before TL: something went expensively wrong with the filter?

Well, at least now if it breaks you know how to fix it yourself, right?

The survey just requires some common scents:

What smell is intense?
• The smell of ramen when you're hungry
• The smell of yakiniku when you're hungry
• The smell of yakitori when you're hungry
• The smell of eel when you're hungry
• The smell of curry when you're hungry

Reader-added tags include "Tough-choice survey", "Survey from the System", and "No 'All of the above' in the survey".

This means no snacks for Kogasa-san for the next 5 years, versus the next 3 years had they just bought the filter.

When I tried to make one, it probably became cheaper to buy one.

Ain't that the truth.

You try to buy a completed product, you pay a manufacturer's price. Try to build it yourself, material retailers have you pay a premium.

Many companies do extensive analyses on what it actually costs to make something and get it to the market (with fair profit included). Overcharging is certainly not uncommon , but most of the time if the product costs that much, that is how much it costs. You can't cheat the devil.

Blindga said:

Ain't that the truth.

You try to buy a completed product, you pay a manufacturer's price. Try to build it yourself, material retailers have you pay a premium.

Many companies do extensive analyses on what it actually costs to make something and get it to the market (with fair profit included). Overcharging is certainly not uncommon , but most of the time if the product costs that much, that is how much it costs. You can't cheat the devil.

And the fact is most companies that make such things buy the materials in bulk likely saving them some money.

Though not all things go by this as if you're savvy enough one could make a computer to their specs cheaper than a pre-made one. That is however offset by the fact of knowing how the parts go together/etc.

It usually just depends on if something is Name Brand or not. Name Brands usually do have at least a 2x mark up. But you also have to think about something else when making a DIY project. Tools. Do you already have the tools to make what you want to make? Good Tools? Or your ancient dad's hand me down tools?

I still find that DIY is cheaper for the most part for most garage projects, like a Swamp Cooler or computer Desk. But price gets weird when you have to start adding in electronics.

Well, 50.000 is much less than 300.000, why grieving, Kogasa-author?

Why do you need the filter? It is venting outside anyways, thats poi, the point of doing this. Plus it will improve air flow. I'm not sure if it is just Japan pricing or what, but I could buy US made parts and build this for far lower than $500.

79248cm/s said:

Why do you need the filter? It is venting outside anyways, thats poi, the point of doing this. Plus it will improve air flow. I'm not sure if it is just Japan pricing or what, but I could buy US made parts and build this for far lower than $500.

I don't think that is a filter-less fume extractor. That would require duct work leading to a window, and that could take up an ugly amount of space in a common home. Maybe not though.

Scanning the web for prices does show a bit of discrepancy to what Kogasa spent compared to American terms. I'm always curious about international price of goods and the reasons behind market tendencies. Scanning the web for "HEPA Standards Manufacturers in Japan" only turns up about five relevant companies in the first few results, compared to the thirty or so by searching America. My guess is there could be a supply deficiency in the market for filtration in Japan.

Of course, there may be more to the story than just that.

79248cm/s said:

Why do you need the filter? It is venting outside anyways, thats poi, the point of doing this. Plus it will improve air flow. I'm not sure if it is just Japan pricing or what, but I could buy US made parts and build this for far lower than $500.

Most of the posts I've seen on Reddit and Instructables suggests he parts cost $400-450, especially since he HEPA filter alone costs around $200, not counting the fans or pre-filters along with whatever else you're using in the fume extractor.

It may not be much cheaper than buying a unit, especially since the prices I've quoted are in American dollars, and I'm not sure if the parts like the fan and filters are available locally where Mizuki-sensei is, or if he had to import from HK or China.

Blindga said:

I don't think that is a filter-less fume extractor. That would require duct work leading to a window, and that could take up an ugly amount of space in a common home. Maybe not though.

The second panel shows the HEPA filter and pre-filter along with an activated charcoal filter, which makes sense given his wife's complaints.