Countertop Superior Water Filter System - White - with 1 Micron Carbon Block Filter
by Crystal Clear Supply
|
List Price: Our Price: $27.99 You Save: $61.01 (69%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home See more product details |
|---|
Tools and Hardware Reviews of Countertop Superior Water Filter System - White - with 1 Micron Carbon Block Filter
Customer Review: Great FIlter..... Period.
Summary: 5 Stars
I debated a long time on which water filter to get. My water isn't THAT bad, but it does have an off-tasting flavor occassionally. I looked into all the common filters you find in the stores (pitchers, faucet units, etc..) but after researching them, it seems that they only do an adequate job. The ones with the larger filters (10"),reverse osmosis, or distillers are the best. I decided on this one since it was fairly compact and wouldn't take up a lot of room.
I placed the unit behind my sink so the water tube would not be in the way. I ran the water through the system for the 15 minutes(manual)to flush out the system.
I was very pleased by the quality of the drinking water. It is definately clearer and tastes better. Even the ice cubes were clearer. But what I really found interesting is that every night I take a glass of water to bed with me. In the morning, I sometimes take a drink and the water tastes horrible. Not with this unit. After sitting all night I drank it this morning, and it tasted just as fresh as when I poured it.
The diverter works well and you get a steady stream of water. Some have mentioned that when you turn the water off it still runs a little bit. This is true since the unit itself does not have a shut off valve, it takes a few seconds for the filter to "shut down". I have mine over the sink, so no big deal. If yours is on the counter top (away from the sink) just keep your glass there for a few seconds.
Unit came with a few adapters but didn't need them. In fact I like using one of those spray adapters and that fit just fine over this units diverter.
The fact that you can buy a 10" filter anywhere is another big plus and it's supposed to last up to a year; although I may change mine every 6 months since the filters are so cheap.
Customer Review: OK with drawbacks
Summary: 3 Stars
Right off the bat I was upset as the initial instructions proved impossible for me to follow. You have to unscrew the base from the body and make sure the seals are properly in place on the core. That makes it seem like it will not work unless you do that. So I tried to unscrew it and even using the large wrench packaged with the filter I couldn't do it I strained and tried everything but met failure. I contacted the supplier who of course didn't make it and they offered to exchange it. I thought perhaps the threading was jammed. I didn't realize you needed to be superman to get the job done or I wouldn't have bought it. Before exchanging it I took it to work and had my huge burly piano movers try to unscrew it. After several attempts using brute strength and failing they finally succeeded using a vise and their full strength. When you open it you find that the seals are in place, nothing needs to be unwrapped or setup for use. I guess the manufacturer had a problem with some that were not properly sealed in their assembly and this is their way of protecting themselves.
So it is now in operation. The use in the filter mode is fine with a strong flow and easily handled and turned on and off. However for some reason the flow when not in the filter mode is very weak and slow. I have opened up the adapter and frankly there is nothing there to slow the flow other than it just being a small hole. So it works, finally, and the filter flow is satisfactory and by itself would earn a 5 star rating but the flow in the normal mode is a 1 star and I hate to tell you what I really think of their unscrewing instructions. The only bright spot was the selling company and how quickly they were willing to repace the unit.
Customer Review: Great tasting water--will it last as advertised?
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this water filter for its performance and long-rated filter life. It does a great job of cleaning up the taste and quality of Phoenix, AZ water. Phoenix has some of the nastiest tap water I've ever tasted except for the swamp water I've had in Tampa, FL. This filter does the job better than my old Pur filter which died after 2 years of mediocre service. The Pur uses granulated activated carbon which works well at first but then loses effectiveness as the water flow finds the path of least resistance and "channels" thru the media. The extruded carbon of this type of filter won't channel and thus maintains its level of performance until it's completely clogged up. Oh, and the Pur filter housing itself is itself a disposable, non-user-serviceable joke that will eventually crack and leak. Also, if I froze and then melted water from the Pur, I would find white flocculation (floaties) in the water. Don't know what that was but it's kind of nasty to have that stuff in water that was "filtered."
FYI, my filter unit was actually shipped with a .5 micron Pb (lead) reducing filter and not the 1 micron in the Amazon ad. Just so you know, the life of most of these extruded filters are rated at about 2500 gallons! That means I can use 5 gallons a day for 500 days at the same level of performance--wow! If that's anywhere close to accurate, I will be a happy camper. The only niggle is that you really have to crank the filter housing down tight (a wrench comes with the unit) with no water in the system. It's a little tricky to stabilize the base of the unit when you're cranking on the top but a strap wrench on the base will help out, if you have one.
Customer Review: Good filter, but correcting another review, it is Not made by Paragon
Summary: 4 Stars
Just wanted to note a correction to the lengthy review previously posted 2/13/08 by Waterboy, which stated that this Bestfilters Countertop model was the same as the Paragon mdl 2900ct. This is not the case. I do not know if there is any difference in the filtering abilities of either (likely not) but I do know that this Bestfilters unit has a metal spout mounted on the side, instead of the built-in upper plastic spout of the Paragon, and comes w/a KX Industries-made "KX Matrikx PB1" filter cartridge inside -not one made by Paragon, and takes industry standard 10" sized replacement filters.
With carbon block filters such as these of the same size/construction, no brand make is better than another's. The only way to improve your filtration (other than getting a reverse osmosis system) is to increase the amount of filter media the water passes through. So either add an additional filter unit in-line, or get a unit that takes a larger carbon filter. Or to lesser extent, slow down the flow of water passing through the filter, for more filter media contact time.
It's good to have a unit that takes a non-proprietary filter, as it gives you options of where and what to buy re replacement filters. Learned when my old PUR countertop unit's repl filters were discontinued. This Bestfilters model accepts a standard 10" cartridge; I am not sure if the Paragon does or not.
ps. the other model non-replaceable filter "maintenance-free" countertop units made by Paragon do Not have as good a filter as the ones noted above, and Paragon CS told me they were designed to remove only chlorine for taste/odor reduction.
Customer Review: Most every connection leaks
Summary: 2 Stars
I paid $42.18 in February 2011.
I was disappointed because there was a veritable flood on first use. The O-ring inside the cartridge container, meant to make a water-proof joint, was a poor fit and leaked a large puddle on my countertop. Worse, the most crucial part -- the connection at the faucet -- leaked big time. Critical to this joint is a small, double-threaded plastic adapter. It's a thin piece of flimsy plastic meant to join a hefty chrome valve to your sink faucet with no more than three fine screw-threads. For me, that joint sprayed far and wide. There's a limit to how much you can torque down on plumbing parts with pliers or wrench. You can't solve leaks by just tightening things more and more. Parts fit or they don't.
ON THE UP SIDE : the overall Purenex design is good, durable, and widely distributed by many retailers. The filter cartridges are standardized and readily available. So, when you buy this product, you'll have a very fine (1 micron) cartridge worth about $35 and a pretty good housing. Maybe too, you'll have an easy hookup because a lot of people haven't had one whit of trouble. But maybe, like me, you'll need a side trip to the hardware store for a two-dollar brass adapter.
Something I don't think anyone can fix: the filter cartridge is unmarked. I wish I could reassure myself that it's the extra-fine 1 micron filter, but apparently this style of replacement filter isn't individually marked.