On the topic of failures, broken, and poorly designed stuff. I’ve had a PUR faucet mount filter for about 15 days under a year and it’s literally sprung a leak:
I’ve been watching with intrigue as it had more an more stress fractures over time. I’m betting the pressure pulsations combined with the mix of plastics (white and the clear for the window) allowed some points of stress concentration along the window which led to the cracks propogating around the filter and ultimately a broken PUR water filter. I was half hoping for a spectacular failure one of these days, but the filter has finally sprung a leak that sprays about 8 feet across my apartment. I’m moving in a week or so and I’ll just buy a new one (which is conveniently cheaper than buying a new filter. . . what a scam).
UPDATE:
I’ve purchased a OmniFilter F1 Series A Faucet Filter hoping it would work better/as well as the PUR filter. This filter has a different designed filter housing (transparent and a single piece), and the filters are much much cheaper. These filters are available at Menards or Farm and Fleet (large hardware stores) along side the PUR and Brita filters.
Well, I purchased the filter on sale for ~$8 and hooked it up. . . and water just sprays everywhere. Right out of the box.
As you can see above, the filter leaks out of the knob, out of a small hole on the bottom where the housing halves meet and a dribble of water comes out of the actual water output.
So I e-mailed OmniFilter (I like to call companies, but sometimes I don’t have time and in this case there wasn’t much at stake) on June 30th and was replied back to on July 9th. Sure it’s fourth of July weekend/week but I can’t imagine that OmniFilter’s e-mail traffic is high enough to take over a week to get back to me.
It sounds like you have a defective filter. You can take it back to the place of purchase & exchange it out or warranty it though us. I would need a copy of the receipt along with your name, address & telephone number. You can fax the information to me at 866-227-6218. Once it is received we would replace it out for you.
No chance I’m going to be fighting the fax machine at work to get my $8 back, I’ll just try to swap it next time I’m at Menards and I’ll post if I have any better luck next time.
To OmniFilter’s credit, I have their much larger whole house filter on a project and it runs great, no leaks, filters are cheap and work great, hopefully this was an exception to their faucet filters 🙂
SECOND UPDATE:
I’ve exchanged my original bad OmniFilter for another. This one didn’t leak out the bottom, but instead had the filter shatter when water was ***slowly*** turned on for the first time. When I realized it broke I pulled the filter out and there was a chunk of o-ring in it that likely came from inside the filter. I’m going to pull it apart and post some pictures since my local Menards will no longer be stocking them (this was the last one and they’re marked down to $5).
FINAL UPDATE:
I carefully disassembled the filter, you can check out the results here. It basically comes down to the o-ring seats aren’t deep enough to let the o-rings properly sit in the filter – JUNK 🙁
Next up for consideration, I thought I’d try again this time with a Dupont “Premier Faucet Mount” Filter model number WF-FM100XW.
Dupont Faucet Mount Filter Box
Dupont Faucet Mount Filter - Includes free roll of teflon tape!
Initially this filter seemed promising, it included a 4 Phase filter (most are 2 or 3, likely means they added an extra layer of plastic mesh and called it a filter). The cool thing was a good design! They housed the filter as it’s own case inside the outer top screw on cover:
Dupont Faucet Mount Filter - Cartridge takes pressure inside housing
So I shouldn’t have the same failure as I did on the Pur filter where the housing fell apart. Unfortunately on hooking this filter up the sink flow rate was sooo low it was unbearable, I expect the filtered water output to be slow, but the restriction from the filter on the sink was too much. It would take several minutes to fill a pitcher of water, let alone fill the sink to do dishes in with unfiltered water. Ultimately this filter was removed and set aside. I pulled it apart but can’t see any obvious restrictions, try at your own risk!
I cut open the Dupont filter and I call BULLSHIT on their “quadruple filter”, have a look:
Dupont Faucet Filter Chucked into the Lathe
On cutting it open we find. . .
