2019-04-23
Having just installed this unit myself I can offer a few comments on what’s involved.• If you intend to put this under your sink as suggested AND you have an available hole for the faucet, this would indeed be a fairly simple installation. Of course you will give up a considerable amount of undersink storage. The unit itself is 8 inches wide by 14 inches deep (without allowing for any space for tubing connections). The tank is not small either. In my case a standard 36 inch sink base would end up losing about half its usable storage space, not to mention tubing runs become a tangling hazard for a pulldown spray head counterbalance.• If you choose to install in a basement as I did, realize the installers manual suggests not exceeding 15 foot tubing runs to minimize pressure loss. I located mine within what a swear was laterally five feet of the final tap location, but after allowing for elevation change and a bit of tubing snaking wound up using 13 feet of tube for the final connection!• Realize you also have 3 runs to make (supply, waste, and tap) so buy plenty of tubing. I bought 50 feet of polyethylene from Menards. The first spool I bought from HD seemed less than 1/4 inch OD, so the compression rings were very loose. I was afraid I wouldn’t get a seal with it. ALSO NOTE – don’t mix poly tubing with brass compression rings; they won’t seal properly, so stay with plastic / delrin rings (brass inserts are fine).• You’ll need an electrical outlet wherever you install it. Some will have a dishwasher/disposal outlet box handy – many will not. Plan on some wiring unless you have a ready outlet.• If you decide not to make all your tubing runs back to the sink base, your connections may not be quite so simple. Is there 1 ½ drain line close by for the waste saddle? Do you have a shutoff valve nearby to hook up to? If not plan on doing some plumbing. I’m very pleased I have the shutoff near the unit and not up a floor, but it was not nearly as simple as using the connector provided.• It may be tempting to look at the unit and think, “Hang from upper tray screw holes.†However the installer manual actually calls for support under the pre-filter housings, not to mention the tray is not as rigid as it may appear. Once water filled everything is a bit heavier too; the tank especially probably weighs 25 – 30 pounds filled. I chose a stout shelf, close to the ceiling. I’m still a bit uneasy about how tippy the tank seems since the air chamber is on the bottom. I plan to install a wire preventer into the recessed channel around its circumference.• Finally, the manual suggests to have a big towel available to catch spills, which is an understatement. I had one prefilter o-ring unseated so ran a fair bit of water out before catching that. Decided to finish pressure testing on the basement floor, which worked fine until I had to disconnect the inlet line and depressured the unit into my boiler room! Really glad I wasn’t in the kitchen at that point. You will likely spill/spray some water, wherever you hook it up, so be prepared.• The instructions seems pretty complete and accurate, if a bit verbose. I do have one nit to pick, as regards the faucet install. I needed to use some plumbers putty under the main cover plate and some clear silicone between the plate and the faucet body to eliminate the tendency for these to rotate during use. No amount of tightening under the counter seemed to be enough. Wouldn’t hurt to mention that hint in the manual.This all being said, I’m very happy with the unit and installation. The pump isn’t exactly silent, making sort of a pulsing sound, so not having it all in my kitchen is nice. The water tastes great, not that my tap water was bad, but it is actually better. I haven’t tested inlet/outlet TDS yet which was the main reason for getting it, but trust at this point that lead and other heavy metals and bad actors are substantially reduced.
