Flint Officials Are No Longer Saying the Water Is Fine

“any links of brand names would be appreciated”

i think i originally bought mine from costco years ago and i don’t think they still sell them. However, all of them are made from standard parts and can be bought from multiple sources so just google:

undersink RO systems

and look for 5-stage systems.

Here’s what amazon has:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=5-stage+undersink+ro+system

I buy these replacement filters:

http://www.costco.com/Premier-7-pack-Water-Filter-Replacement-Kit.product.10034902.html?catalogId=10701&keyword=Premier+7-pack+Water+Filter+Replacement+Kit&langId=-1&storeId=10301&refine=

The sediment filter and two carbon blocks are replaced every six months and the “finishing filter” every year; that kit contains all seven. The carbon blocks are essential because they remove things like chlorine and fluorine which will poison the RO filter itself.

Here’s the RO filter I buy; needs replacing every 5 years or so:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ESKTDF6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

A person does need to be pretty handy to install one of these because you have to tap into the cold water line under the sink, tap into the sink drain pipe, and drill a hole in the back of the sink for the faucet.

The following are things I’ve learned over the decades of installing and maintaining one of these systems:

Personally, I think something like this is best way to make the cold water tap:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/adamhaulena/000027.jpg

I’m not a big fan of vampire taps, but they work:

http://images.meredith.com/diy/images/2009/02/p_SCP_008_03.jpg

Whatever you do, don’t use this (I had one and it actually split:

http://www.waterfiltersonline.com/images-lg/easy-tap-lg.jpg

If you need extra fittings for the 1/4” lines, I like the John Guest push style fittings the best, and all the big box hardware stores carry them:

http://www.h2odistributors.com/global/productpics/misc/john-guest-fittings.jpg

During the install, it’s essential to assure that all the 1/4” lines in and out of the filter unit are long enough so that you can get the filter unit entirely out from under the sink to work on, as that will make changing the filters MUCH easier. It’s almost impossible to change the filters if you can’t get the unit out from under the sink.

Also, the three bottom filter-holder cases are a real bitch-kitty to unscrew as they have to be tightened fairly tightly to prevent leaks, so do not over-tighten them or you’ll never get them off again. It’s best to hand tighten them, turn the water on and then tighten again with channel locks until they quit leaking.

I then leave my filter unit outside the cabinet overnight after maintenance and inspect for leaks before putting it back under the sink, and then check under the sink a day later.

I also recommend using vasoline on their o-rings and the threads themselves to help prevent friction-seizure, and definitely recommend you get a BIG set of channel locks for tightening and unscrewing.

All of which reminds me, water is going to go everywhere when you first open the filter cases, so sit the filter unit on a bunch of towels on the floor and have a bucket handy to dump the old filters and remaining water from the filter cases. Hopefully, I don’t need to remind anyone before doing any of this to be sure to turn off the cold water valve to the supply line, close the valve on the tank and open the RO faucet.

The storage tank will tend to roll around under the sink if they don’t provide a holder, so you might want to figure out how to chock it a bit. Also, after a few years, the slightly compressed air between the steel tank wall and the internal bladder can leak a bit resulting in the water not being pushed out of the tank and into the faucet, so the tank will need to be pumped up to specification, which is easy enough as there’s a tire value built-in for that purpose and a bicycle pump works just fine, though you’ll also need a tire gauge for checking that you’ve got the pressure right.

Also, I had the flow-restrictor valve on the discharge line fail on mine so the water constantly ran and I finally replaced it with a brass one. I think I’ve read the modern systems don’t require a flow-restrictor, so that would eliminate one source of problems.

Another tip is to keep 3 or 4 one gallon polyethylene storage bottles for quick use as the flow from the RO faucet is slow. So when you need to fill a coffee maker or pot to boil pasta, etc., you can just grab a bottle and pour really quickly. In the mean time, you can stick one of your empties or near empties under the RO faucet and fill it while you do other stuff in the kitchen.

Finally, keep in mind that these systems will take up a lot of the space under your sink.

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