Giant Single-wall Carbon Filter
That’s right, the water goes in the middle and out the outside through the carbon cylinder, no magic and no “quadruple filter” to be found. False advertising?
No Dupont Magic to be found in the Bottom
I’m on my fifth PUR faucet mounted filter over about 3 years, partly because I bought a bulk quantity of the expensive filters with the first one. The first two were the more expensive with the side knob that switches from faucet to filter. Both started springing leaks before the first filter replacement. I then tried the simpler less expensive model FM 3400. This one behaved just like that in the Meyer photo – same timing as well. I called PUR (Proctor and Gamble) and they spoke of a temporary quality control issue, but that the offending units were now out of inventories. They sent me a coupon for a replacement. I was able to acquire 2 3400’s about $25 each versus one with the knob (about $50). The first 3400 (installed Nov 08) has just developed a crack from which water sprays about 6 feet to the left. I called PUR again, they have another coupon on the way. Its rediculous that a chronic problem like this hasn’t been resolved by Proctor and Gamble. One would think they’d be concerned about class-action issues. I asked whether one should be concerned about ingesting plastics chemistry since the outer shells seem to be dissolving as a part of (or resulting in) developing hair-line cracks and pin holes… The rep said she would make a note. For now, P and G seems satisfied to ignore the fundamental problem (must be millions) and to send replacement coupons!
I also have gotten replacement coupons, I got the most expensive filter (stainless with a fixed filter, just a knob on the side. I’ve had that one now fail with it leaking around the knob and at the section where the filter housing comes together.
I’ve now given up on PUR filters and instead am trying a locally made brand that normally does whole house filters. I picked it up at Farm and Fleet (Menards also sells them, look in the plumbing section for whole house filter units, they also have no-name faucet filters too). The filters are about $2 each (which reflects the cost of the materials that go into them, not the $16 marked up price on these things). Good Luck, you’ve inspired me to call them an complain about my replacement filter that also failed, I’ll take pictures of that one and post those as well!
I have gone through 5 or 6 of these filters the past 2 years.
They work fine at first, but 60-90 days later they begin to leak and spray at the pivot point.
I have been returning them to the store replacements.
One of them actually lasted beyond the 90 day warranty, so I bought a new one and used that receipt and packaging to return the old filter for a cash refund.
I don’t feel I am doing anything wrong. If PUR would make a more durable product I wouldn’t have to resort to this practice.
Besides, we also bought a large box of replacement cartridges when we bought the first one and want to use them up.
What is your water pressure? I’d be interested in seeing the inside of your cracked filter housing. Did you have a practice of swiveling the filter on and off with the faucet at maximum flow? That would probably add a lot of stress to the filter assembly.
My PUR aerator self destructed after 1 year of service. There was a threaded PVC collar that fit around the aerator assembly (for the unfiltered water). It cracked in half, releasing a bonus stream of water. Attaching the original chrome threaded aerator (an item in every American kitchen and hardware store) fixed the problem immediately. Couldn’t they save money by not including their low-quality aerator? Add one more instruction that says, “screw your aerator back in place right here.”
The filter assembly is a great design. I wouldn’t have bought it if I didn’t see its value. However, if I worked at P&G, I’d identify these deficiencies:
1) You don’t want the filter to be attached to the hot water line (bad defensive design).
2) The swivel valve can subject the filter cartridge/housing to quick pressure changes.
3) The filter’s positioning on top of the kitchen faucet takes up valuable kitchen real estate. The filter housing is something of a 50-70 PSI pressure vessel that makes a great target for dishes and pots and pans to clank into.
4) The faucet assembly is sold under a razor blade model. It needs to last a handful of filter lives before failure to ensure profitability. Regular kitchen fixtures usually cost $100 and up and are installed by a plumber or a homeowner who knows some plumbing. It’s an inevitability that soccer moms will be upset when they see that their PUR filters cannot hold up the way their designer Kohler fixtures do.
