PureGuardian AP2800CA Air Purifier: Trusted Review & Specs

We have our hands on the PureGuardian AP2800CA, which has been superseded by the GermGuardian AC5000, which then has been superseded by the next gen GermGuardian AC5250PT. Some loyal audiences asked us to bring the review of the duo PureGuardian AP2800CA and PureGuardian AP2200CA, and here you are with the first PureGuardian AP2800CA Review.

Updated: The best devices of this brand are the GermGuardian AC9400W and GermGuardian AC9600W. But if you are looking for a Smart air purifier, you should search for either the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA or GermGuardian CDAP4500BCA.

PureGuardian AP2800CA ranks C in our air purifier ranking list. We give the biggest and most thorough database of air purifier reviews in the world.

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Guardian Technologies start its business with the duo PureGuardian AP2200CA and PureGuardian AP2800CA, which they have settled down on this design concept for more than 8 years. As the king of budget air purifiers, with a huge number of devices, this brand and Honeywell may be the most popular air purifier brands in the United States. Time to check the PureGuardian AP2800CA Review to see if this air purifier can live on at the moment.

Other GermGuardian’s Air Purifier Reviews:

PureGuardian AP2800CA Price

This is the first 28-inch device of Guardian Technologies, and it is very old to consider right now. GermGuardian family has been aiming to please the low-range end of the market for a number of years now and the PureGuardian AP2800CA is the very beginning.

Following on from the sidekick 22-inch PureGuardian AP2200CA, this PureGuardian AP2800CA is the first blueprint for later air purifiers, like GermGuardian AC5000 and GermGuardian AC5250PT. As a result, you can pick up this air purifier for only $89, which is even lower than the cost of the new 22-inch GermGuardian AC4825 and GermGuardian AC4300BPTCA. This is also the price of the old 22-inch GermGuardian AC4900CA and GermGuardian AC4820.

Although there is stiff competition in this market, mostly from the Levoit LV-H132, AeraMax 100 and Blue Pure 411, this air purifier has built up to become everything the $100 AC5000 is meant to be. You can expect an air purifier with better fan power than other competitors, with only a cheaper price.

So is it persuasive to buy this PureGuardian AP2800CA? If not, you can check the current price of this air purifier first.

Related post: Best air purifier 2023.

PureGuardian AP2800CA Design and Size

The very first air purifier from Guardian Technologies shaped the design and size for many successors until then. PureGuardian AP2800CA is a tall air purifier, stays at 28 inches in height. This air purifier is mostly made of metal, which is also the favored material to make the GermGuardian AC5000 after that.

It has a big air intake grill from the back, one thing that you will see in many GermGuardian air purifiers. However, the air outlet grill is much bigger, instead of the perforated holes in the next versions, for example the GermGuardian AC5250PT. The logo is also “PureGuardian” as its name, instead of “GermGuardian”.

Of course, PureGuardian AP2800CA still uses the back-to-front airflow concept. This airflow system remains from generation to generation in GermGuardian family, until the latest modern air purifiers like GermGuardian AC5900W change this concept totally, into the more popular bottom-to-top.

Also, on top of this PureGuardian AP2800CA, we will have a bigger LED indicator, also with the classic control panel and 6 different buttons.

Source: Amazon.com

For the size, this air purifier is still 10.5 lbs and keeps the same cord length of 6 inches. You can easily move it around your home.

Related post: Best air purifiers for bedroom.

PureGuardian AP2800CA Filters

To decide the power of an air purifier, basically we will look at how many filters it has and the air filter types are used. With a 2-in-1 air cleaning system, PureGuardian AP2800CA is the inferior version of the next GermGuardian AC5000.

1. Pre-filter – A common GermGuardian pre-filter with Activated Carbon filter to remove the large particles of pollutants and reduce odors created from smoke, cooking, and pets.
2. True HEPA filter – PureGuardian AP2800CA uses a True HEPA Filter to capture 99.97% of microscopic allergens, dust and mold spores down to 0.3 microns in size.

With $20 cheaper, the PureGuardian AP2800CA doesn’t have the signature UV light bulb like any other GermGuardian air purifiers. You can add it later, or you just have a 2-stage air cleaning system, with the core of a True HEPA filter to clean the allergens. The air filter set is the same with GermGuardian AC5000 and later air purifiers, so you don’t need to worry about the quality of this PureGuardian AP2800CA. Even without the UV-C light bulb, this air purifier is still great to use.

