A perhaps silly under counter water filter question

16 years ago

We are considering putting in an under counter water filtration system. My question isnÂt so much in regard to the brand or type of unit itself, but about how the water dispenses. If my information gathering is correct, the water from this unit would not be dispensed out of my regular faucet, but rather out of a smaller faucet that would be installed separately, such as this one:

Is that correct?

If I am right, can any of you who have them tell me how you are liking it? Does the small extra faucet ever get in the way? Does the water come out in a trickle so that you have to stand there for a long time just to fill one glass--this is what I hate about my current water filter that came inside my refrigerator. I find I donÂt use this filter as much as I should because it is so slooooooow. IÂm also concerned that adding the extra faucet will make the space seem to cluttered with my main faucet, soap dispenser, etc.

Also, if you have a small filter faucet that you like, please recommend your brand, type. We are considering the Grohe ladylux cafe for the main faucet, and it would be nice if they looked good together.

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Comments (12)

craig00
16 years ago
g&g, your assumptions are correct. We have used one for years and will keep it with our upcoming renovation. What we've found is that the dispenser with the plastic "tab" is a PITA. This is the unit most people use. The problem is that gunk gets under the tab and it won't stay in place when you lift it so that it remains in the "on" position. It dispenses water faster than a trickle but far slower than a regular faucet as the opening is pretty small.

We're going to replace it with something similar to what you've pictured. We're hoping the larger faucet will dispense water more quickly.
Buehl
16 years ago
Greenandgold, Is that the cold water faucet that you're picturing? What is it's brand/name?

TIA!
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I'll give you some tips because I'm on NYC water as well. And let me tell you we are blessed. NYC water isn't even filtered from upstate! (well now it is because of a DEP law suit... but it didn't have to be until this year). It's extremely low in mineral content (soft), and IMHO the best water short of the North West... You'll want at least 2 stages, because sediment does end up getting in the pipes, a 5 micron sediment, and then a 5 micron carbon block would do just fine. I have a 2 stage from the filterguys.biz but I wanted a seperate water filter. You can filter your cold water entirely, but you can never filter hot, so in a mixed faucet (hot + cold) you sometimes aren't totally sure you're getting filtered... I mean turn it all the way to cold and it's probably fine, but I'd just rather be sure, no mixing etc... You can just go to home depot and get a standard sized filter "10" that has 3/8" compression fittings, or adapters... just take a filter out of the box and go to the fittings aisle and have at it... You do NOT want to filter Fluoride, there's a reason they put it in the water. RO (Reverse Osmosis) is also bad for you, it doesn't have enough minerals; plus NYC water is so soft it's almost like RO. Actually Brita filters DO filter Fluoride, which is bad. This is because they do ionic filtering. Simply it uses electron sucking technology... more reactive minerals "stick" to these filter media, and less reactive don't... If you break a used brita filter open you will see both carbon particles and round spherical plastic beads, those are the anionic/cationic (positive/negative minerals) filter materials. Anything with those little plastic beads will take good things like fluoride and calcium out of the water. I'm sure there are people willing to debate to death the benefits of fluoride etc... but tap water is monitored for bad things closer than any bottled water, and the only thing you should worry about is the chlorine taste and sediment that's made it into the water supply since it left the huge upstate reserves.
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greenandgold
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you!

Buehl: The faucet is a Kohler model #K6666FCP "Wellspring" I just pulled a random picture off of faucets.com, so I can't really add anything about it. I assume it is just for cold filtered water and doesn't have a hot option.

Craig00: Can you explain what you mean by "plastic tab?" I'm having trouble picturing what that is. Maybe you could link to a picture if it's not too much trouble?! Thanks!
lynninnewmexico
16 years ago
We've had water filtration systems under our counters for the past 15 years, as we're on a small community well here in the NM mountains. Got to have one here! With our new reno, we put in Kohler faucets: the Vinatta and the Wellspring for our filtered drinking water. No, the filtered water does not come out in a trickle and the extra faucet doesn't get in our way. We're used to having two faucets. The last DW faucet was cheaper than our new Kohler Wellspring and I can tell a huge difference. The old one rocked back and forth, it wasn't sturdy and the water dribbled out much more slowly. The Wellspring is solidly built and we are very impressed with it.
Here's my two Kohler faucets;
{{!gwi}}
arc1017
16 years ago
Most faucet companies make a companion water tap for the filtration system to match your faucet. Everpure's system came with a flimsy-seeming one, but we never used it b/c we bought the Rohl matching dispenser. Works great!
jayav
16 years ago
I am going to use one which does not need a separate faucet...I want to be able to get filtered water in the regular one. I will have a separate faucet for insta-hot.

The link below will take you to what I am getting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aqua-Pure AP Easy Cyst-FF Full Flow Water System
Buehl
16 years ago
Thanks Greenandgold and Lynne...I also will have the Kohler Vinnata on my main sink and the Wellspring looks like it matches quite well if we do indeed get a water filter! Thanks for the pic Lynne!
craig00
16 years ago
"Tab" was probably the wrong word. Plastic lever:

http://www.h2ofilter.net/wdf-103-b.asp
rgillman
16 years ago
We ordered the Doulton system because it came with a lovely choice of faucets included in the price. Also, this particular Regent filter has a high capacity and the water flow is supposedly (it's not installed yet) more than twice as fast as the normal trickle. This one is meant for offices with 5-50 peole. We are a home with 2 people but I couldn't stand the slow flow of our previous system. This was only $50 more than the normal household flow one. We'll see.

Here is a link that might be useful: Doulton filters
greenandgold
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you raynag and jayav for the links. I'll research both of those. I love the idea of a unit that does not need an additional faucet, but I know I'll kick myself if that means the main faucet has very slow flow. Maybe I can find some reviews about flow for that one.

Raynag, if I may ask, what brand was your previous system that did have slow flow, so that I can avoid it!

Craig00--that makes total sense. I had seen those and they did look really flimsy.
plm999
16 years ago
Has anyone tried the Kohler Carafe faucet? It has a filtered water tap on the same faucet as the single lever hot and cold water. I really like the idea of only one tap for all three water sources. I'm considering this for my bar sink.

At the price they're charging (not cheap by any means), can I assume that Kohler faucet are pretty good quality? I guess this Carafe model is pretty new, as I can find where anyone has reviewed it.

Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohler Carafe URL
kookoo2
16 years ago
In our prep sink, we have a multi-pure filter, and the "contemporary" version of the Wellspring by Kohler (shown in photo). It is indeed plumbed to cold only. The water comes out at a good rate, not a trickle. LOVE it.

Here is a link that might be useful:

A perhaps silly under counter water filter question

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