture and my ice cubs were rock hard with no ice buildup. I also noticed that I could turn back my thermostat settings in both the freezer and refrigerator one notch and still get the same results. According to power companies, every degree you turn back the thermostat equates to approximately a 7% savings on your monthly electric bill.

HVAC Insider®