I appreciate the suggestions - that’s not our plan, but I’ll pass them along to the team for consideration and make an announcement if we decide to do anything different.
I don’t think we’ve tested this. If you’re having problems, consider emailing support or starting a separate thread in Problems and Support so you can get some help.
Is the alternative filter unit just the cartridge or is it a whole different unit? Also, if it’s different filter cartridge can we change from the alternative cartridge to the Glowforge made one after it comes out? 
It’s a whole different unit, and the cartridges are not compatible.
The Bofa we have at work, if I understand correctly, merely counts the hours it’s been turned on in order to tell you when you need to get another mortgage to buy a replacement filter.
Will the Glowforge filter do any active sensing of how dirty the filter is, or will it be based on run time?
P. S. As an avid backer of Kickstarter projects, I think every single one of them that has injection molded parts has had to re-tool at the last stage, so I actually see this as a positive sign.
The Glowforge Air Filter does indeed have active sensors to notify you when it’s time to change it.
We are definitely not the first to go down this road. 
Are able to confirm the pricing of the replacement filters?
The filter will last between 100 PU PUs and “full”.
When can I expect to receive an air filter or the alternative? It’s been over a year and in school, we have to open a window for the elephant hose and we freeze to death; it’s unusable.
Update, please?
Thanks,
Lisa Casey
Jamestown School Dept.
76 Melrose Avenue
Jamestown, RI 02835
Login into your account at the top right of www.glowforge.com – it will list the current estimated delivery date.
I can’t. When I’m logged in this is what I see. Before my tech director had a log in I used to see my account and was able to see a delivery day. Now I don’t.
What happens to me is this:
FYI - A couple of months ago they changed were you went once you signed in. It took me a couple weeks to figure out that trick to see my expected delivery date. I’m not the fastest learner.
Are the windows you’re dealing with just standard up/down sliding windows? They sell vent devices to fit those.
We use this:
https://amzn.to/2oTfPeZ
Thanks. I guess it comes when it comes. Sigh.
Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, in our school, to prevent break-ins and keep the school hot, humid and uncomfortable, we have only a small bottom window that opens out - and is pretty useless. That was a good idea, though.
OMG you guys, finally found my way in. March 2019!! Two years!! It will be TWO YEARS that my school is waiting for this.
AND that is only true if there is no more delays. Could be another school year completely without the air filter, making the GF unusable for months.
The worst thing is that it’s not for me personally, it damages my credibility with the grantors who backed me. And disappointing the students is the worst part. It’s my fault, you know. I was seduced by the commercial - I should have known better.
Did you take a look at the latest update? There will be an alternative available starting in October.
Luckily… you have a laser cutter! Can you find a material that does an adequate job at blocking airflow and cold, cut a 4" hole in it, and wedge it into the gap? You can take it out and close the window when not in use.
Can you give us a ballpark for what the filter cartridges will cost and how long they will last? Even a large price range and something like “as often as every x months for high usage and as few as y months for light usage” and maybe “material x will cause you to need to replace your filter more often than material y” would be extremely useful. We all know it’s not possible to be exact.
Also, some filter cartridges are cleanable a few times before you must replace them. I have a device with a filter like that; I can run it under water and use it again a couple of times. Will this be the case with the Glowforge filter cartridge? And would it depend on the material? I can imagine it’s not cool to run acrylic dust down my drain.
I love my Glowforge. It enables me to do things I’ve wanted to do for, literally, decades. I don’t like having a vent out my window with the jury-rigged window piece I made. I’m really looking forward to the filter and hoping to love it, especially with the promised lower volume, but we could all use a bit more information to make decisions. Thanks.
Standard disclaimer: This is a non-authoritative but hopefully-useful response. I have no inside knowledge of GF plans. In fact, I’d stop reading this now. 
I can’t seem to find the original post (from 2016, so a lot to go through…), but I believe @dan mentioned a SWAG along the lines of “less than $250” and anywhere from “a few months” to “a year or more” depending on usage. Your mileage will definitely vary.
I remember comments like that too. I think a lot of us would like some more recent information. Surely they know more today than they did 2 years ago. Even if it’s still just a guess or even if it’s just “yeah, what we said in 2016 is still our best guess” or even if it is “we’ll provide this information on «date».”
I expect that the answer will not change my decision to get the GF filter. However, if the cartridges are $500 each and I have to replace them twice a year, I would seriously reconsider. I think we should have this information before it’s too late to cancel.
