Water Purifier under 20K

[Dravin]

Needed with These Features:

1. Contaminant Removal Efficiency: The primary function of a water purifier is to remove contaminants from water. A good purifier should effectively eliminate or reduce:
   • Pathogens (bacteria, viruses, and parasites)
   • Chemical pollutants (pesticides, herbicides, and industrial chemicals)
   • Heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium)
   • Organic compounds (volatile organic compounds or VOCs)
   • Chlorine and chlorine by-products, which are commonly used for municipal water disinfection but can have negative health effects and affect taste and odor.
2. Retention of Minerals: While removing contaminants, it's important that the purifier does not strip away beneficial minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which are essential for the human body's health.
3. pH Level Maintenance: The water's pH level should be maintained at a level that is safe and palatable, ideally between 6.5 and 8.5, to prevent the water from being too acidic or too alkaline, which can be harmful to the body and potentially corrosive to plumbing.
4. Taste and Odor: The purifier should improve the taste and odor of the water by removing compounds that cause unpleasant tastes and odors, making the water more appealing to drink, which can encourage adequate hydration.
5. NSF/ANSI Standards: Look for systems certified to meet or exceed NSF/ANSI standards, which assure that the system can effectively reduce specific contaminants that it claims to reduce.
6. Flow Rate: The system should have an adequate flow rate to meet the household's water needs without significant delays.
7. Maintenance and Filter Life: It should be easy to maintain with readily available replacement filters. The filter life should be long enough to be cost-effective and convenient.
8. Energy Efficiency: If the system requires electricity to operate (like UV light purifiers), it should be energy-efficient.
9. Waste Reduction: Some purifiers, like reverse osmosis systems, can produce a lot of wastewater. Good systems should be designed to minimize this waste.
10. Cost Effectiveness: The purifier should provide a good balance between the initial cost, maintenance costs, and the level of purification it offers.
11. Ease of Use: The system should be user-friendly, with clear instructions and easy installation and maintenance procedures.
12. Durability and Reliability: The components should be durable and reliable, with warranties and good customer support.
13. Certifications and Recommendations: A good water purifier will have certifications from recognized bodies such as the NSF, WQA, or others and will often be recommended by health or consumer advocacy groups.

 

[Sushubh]

Did an AI write this post

 

[Dravin]

@Sushubh yes

 

[Sushubh]

I mean I personally like aosmith. But every company out there including ao smith is a menace.

 

[anmolbhard004]

planning to remove kent. how's aquaguard?

 

[Navjot Singh]

I would suggest Pureit.

 

[anmolbhard004]

any specific model?
are you using one?
that copper one seems a waste to me.

 

[Dravin]

@Sushubh which model of AoSmith?

 

[Sushubh]

I have the Z8. It's quite nice.

Now that I am on the pc… here are some more details about z8.

I mean I love this model. It has hot water option which is used heavily throughout the year and especially through the winters. I use it to make my coffee for instance.

The problem is that ao smith apparently changed their policy last year where they switched from 3000 liters between filter changes to flat once a year. They changed the pcb on my unit without disclosing this. I pay for yearly amc and that is something I do not like. My supply can get muddy at times and that fucks up with the filters so I end up with 2 or even three filter changes through the year. Now I am stuck with one under amc.

Amc cost for z8 model comes to around 6000 rupees which is well a lot for just one filter change through the year. I am probably not going to renew it next year and switch to paying for filters when required along with the visitation charges. It might cost me a bit more based on what else fails during the year but at least I have the option to dump it any time during the year.

I have been looking for some other model and I just do not like anything available in the market. Folks at my place are too used to getting hot water from purifier so regular single tap model won’t work. Almost all companies now offer a hot water version but if you dive in to reviews for any model on Amazon, you just read horror stories. So I might end up getting another AO Smith model. It's just a devil that I know how to handle. A new variant they launched which is basically just Z8 with some visual changes. It costs more than Z8. But ever since they changed the PCB, the support guy always struggle with my unit. I believe the new units have a slightly different design for the new PCB and they end up getting confused with the older units.

Paying 6K for AMC vs. paying ~25K for a new unit. That is the question in the end.

Also, they changed their service model as well in recent times. Earlier they seemed to have direct support. Now they have outsourced everything and people who come for service these days are just not as trained as the folks who came earlier. At times, I have had to end up calling up a guy who used to come before to fix issues caused by newer guys. I would probably ping him again and see if he can provide direct support for my existing unit next year saving me from going through AO Smith for filter replacements and other issues.

 

[manu1991]

What is the TDS level in your house? In most places, you cannot install an RO system unless the TDS is high.