For what it's worth, my Insinkerator (with filtered hot/cool) is great. Customer service was great when my GC fried it by not reading the instructions before installing it. And they get hotter than some of the other brands.

If you can't find the manufacturer you want with a filter, you can always just add a filter to the water line before it gets to the tank.

Hi Fori, it is great to hear that you are happy with the insinkerator. I am also considering this brand. The main reason I ask is, I want a particular style hot/cold water faucet (I like this one linked below) and they mention it is not compatible with certain models of hot water appliances. Also, most other brands don't have the hot water filtration, only cold. I'm just concerned that if i do filtration before connecting to the hot water, will it void warranties?

Here is a link that might be useful: hot cold faucet

I'm surprised they don't do hot filtration--the ISE just passes the water through the filter and then splits it off to the cold or the hot tank.

A separate filter really shouldn't affect warranty since it's not actually part of anything, you know?

I picked my dispenser based on the faucet too. :)

Hi Fori, i know, it is so strange that they don't filter the hot water. I would think it would be better since then fewer mineral deposits enter the heater unit. What faucet did you get to go with your insinkerator heater? I would love to see what options are out there for the insinkerator.

I got what they are now calling "Indulge". It was just a number when I bought it. It matched my faucet better than the other options. I wouldn't recommend it unless it has been changed (it probably has been since they've renamed and renumbered it). Solid metal, smooth action, started to not turn itself off, or off at all after the warranty expired. I went to Amazon to see if I should get a new one and learned that replacement parts weren't available because it wasn't supposed to be serviceable. And a bunch of reviews telling you how to fix it yourself. SO I fixed it and it's fine but apparently it was a bad design although their others have good reviews.

Anyway, a different look from the one you have picked out.

I think I read somewhere--maybe on the appliance forum, that the reason they don't filter the water for the hot water is because it sits in a tank to be available as hot water and the filtered water doesn't play nice with the tank and causes the tank to fail over time. I'll search for the info, but it may be next week before I get to it.

They ALL filter the water first before it goes into the hot tank, if that is the set up you wish to have.

It is a good setup.

What one does is to branch off the filtered water line (output line) so that one branch becomes the input line to the hot tank. I hope this makes sense and is not too hard to understand and also not perceived as a putdown in anyway. It's obvious, once someone points it out to you. It's simple. But, if you need any other explanation, go ahead and ask.

Of course I would agree if you asked why this is never mentioned anywhere.

--

The kind of filter known as "RO" may be the kind that is deemed to produce water that gets aggressive with tanks, but it's not "RO water in this discussion of an Insta-Hot and a filter. I haven't seen "RO filters packaged together with Instant Hot water. "RO is Reverse Osmosis.

--

So, the conclusion is that ANY Instant Hot and any filter that uses replaceable filters go well together.

--

to find out a whole lot more, the keywords for a web search are "Anaheim Manufacturing"
or anaheim manufacturing quick and hot
This is the company that makes the tank which twenty other companies rebrand as their own.
They also make faucets.
They sell both, together.
They also have filters.
Hint hint.

--

Email the companies you whose products you like and ask the simple question if you can branch off the filtered water to send one branch into the Hot tank, and if so, whether or not this is better or worse for the tank.

--

Usually, since filtering removes organic gunk, it is considered really good to remove this gunk before letting the water sit in the tank.
So, I would filter water first before putting it into the IHW tank.

Hth.

Hi David,
thanks for the explanation. I do realize that you CAN filter the hot water before it goes in the tank, however, i am wondering why the instructions have the filter only attached to the cold water line? would it be a warranty issue if I don't follow the installation instructions? I guess i will try to contact the manufacturer and see what they say. I will be happy to report back.
From my search for hot water dispensers, it looks like there are 2 leading hot water dispenser manufacturers, anaheim, like you mentioned, and insinkerator. Unfortunately, all the faucet styles that go with the anaheim dispenser are not compatible with the insinkerator. insinkerator looks to be better performance-wise, based on reading through amazon reviews. A lot of amazon reviewers mention the anaheim dispenser leaks (even in the instructions, it is mentioned that it can leak). anyone have firsthand experience with this?

Davidro thanks for the clarification. I made the comment about the "pure" water not playing well with the tank knowing I didn't have complete information and when I was in a hurry. I'm sure it it RO systems that I should have referred to not a regular filter.

Sometimes there are too many choices and too much information to keep in this head of mine.

These systems are not designed to filter water at boiling temps - why is that even a concern of yours???

If your water is bad enough to need filtering AFTER heating then you have serious problems with the tank and heater and the filter is just a band aid.

All tanks can leak and they will not last forever especially if they are fed crappy water. These tanks have no sacrificial anode like your house water heater so the tank itself get to feed the reaction. Filter/ condition the water and replace them every ten years or so like your house heater and they won't leak either. It's always operator error - well most of the time anyway.

Re: the faucets - you can use any faucet with any heater provided your plumber can make a suitable connection. These kits or "packages" are already engineered , tested and have all the parts required to plug and play out of the box. There is no going to the hardware store and engineering a solution on aisle 7. The plumber also doesn't have to worry about whether the faucet has metric sizing or reverse turn threading or ....

Hi antss, the reason i want to have the instahot use filtered water is mainly for taste. I can definitely tell the difference between heated tap water and heated filtered water. Thanks for the advice on maintenance and use of these heaters! Also, I am glad for the assurance that I can use any faucet with any of these heaters. That would be great since i can mix and match best of breeds, so to speak (though the faucets that go with the anaheim filter, explicitly state that they are not compatible with insinkerator, perhaps competitive marketing rather than truth?)

FYI to anyone interested, i just heard back from the anaheim tank manufacturer. They said "The hot water is connected to the cold water line, but it does not void the warranty if you connect a filter to the cold water line."
So it looks like you definitely can filter the water before without any issues to the heater.

monster - sorry I mis-understood you. I thought you wanted to filter the water AFTER it comes out of the heater .

There are several manufacturers that sell kits with filters and heat tanks. Mountain Plumbing , Franke, are two I know of the top of my head.

Re: the ISE and faucet compatibility - I suspect it's a connection issue. The pipe sizes are prob. different if anything. I'm not sure though as we use Franke almost exclusively. It could also be a scare tactic - like the auto companies do. Only use BMW break pads or Toyota transmission fluid or bad things will happen to you ! Yea, Right !

Antss--slight highjack. I'd like to have both hot and chilled water at the sink. Are there any you recommend?

A chiller is one thing, as a unit, sold separately.

An IHW is another thing. Sold separately.

Doesn't the appliance forum have threads about these things?