- STORE REVIEWS
- PRODUCT REVIEWS
5/5
"After getting a quote of approximately $950 for a reverse-osmosis water filter from a local company, I decided to look to see if there was a cheaper alternative. A web search turned up APEC, with filters that seemed to do just as much, if not more, for about 1/3 the cost. I ordered one with a bit of trepidation wondering what the quality would be like.
When the box arrived, I opened it and was immediately impressed by the competent packaging and obvious quality of the components. There is nothing "cheap" about it. The installation instructions are good. I did note a couple of very minor points that could be corrected, and a few details that could be elaborated upon a bit, but all in all they are well done.
You may have to buy some additional fittings. The installation assumes you have a 1/2" pipe feedwater line to your cold faucet. I have 3/8" compression, so I had to come up with my own fittings to make it work. It's my belief that in plumbing it's possible to adapt anything to anything, and a F-M-M compression tee, a connecting hose for an icemaker, a compression to 1/4" pipe adapter, and a 1/4" to 1/8" pipe adapter again proves the point. An easier solution would be a self-piercing saddle for 1/2" copper tubing, but I didn't want to go that route.
Installation, except for having to crawl under the sink, went fairly well. BE CAREFUL to use the proper tubing inserts with the compression fittings (the instructions warn you about this), be sure to push the tubing fully into the quick-connect fittings, and expect leaks anyway. Or maybe you'll be luckier than I was. I hate plumbing, and maybe the plumbing gods conspire against me because of it.
Installation of the faucet was probably the hardest part. I was concerned about drilling the hole, but I bought a top-quality coated 1/2" 135 degree split point screw machine twist drill and had little trouble. I first center punched the hole location with a good whack on a sharp punch and had no problem with getting the hole where I wanted it.
It was almost impossible to reach the nut that holds the faucet in place, but I was just able to. It would have helped to add a stack of washers, or some other spacer, to move the nut down to where it was easier to reach.
I discovered that the compression nuts, advertised as requiring a 1/2" wrench, are actually 13mm.
The claim of "Made in the USA" may be slightly exaggerated--the bottoms of the filter containers say CHINA on them--but certainly most of the parts are made in the USA, it's assembled in the USA, and regardless of where some of the parts may be from, they are all of excellent quality.
It all tucked under the sink with no problem, even though we have a garbage disposal. It's chugging away as I type, filling the storage tank. It's good!"
Detailed Ratings
Pricing of products and services
Likelihood of customers making future purchases
Overall product shipping and delivery process
Overall customer service
Favorite Stores
