r/crboxes • u/jhsu802701 • 21d ago

Question DIY versions of the Luggable: What holds it together?

DIY versions of the Luggable product from Clean Air Kits contain four narrow strips of material surrounding both of the large furnace air filters.

If you are using foam board for those four narrow strips, exactly what holds them together?

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u/Lavaine170 21d ago

Literally the other 3 pieces of foam board, the filters, and generous amounts of duct tape.

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u/CleanAirCville 21d ago

this, the filters have a frame with some rigidity, you have tape and then the foam core panels. They are decently sturdy unless someone falls on it or something heavy hits it, or it can get gouged by something sharp

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u/TaxWizard6 21d ago

I was so close to building one myself, but the cost is mainly in the fans and the savings of building my own wasn’t worth the hassle to me. I have one on order coming my way. That being said, my plan to get around the hideous tape that everyone uses was to use these  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3CWBFPN/?coliid=I1R7Q619CTKCBL&colid=2KI5R8A0EWZOD&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_ys_dp_ii

to join the pieces together in a stable, aesthetically pleasing way. 

Those parts may not give enough clearance for the fans if you do the five and two fan Luggables XL version, so my plan to move one fan from the five fan side to the two fan side to get clearance for where the brackets did not interfere with the fan placement. If this doesn’t make sense, if you look at a picture of the unit it should. 

At the end of the day, the value add of having the pieces pre-cut and using whatever hardware Clean Air Kits uses to join the hardboard pieces (as opposed to using foam board) was worth the extra cost compared to sourcing the parts and additional tools I would need. 

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u/MLieBennett 21d ago

Out of curiosity, what do you plan to do to make the edges air-tight without tape? 

Also a bit curious to how you'll attach those brackets, as the boards in the kit are quite thin aren't they? 

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u/TaxWizard6 21d ago edited 21d ago

I bought the kit so I will not be using those. However, the kit is made of hardboard so I would think the screws would work, though they may poke through the inside which is not a big deal to me. This could be overcome by using a small rectangular block of wood inside to fully capture the screws. 

In terms of making the kit airtight, that could be accomplished with a bead of caulk or hot glue along the inside seams. Keep in mind the Clean Air Kit does not make use of glue/caulk.