Customer Reviews With Photos
I have had this water softener for over a year now and it has not done anything for our water. We have a well and the water is slightly hard but not terrible. I was hoping this softener would take the hardness down and reduce calcium build up. Unfortunately I have not seen any reduction at all. We still have the same build up in showers, faucets and on the refrigerator water dispenser. I would not recommend this product.
I had old modal in the house with SALT it was not Using for Long time
Easy installation. The only difficulty came from the limited space under my sink. Installed filter and water came out. No leaks. Pressure is a little lower, but I expected that. My flow rate is about 1.8 GPM and this has a flow rate of 1.67. filled up a glass of water and my first response was, "What in the name of all things holy is this!?!" See picture. This isn't my first filter and I have never seen anything like it. Is this safe to drink? Why does it appear to be carbonated? Why does no one else mention this in the review. This took me a lot of effort to install and I don't want to take it apart before I can call the company tomorrow. But I surely won't be drinking any water from my tap until then. Will update after. Update: turns out they're air bubbles. And after 10-15 gallons have passed through the filter, the number of air bubbles/qt have reduced to about 1/3 their initial presence. I still have to wait for the water to calm down or drinking feels weird.
Great quality faucet for the price. The ones from the water treatment facility are much cheaper but look similar. RO filters are hard to find at the store. Found this online. Was pleased with the weight and quality. A few large manufacturers that you find on all the store shelves make one but they are 3 times the cost of this one and I preferred the way this one looks.
Had my Apec RO system for years. Third mineral cartridge replacement and where is the quality... No way will my family be drinking from something where the label is so haphazardly applied. Makes one wonder what's going on inside?? Returning for refund.
I have a WaterDrop tankless RO system. It suffers from 2 problems 1. Takes a couple seconds to start 2. TDS creep: TDS slightly increases at the beginning of every run from unfiltered water getting through RO membrane (it happens a bit in traditional tank systems too) This fixes both problems 1. There's always water there when I turn on the dispenser 2. The pump only has to turn on every ~6 glasses of water which means it can run a lot longer but less frequently thus eliminating most of my TDS creep Tankless RO with a tank?!? Yes. This way I get the best of both worlds (but more expensive initially). I don't need to worry about using all my supply of water and running out. I have a higher efficiency than with a traditional tank system. And I still have reserve water in case the city shuts off the water. Super easy to maintain, less components, and I love it!
Not sure if it is a Hydron or Filmtech filter but my previous membrane that came with my APEC system was Hydron and only lasted 18 months. After installing the new one my RO water TDS went from 400 to 80. The source water is 1500 TDS so the reject rate is very good on this membrane. The membrane housing was on way too tight from the factory. I had to remove the housing and put it in my vice to unscrew the gap with an 18" pipe wrench. APEC also does not include replacement O-rings for the membrane housing. Why the heck not for what they are charging? Minus one star for no eeplacement housing O-rings (see photos).
I installed this in October and had a few issues with the installation that ended up being more of my problem but could have avoided if a) they had an installation video and b) if the installation manual was in color or at least wasn’t open to some interpretation as to where certain parts go. My main issue was installing a little “Line flow controller”. Just a tiny red rubber gasket piece where it reduces the flow pressure to the brine tank. (See photos) You put it in by fitting it on the end of a pen or screwdriver and push it into place. Unfortunately at this point in the installation, with the softener hooked into the plumbing, you cannot see down the hose connector to see if it is indeed in place correctly…and it can easily fall over when withdrawing the installation tool (pen/screwdriver). If that happens and you don’t notice, you will have a brine tank hose malfunction as the water pressure will push the hose out of the brine tank holder and you’ll get sprayed all over the place during a regeneration. The company support was responsive, but they were unable to diagnose the issue (and I admit it was my installation that created the problem) which I discovered only by taking the brine hose apart and re installing from the beginning. Anyway thought I’d just add this in case anyone else runs into the problem. System is working fine now and gives me good soft water. Easy to setup regeneration/water softness through the control panel. Installation would be a breeze if it was a little bit clearer for the DIY novice. I’d give it 5 stars if they had an installation video and color instruction manual.
After 7 years of service, original housing developed a leak due to a small crack. This version is bit shorter compared to the original but otherwise everything fits well and snug, including the actual filter body. However, the inlet pipe adapter that came with the housing started to leak immediately after the install (see picture). Luckily for me, the adapter from the original housing was in a good shape and after reapplying teflon tape it worked well with the new housing without any leaks. It was an easy fix but I wasn't expecting a brand new part to start leaking immediately, hence 3 stars from me. One thing I noticed is the original adapter had tapered threads while the new one didn't. Otherwise, the housing is good and resolved the leak.
The automatic shut off valve didn’t come with clear instructions so I made this easy diagram to explain how it should be installed. I am using this with a Premier Watts RO filter and it is working great but the instructions were not helpful for me because my hoses are different colors and the system is a little bit different. I was having trouble with my system and it turns out I had installed the automatic shutoff valve upside down. I put the blue hose in the blue hole but that was wrong for my system. Follow this diagram if your faucet isn’t giving you any water or if your valve appears to be DOA.
I like the design of this filter system. Will never buy another filter system with push-in hoses. The leak all the time under pressure! Now this filter system is on a whole other level than push-in hoses. You screw in the connectors with a standard 3\8 connector from the filter to the supply line. Then screw the outlet line to the drinking faucet. It's that easy! The best part? The lines can handle more pressure and less likely to leak under pressure. How does the water tastes? After flushing it for 5 minutes to clear the haziness (recommended by manufacturer) it tastes clean with no plastic smell or after-taste. On a side note, I wished the hardware store had a 30" 3\8 to 3\8 steel-braided line to make it look aesthetically nice. I had to change the outlet line because it was a 3\8 to 1\2 (at the faucet) line. I didn't like the plastic hose but that's just a personal preference.
Took 5 minutes to change out no tools needed. System is no longer continuously running into drain with faucet off. Happy OEM parts are so cheap and available through apecwateroutlet.com prime.
Background before buying APEC I'm familiar with RO water and prefer it over anything else. I also used RO filter in Thailand and when I moved to USA I thought the water quality would be better so I wasn't looking for RO filter. I used tap water for cooking and drinking by filtering with Brita before but I personally hated it because there's still chlorine smell and honestly you can't trust water quality these days because there's a lot of contamination in it so Ineeded better filtration. Water quality It's RO so quality is as good as the bottled water. No chlorine smell. Water has taste but it has no sharp feeling when drinking. If you're worried that RO will get rid of minerals in the water, to be honest, you can get minerals from somewhere else - cooking, supplemental pills etc. Having access to non contaminated water is my priority. Filtration system When you use up one cycle it takes 90 seconds to filter new cycle in it. It doesn't take long at all. The noise can be high but it never really bothers me as it's a quick process. The vdo I attached is of when it's filtering new tank. Suitable for 2 people with small animals. We are a couple and have 2 cats with big tank of water fountain. I also cook a lot. Bigger household should consider under the sink installation instead. We use tap water, it's NOT suitable for well water. Design is modern with decent materials. It's convenient especially those living in an apartment where you're not allowed to drill.
Just got this replacement filter today, both ends of the filter are not attached. You can see where the glue is, it just didn’t stick. Installed anyways since I had the ro system apart. Not great usa quality.
Been using this brand for years and I trust the quality
