Under Bench Water Filters

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Dulouz

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#222898 2-Sep-2017 16:39

Our town water supply has recently become chlorinated and is very noticeable. I'm looking to install an under the bench solution for drinking water in the kitchen. Will this remove the chlorine?

The research I've done indicates that the available filters will remove some chlorine but not all. Any suggestions are most welcome.

Amanon

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Networkn
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#1857236 2-Sep-2017 16:43

I just want a filter that can fill a jug in under 24 hours!

scuwp

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#1857237 2-Sep-2017 16:46

Carbon filters remove chlorine. I doubt anything is 100%.

http://www.purewaterservices.co.nz/rural/rain-spring-water/underbench-filters

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mattwnz

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#1857309 2-Sep-2017 18:57

WHat about a water distiller, as well as a carbon filter.. You would be shocked by the smelly crap that is left behind in the chamber after a cycle of tap water, and the water is smoother and doesn't taste of anything.

richms

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#1857310 2-Sep-2017 19:00

When it was getting quite varable here I got a cheapies from Bunnings that had a tap and a thing that was supposed to go under bench with 2 cannisters thingies on it. I put it in the basement so that any spill from changing filters is there and not in the already way too full cupboard.

Also put a t on the output and a few meters of hose over to another tap near the coffee maker/kettle to save walking all the way to the sink.

Richard rich.ms

davidcole

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#1857333 2-Sep-2017 19:40

We've gone whole house. Don't just not want to drink it, but would rather not shower in it or fill coffee machine/washing machine with it.

About $500 for the unit, huge - 2x700mm filters one carbong, one for sediment etc. probably about the same for install.

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Bung

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#1857444 3-Sep-2017 08:31

What about running costs? We have a 10" carbon filter on the kitchen sink and to be honest now that the local council have improved their chlorine dosing tech I'm thinking of leaving the cartridge out. $35-$50 every 6 months if changed as recommended. I've seen figures for 1 700mm cartridge that rated it for 40,000 litres, about 3 months for many households.

neb

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#1857731 3-Sep-2017 21:06

Dulouz:
Our town water supply has recently become chlorinated and is very noticeable. I'm looking to install an under the bench solution for drinking water in the kitchen. Will this remove the chlorine?

The research I've done indicates that the available filters will remove some chlorine but not all. Any suggestions are most welcome.

Carbon filters will remove it no problem. Not much difference between then AFAICT, I just got one that was a reasonable tradeoff between cheap and flimsy. That's the thing to look out for, the long thin tap/faucet thing that sticks out over the sink bench is very easy to bump while doing dishes or other things, so you want a fairly robust one.

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neb

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#1857732 3-Sep-2017 21:08

Bung: What about running costs? We have a 10" carbon filter on the kitchen sink and to be honest now that the local council have improved their chlorine dosing tech I'm thinking of leaving the cartridge out. $35-$50 every 6 months if changed as recommended. I've seen figures for 1 700mm cartridge that rated it for 40,000 litres, about 3 months for many households.

I've run mine for 4-5 years, until I can taste that it's no longer removing the chlorine. No way you'd want to swap them out every six months unless you own shares in the manufacturing company.

Aredwood

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#1857782 3-Sep-2017 23:20

Lots of the filter companies recommend changing them every 6 months. And the filters often have a rating of the total amount of water that they can filter. I have seen filters on some poorly maintained tank systems that have a ridiculously large amount of sludge on them after 6 months. Owners say they notice far better water pressure when the new cartridges go in.

Microlene (Davy water) make an underbench filter that is rated to last for 3 years. It is an activated carbon and KDF type filter.

The important thing for any carbon filter is lower flow rates mean better filtration quality.

neb

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#1857783 3-Sep-2017 23:23

Aredwood:
Microlene (Davy water) make an underbench filter that is rated to last for 3 years. It is an activated carbon and KDF type filter.

That's what I have, it lasted about five years. I don't run much water through it though, maybe 5L a week.

Aredwood

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#1857792 4-Sep-2017 00:03

Same on my house, And I install them in alot of customers houses. I still make sure it gets replaced every 3 years though. Still a small cost compared to buying bottled water.

And I personally think that filtered rainwater tastes way better than bottled mineral water anyway.

kryptonjohn

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#1857863 4-Sep-2017 09:13

This surprised me - I expected from my vague recollection of high school chemistry that carbon would only remove particles from water, not a dissolved compound. According to wiki, chlorine in water converts to Cl2, HOCl and HCl... I thought these molecules would be far too small to be captured in a particulate filter. How does it work?

kryptonjohn

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#1857879 4-Sep-2017 09:32

I eventually found a reasonable sounding answer to this - carbon can't conventionally filter out chlorine as chlorine in molecules is small enough to pass through. However it can absorb it as the chlorine attaches itself to the surface of the carbon. It sticks to it rather than being caught in it.

1101

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#1857918 4-Sep-2017 09:58

When turning on the tap, consider the first few seconds of water as unusable as that may have a buildup of chlorine , so just run the tap
a few secs first.
Easiest & cheapest is to fill up a jug of water, Leave on the bench & much of the chlorine will evaporate away (supposedly)
I used to have a water distiller: it doesnt really remove chlorine(carbon filter also needed) and takes a very long time to distill . It hasnt been used for years now

Carbon removes chlorine, it wont remove other some other nasties , so you need carbon + ion exchange filters . Then something to remove
the sodium from water that the ion-exchange puts in .
Then we put the nice water in a plastic water bottle & get other chemicals leaching in. You cant win :-)
Or we have a shower & breathe it all in away , or go swim in a pool/sit in a hot tub full of the stuff.

No need to get to anal about this, we are exposed to so many chemicals in the home & work regardless.

kryptonjohn

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#1857932 4-Sep-2017 10:05

Heh, yeah. But town water supplies to vary a lot. Personally I have no problem at all with Auckland tap water but some towns have ground water that tastes bad to me.

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