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  Update on Fresh Air 2 Technical Issues and Overall Product Quality As an EcoQuest Business Owner, you need to be aware of product developments as well as product challenges and areas requiring attention. Today I would like to share with you information on EcoQuest’s flagship product, the Fresh Air 2, and specifically data on field failures, an analysis of what is causing these failures, our efforts to resolve specific failure modes, and what we do in the manufacturing process to insure product quality. Since the Fresh Air 2 was introduced in May of this year, our overall failure rate based upon RMA’s issued is 2.3%. This is much lower than the failure rate of Fresh Air 1, but still an unacceptable level. Here is a breakdown of the failures by failure mode: 1.       75% due to no power (primarily due to safety switch becoming bent) 2.       9% due to no ozone 3.       6% due to a bad LCD display 4.       5% due to an objectionable odor 5.       5% due to surging or intermittent operation As you can see, by far the largest failure mode (or 1.7% of all units shipped) is what our customer service department classifies as no power. Of those 75% failures, more than 90% are attributable to the safety switch located at the back of the unit and actuated by the rear cover. Why is the safety switch failing? For complete documentation on the Safety Switch Field Repair Repair download the PDF. This document can also be found in the Dealer Information Library under Product Information. Analysis has shown that the majority of the safety switch failures are the actuator tab becoming bent. The safety switch itself is not defective. The tab becomes bent in shipping due to excessive force driving the rear cover actuator pin into the access hole for the safety switch and causing the tab to become bent. The bent tab no longer presses down on the switch, so the unit is unable to power up. The picture shows what a bent tab looks like. Here are answers to many of your questions including what we are doing about it and what you need to understand in light of this challenge: What EcoQuest has done to resolve the Safety Switch Issue We set out to correct the problem not by fixing it but by eliminating it.  We have redesigned the back cover of the machine to provide every bit of the same level of safety as before but in a fashion that completely eliminates the need for the switch in the first place. This was possible due to a design change in the rear cover which insures that the power cord will be removed when the rear cover is removed. This change went into effect in manufacturing the last week of September. As of the 1st week of October, all Fresh Air 2 units will be shipping with the new rear cover design and no safety switch. What you as a Business Owner need to do EcoQuest has always recommended that all Business Owners do a functional check of their product upon receipt from EcoQuest. This means opening up the box, removing the product and powering it up. This is not just because of the safety switch issue. There are many things which can happen in the process of shipping your product to you and it is in your best interest to perform a functional check of your unit prior to delivery to your customer. It is also a good idea to visually inspect the safety switch to insure it is not partially bent which could cause intermittent operation. EcoQuest has a 30-day exchange policy which includes EcoQuest paying to ship the product back to the home office in the event the product is defective upon receipt. If a business owner fails to check their products and leaves the product in the boxes for several months until sold, if there is an out-of-box failure EcoQuest will honor the warrantee but the 30-day exchange policy will not be available. So you see, it is to your benefit to check your product as soon as it arrives. It is the goal of EcoQuest Engineering, manufacturing and quality teams to provide you with a product that works each and every time. Unfortunately we are not there yet but we are making significant headway toward that goal. Can you fix the safety switch yourself or does it require an RMA? The answer to that question is up to you. Since the switch is not defective the only issue is bending the actuator tab. The process of bending the tab is not difficult and you can find detailed instructions including pictures here. If you don’t feel capable or just prefer not to make the correction, EcoQuest’s exchange or warrantee policy will take care of your unit. So the Safety Switch works right now -- What is the risk of the switch bending later or other problems occurring after my customer starts using their unit? The actuator gets bent when the unit in the box receives excessive force from the rear of the unit. This occurs in shipping, and explains why there are some business owners who have received entire clips of Fresh Airs with this problem. It also explains why more problems occur with units going to the west coast of the US than elsewhere; it is due to more handling in shipping. The good news is that once you have received your unit and have verified the actuator is not bent you should have no issues with the safety switch. In normal operation by a customer the reliability of the switch has proven to be much better than previous designs. The only issue is shipping. How about the other issues: 1.       9% due to no ozone 2.       6% due to a bad LCD display 3.       5% due to surging or intermittent operation 4.       5% due to an objectionable odor Back To "How about other issues" 1. 9% due to no ozone (0.2% of all units) This problem has been attributed to a process issue during Circuit Board manufacturing. The Fresh Air 2 uses SMT (Surface Mount Technology) and the boards are built on an automated manufacturing line. During one day’s manufacturing run, one lead of one component was not being properly soldered, which causes the ozone output circuit to malfunction. This problem was isolated to one day’s production although it did amount to well over 1000 units. Because the component was making contact the failure didn’t show up in the manufacturing QC tests. The majority of failures have shown up later. EcoQuest has put in place safeguards in the circuit board manufacturing process to insure such failures will not happen in the future. Back To "How about other issues" 2. 