Water Filtration System
- Thread starter shadyoc
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irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
I've been wondering about this, but how good are those fridge filters vs an under sink system? If it's not a RO system, isn't the fridge filtered water sufficient?
We usually buy our water for drinking (and our ice) and water we cook with we just get it from the tap (my naivete says boiling it will kill most of the bad stuff).
But it is convenient to get chilled water and ice from the fridge.
We usually buy our water for drinking (and our ice) and water we cook with we just get it from the tap (my naivete says boiling it will kill most of the bad stuff).
But it is convenient to get chilled water and ice from the fridge.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
@eyephone:
How often do you change it?
At first I thought those things were expensive because at retail stores they run $50 but on Amazon they are less than $10 each.
How often do you change it?
At first I thought those things were expensive because at retail stores they run $50 but on Amazon they are less than $10 each.
RO water is generally the best filter method for getting stuff out of the water. In this country we don't usually have to worry about getting sick off the "wrigglys", but chlorine, lead, insecticides and maybe some TCE are a concern, and all of those are still there after boiling. But RO filtration is so good at getting stuff out, it even gets out the good things, like minerals that your body needs. This is also why RO water is "aggressive" and causes reactions that can leave spots or scale on some materials. So read up on it, and maybe a daily multivitamin would help offset the reduction in minerals.
As far as using it in the fridge, check your fridge manual to see if there are any warnings against this. 2 concerns that come to mind are whether the materials in contact with the water are OK with purified water, and making sure the RO water pressure is high enough for the solenoid valve to work properly. If both are OK then I think it's a pretty good decision to pipe it to the fridge rather than have 2 different filters at work.
As far as using it in the fridge, check your fridge manual to see if there are any warnings against this. 2 concerns that come to mind are whether the materials in contact with the water are OK with purified water, and making sure the RO water pressure is high enough for the solenoid valve to work properly. If both are OK then I think it's a pretty good decision to pipe it to the fridge rather than have 2 different filters at work.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
eyephone said:
I guess it depends on usage. Not sure if the light on the fridges line up with actual usage or just time as I never used water out of our fridge but the light would turn red after a few months. Internet says you can tell by reduced flow of the water. I was looking at digital TDS and PH testers on Amazon to see if I can test the filtered and unfiltered water but not sure they work.
And yes, Home Depot has generics, but they are more expensive than Amazon, I think the cheapest at HD was 2 for $45.
daedalus said:
At first they were concerned that the psi levels aren?t the same for the reverse osmosis which is 10 psi and the fridge which is 30 psi. But after asking the technician, it?s ok to pipe the RO to the fridge, the result will be a slower ice maker.
A lot of these water companies sell an extra filter to reduce chloramine. It ranges from $250 for this activated carbon filter. You have to change it out every two years. Some say if you don?t drink the water while you are showering then you don?t need it and it?s a waste of money.
I'm measured my RO system at 35psi, which is right around what my fridge needs. Of course you can pump air into the tank to to raise it a bit, but I wouldn't take a chance on interfering with the filtering. The risk of having pressure too low is that it won't be strong enough to counteract the spring in the solenoid to allow water to flow when it needs to. Every icemaker I've had relied on a timer to fill the ice tray, so pressure [flow rate] is already controlled (regulated from the value required to open the solenoid, unless a separate pump is involved). It takes ~5-10 seconds to fill the tray and an hour or more to freeze the cubes so I don't think "slower ice maker" is a valid concern. Where did this technician work?
daedalus said:
Puronics. I crossed them off the list. Their system is so propriety I think it?s all marketing scheme. Like their silver filter that needs to be changed once every three years to prevent Halophilic bacteria. You need to have 5x the salinity of ocean water in order to have this. One of their RO filter has an ultra filtration that gets rid of certain microbes is supposedly something no one else offers but unnecessary. A lot of built in items we didn?t think we really needed.
Irvinehomeseeker
Active member
Visiting an old thread. I am getting a quote for 2800$ from Diamond Pure Water Filtration based out of IE for Water Softner + RO. This is a clack valve, catalytic carbon, with 2 Tanks. The yelp reviews are all 5 star...which makes me wonder if they are genuine. But the price looks pretty good considering it is a 2 Tank, Carbon filter based one. Any thoughts or comments?
I also called the Crystal Clear water based out of Garden Grove. He was quoting me 2300 but it was single tank and didn't have the carbon filter.
I also called the Crystal Clear water based out of Garden Grove. He was quoting me 2300 but it was single tank and didn't have the carbon filter.
