PUR 18 Cup Dispenser with One Pitcher Filter DS-1800Z
by PUR
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of PUR 18 Cup Dispenser with One Pitcher Filter DS-1800Z
Customer Review: Better than bottled . . . and on your budget!
Summary: 4 Stars
My main reason was to stop buying bottled water for work & workouts. Using the Excel spreadsheet, I was surprised how fast I was going through money at work for just bottled water.
I now take empty Gatorade bottles, the mid-sized ones, freeze half overnight and in the morning, pour fresh cold PUR water on top of that. Now, I'm saving much money, that I can afford to treat myself to a bottle of Gatorade or just put that in the bank.
The water filters very, very slowly if the dispenser is totally empty. I have that large gallon container. I discovered if you have some water in it, it doesn't seem to take as long to fill. But I fixed that also. I bought a PUR pitcher, so I can filter new water if I'm pressed for time. The pitchers seem to filter the water faster. If you do it when you first wake up, it's ready for the amount of water you need.
These filters don't do all the work, I still think they can improve on these filters and make them better, faster, & make them remove even more stuff. But for now, these aren't half bad & much cheaper on the wallet. I always carry water, half frozen because it stays cold longer & I know how long I can carry water around with me. Some days, it actually saved my life! Other days, I didn't have a $1 to spend on water.
I clean it out once a week with hot water & mild soap. I noticed the charcoal bits come out in the upper half of the tank & sometimes end up in the base. You might even get some bits in your glass. Pour the water in the back half, not near the front where the filter is. ALWAYS soak the filter for an 1 hour or more before putting it in the tank. This way the charcoal bits will adapt better.
But definitely invest in the large dispenser because if you drink water the way you're supposed to, you'll need this large dispenser . . . which is how I ended up buying this dispenser in the first place!! LOL!!
Customer Review: Brita is better but it is also not better.
Summary: 4 Stars
So I had gotten this and the equivalent Brita one for my workplace as a Christmas gift. They each had different pros and cons.
Pro:
1) Consumer reports said this filtered slightly better than Brita, but only marginally so. This also means it clogs marginally faster too. However the real benefit is you do not see the charcoal backwash you generally see with the Brita. Again this makes no effect difference but is more aesthetically pleasing.
2) The dispenser can be almost completely drained from the spigot while on a flat surface. This is again more of an aesthetics issue, but it makes me happy.
Cons:
1) As of this date I cannot find a program to get the filters recycled. Brita has one, but PUR does not
2) Unit is too tall. This makes it harder to fit on a fridge shelf or gives you less options on which shelf to put it on. Unfortunately this is because its filters are taller which also what makes them filter slightly beter (2stage)
3) Water filters slowly. Much slower than with Brita.
3) No access point means the whole top has to be removed in order to fill. Brita has a small access point that can be removed which is nice since the whole tops are so large.
Overall the filter recycling really tips it in Britas favor. Most of the differences are aesthetic and have ups and downs. The lack of filter recycling really kills Pur on this. Although my perfect filter would be a combo of the two. Theoretically that would be a filter unit that would fit easily in the fridge, be easy to access for refills, would filter the water fast, would completely drain on a level surface, and have some small spongey material or something to keep the carbon backwash problem from arising. Oh well, for now go with the Brita as it is also cheaper.
Customer Review: Made a big difference with my water.
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my first PUR product and it's been a good first impression so far. I've been using Brita faucet filters for some time until I moved to my new apartment which has some faucet issues. Along with the faucet issues, the water is even worse than in the area that I previously lived in. Bad taste, occasionally cloudy, and bad smell. I was getting tired of constantly purchasing bottled water as well. After reading a few reviews here on Amazon and some additional research, I settled on getting the PUR Dispenser over the Brita. After one month of use so far I am quite satisfied with my decision (I bought one as a gift for my mother). I didn't purchase it on Amazon, though Amazon led me to Target, where I picked it up locally (on sale!).
The filter works reasonably fast, I would say it fills the bottom half of the dispenser in about an hour. Note that the PUR filters are 2-Stage versus the single stage filters from Brita. The filtered water is crystal clear, has NO smell, and tastes like water should taste. I find that there are no leaks from the spout, the parts fit precisely and the size is more than manageable.
The reason I gave it 4 stars out of 5 is due to design. The bottom reservoir is designed to be completely level, therefore you will have some water sitting at the very bottom of the reservoir that can't be 'dispensed' without tilting the unit. This so far hasn't become an issue (no slime/mildew).
I highly recommend this product. The quality of the filtered water itself deserves 5 stars.
Customer Review: Works well, but a couple design flaws that could affect you
Summary: 4 Stars
First off, the filter seems to work well and do what it should. Our tap water is a bit metallic tasting. After passing it thru this system it comes out tasting clean and fresh. The unit fits nicely on a refrigerator shelf, and comes out nice and cold.
There are a couple design issues to be aware of which may be an issue for you (they are for us):
1. The dispenser handle is designed to pull out to let water flow. However when you push it in it also drips a little. The problem is that if your refrigerator has door shelves (like for jars et al), it can push on the handle and overnight the whole container will drain out (filling veggie drawers and pouring out onto the floor when you open it). You just have to remember to turn the dispenser to the side and so the handle doesn't make contact and its not a problem. But its easy to forget and visitors don't know. It probably depends on whether your shelf depth happens to match the dispenser depth -- ours does (sub zero type).
2. We drink a lot of water, and I wind up having to fill this up pretty often, which is a bit of a pain. Also, the water takes a while to chill. That's fine overnight, but if you have to fill it mid day you'll have tap water temperature water. I'll probably either buy a 2nd one, or get an under sink type and just fill up several pitchers.
Customer Review: One of my Top purchases
Summary: 4 Stars
Being an cross country runner, I used to be one of those people who used hundreds of bottles of water to quench my thirst. I have previous tried a Brita pitcher and a Brita facet mount. Neither of which was happy with.
I then gave this Pur filter a try... IT IS AMAZING
I can not tell you how much money I have saved over the past 3 years using this! I believe I have used 5 filters total compared to literally hundreds of bottles of water. (Not to mention the environmental concern from all these bottles)
Pro's
1. Water does taste noticeable better
2. Holds an enormous amount of Water
3. Filters although expensive, are cheap when compared to the amount of money one would pay for the amount of bottles equivalent
There are a few
Con's
1. Filter rate does slow over time (however I do continue using the filter untill the dot moves all the way to the replace side)
2. Takes up allot of space in fridge
Overall this was an excellent investment, not only for me, but also for my wallet and the environment. And i can tell this thing really does filter particles out. When I moved to college the water quality must have been much worse, and as a result I now tend to replace the filter once more a year than before.