InSinkErator SST-FLTR 2/3-Gallon Stainless Tank and Filtration System
by InSinkErator
|
List Price: Our Price: $204.99 You Save: $235.01 (53%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $184.49 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
|---|
Tools and Hardware Reviews of InSinkErator SST-FLTR 2/3-Gallon Stainless Tank and Filtration System
Customer Review: Warranty support problems with Insinkerator
Summary: 1 Stars
Please call Insinkerator and verify the warranty policy before purchasing and installing these types of products.
My poor rating is entirely related to the warranty service I attempted to obtain after my SST hot water dispenser quit working after 8 months of operation. During my contact with Insinkerator via the 1-800 number it was revealed that I must have have a copy of my receipt "for professional product installation."
Okay, what kind of a game is this? I do not have a receipt for installation, because I installed it myself using the instructions that were provided in the manual. The manual never specified professional installation required for warranty coverage.
On my further insistence on unit return and replacement, the customer service rep continued "We do not have a repair facility or shipping address. An Insinkerator selected plumber must be dispatched to your location. "You should be aware that you will be liable for the service call and the full unit replacement costs if it is determined the installation was not correct."
Okay, this is rubbish. The unit is a small, plastic, foam and very thin steel tank weighing less than a two pounds. It has two internal components, a 98 cent thermostat and heater element. The water flow is fine, so the thermostat or element quit. Why should a plumber be required to fix an ELECTRICAL PROBLEM?
At the time of purchase I was not aware of other alternatives. I now see that a simple electric hot water pitcher or heat-on-use hot water heater would have been better alternatives and have provided better warranty support.
My advice, keep looking.
Customer Review: Did the silicone tube fix too. Still like, despite reliability record.
Summary: 3 Stars
Had the same leak problem as others due to the disintegrated internal vinyl tube. See review: Designed to Fail, But Can Be Repaired, July 20, 2010
By Phil Shikuka "Philbert" (Terre Haute, IN United States). Replaced the tube with a 1/8" ID silicone tube as Phil described.
My unit has a stainless steel tank and it was marked as manufactured 1/2007 (on the metal tank), and a serial # starting with "07".
I had some email exchange with Insinkerator customer/technical support and was told that the tube material has not been changed, but they indicated that my comments (including the vinyl issue and silicone replacement) would be passed on to product folks. They also worked with me, helping me more than I expected, including waiving the requirement for an "authorized" plumber.
I would recommend to all current and future owners of this model to make the tube replacement even it hasn't failed yet because of water damage to cabinets/floor and because the tube is directly over the electrical components, so is both a shock and fire hazard.
I and my family like the filter/heater/dispenser alot and so consider it worth repairing/replacing as needed. Would give 5* if not for issues with reliability, materials, lack of repair parts, and warranty limits/requirements. All of these could be improved; here's to hoping...
See dispenser reviews for their own relibility issues and owner-contributed repair suggestions.
I plan to send my experience and support exchange to Consumer Reports in hopes that they may track/report the issues and perhaps pressure Insinkerator to improve the products.
Customer Review: More leaks - Update
Summary: 3 Stars
Update: After posting this review, I was contacted by Insinkerator customer service. I am very impressed with their concern about my problems with their hot water dispenser and their helpfulness in the resolution of my issues. I highly recommend contacting the customer service representative before taking any steps to repair your hot water dispenser, as they are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. It would be nice if all customer service departments and personnel were as competent as the ones at Insinkerator.
Original post:
My unit (2nd one) also leaked after a little over 3 years. I disassembled it and replaced the tubing as described, also replaced the gasketing on the drain screw, which looked a bit flattened out. I also noticed that there seemed to be water stains at the electrical connection to the heating element, located just below the heat control dial inside the cabinet. We could not find a parts source for this gasket, so we crossed our fingers, reassembled, and reinstalled the unit. Started to leak again immediately.
Since my wife is addicted to this thing, we have no choice but to bite the bullet and buy a replacement unit. Just wanted to let you know that you need to check the red rubber cup shaped gasket around the heating element, if that's shot you may not want to bother with the other repairs. This gasket is a custom fit for this application, and is not available as a generic part at a hardware store.
If anyone knows where parts for this unit may be available, I'd sure appreciate the information.
Customer Review: Quiet, fit easily and works great
Summary: 5 Stars
We are very happy with the unit. It's much quieter than our older unit (in fact I kept testing it to see if it was really heating the water because I couldn't tell that was taking place). Definitely recommend one of these for your house... makes wonderful instant hot tea, coffee and/or hot chocolate. I also use it when making condensed soup to get a jump on heating up the soup.
I used this unit, along with a new dispenser to replace on old, leaking, noisy system that we had under the sink. Removing the old unit was pretty easy and though the new unit was larger, it still fit easily into our crowded cabinet (also has 3 stage Reverse Osmosis system with a 5 gallon tank).
Because of the length of the feed tubes with the new dispenser, I had to mount this unit a bit higher on the side of the cabinet (though there was still a good bit of room between it and the bottom of our deep sink).
The hardest part of the job, though was getting the old dispenser off -- mostly because the deep sink made it very hard to reach up to grab the nut from below with or without tools. I eventually got it loose by using a slip-lock pliers to grab the nut from below and had my son turn the faucet from above with another pliers.
I also hooked the system up to our Reverse Osmosis filter and didn't use the filter that comes with the unit, so I can't tell you how good that works.
Overall the installation job was not that complicated, nor that hard.
Customer Review: Leak after 1 Year - but wait!
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased the dispenser and tank package. Install was easy although getting my body and hands into the required spaces was a trick that rivals circus performers.
After one year, my dispenser began spitting air/water and I knew I had an air leak. After some investigation I noticed the unit was leaking. I called Customer Service and had a new tank shipped since I was going to replace this myself.
Now, with the original tank, I took the unit apart. The water tank itself splits into 2 parts (top & bottom). The rubber seal they use is I guess ok, but the height of the seal is very minimal. So I took the seal out, used fine-grit sandpaper to clean the top half of the tank seal-area. The bottom half of the tank has a grove around the sealing surface where the rubber seal is placed. I think the bottom half seal-groove is too deep for the seal. I used a sealant in that groove, let it dry for an hour or so, then gently replaced the rubber seal back into the groove. This raised the rubber seal height, hence more sealing surface. Reassembled the unit and no more leaks. I now have a spare tank when something goes bad on the original, as a hot swap approach.
Other than that, having instant hot water is very nice. In fact when I was repairing the original tank, my family was traumatized thinking they would have to use a kettle to boil water.
If they would engineer a thicker seal, I would imagine their replacement ratio would decrease.