Irvinehomeseeker
Active member
Ended up gping with Diamond Pure Water. The price was great and installation was nice too. Got 2 tanks, RO and a catalytic carbon filter.
Irvinehomeseeker
Active member
I paid 2800 dollars. It came with RO, and 2 tanks ( one has carbon filter and the other has the Resin i believe) for that price. The tanks have a chrome exterior cover. I was that 2 tanks are more efficient than 1 tank.
lilgophee
New member
I just contacted Diamond Pure. Will let you guys how the appointment goes. My plumber gave me a brochure for Flo-tech but I am not convinced it does the job. They also promise to give me a quote in 2 days so he must have forgot, guess you don't really want the business.
The main selling point is that the devices uses "technology" to avoid the scaling build-up. I prefer the use "science" instead but was told that I would have to buy salt and the water would feel slimy. Salt is very cheap in my opinion.
Another point with Flo-tech is that is it maintenance free for 10-12 years. With Diamond Pure, I can have them come out every year to make sure the system is tip-top.
The main selling point is that the devices uses "technology" to avoid the scaling build-up. I prefer the use "science" instead but was told that I would have to buy salt and the water would feel slimy. Salt is very cheap in my opinion.
Another point with Flo-tech is that is it maintenance free for 10-12 years. With Diamond Pure, I can have them come out every year to make sure the system is tip-top.
lilgophee
New member
Hands down, Diamond Pure is the way to go. Two tanks plus R/O under the sink for under $3000. Our house was pre-plumb for water softener. Experience was super and those 5 star reviews on Yelp are true.
Met Phil on Wednesday and the installation was scheduled on Friday. No upsell. In fact, I asked about having 3 tanks and he said, you don't need them. He tested the water before and after.
Had me look at the system for leaks after the job was done. Turns out there was a big leak so he sent his guy out to my place ASAP. Shoddy work from Irvine Pacific! They didn't clamp a pipe inside the wall properly so every time the water softener ran, it created a leak through the walls. IP came out and said, the pipework wasn't theirs but I used no other vendor than IP so I said, "check your records and you will see it's your work!" IP agreed to fix the pipe and patch the drywall. Diamond Pure even offered to look into my pipes and drywall for a good price if IP leaves me hanging.
The good thing about Diamond Pure is that they will come back for inspection or maintenance. Other people sell and install, then you never hear from them again. Diamond Pure will do maintenance on any system, not just the ones they sell. This gives me peace of mind that my investment is running tip top at all times.
From start to finish, everything was professional and done well. Highly recommend this company. The quote I finally got from Pristine Plumbing was $7000 for a maintenance free system that removes the chlorine and uses some device to make sure the molecules don't stick to the fixtures. Set it and forget it. Ripoff and the water is still hard!
Met Phil on Wednesday and the installation was scheduled on Friday. No upsell. In fact, I asked about having 3 tanks and he said, you don't need them. He tested the water before and after.
Had me look at the system for leaks after the job was done. Turns out there was a big leak so he sent his guy out to my place ASAP. Shoddy work from Irvine Pacific! They didn't clamp a pipe inside the wall properly so every time the water softener ran, it created a leak through the walls. IP came out and said, the pipework wasn't theirs but I used no other vendor than IP so I said, "check your records and you will see it's your work!" IP agreed to fix the pipe and patch the drywall. Diamond Pure even offered to look into my pipes and drywall for a good price if IP leaves me hanging.
The good thing about Diamond Pure is that they will come back for inspection or maintenance. Other people sell and install, then you never hear from them again. Diamond Pure will do maintenance on any system, not just the ones they sell. This gives me peace of mind that my investment is running tip top at all times.
From start to finish, everything was professional and done well. Highly recommend this company. The quote I finally got from Pristine Plumbing was $7000 for a maintenance free system that removes the chlorine and uses some device to make sure the molecules don't stick to the fixtures. Set it and forget it. Ripoff and the water is still hard!
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Irvinehomeseeker
Active member
I had a good experience with Dianond Pure as well. IP had an issue in the way they did plumbing under the sink but Diamond Pure took care of it to ensure RO was properly installed. I plan to call them for maintenance in about 6-7 months.
Irvinehomeseeker
Active member
I noticed that the water filteration system makes a very loud noise when it regenerates. On Monday night around 3 am I was woken up by the loud noise as I was sleeping in the room above the garage where the system is installed. The water from the system drains through the same pipe as the laundary one. So it kinda travels up along the walls of the small bedroom to get to the drain and makes a very loud gushing noise that can be heard through out the upstairs. I have extra interior insulation put in but still it was a very loud noise. Did any one experience this?