Trion Furnace Electronic Air Cleaner

My Trion Electronic Air Cleaner quit working so I installed a media filter that's the same size as the electronic cells. But now it seems like we're getting a lot more dust that we can see settling on our furniture.

Question: In general are electronic furnace air cleaners more effective at removing dust particles than a media type filter?
I asking because nothing has changed other than the filter and I'm just looking for some more info before I call someone to repair or replace my electronic filter.

Thanks,
Phil

 

Electronic air cleaners are only cleaner than a media filter when they are cleaned every month or so.

 

Electronic air cleaners will remove the tiniest of particles, even smoke. However, as PJ alluded to , the electronic filters efficacy drops severely as it gets dirty and because it clears the smallest particles it gets dirty pretty fast. I think they should be cleaned every two weeks for best operation.

 

Every two weeks is probably right but I don't. Every month is enough of a nuisance.

I meant to ask previously.... what happened to the old cleaner ?

 

The unit itself actually works but the cells have wires missing that have broken. Since I posted this question I found an online dealer that sells the wires for about $8 each and they look pretty easy to replace. It'll cost about $60 or $70 bucks to replace the broken wires but I'm still up in the air about what to do.......

Also, as far as cleaning, I used to clean it about every 3-months and that seemed to work. In reality the fan in the air handler only runs a few hours a day. So the air cleaner is only working while the fan is running. The manual says this: "A thorough washing once every six months will
be adequate for most installations. More frequent washing (once every one to
three months) may be necessary with some installations (new home for example)
where there is new carpeting, plaster dust, or excessive cigarette smoke"

My home isn't new construction, no carpeting and no smokers.

Phil