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For the Cabin Filter to keep outside contaminants from entering inside my vehicle do I need to have the A/C on?
When it’s cold outside or when I want to save more gas I just keep the fan (blower) on with A/C off but when I have the A/C on the air coming from the vents smells so much more fresher and nicer.
Am I doing wrong by keeping the A/C in off position and just using the fan to blow air from the vents? Should I have the A/C on everytime even when I turn up the heater? Does the cabin filter deactivate when I just have the fan on but A/C off position.
By the way I keep recirculation mode on all the time
Also does having the A/C off really save much more gas?
Your car isn't hermetically sealed. You have to open it up to use it. Every single time you get in or out you'll introduce "contaminants" into the interior. BTW, your AC doesn't filter anything. It probably smells different because its been chilled.
In most cars the filter is after everything else, so it doesn't matter if you have A/C on or off, or recirculation on or off, it all passes through the (not very effective) filter the same.
As others have said, it probably smells different either because it's chilled or because it's dehumidified.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by southernnaturelover
I don’t know how we survived back in the old days before cabin filters.
Yes, I remember my 1973 For Courier withe pull-knob air vents. We passed through a swarm of gnats on I10 between LA and Pheonix one night and they were hitting us in the face.
For the Cabin Filter to keep outside contaminants from entering inside my vehicle do I need to have the A/C on?
When it’s cold outside or when I want to save more gas I just keep the fan (blower) on with A/C off but when I have the A/C on the air coming from the vents smells so much more fresher and nicer.
Am I doing wrong by keeping the A/C in off position and just using the fan to blow air from the vents? Should I have the A/C on everytime even when I turn up the heater? Does the cabin filter deactivate when I just have the fan on but A/C off position.
By the way I keep recirculation mode on all the time
Also does having the A/C off really save much more gas?
FILTERING: Most, if not all cars, filter all the air that is pushed by the fan. Modern cars have a very good quality filter (handles small pollen as well as the bigger stuff). Because of this, anytime you run the fan, it cleans the air in the cabin. This includes air that is pulled into the cabin when using Non-Recirculating mode.
COLD WEATHER VS A/C: When it's cold outside, you may still wish to run the A/C so to de-humidify the air in the cabin to minimize condensation on the inside layer of the cold windshield. This is MUCH more effective than trying to use the heaters hot air to try to heat the inside of the glass, since the glass has fast-moving outside air against it.
What I do, (and I'm an engineer and well understand condensation and energy use):
When it's cold outside, humid in the cabin, and the car is cold: At first, run the A/C anyway to dry the air inside as quick as possible, accepting a few minutes of discomfort to speed getting the windshield clear. When the heater warms up fully, I then disable the A/C and enable Recirculation, and/or crack the window a small bit, and/or open up my sun-roof a crack, allowing in the cold (usually dry) air that smells fresh to mix with my hot-humid breath, and therefore keeping the cabin dry enough to not condense. This saves a pretty good amount of gas.
One thing to remember is, (once your car's engine is hot), using heat in the cabin you can actually helps your motor's efficiency (your helping out the front radiator). So using as much heat as you can in the cabin is a good thing, not the waste it might seem.
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