PUR 3-Stage Horizontal Faucet Mount Chrome FM-9400B
by PUR
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of PUR 3-Stage Horizontal Faucet Mount Chrome FM-9400B
Customer Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I've been using a Pur 2-Stage water pitcher for the last 10 or 12 years. I have come to trust the name to deliver contaminant-free, good-tasting water. This and the 3700B (which I got at the same time) are my first faucet mounted 3-stage filters.
If you poke around on Pur's website, you can find the "NSF Certified Contaminant Reduction Claims" forms (at the bottom of the FAQ) for Pur's pitcher and faucet-mount filters. They appear very similar but there are differences. However, without expertise in water chemistry it's difficult to know if one is superior to the other. I know someone who owns both types and fills the pitcher with water that has been filtered by the faucet-mount! Whether that is sensible or like wearing suspenders and a belt, I don't know.
Mounting the FM-9400B is simplicity itself with one caveat. Unscrew your current aerator from the end of your faucet, use the appropriate Pur aerator/adapter (they supply several for all types of faucets) and then slide the filter on to it. It will click when it has seated correctly. Installation complete. The aerator/adapters that Pur supplies are all made of plastic and I wonder if at least some of the complaints about leaks developing shortly after the filter is put into service can be attributed to that. You MUST be *extremely* careful when you screw the aerator/adapter onto your faucet that you don't accidentally strip its soft plastic threads or you will have leaks.
When you divert water to the filter, water pressure will build up inside the filter. This forces the water through Pur's filter media and gives you faster flow than the trickle you would get from a pitcher's gravity flow. But if there are any leaks in the system, that same water pressure will find them.
The filter housing is fixed in the horizontal position. Older Pur faucet filters that I have seen diverted water to the filter or bypassed it by rotating the housing up or down. This is now accomplished with a lever on the filter's side. The filter can swivel 360 degrees on the end of the faucet. If you have a "goose-neck" type faucet, you can swivel the filter under the goose-neck when you want it out of the way - like for washing dishes. Alternatively, the filter offers a quick disconnect option. Just press 2 opposing buttons, and the entire filter can be removed. When you want to replace it, just slide it back on to the aerator/adapter until you hear the click.
My filter has been in use for almost 2 months. I have not had any leaks or difficulties of any kind and I am completely satisfied with the FM-9400B's performance.
Customer Review: Just what I was hoping for!
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
In the box:
1. The silver-toned plastic apparatus you're expecting
2. One cartridge that goes inside it
3. Four adapters and accompanying washers, for different faucets
4. Instructions
I have never owned a Pur device before, though of course I've used them in other people's homes.
Adapter A worked for me, with my entirely standard and boring stainless steel faucet.
I found the unit a little confusing to open at first, in an "am I breaking this?" kind of way, but the pictures were good in illustrating the unit and the way I was supposed to turn the cover, and all was fine.
Cartridge in, cover closed, snap easily onto the faucet. Run for five minutes.
Minor point of confusion: how high the flow of water should be for that five minutes. But I put it at a low-medium rate, and I assume the five minutes are overkill anyway.
Our municipal water tastes funky, and I'm delighted to have this and the better tasting water. (It DOES taste better!)
Pros:
1. Clear instructions and easy installation.
2. Unit has multiple ways to get it out of your way. You can swivel it around easily and can also easily just pop it off the faucet if it's seriously in your way. (I gather that this is different from previous Pur designs, but have no first hand experience. The swiveling seems great and is definitely different from what I've seen before.)
3. There is a colored light that comes on to tell you the condition of the filter and when you need to change it. It starts out green and progresses through amber and red (to tell you that it's time to change the cartridge). The light is very handy.
4. As you expect with a Pur, there's a handy switch to turn the filtering off when you don't need it. (E.g., for handwashing or dishes.)
Cons:
0. none yet observed. It's just what I was hoping for.
Notes:
1. There's a one-year warranty on the main unit (30 days for the cartridges)... so you're probably covered anyway.
2. I have now tried both the horizontal and vertical versions of this, and to my surprise, I prefer the other one (vertical orientation). It feels less in my way when there are dishes in the sink and I'm trying to get some water.
3. In our household of two people who both drink a lot of water, the filter lasted for about 2.5 months.
Customer Review: Good for 5 months, then start the problem...
Summary: 1 Stars
When I first consider buying this good looking compact faucet mount filter, I came here and read a lot of the mixed reviews. In the end, I decided that people who got leaky product might be just unlucky.
Well I was happy for 5 months, and almost going to write a review and tell everyone this product is not as bad as other people say. Then, it started leaking.
I first noticed that after the 2nd filter change, when I turn on the filter, there would be water coming out of the faucet mount. I dismissed the observation, and concluded that this might be an isolated event, I just didn't install the filter correctly.
However, to change the filter, I actually never touched the faucet mount. So, the fact that it's my faucet mount that's leaking, is actually quite abnormal.
