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Does anyone have any plans for a cheap DIY Ozone sensor? My house came with an electronic air cleaner called an iWave: https://iwaveair.com/ https://iwaveair.c

Does anyone have any plans for a cheap DIY Ozone sensor? My house came with an electronic air cleaner called an iWave: https://iwaveair.com/ https://iwaveair.com/ It claims to not emit any Ozone, but I'd like to be able to meaure it, and the commercial sensors tend to be expensive.

dperfect 5y ago
Not sure if this is DIY enough for you, but I'm using an MQ131 (about $20-$30 on Amazon, probably cheaper directly from China [1]) in an air quality monitor I'm building. There's an Arduino library for it [2], and from what I can tell so far, it does work, though it's probably not super accurate. It's also somewhat sensitive to environmental factors, but you can correct for some of that with known temperature/humidity. [1] There are a few different kinds of MQ131 (for high and low concentrations); you'll probably want the low concentration one. I also removed the bare sensor from a breakout board I purchased so I could access it directly from my custom PCB. [2] https://github.com/ostaquet/Arduino-MQ131-driver https://github.com/ostaquet/Arduino-MQ131-driver
- Johnny555 5y ago
  That's exactly what I'm looking for, looks like I can get a $30 MQ131 with detection a range of 10PPB-2PPM [1], and a "Good" indoor level is 0 - 54ppb [2]. It doesn't need to be super accurate for my use case, basically I just want to turn on the electronic filter and see if there are any detectable levels of Ozone. [1] https://www.sainsmart.com/products/mq-131-gas-sensor-ozone-module https://www.sainsmart.com/products/mq-131-gas-sensor-ozone-m... [2] https://learn.kaiterra.com/en/resources/ozone-what-levels-are-safe https://learn.kaiterra.com/en/resources/ozone-what-levels-ar...
clipradiowallet 5y ago
This doesn't answer your question - but in all seriousness you can smell it. Even the smallest amount of ozone has a very distinct smell you will recognize. If you stand in front of your air sanitizer and let the air pass over your face, you should be able to smell the ozone immediately. If you haven't smelled it before - I would recommend going to a retail store that sells ozone-based air sanitizers. That should give you a whiff of the stuff for reference. You can also find it in [some] hospitals for air sanitization. I imagine once you smell it, you will realize you have smelled it before and maybe not realized it was ozone that you were smelling.
- Johnny555 5y ago
  I know what Ozone smells like (I remember the old laser printers that were also effective ozone emitters), but trust a sensor more than my ability to smell low levels of Ozone. My air purifier is built into the furnace ductwork so it's already pretty diluted air by the time it comes out of a duct.
  - clipradiowallet 5y ago
    > My air purifier is built into the furnace ductwork That's neat! Do you know if the ozone is produced before or after it reaches the blowing mechanism? I ask because if it is produced before, like right after the air intake, that's a really great setup for keeping your ductwork mold and mildew free. I've wanted to buy such a system but keep holding out for things to get cheaper... in the meantime, I use an ecoquest "FreshAir" model sitting on top of the fridge.
    - Johnny555 5y ago
      Well I don't know that it creates ozone at all, the product claims that it creates purifying "ions", but no ozone. And I don't want ozone. The unit is installed after the filter, but before the air is sucked into the blower.
- s0rce 5y ago
  the word ozone actually comes from the Greek word for smell (at least according to wikipedia, I don't speak Greek.)

dperfect 5y ago

Not sure if this is DIY enough for you, but I'm using an MQ131 (about $20-$30 on Amazon, probably cheaper directly from China [1]) in an air quality monitor I'm building. There's an Arduino library for it [2], and from what I can tell so far, it does work, though it's probably not super accurate. It's also somewhat sensitive to environmental factors, but you can correct for some of that with known temperature/humidity. [1] There are a few different kinds of MQ131 (for high and low concentrations); you'll probably want the low concentration one. I also removed the bare sensor from a breakout board I purchased so I could access it directly from my custom PCB. [2] https://github.com/ostaquet/Arduino-MQ131-driver https://github.com/ostaquet/Arduino-MQ131-driver

Johnny555 5y ago
That's exactly what I'm looking for, looks like I can get a $30 MQ131 with detection a range of 10PPB-2PPM [1], and a "Good" indoor level is 0 - 54ppb [2]. It doesn't need to be super accurate for my use case, basically I just want to turn on the electronic filter and see if there are any detectable levels of Ozone. [1] https://www.sainsmart.com/products/mq-131-gas-sensor-ozone-module https://www.sainsmart.com/products/mq-131-gas-sensor-ozone-m... [2] https://learn.kaiterra.com/en/resources/ozone-what-levels-are-safe https://learn.kaiterra.com/en/resources/ozone-what-levels-ar...

clipradiowallet 5y ago

This doesn't answer your question - but in all seriousness you can smell it. Even the smallest amount of ozone has a very distinct smell you will recognize. If you stand in front of your air sanitizer and let the air pass over your face, you should be able to smell the ozone immediately. If you haven't smelled it before - I would recommend going to a retail store that sells ozone-based air sanitizers. That should give you a whiff of the stuff for reference. You can also find it in [some] hospitals for air sanitization. I imagine once you smell it, you will realize you have smelled it before and maybe not realized it was ozone that you were smelling.

Johnny555 5y ago
I know what Ozone smells like (I remember the old laser printers that were also effective ozone emitters), but trust a sensor more than my ability to smell low levels of Ozone. My air purifier is built into the furnace ductwork so it's already pretty diluted air by the time it comes out of a duct.
- clipradiowallet 5y ago
  > My air purifier is built into the furnace ductwork That's neat! Do you know if the ozone is produced before or after it reaches the blowing mechanism? I ask because if it is produced before, like right after the air intake, that's a really great setup for keeping your ductwork mold and mildew free. I've wanted to buy such a system but keep holding out for things to get cheaper... in the meantime, I use an ecoquest "FreshAir" model sitting on top of the fridge.
  - Johnny555 5y ago
    Well I don't know that it creates ozone at all, the product claims that it creates purifying "ions", but no ozone. And I don't want ozone. The unit is installed after the filter, but before the air is sucked into the blower.
s0rce 5y ago
the word ozone actually comes from the Greek word for smell (at least according to wikipedia, I don't speak Greek.)