Source: Amazon.com

That is, like the AC5000, PureGuardian AP2800CA has the same efficiency of 99.9% for trapping any particles as small as 0.3 microns. The test conditions are 100 square feet room and duration of 1 hour. This efficiency is higher than the Levoit Vista 200 with only 99.7%, or the AeraMax 100 with 99.8%. However, the SilverOnyx and VEVA 8000 Elite Pro were better, with 99.92% and 99.93%, respectively.

Remember that you are using the same filter in PureGuardian AP2800CA like AC5000, AC5250PT, AC5300B or even CDAP5500BCA. That means you don’t need to pay an extra of $70 to use the best air filter of Guardian Technologies. It should also be noted that today Guardian Technologies has two layers of True HEPA filter for different purpose. The last but not least, you need to change the air filter every 6-8 months base on 24/7 use.

Related post: Best air purifiers for allergies.

PureGuardian AP2800CA Room Coverage

The suggested room size for the PureGuardian AP2800CA is 225 square feet, which is larger than most of the later air purifiers in this family.

The ACH of PureGuardian AP2800CA is 4X. With this rating, the air purifier can exchange the air in your room every 15 minutes.

The CADR of PureGuardian AP2800CA is 149 Dust/ 145 Smoke/ 163 pollen (cfm). This air purifier’s CADR rating is higher than any tower air purifiers in the lineup of GermGuardian, only stands behind the flagship GermGuardian AC9400W.

Related post: Best large room air purifiers.

PureGuardian AP2800CA Sound

As the classic version of GermGuardian AC5000, PureGuardian AP2800CA is running with 3 fan speeds. There is no advertisement for the quiet operation, so we can’t avoid the noticeable sound when using PureGuardian AP2800CA at full fan speed.

Even on lowest speed, the PureGuardian AP2800CA produces a noise level of 40 decibels (dB), and it is higher than most of the normal air purifiers in the market. For example, the AeraMax 300 is only 35 decibels, the SilverOnyx can be as low as 25 decibels, or Winix 5300-2 with only 28 decibels.

Just like any other tower devices in GermGuardian’s family, PureGuardian AP2800CA is not a perfect option for quiet places, such as your office or bedroom.

Related post: Best air purifiers for baby.

PureGuardian AP2800CA Power Consumption

A good air purifier must be used for a long time to be efficient, and one of the most asked questions in Breathe Quality is: “Do air purifiers use a lot of energy?”. We can all agree that power consumption is one important criteria to review if this air purifier is worth your money or not.

Even without the UV light bulb, PureGuardian AP2800CA consumes too much energy. I recorded the power consumption of 51 watts, which is really high for a low fan speed air purifier like PureGuardian AP2800CA.

For using a PureGuardian AP2800CA 8 hours per day, it would cost you up to $18 per year. Still, this PureGuardian AP2800CA is an Energy Star air purifier, that means you don’t need to worry about the energy cost to run this air purifier.

Related post: Best air purifiers for pets.

PureGuardian AP2800CA Additional Features

This is the classic air purifier of this American brand, so PureGuardian AP2800CA has nothing but a LED indicator for filter replacement. Luckily, we also have the Timer to use with this air purifier, not like the GermGuardian AC5000 or GermGuardian AC5300B. But what could you expect from this old device of Guardian Technologies?

If you are looking for smart features, you need to aim for the the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA. Or you should switch to other brands, like using the AeraMax 100 or SilverOnyx 3-in-1 instead.

Related posts:

1, Best air purifiers for smoke.

2, Best air purifiers for dust.

3, Best air purifiers for mold.

PureGuardian AP2800CA Customer Service

There is not much to say about the brilliant support from Guardian Technologies’ customer service. Anyone can get active support from the American brand. The company also makes the instruction manuals available online to help you answer common questions on your own. But if you can’t find a solution, just contact customer service via phone at 866-603-5900 or via email at support@guardiantechnologies.com. Just like any other brand, the office will be open from Monday to Friday.

Guardian Technologies occasionally offers free shipping as well as a significant discount on all products (typically 10% to 20%). Whenever you find the air purifiers are not as great as you had thought, you can return them within 30 days of your original receipt of the order. And don’t worry about the warranty policy of Guardian Technologies, as it warrants its products to be free of defects in materials or workmanship. You can register for a warranty for up to five years.

Our verdict

You can try this PureGuardian AP2800CA for a much better fan power, but I only think of the GermGuardian AC4825 in this price range. The newer device has decent fan power, better air filtration process and a great, great price that you can’t ignore.