So I recently had this machine installed by my local plumber. I have to say I am very impressed with this machine. There are some minor drawbacks which I will list here at the end of this review. However, the positives first:
Firstly, the filtration is absolutely perfect. The digital tap tells you with each glass how much it has filtered out (only with cold). I didn't know what TDS was but then I learned that you want it to be as low as possible. The higher the TDS, the more gunk you have in your water. Water straight out of the tap in the UK is usually between 100-300, depending on where you live. This machine takes it down to between 2-4. Pretty impressive! Futhermore, with the hot, it tells you the exact temperature it comes out at. The max you can set it to is 95C. It starts dropping off at about 2L of dispensed water. When the temperature starts dropping off a little red light in the shape of steam appears showing the water needs time to heat up again.
Secondly, the digital tap tells you when the filter is ready to be replaced. With our previous Insinkerator hot tap, you pretty much have to guess, and as they say 6 months, that's when you do it. But a large family compared to a single occupant, this probably varies quite a bit. With this system, there's no more guesswork. The filter button shows blue for good, purple for when to start thinking of changing and red when it's ready to be changed. It's perfect.
Thirdly, the tap swivels. I find this particularly useful. If I need a pan of hot water to cook my veggies in, I can swivel it round to the countertop and let it fill up without having to hold it over the sink as it continuously gets heavier.
Fourthly, the tap runs without having to hold anything down. With my previous system, if you wanted water to come out you had to hold the lever down. This will run and run and run until you press stop. I find this useful if I'm filling a pan as I can use that marginal time for something else. I don't have to stand there for ages as it fills up.
Fifthly, the child lock. This could be perceived as a positive or a negative. If you don't have kids or pets then I would imagine this might be a drawback, but for those who do, it's very handy. The child lock only prohibits the hot button. The cold runs without it. If you want to run the hot you have to hold down the child lock function first. It's really not onerous but it is one more button to press. I personally like this feature as it can't be accidentally pressed and scold you.
Sixthly, this isn't super massive. It's only marginally bigger than the Insinkerator I had before. If you haven't had a filter installed before, be prepared you will lose some shelf space under your sink. My plumber said it took about two hours to uninstall and reinstall this one, so prepare yourself to pay your labourer two hours worth of work.
Now onto the drawbacks:
Firstly, this isn't a tankless system as I thought it was. It's tankless for cold but not for hot. The hot water doesn't continuously boil like the Insinkerator does but it does store hot water in an insulated compartment, a bit like the hot water tanks of old that connected to the boiler and would run out if you drew a big bath or had an especially long shower. Thus, you get approx 2L of hot before the temperature drops off a cliff. The you have to wait about 5 minutes for it to refill and heat up again.
Secondly, this isn't re-mineralised. I think if this system had this feature it would be the best on the market. While it filters out literally everything, it does leave a slight bitter taste. I googled it and learned that this is because pure water turns into a solvent and the CO2 in the air gets absorbed into it making it slightly Carbonic Acid. The way around this I found is literally putting one grain of Celtic Sea Salt per glass. Just one. This re-ads the minerals and the taste difference is quite remarkable with just one grain.
Thirdly, the first 2-3 seconds under the hot is usually cool, and the temperature increases rapidly. When I'm making a cup of tea, I let the first couple of seconds flow out and as soon as I see the temperature reach roughly 90C, I then stick my cup under it. It's not a biggie, but it's worth noting if you want something particularly hot.
Fourthly, you do get a lot of waste water so prepare for your water bills to go up. So this system is a 2:1 ratio of clean water to gunky water. This means for every two cups of tea you make, one cup of water has gone straight down the drain. It's unfortunately the price you pay for good, clean water.
Overall, I would thoroughly recommend. It filters out the most gunk out of any other product on the market, and it's a bargain at just over £500. Sure there are some minor things that could be improved on, but all things considered, I can have confidence that my body isn't being pummelled with an array of toxins on a daily basis.
