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The Fellowes AeraMax 190 Is Rated for 190 Square Feet, Not 400

The same machine is sold as the AeraMax 200 and the DX55, and one of those manuals gives the game away.

By Franco N.·Updated August 6, 2026

The numbers

  • Certified smoke CADR: 127. Dust 130, pollen 125, all AHAM Verifide
  • Room size in the manual: 190 sq ft. On the listings: 200 to 400 sq ft
  • Air changes an hour: 5.0 at 190 sq ft, 2.4 at 400
  • Price: $292.72 at the one dealer with stock, re-read 14 August 2026
  • Filters: $54.99 a year, $164.97 over three
  • Filter part numbers: 9287101 and 9324101
  • Warranty: 3 years
  • The AeraMax 200 and DX55 are this machine under different numbers

Verdict

Worth it if the room is around 200 square feet and you can live with a discontinued machine. At the size Fellowes actually certified it for, this unit lands almost exactly on five air changes an hour, which is the figure the field works to. That makes it the smallest AeraMax that covers a real bedroom or home office.

What stops it short of a recommendation is supply. One dealer had it in stock when I checked, the SKU has been retired at three more, and one supplier has already dropped the carbon filter. The room size on the listings is also roughly double what the certification supports.

If you are choosing between models, the 290 costs more to buy and less to run per unit of clean air, and the 90 only suits a box room.

Two manuals, one metric figure

Fellowes rates this machine at “Room Area Served 190 sq. ft./18 sq. m.” The AeraMax 200’s manual, for a unit AHAM certifies with identical numbers, says “Room Area Served 200 sq. ft./18 sq. m.”

The AeraMax 190 and 200 manuals both state 18 square metres for different imperial figures The same square metres, two different square feet Both figures quoted from Fellowes’ own operator manuals. AeraMax 190 manual AeraMax 200 manual Room Area Served Room Area Served 190 sq. ft. 200 sq. ft. 18 sq. m. 18 sq. m. 190 square feet is 17.7 square metres. 200 square feet is 18.6. Only one of those rounds to 18. Somebody changed the imperial number to make a second product and left the metric one behind. AHAM certifies both at the same figures. Conversions at 10.7639 square feet per square metre.

One of those conversions is wrong. Somebody changed the imperial number, made a second product out of it, and left the metric figure where it was.

It matters beyond the trivia, because it tells you the model number is a room rating rather than a marketing name. AHAM’s own formula is 1.55 times the smoke clean air delivery rate, and 1.55 times 127 comes to 197 square feet. The number on the front of the box is the honest one.

What 400 square feet actually gets you

At 127 cubic feet a minute this machine moves 7,620 cubic feet an hour. Spread across the 190 square feet Fellowes certified, at an eight foot ceiling, that is 5.0 air changes an hour. AHAM’s paper cites the CDC asking for at least five, so the manual’s room size is the room where this machine does its job.

At the 400 square feet on the listings it drops to 2.4. Less than half, in a room twice the size, for the same money.

One dealer manages to publish both numbers at once. Its page title advertises 400 square feet while the page address reads “up to 190 sq ft”. Neither figure was chosen dishonestly. They just came from different places and nobody reconciled them.

Three names, one machine

The AeraMax 190, the AeraMax 200 and the AeraMax DX55 carry identical certified numbers in the AHAM directory, and Fellowes sells them one set of filters. Its own filter listings are titled for all three at once.

That is worth knowing when a listing for a DX55 is $60 cheaper than a listing for a 190, and it is worth knowing when you buy filters, because the most common complaint I found on any AeraMax product is people receiving a filter that does not fit. The Walmart reviews for the wrong family’s carbon filter include “way to big for my air purifier” and “way way too small” from buyers who ordered the neighbouring part number.

The part numbers, and what they cost

This machine takes True HEPA 9287101 once a year and carbon 9324101 every three months, sold in fours. Home Depot has them at $27.51 and $27.48, which comes to $54.99 a year and $164.97 across three.

Against a $292.72 machine that is 56 percent of the purchase price in consumables, which is a lot, though it is proportionally better than the AeraMax 90 manages. Filters get only slightly dearer as you go up the range while the machines get much dearer, so the running cost burden falls as a share of the price.

WebstaurantStore has already marked the carbon four-pack as no longer available. The Home Depot listings were live and stocked when I checked.

You are buying a discontinued product

Fellowes’ air quality catalogue lists five machines and every one is a commercial AeraMax Pro. WebstaurantStore says the 190 is no longer available and has left the page up for reference. OfficeSupply is sold out, OfficeCrave says temporarily out of stock, and Quill, MyBinding and Binding101 have retired the SKU to a category page.

Clary Business Machines had it at $292.72 with a working cart. A single eBay seller had a new one at $202.99 with delivery three weeks out, which I have not linked because one listing from one seller will not survive this page.

Where it was actually in stock

Clary Business Machines, $292.72

The filters, which are easier to get than the machine

True HEPA 9287101, $27.51 Carbon 9324101 four-pack, $27.48

Checked again on 14 August 2026. Not a cent of movement in either the machine or the filters since 6 August.

If it will not turn on, check the drawer

Fellowes has a fix for this, and it names the 190 directly: verify that the filter drawer on the right side of the machine is properly in place, then call customer service if it still fails.

