PUR 3-Stage Vertical Faucet Mount Chrome FM-3700B
by PUR
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of PUR 3-Stage Vertical Faucet Mount Chrome FM-3700B
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: The mount is the key difference between PUR and Brita
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
We've been using a Brita faucet mounted filter system for a few years now and were on our third one when we gave this a try.
TASTE: Both filter water straight out of the tap beautifully, and since I'm not a professional reviewer who is going to benefit one way or the other I wont attempt to act like I know or even give a damn about the difference in flavor--just so long as it keeps chlorine out of my coffee.
MOUNTING/INSTALLING: The key difference is the mount. I can't imagine why anybody would design the mount the way that Brita has when they've got the opportunity to improve upon tradition. The Brita system gives you a plastic piece that screws into the tap--as it must--but then you screw the system onto the adapter in the same way. It's not that I mind the lack of innovation; it's the fact that it simply doesn't stay on the adapter very well, causing it to leak and on occassion spray water all over my small kitchen before falling off onto our expensive dishes (no breakage yet, but the unit is certainly heavy enough to shatter a glass or teacup). Obviously threaded screw on plastic parts do not work very well and I can't figure why they thought they would; didn't Brita bother to do some product testing? Couldn't the adapter be metal at least?
Well, the latest version of the Brita system (our third) still has the same mounting, has stayed on better than its predecessors, but still sufferes the same problem. The adapter stays on the tap just fine, but it doesn't hold up the Brita unit dependably at all.
BOTTOM LINE: PUR has the brains to know that once the adapter is on the tap, how the unit attaches to it could be absolutely any way that's best. So the PUR system doesn't screw on; it just clicks into place, and it works. It does not go crashing into the sink full of dishes; it does not spray water all over the place; you can manhandle it and it stays put. And for this reason alone, the PUR filter is the clear winner.
Customer Review: Big Yummm for water; be patient
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I installed this faucet on my garage sink because of its constant use and the profile of the vertical position of the filter. Installation is a snap and simple. I did it with no problem and that's a bundle to say. I waited this long to be sure the filter worked and the unit had the longevity that I expected and with each issue the unit is flawless. My water comes directly out of the ground in the back yard, goes through about 400 feet of pumping and then another 200 feet of pipe to get it into the house before it goes into the water holder. Whew, what a trip. No wonder it takes rainwater over 6 months to seep down to the water level. After the water comes into the holding system it is then sent into the house pipes upon demand. It goes through a wound cord filter and then a charcoal filter before it finds its way to the PUR-3. I know that's a long route and story but I wanted to be sure I gave the facts as best I could. The PUR-3 did it's job. It provided me with as clean a water as I could ask for. No, it is not distilled water but it is close. I checked it for obvious solids and other discolorations and it was as clean as I could expect because I found not the first foreign item.
I considered giving this a 5 star and did not because the amount of water coming out the faucet is significantly less than the water coming out of an unfiltered tap. That reduced my use of the faucet from time to time such as washing the dogs or preparing water for use in cleaning paint brushes. Removal and remounting the faucet is as easy as can be and is not an issue. I recommend this unit without any exception and the water flow is more my problem then that of PUR. Good drinking.
Customer Review: PUR Vertical vs Horizontal 3-Stage Filters
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I gave both types a try for about a month, and came away with a conclusion that it's much less hassle to just use a filtration pitcher, like Brita. Sure, with a pitcher, you have to fill it up, so there's definitely more work, but you never have an ugly, YES, ugly and also pretty big attachment on your faucet.
The bad part of the design is the fact the instructions tell you to take off the PUR filter if you need better access to the sink and the faucet... BUT.. when you take it off, the aerator comes away with the unit, so you're left with a full-on stream of water, which I didn't like at all. So it was either use the sink 100% as is with the PUR installed, or take it off completely, and get the regular aerator on.
Both types were chrome color, but it's just plastic coated in chrome, so I totally agree with reviewers that it will be breaking after any meaningful use time, 1 year plus.
In the bathroom... I liked the vertical more than horizontal. Horizontal would not even fit on the bathroom faucet. All bathroom faucets are alike, have short necks, and PUR filter is just not designed well for the type. It's because of the filter cylinder, no matter which type I used, it was either hitting the back of the sink [horizontal] or the faucet levers when I tried to get water [vertical].
In the kitchen it was much easier to get them installed, and they are interchangeable, so I could try both easily. Again, I like the vertical a little better because of the access to the back of the sink.
Overall, I think it's a good, but poorly executed idea. Stick with your pitcher for now until better designs come along.
Customer Review: Reality check...
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using the PUR faucet mount filter systems for about six years now and really like them. The 3 stage filter cleans out 99% of the junk that is in drinking water and the water tastes great, i.e., neutral. Tasteless!
The folks that have been complaining about having to change the unit itself after a year or so might want to rethink why it's a good idea to do that as a matter of regular maintenance. I use the housing itself for only two filter cycles. If you unscrew the old or new "electronic, snap on models" after two filters have been used, you'll notice the screen in the unit where it attaches to the faucet has some pretty ugly looking muck imbedded in it.
And that's a good thing! That's the first line of defense in this filter system. But if there's muck there, you know there has to be some muck along the tubes of the rest of the delivery channels. You can clean off the screen with warm/hot water and some digging around with a fingernail or other tool, but what about the rest of it? You can't get there from here. While you might not want to replace the unit itself every 4-6 months like I do, you might want to reconsider changing it more frequently than every year or two or adjust your expectations of getting the cleanest water from a unit that old.
You change the oil & filter in your car regularly to get the best performance and probably wouldn't change one without the other. That's how I look at replacing the unit every two filters. I want the best (cleanest) performance (water) I can get (drink).
I was reluctant to try the new vertical snap on silver model (change isn't easy!), but after just a week, I'll never go back to the older screen in Black model I had been using. It's so simple to install/uninstall with just a click, after you screw in the adapter. And the same 3-stage filters are compatible with it.
I highly recommend this product.