Replacement Front Filter for MycoPunks Flow Unit

A replacement front HEPA filter for your MycoPunks flow unit - we’re offering these at a “mate’s rates” sort-of-thing for people that have purchased a flow unit from us, so if you’re not on that list then sorry!

This is the bit that sits on the front, and does the important bit of filtering out 99.997% of all contaminants that are 0.3um (or bigger). That means trichoderma spores, mould spores, yeast; this is why we use this level of kit in mycology. It’s not 100%, there’s still a (very improbable) chance of something going wrong, but 99.997% is a lot better than the 0% filtering ability of “not using a flow unit”.

These are not particularly cheap (although they do last a long time), which is why you need to replace your prefilter periodically - it’ll keep your running costs down. 

How often should you replace the HEPA filter on your MycoPunks flow unit? 

This is a bit of a “how long is a piece of string” question, but let’s try and work it out logically:

If you’re using a HEPA air purifier device at home, it’s recommended you’re changing them “at least once” every two years. However, you’re probably going to be using one of those more passively, leaving it running for hours/overnight, whereas when you’re having fun with your agar plates or grain you’ll probably be in and out in under an hour (again, not talking about professional cultivation situations here). We think you could probably go quite a few years without needing to purchase a replacement in most cases.

Obviously this timeframe changes if you’re using the unit all day every day or you like to leave all your windows and doors open when you’re inoculating.

Okay, I’ve had it a few years, so how do I know when my HEPA filter needs changing?

You can do it the rough way, or the easy way. Rough way is to wait until things start getting contaminated on the regular and then realise why. Easy way is every six months or so, place an open agar plate in front of your flow unit when you’re working in front of it. Agar plate contaminates? Try another few in front of the unit on their own (you never know, it could be the 0.003% in action), and if they also go bad then it’s time to replace the filter.

As a general rule, it’s good if you’re having a look at the filter every now and then to make sure it’s clean, you’re replacing your pre-filter when it’s dirty, and you’re not spraying any liquid at your filter (always spray your iso backwards). You cannot clean these adequately enough for your use case, and if you try you will make it worse, so don’t. 

“Wow that sounds great but I don’t have a MycoPunks flow unit so I can’t buy one” - click here, buy a flow unit, then even though you won’t need a replacement HEPA filter for years we’ll let you purchase it forever.

Full replacement instructions here