Great water filter and pitcher. Durable and stylish.
Update 10/24/12: Still working amazingly well. Just pop it in the dishwasher every time I change the filter and its good as new.
This is a great water filter and it gets plenty of use in my household. If anything I could say "I wish it held more water," (I drink 3+ litres of water a day and it seems that I am always filling the darned thing up) but that would be an unreasonable request. Who would want a dispenser so large that it would be unwieldy to carry to the refrigerator? No one not even me. So I bought a second one so that one of them is always full! This dispenser is slim so that I can easily fit two side by side in my refrigerator. (Can''t have too much of a good thing!) And this filter/dispenser is definitely good it has a large fill "basket" and the 2 stage filter produces water that is completely taste and odor free. I could easily tell the difference in my drinking water! Lastly, the filters (with usage indicators) are long-lasting. I have filled my first dispenser twice a day for 1 1/2 months and it still hasn''t reached the half way point. Very impressive results! Highly recommend.
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My wife and I have immensely enjoyed the wonderful water we get from our Pur filtration pitcher, which uses the same filters as this dispenser.
It''s very convenient -just pour water into the top, and it will, albeit slowly, drip through the filter. Over time, as the filter clogs, it will get slower, so the key is to add more water every time you pour more out -that way, it''s filtering while you are drinking and you aren''t waiting.
It''s actually much more convenient than the faucet-mount filters, which inevitably leak and get painfully slow and force you to wait...
Pur is better than Brita, by the way, if you get the Ultimate filters, which filter out cryptosporidium and giardia in addition to chemicals and gunk. Brita doesn''t do that; it''s an important feature if you have iffy water systems (Mexico, Russia) or a weak immune system...
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We got this pitcher for our family of 6 almost 3 years ago, and have used it constantly since. It does fit nicely in a fridge, but we keep it on the counter because it gets used so often and I don''t like the fridge door opening all the time. We have a smaller Brita pitcher for the fridge, and there is a HUGE difference in the taste. The Pur is much better. We live in NYC, which has heavily chlorinated water. With this Pur filter, we can''t taste the chlorine at all.
We have found that after a couple of weeks (sometimes less) the filters really slow down. At first we''d just replace them, because even with replacing the filter every couple of weeks it''s cheaper to filter water than to buy it pre-bottled. (My daughter just did a science project on the fact that bottled water is almost completely unregulated, so filtering your own tested/regulated tap water is probably safer anyway.) However, we have since discovered that if you pull the filter out and soak it in cold water for 10 minutes, the same as you do when starting a new filter, the drip speed increases again. Now our filters really last the month or two they''re supposed to.
I have never had a problem with mold or mildew with this dispenser, a problem that some people have with Britas. I wash it every once in a while when I see dust in the top part, but I''m really amazed at how clean and fresh it has stayed all these years. It is really convenient to use though it''s a little heavy to return to the fridge once it''s filled (another reason ours stays on the counter).
I''m on this page now just because our dispenser has (finally) started to leak from the spout. There aren''t many products that can be used heavily for 3 years without a single problem! So after I finish this review, I''m going to buy another one. I don''t know of any better, safer, cheaper, more delicious way to keep a large family hydrated.
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The ds-1800 / ds-1800z does the job, if slowly. Rough ballpark is that if the base is 1/3rd full and you fill the top to full, it''ll take 40 minutes (yes, I timed it) for it to filter (slows down towards the end.) If you''re starting from empty, you are looking at over an hour to a full container.
The filter spec sheet lists mostly high-90''s for percent-removal of lots of things, except for MTBEof which it only removes a minimum of 70%, and a maximum not much higher...still under 80%. Given how common MTBE pollution in water is these days (thanks, California!) and its carcinogenic nature, that''s pretty poor.
Also, Pur only rates it for a maximum of 2 gallons a day, and "approximately" 40 gallons per filter "depending on local water conditions". They warn you that the filter''s performance drops rapidly, but there''s no way to tell how long that''ll be, even if you have your water tested!
Watch out as the top is not 1/2 of the size of the bottom. The bottom is about 1.5x larger than the top. A line on the inside of the lower reservoir for a "don''t fill the top to full when the reservoir is above this" would be a good addition.
The amazon description is slightly misleading; it does not have a "filter life indicator". It has a sticker showing a 12 month dial, and a second sticker to place on that. A molded in dial with spinner would be an improvement and all that''s necessary (the brita lcd thing is silly.)
The spigot lever is strongly spring-loaded and cheaply built. If you pull it down and then let go, it will smack the side of the container very hard.
Make sure you insert the filter with the tabs aligned with the hole; you''ll see a lock-down mechanism that seats the filter after you give it clockwise turn. The instructions do not mention this. Also, the filter may seem like it sits too high in the upper tray, but the inlet slats go down almost to the o-ring, so don''t worry about it draining the upper tray.
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As expected from a product made in Germany and with a name like Bosch, the quality seems to be very good. The suction is great, the telescopic handle is conveinient. One thing I didn''t expect for a vacuum with a retail price of 699 was the cord for the powerhead that uses plastic snap on rings to attach it to the hose. I''ve seen 599 simplicity''s that have the cord built into the hose, but then again, I only paid 225 shipped on sale. You''d have to be an idiot to get electrocuted by touching the connector for the powerhead when the vacuum is on. The variable power is nice eacuse the powerhead can be hard to move on area rugs with full suction.
