WFS-1000 Super Capacity Premium Quality 3 Stage Under-Sink Water Filter System

I'm experienced in using 2 to 3 stages and reverse osmosis systems going as far back as the 1990s. The key is to make sure to check your water district and the local municipal water supply consumer confidence report(s) yearly before determining to purchase the proper system. If you're using for your own well water supply, or tainted water supply from the water supplier, it's best to read up on the capacity of the models before purchasing. I'll dive right into things. The last model I had was the Aquasana 5300+ 3-stage. I purchased the unit 5 years ago, with spare new filters at $70 to replace. The filter cases leak due to warping. Not one, not two, but all three at the same time. What are the likely chances after the case replacement 2 years ago?Pros:1. 10% larger than the compact 3-stage Aquasana 5300+ unit. However, if you compare components side-by-side, you can see the robustness of this unit. The tell-tale signs are the metal mounting base and the thickness of the filter cases. You can see the differences immediately.2. Filters are larger and denser. Robustness is the word.3. Easy installation. The parts are practically married to the existing parts under the sink. I took it slow, used all the provided parts, and ensured total sealing during installation. Not even a drop of water dripped from any part. Knock on wood of course. It's been close to a month, and still not a drop of water anywhere. I learned my lessons from the Aquasana, and I placed a thin plastic bucket and water leakage alarm as I did for my water heater. Better to be safe than sorry with a tiny investment.4. The flow of the filtered water is phenomenal. Twice to thrice the volume of the Aquasana 5300+ in a given minute. I have to crank the cold water supply way down just to prevent the filtered water from jetting out like a hydrobeam.5. Long filters' lifespan. Aquasana's filters literally forced you to replace every 6 months, but I tend to delay things a bit longer after evaluating the filters for the prior years. The first stage filter turned completely yellow. Since the unit's filter is confident in lasting up to 12 months, we'll definitely need to see the claim. I'll be sending in the filters for testing to verify the bold claims.Cons:Yes, there are downsides to this but do read things through before making your decision.1. The faucet unit is not completely water-tight. What do I mean? The looseness of the faucet body is the downfall in allowing the water to bottom. When you plan on spraying down the sink to clean it, don't spray on the faucet body where the tube turns. A small amount of water will make it through the bottom. The base of the faucet body is not a problem at all. Perfectly sealed. I added silicone sealer to the base just in case during installation. No water can make its way through the bottom of the faucet unit's base.2. The higher the flow, the cloudier the water for the first few minutes. If you want that clear water without the cloudiness, turn the pressure down and allow the water to flow out slowly. We don't care. We just want fast water coming out. After sending the filtered water in for testing, we already know the filtered level.3. Taste can be a tad off for the new filters. Don't expect your water to taste plain and unflavored. It does have an odd light plastic and carbon (coal-like) taste at the start. However, that goes away in a few days of continual usage. We flushed the line for 15 minutes at max pressure the unit will allow (well below the 80 psi warning) before the first use as well.I'm happy with the unit so far. I'll update along the way if something goes wrong.

excellent quality and excellent filtering and water taste. we were constantly buying bottled water and knew that it contained microparticles of plastic that was unhealthy and now no more bottled water to cart in and dispose of. instead i have the smoothest water that is so pleasant to drink. i just didn't like to drink water before and now i don't hesitate. we hired a plumber to install this but i may have been able to do it because complete detailed instructions and all needed parts are included except a drill bit for the countertop. i one hundred percent recommend this.

Overall just a huge improvement over lugging bottled water into the house, piling up plastic bottles, and wonderfully convenient compared to having a massive stand-alone water delivery/bottle dispenser. Refill cartridges are $40/pack, and last between 6-12 months depending on use so extremely economical.We use a SodaStream to make our own club soda, which is much cheaper than buying bottled drinks or water, so originally we were using a 1 stage Filtrete filter you put under the sink and connect to the cold water line. However, anytime you use cold water, you're using the filter and we were going through a filter every 3 months instead of 6.We decided to step up to the undersink 3-stage filter with a dedicated cold water line, so we don't use filtered water to wash our hands, or dishes and only use for drinking or cooking. After reviewing many options we settled on APEC, and chose the 3-stage option because the 5 stage wastes so much water with backwashing, and our primary interest was removal of chlorine and other off odors.Good news: it does exactly as promised, and the cost is reasonable for a 12-month average filter life and a kit that includes the separate faucet which is very nice quality and works smoothly.Why 4 stars? The instructions seem to assume you have familiarity with plumbing and/or water filter installation because they're very poor - and that's not just novice me saying that, that's also the comment from the Task Rabbit resource we hired to install it, who has an engineering degree, worked for NASA, and has completed 900 home improvement tasks in the last 3 years. There are too few images, and the written instructions are awkward. Additionally, the wrench provided for the final tightening step of the filters is unnecessarily bulky and difficult to maneuver in tight spaces.Also, we followed the instructions to run the water to clear the line for 5 minutes, but in reality we had to run it closer to 10. not a dealbreaker, but something to keep in mind. And make sure you put it on full strength, full open to flush - until we did that, particulate matter was still coming through.