After I finished my 3rd filter, during changing, I took off faucet mount and actually tried to clean the faucet filter so that the little rocks that might get caught there accidentally can be removed. Well, my faucet filter actually came out clean. So I put things back, and this time made sure that I correctly screwed it tight, and I did not damage the threads etc. Everything was tightened, and I still got leak, same as before. Which again proves, my faucet mount is probably not the reason why it leaked.
By the time I get to my 5th filter, the leak has worsened over time. I now almost have 2 streams of water going when I dispense the "filtered water". It almost seems like I'm losing more water than what I'm actually able to use. Because, in addition to the leaking during dispensing of filtered water, it now leaks during regular water dispensing too.
By now, it has barely passed 1 year since my purchase of this attractive water filter. I am no longer sure I can give it high marks, due to its inability to deliver quality results over time, despite its good look. I suppose, I can still give points for the sleek look, and the fast filtering speed. However, it's a big pain dealing with a leaking faucet that I just cannot identify the root cause of its problem, despite being an engineer myself.
In conclusion, I don't think this is worth the money. You are better off buying the water pitcher and just patiently wait for the clean water coming out. My PUR pitcher filter lasted me a good 6 years until I accidentally broke the pitcher. This fancy looking faucet mount filter? 1 year would be very generous. I'll throw out mine as soon as I finish all my filters in stock.
Customer Review: Culligan is better!
Summary: 1 Stars
I don't know why, but I went through THREE Pur faucet filters before finally chucking them in the garbage and buying the Culligan Faucet Filter. The Pur filters were always leaking from the connectors. And if you tried to adjust them, you'd end up stripping the plastic from the connector and being left with an unsightly, scraped up piece of plastic on your sink. And if you do manage to get the Pur filter off to try to repair the leak with plumber's tape, good luck getting the filter back on again.
But the Culligan's connector is made of metal (whereas both the filter housing and the connector of the Pur filter was made of plastic), so it's easy to get the Culligan filter on and off the sink without any leaking whatsoever!
I also love how easy it is to replace the filters! Just a twist of the fingers and it comes right out. I once got a deep cut from replacing a Pur filter where the edge of the cap sliced right into my hand while I was twisting it off, since there were no finger grips to hold onto.
The Culligan is also nice b/c it doesn't sit as low as the Pur filter, so you can put tall bottles or water pitchers under it with more ease. And the quality of the filter and the taste of the water is the same, if not better than the Pur filter. My main complaint against the Culligan is that it doesn't have an indicator to show you when to change the filter; they tell you just to mark it on your calendar, when to change the filter next.
One last hesitation I had about switching over was the fact that I didn't see replacement Culligan filters readily available in the stores. Pur replacement filters are sold in bulk at Target and my local warehouse store. But once, when Amazon was running a buy 1, get 1 half off sale on the Culligan filters, I saw that buying them one by one on Amazon.com was STILL cheaper than buying the Pur filters in bulk at the warehouse store. Add to that the fact that the Culligan filter is cheaper to begin with and you won't have to waste money replacing it periodically when it breaks down and you just have a product that makes good "dollars and sense".
Customer Review: PUR is a COMPLETE rip-off - filters BREAK constantly!
Summary: 1 Stars
I would NEVER recommend that ANYONE waste their money on these cheap plastic abominations.
To be completely fair, the water that comes out of the PUR 3-stage filter is AMAZING. I can truly taste a difference in the water, with less odor, less chloramine and I trust the NSF certification that they effectively reduce lead, asbestos, bacteria etc. The difference is MOST obvious when a new filter is installed. Water from a fresh PUR filter tastes like NOTHING - which is incredible! The water in LA is incredibly HARD as well, and it is immediately clear that the PUR filter also softens it significantly.
UNFORTUNATELY, the BIGGEST problem with ALL of PUR's faucet-mount water filters is SIMPLE: THEY BREAK! Usually in as little as three months time, but sometimes as long as 10 or 12 months. Most of the filter units I have purchased (literally a DOZEN over the last 7 years) NEVER get through more than 2 filters (the original one in the package and one replacement filter) before they sprout water leaks from two or three different places. Sometimes the front of the filter leaks, sometimes the mounting point holding the filter to the faucet leaks... ONCE, the front of the filter BLEW OFF and flew across the sink - no lying! Other times, tiny hairline cracks INSIDE the filter allow unfiltered water to mix with the filtered water when it exits the filter. That means I'm not even getting TRULY well-filtered water because the cheap plastic inner-workings of the filter crack and allow regular water to leak-through.
I have complained to PUR for several YEARS about how each and EVERY filter of theirs which I purchase has broken within three to six months. They DON'T care! Sometimes, their phone reps have sent me a NEW filter, free of charge, but guess what? THAT ONE BREAKS after THREE months as well! It is CLEAR to me that PUR has NO intention of fixing the problems with their filters, obviously because the MORE FILTERS THAT BREAK, the MORE FILTERS PUR CAN SELL. Very greedy and sick behavior from PUR!
I am DONE with PUR, and will NEVER buy another faucet-mount filter from them. I will look into buying an under-the-sink filter in the near future, as I am tired of being ripped-off by PUR!