6% due to a bad LCD display (0.14% of all units) The failure rate of the LCD displays has been far too high and consequently EcoQuest has changed vendors for this component. The majority of returns are due to cosmetic problems and not functional failures. Back To "How about other issues" 3. 5% due to surging or intermittent operation (0.12% of all units) This issue surfaced within the first 30-days of releasing Fresh Air 2. It was a surprise because none of the 200 prototype units produced prior to the product introduction exhibited the failure. Without getting too technical, the unit’s internal computer goes into a reset mode ever so often because of problems with the input power. We first discovered the problem when a Coordinating Manager from Ohio received two units which kept resetting themselves every few hours. We replaced the units and the two replacement units did the same thing. EcoQuest then sent two engineers with a van full of test equipment to the dealer’s home with instructions not to return until the problem was fixed. The solution was to change several diodes on the Power Board Assembly. In the last 6-weeks two other business owners located in a very remote part of the state of Maine had a similar problem. We verified they had the latest configuration so EcoQuest flew it’s most senior Digital Engineer along with several cases full of test equipment with the same directive; “don’t come home till the problem is solved”. The Engineer had to stay at the business owner’s home as the closest hotel was well over an hour away. The problem was traced to extremely poor power coming into the home. The waveform looked more like an EKG of a person having a heart attack than a typical sinusoidal waveform. The solution was to change one component and to add one component to the Power Board. The problem which we have called “surging”, affects very few customers. Those who are affected find their Fresh Air 2 exhibiting erratic behavior like surging of the fan, the unit resetting itself every so often, or slowness in responding to keypad commands. These problems are caused by AC power problems including the neutral not being tied to ground. Back To "How about other issues" 4. 5% due to an objectionable odor (0.12% of all units) The objectionable odor can be attributable to several things. For those who may have missed or forgotten the Product Bulletin from July on this subject, go here to download a updated PDF for more information. This document is also found in the EcoQuest Dealer Information Library. An additional issue has been brought to our attention regarding the smell of the oxidizers coming off the RCI cell. The 6” RCI cell in the Fresh Air 2 is a very powerful purifier, maybe too powerful for some people who are ultra-sensitive. Most of our business owners are used to the sweet smell of ozone. Although the RCI Cell produces a small amount of ozone (remember is breaks down nearly 90% of all ozone produced to create other oxidizers), it also produces a mist of Hydrogen Peroxide, Ozonide Ions, and Super Oxides. These oxidizers have a distinct and pleasant smell but slightly different than ozone, and if someone is very sensitive or the unit is too close, the smell can be overpowering. According to several Business Owners, sales have been lost because the oxidizer smell was overpowering in normal mode. If you find the smell of the Fresh Air 2 objectionable, go through the suggestions in the Product Bulletin listed above. In addition, try disconnecting the RCI cell to see if the oxidizers coming off the cell are the issue. What EcoQuest is providing for customers who find the current RCI cell too powerful Later this week EcoQuest will be introducing a Low Oxidation RCI Cell. This cell produces 80% less ozone, which means less of the other oxidizers are being produced. Although less oxidizers make the Fresh Air 2 in Normal Mode take longer to make an impact in the indoor environment, it can mean the difference needed by those who are ultra-sensitive to oxidation gases. As part of this Low Oxidation RCI Cell introduction, EcoQuest is establishing an exchange program for those “full power” RCI Cells. The cells will also be available for purchase. What is EcoQuest doing to insure the quality of Fresh Air 2 and other products? 1.       Every unit is powered up multiple times in the manufacturing process. Several Business Owners have assumed that with multiple units arriving “dead”, that EcoQuest Manufacturing surely must not be powering up the product prior to shipping. For those who have toured the facility here in Greeneville you know that is not true. In fact the Fresh Air 2 is powered up three times during the manufacturing and QC process. In addition, lot sampling is performed which periodically pulls completed and boxed units from the warehouse to put them through a battery of quality checks. 2.       Every Fresh Air 2 failure is evaluated by senior technicians and the root cause of the failure is identified. Component failures are returned to the component supplier for analysis. Our QA team keeps track of all failure and monitors efforts until corrective action is implemented. 3.       QC engineers and Manufacturing Engineering Process Engineers monitor acceptance rate on the manufacturing line to identify process or component issues very early on so potential failures are stopped before being shipped to our Business Owners. When I spoke in Orlando in August I made the statement that Quality is a process and not a destination. The effort to produce a quality product is first and foremost in the minds and efforts of our Manufacturing and Engineering team. I have shared with you today in a very open and honest way where we are and why. No we are not content with where we are -- a 2.3% overall failure rate is totally unacceptable, but we know why we are at 2.3% and we know what we need to do to fix it. Thank you for your efforts in the field and a special thanks to those who have provided much needed detailed feedback on our products to aid us in making improvements. You have my commitment and the commitment of my team to provide with the best quality products possible for you and your customers. With appreciation, Allen Johnston Vice President, Technology Operations EcoQuest International