AWD (20% Off) - APEC Water Systems RO-90 Ultimate Series 90 GPD Ultra Safe Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Filter System - $135 (Like New) + Tax - FSSS

Good deal. With all the chemicals / pharmaceuticals / PFAS in the water which are unregulated, this should be a must for everyone. Make sure you pH balance out your water as the finished product is usually acidic.

You can either buy calcite along with the cartridge housing and filter housing for it to refill or buy the re-mineralizer [amazon.com] for ph balance.

I have piped the reject water to a bucket which I use for irrigation or flush water. The only negatives with RO are that you waste a lot of water for every gallon that is treated however RO is the top of the line treatment for all contaminants (lead, arsenic, radionuclides, pfas, pesticides, bacteria, micro-organisms). You can optimize the treatment to waste less and produce more water if you combine a pump [amazon.com] (which does increase your flow / capacity) with a flow limiter [amazon.com]. Note, this may reduce your membrane life slightly so monitor your tds prior to remineralizing.

See EWG website [ewg.org] for more info on YOUR water and methods of treatment / removal.

Source: I work in water/wastewater consulting and am a professional engineer.

What is your opinion of a water distiller vs reverse osmosis
Megahome Countertop Water Distiller, White, Glass Collection https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00026F...jEbPZ81FT5

How would I be able to tell how long one of these would last before needing replacement filters? I"m trying to see if it is worth getting this or continue refilling 5-gallon jugs at $1.75 each. Thanks for any insight.

Background:
We have well water that we clean with chlorine in a 120 gallon contact/retention tank, then a screen filter, then we filter out the chlorine with activated carbon, then we do a water softener. What's left is some tannins (which I hope to remove by adding the right type of media to the softener), and whatever bad things we haven't tested for like Lead, Arsenic, etc. Taste isn't necessarily bad, but we refill the jugs for drinking water just to be safe.

If you have no idea the concentrations or what you are dealing with, do a comprehensive drinking water test. These can be found here [amazon.com]or here [homedepot.com]. I would actually go a step further and order tests for radionuclides in the water as well.

These sediment / carbon cartridges in RO systems are throwaway in that once they are used and spent (usually 1 year), they have to be replaced. There are more practical solutions out there especially if your well system requires a lot of treatment like the carbon systems sold here [afwfilters.com]. Then you can just put this RO system in as a last line of defense to remove the last traces of pesticides, arsenic, lead, etc. The membranes usually last 3-5 years but i would install a tds meter prior to your remineralizer to detect the ppm as it comes out of the RO unit. It should be in the low teens. Once it starts getting higher, then you know your RO membrane needs to be replaced. I'd go with a with a dow filmtec [amazon.com] that is NSF rated versus the generic as it'll have slightly better removal rates and has been NSF certified (tested and confirmed the rated % of removal).

The convenience is water instantaneously versus having to buy and lug jugs of water. The cost will probably be favorable toward buying 5 gallons at 1.75 each but you have to consider time spent as well as what treatment was done for 5 gallons of water.

I have a 14 stage treatment process with sediment filters, catalytic carbon, softener, ion exchange (nitrate) ending in RO with a UV system cause where I live we have to deal with radionuclides, nitrates, pesticides, and uranium.

This works although it is less efficient and consumes more energy. It takes 5.5 hours to produce 1 gallon. RO would be more more efficient in that no electricity is required. Distilled water may also have some taste issues as there is no polishing (GAC / coconut / pH) step involved in post-treatment.

If you have no idea the concentrations or what you are dealing with, do a comprehensive drinking water test. These can be found here [amazon.com]or here [homedepot.com]. I would actually go a step further and order tests for radionuclides in the water as well.

These sediment / carbon cartridges in RO systems are throwaway in that once they are used and spent (usually 1 year), they have to be replaced. There are more practical solutions out there especially if your well system requires a lot of treatment like the carbon systems sold here [afwfilters.com]. Then you can just put this RO system in as a last line of defense to remove the last traces of pesticides, arsenic, lead, etc. The membranes usually last 3-5 years but i would install a tds meter prior to your remineralizer to detect the ppm as it comes out of the RO unit. It should be in the low teens. Once it starts getting higher, then you know your RO membrane needs to be replaced. I'd go with a with a dow filmtec [amazon.com] that is NSF rated versus the generic as it'll have slightly better removal rates and has been NSF certified (tested and confirmed the rated % of removal).

The convenience is water instantaneously versus having to buy and lug jugs of water. The cost will probably be favorable toward buying 5 gallons at 1.75 each but you have to consider time spent as well as what treatment was done for 5 gallons of water.

I have a 14 stage treatment process with sediment filters, catalytic carbon, softener, ion exchange (nitrate) ending in RO with a UV system cause where I live we have to deal with radionuclides, nitrates, pesticides, and uranium.