Simple solution:
1) Sweat a cold water line up from under the sink to about eye level against the backsplash area. Include a ball valve for control and a union for easy access.
2) Buy a filter housing with no moving parts. Find good filters.
3) Enjoy.
Scott –
I agree that water pressure surges when the filter is rotate are likely to blame for why the plastic PUR filters fail over time. The inside of the filter was just spider webbed like the outside.
With regard to water pressure, I’m a student and have moved to 3 different houses in the last 3 years, so I’m not sure what the pressure is, the plastic PUR filter failed on the 2nd floor of an apartment complex. The replacement metal one started bleeding water out all of the seams in the next house I lived in. Finally, I’ve had 2 Omnifilters die and Menards appears to be closing them out so I won’t have a chance to try another. The first one is pictured in the post, the second one had the filter shatter when pressure was applied to it.
I’d love to sweat in a filter under sink and just plumb it up to the faucet but I can’t in rental properties. You’re absolutely right that it’s the only way to assure good performance out of these filters.
I am curious, where do you find filtration systems like this? The only ones I have seen around are the Brita brands.
The other brands of filters are typically at Menards, Home Depot, True Value, Ace Hardware (all hardware/building materials) stores, the Brita brand has been merchandised into the big box chain stores like Walmart more successfully so you see their brand much more often.
I bought the Aquasana 4000 filter system. I found this type of drinking water filter far superior to any others. Check out the comparrison chart on the website http://www.bestfaucetfilter.com.I have owned mine now for over 3 years and all i do is replace the filters. Why buy a cheap tap filter that doesn’t remove contaminants?
Yeah! Pur is bad, they fall apart, so does britta I did finally buy DUPONT WF-FM100, the mechanism seems better with the water pressure inside the filter instead of outside as said above, but also i cut one of their FM100 filters open and also found not 2, not 3, not 4 but only ONE carbon filter as well (again as said above). BUT the good news is that it may be alot easier to CLEAN and resuse the filter than we think: What if we “backwash” the long used filter with Hydrogen peroxide (harmless in low quantities to humans), then clean again forward washing with clean water to remove any residual HPeroxide? In other words you can unscrew the housing as if you are replacing the filter, then by trial and error you will realize that the intake is the outer nozzle on the filter, so just force water (or HPeroxide) in thru the center nozzle to backwash the contaminates (mostly minerals i would think) out the other nozzle, then reassemble and run for 5 minutes to make sure its clean enough again. SO NOW you have a working system again that is still uncut, undamaged, and should output water at a higher rate than it was (more like it was like new). I may try this next time the filter gets too clogged up to get a descent flow (its pretty slow even when new but liveable for drinking water which is all we want).
DOES ANYONE KNOW OF ANY FAUCET MOUNTED CHEAP SYSTEMS THAT WORK RIGHT AND HAVE THE CHEAP REPLACEMENT FILTERS TOO?
Well we’ve been using the dupont filters for about 2 years now. They last longer than the other brands. And make our nasty tasting city water actually enjoyable. They’re cheaper too. Our daughter gave us her pur when ours sprung a leak (about every 6 mos) she said it only needed a filter $17!!! Right next to it dupont faucet mount filter with 100 gal filter $18. It may only be one stage of dupont magic – but it works.
The new PUR filters as of Oct 2010 are redesigned, and do not develop stress cracks due to new material resins. I agree the old ones lasted 12 months at best.
Looks like you have bad luck with filters… maybe you should just drink the tap water and hope you don’t grow extra limbs 🙂
It’s now May 2011 and PUR still has the same problem. I’m on a well with about 40-50psi and didn’t make it through one filter before it sprung a leak out the small, clear window. I bought a set of 3 filters thinking it was only a stopped up filter. WRONG!! it leaked with the new filter. I guess I’ll drink my well water. The water taste is great but I hope the extra limb I’m gonna grow will come in handy:)