I'm going to install an under-sink water filter in a new kitchen!

I can't figure things about the flow-rate, though. I don't want one of those thin, generic-looking water taps on my sink (ugly, and pours water slowly!).

So I used Consumer Reports to identify a water filtration system that seems a good fit for my project budget, and now I can't figure out what kind of latitude I have to get a more elegant looking water faucet for it.

The filtration system says it gives 0.6 gpm. A nice faucet I found takes 2.2 gpm. How do I find a filtration system that will churn our more water, or, what will happen if the faucet can pour out water near 4x as fast as the filtration system can filter it?

 

You did not say what type filtration system you are considering. Residential RO systems tend to use pretty small tubing with low flow rates while many cartridge filters have larger piping and can flow more water so the flow rates you get will depend on what you choose.

I have a 25 gallon per day reverse osmosis system. I purchased a more attractive faucet to use with my RO system. And, since my filtration system is mounted very far from the faucet I connected the two with standard 1/2" PEX piping to help improve the flow rate. Still, most filtered water faucets seem to be designed to work with the tiny filtration system tubing and associated low flow rate. I'm on a well so the flow rate benefited considerably from a electric booster pump to increase the system's working pressure.

 

Thanks for your reply!

I am considering the Aqua-Pure AP-DWS1000 Drinking Water System. It was a good balance between cost and recommendation-level on Consumer Reports for water filtration.

I see what you mean: this system seems to have 1/4" tubing within it (inlet tubes, tubes between the filter cartridges...

Does anyone have a recommendation for a different, undercounter filter? I could possibly arrange to have it *not* be under the counter, as the plumbing that will feed the kitchen is still open and I might be able to locate it elsewhere.

 

One thing you can do, and what many RO systems do is to install a small pressure/storage tank after the filtration system. Run larger diameter piping, like 1/2" from the tank to your faucet so you have good flow when you want to fill a glass. Most RO system's pressure tanks have small fittings intended for their 1/4" lines but any water system pressure tank can be used and they generally have larger NPT ports. This company has tanks in 2, 4 and 8 gallon sizes. Just remember that stated size is the overall volume of the tank. The usable tidal volume for water is generally 25-40% so the 4 gallon size would hold a gallon+ or so of filtered water.

 

Terrific idea! What I'm not sure about is if there is going to be room under the sink for such a thing. I'll be trying to figure out if I can put that system in a nearby laundry room and just run 1/2" pipe to the sink.

 

Thats only a dual block carbon filter?

For $300 bucks its hardly worth it IMO...

 

I use and install these RO systems... 5 stage and filters down to .0001 micron. I have mine in another area and ran the line to my sink...

You increase the tubing to 3/8 if you want faster flow and get the RO perm to increase flow even more.. Its the 90 gal a day version. I have the RO 90..

Reverse Osmosis Product Page - Premium RO Drinking Water Filters Systems, Portable Purifiers, Filtration Parts | APEC Water

These are the best out there IMO for customer service, and upgrades. They give 2nd yr filters free and a free TDS meter...

They are 5 stage. Pre filter, 2 carbon blocks, membrane, and GAC carbon final filter... You change the filters once a yr... The membrane and polish filter every 3 to 4 yrs..

Best bang for the buck IMO...

 

I also have a 5 stage RO system though it's only a 25 gallon per day model. It has never come up short on capacity. It's mounted on another floor at the opposite end of the house. It was easy to do since I installed the piping when building the house. I ran 1/2" PEX from the filtered water pressure tank to my ice maker and filtered water faucet.

 

Thanks for these suggestions. I'd possibly go by these recommendations, except I understand that RO systems remove fluoride (?). We have young children and would prefer to keep the fluorides in the water.

(What's funny: my wife's childhood dentist was talking to me months ago about installing a RO system, and noted we'd want to supplement the water with fluoride if we did RO. Seemed strange to me: take it out and then put it back in!)

Any suggestions on effective water filtration systems that are not RO?

 

Fluoride is a poison IMO..... Do your own research...

I have been on wells all my life... I would never drink water from a tap that a city treats....


Fluoride - The Toxic, Deadly Poison.

 

Thanks for your perspective!

(Perhaps agree to keep RO and the health-side of fluoride out of this discussion for now.)

What I'm coming to is still wondering how to evaluate different non-RO systems. I've seen the number of stages be called out as a factor, though I also see plenty of one stage solutions for under the sink.

Consumer Reports (a source of information, for better or worse) is rating things on Chloroform removal, Lead Removal, Clogging and Flow Rate. Of their top recommendations, flow rate seems to max out at 0.75 gpm. A couple are single stage, a couple are two stage.

With Google, I can find a handful of filtration systems that do deliver 2.2 gpm, and all of those are single-stage. I guess I'm wondering if I can learn how to evaluate these, or get a specific recommendation.

Thanks in advance!

 

What are you trying to filter? There are sediment filters, carbon filters(taste-odor), RO filters, distillers, etc...

Some filter minimal while others filter more...

Depends on what you are trying to accomplish...

 

That's a really excellent question, and one that I'm not well prepared to answer. I'll admit to a sort of mysticism around filtered water.

San Francisco's tap water seems fully drinkable to me and my family. However, we've used Brita water filters (pitcher-style) for years. I want to have something at least as effective as that, perhaps "healthier", and have it come from a tap.

From what I've been reading, it seems I at least want to filter chlorine, chloramine, and as many particulates as is reasonable.

 

I live in the boonies of NC on an old tobacco farm. We only drink RO filtered water because of the possibility of ground water contamination by all the pesticides and herbicides. Tobacco farming used some really nasty stuff so we are primarily interested in removing large synthetic molecules. Even I will admit that it is a perceived threat and not an actual, confirmed one. I'm a bit paranoid and can afford RO filtration so it seems like affordable insurance. Our emergency filter is capable of filtering almost everything except for salt water but it's far too expensive to subject our daily water to such level of filtration but it does show that things can be taken to another level. At some point you have to draw the line.

In a urban environment I'm not sure what benefit any filtration system might offer. New York City is praised repeatedly for having some of the best water so there I might consider a sediment filter, if that. Why remove all those beneficial minerals that make the water so tasty (I was just there for Christmas and can attest that the water from the tap tasted great.).

It's all up to you. I'm 100% certain the water from your tap is safe to drink. Does filtering it make is safer or better??? If the municipal supply is contaminated most home filtration systems are not capable of rendering the water safe so simply "filtering" may not offer much benefit in that situation.