That instruction lives on a support page. It is not in the manual. I read the 190’s troubleshooting table in full and there is no entry for a unit that will not start, so an owner who has just changed a filter and finds a dead machine has nothing in the box to help them. That is the single most useful thing on this page for anyone who already owns one.

What is wrong with it

Drawbacks

  • Sold for a room twice the certified size. Source: the manual’s 190 sq ft against retail copy claiming 400, adjudicated by AHAM’s directory and its own room-size formula
  • Discontinued, one dealer left with stock. Source: absence from Fellowes’ catalogue, WebstaurantStore’s “no longer available”, and three retired SKUs
  • Filter supply is starting to thin. Source: WebstaurantStore’s carbon four-pack marked no longer available while Home Depot still stocks it
  • The fix for the commonest failure is not in the manual. Source: the filter drawer instruction appears only on Fellowes’ support site, and the manual’s troubleshooting table has no entry for a unit that will not start
  • Shared part numbers cause people to order the wrong filter. Source: owner reviews across the AeraMax filter listings reporting parts too large and too small
  • The 2021 manual quotes a superseded certification. Source: the manual prints the April 2020 figures, and AHAM re-certified in October 2023
  • No UL file number is published. Source: a dealer attribute reading UL Listed, and no certification mark anywhere in the manual
  • Not in the CARB register. Source: the California certified list searched twice with no Fellowes or AeraMax entry. CARB’s draft list could not be checked, so this is unverified rather than refuted
  • The Energy Star position is unclear and I could not settle it. Source: Staples publishes this part number under a title containing Energy Star, the manual does not mention it, and the Energy Star database could not be checked
  • The ionizer ships switched on. Source: Fellowes’ support FAQ, which notes the commercial units ship with it off and the home units do not

What holds up

  • Almost exactly five air changes an hour at the size it was certified for, which is what the CDC asks of a room
  • AHAM Verifide, and still listed in the October 2023 directory despite being commercially retired
  • Genuine True HEPA with an antimicrobial treatment on the media
  • A clean CPSC record across three separate queries
  • Filters still in production at $54.99 a year, and shared with two other model numbers

Questions people ask

What size room does the AeraMax 190 cover?
About 190 to 200 square feet. Fellowes’ manual says 190, AHAM’s directory says 200, and AHAM’s formula gives 197. The 400 on some listings is roughly double the certification.

Is the AeraMax 190 the same as the 200 or the DX55?
Yes. Identical certified numbers and identical filters. Fellowes’ own filter listings name all three.

Which filters does it take?
True HEPA 9287101 once a year, carbon 9324101 every three months in packs of four.

My AeraMax 190 will not turn on.
Check the filter drawer on the right side is fully seated. Fellowes names this model specifically, but the instruction is on its website rather than in the manual.

Should I get the 190 or the 290?
The 290 delivers 57 percent more clean air for about 20 percent more in annual filters, so it is the better buy per pound if the room justifies it. The 190 suits a bedroom or a home office.

Is it still made?
No. The consumer AeraMax range has gone from Fellowes’ catalogue, though the filters have not.

The 90 and 290 run the same way, and the three sit side by side on the air care hub.

Sources

  • Fellowes AeraMax 190 operator manual, the source for the 190 sq ft room area, the 18 sq m figure, the printed CADR, the filter part numbers and intervals, and for the troubleshooting table containing no entry for a unit that will not start
  • Fellowes AeraMax 200 manual, the source for the identical 18 sq m figure against 200 sq ft
  • AHAM Directory of Certified Portable Electric Room Air Cleaners, October 2023, the source for the certified 130 dust, 127 smoke and 125 pollen figures, the 200 sq ft room size, and the AeraMax 200 carrying an identical row. The April 2020 edition lists 129, 126 and 124, which is what the manual still prints
  • AHAM, Consumer Room Air Cleaners and Equivalent Air Changes per Hour, January 2026, the source for the 1.55 times smoke CADR formula and the CDC figure of at least five air changes an hour
  • Fellowes AeraMax support FAQ, the source for the filter drawer instruction naming the 190, 200 and DX55, for PlasmaTRUE shipping switched on, and for the UL 867 ozone testing statement
  • WebstaurantStore, AeraMax 190, the source for the “no longer available” statement
  • Home Depot, True HEPA 9287101 and the carbon 9324101 four-pack, the source for the $27.51 and $27.48 prices behind the running cost
  • OfficeSupply.com, AeraMax 190, the source for the UL Listed certification attribute, the three year warranty and the 200 to 400 sq ft retail claim, and showing as sold out
  • CARB list of certified air cleaning devices, searched on 6 August 2026 across entries dated January 2020 to April 2026 with no Fellowes and no AeraMax. CARB’s separate draft list could not be checked
  • Walmart owner reviews, AeraMax carbon filters, the source for the wrong-size filter complaints
  • CPSC recall API queried on Manufacturer=Fellowes, on ProductName=AeraMax and on air purifier recalls since 2015, each returning nothing for this brand
  • Stock checked 6 August 2026 at Clary Business Machines, OfficeSupply, OfficeCrave, WebstaurantStore, Quill, MyBinding, Binding101, Walmart, eBay and Provantage. No price or stock was confirmed at Amazon, Target or Home Depot for the unit itself, so none from those three is quoted here
  • A UL file number, an ETL or CSA listing, an independent ozone measurement and a settled Energy Star determination were all searched for and not found. The Energy Star database could not be checked, so no claim is made here in either direction

Read how I check numbers.