Culligan US 3 EZ-Change Under-Sink Drinking Water Filtration System with Dedicated Faucet and Filter, Chrome

UPDATE Sep 2019:It's been more than a year using the SAME CARTRIDGE. Our water processing plant is currently having issues with the quality of water and its coming out of the pipes very dirty. Using just the BASIC cartridge, the water comes out crystal clear, drinkable. This baby is amazing. Still no leaks whatsoever. Buying another replacement cartridge now just in case.Oh, the nut that tightens the unit to the sink broke because its plastic. Just buy a steel nut and problem solved. Should cost you like 3 dollars.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ORIGINAL REVIEW:After reading the reviews on this, I was skeptical. Some people said that the filter was not of enough quality or that it would not filter the necessary impurities. I considered that we live in a metropolitan area where the city water is just about decent. So we went with the basic filter option. Also, a reverse osmosis system is very expensive and wastes a ton of water (about 3 gallons of waste per 1 gallon of drinkable water).I have to say the results are amazing, even with the Basic filter:- No solids or visible impurities in the water. This means no "floaties" or "flakes" which is the way people refer to the calcium, manganese or magnesium precipitates that can be seen in cold or room-temp water. Although these precipitates are harmless (they in fact occur naturally in other foods we eat), they taste funky and look rather discouraging to drink. This filter took out all of that.- The taste of the water is great. Even at room-temp, the water is easy to drink and delicious.- the water pressure is quite nice with the basic filter. (see pictures)As for the installation, just follow the instructions and a few Pro-tips:PRO TIP: The mark included in the white silicone tube is 5/8 inch long. When you cut the tube to your liking, go ahead and mark the other side so you'll have no trouble fitting it to the right depth.PRO TIP: If you need to drill the extra hole in your sink. It will require the 9/16 bit. I tried the 5/8 hole as mentioned in the instruction, but the white tube does not fit. Use these to drill the hole:- TEMO M35 cobalt 9 size double flute step drill 3/8" shank 1/4" to 3/4"- CRC 03400 16oz Truetap Cutting Fluid Heavy Duty- Starrett 117C Center Punch With Round Shank, 4" Length, 1/8" Tapered Point DiameterYou can check out my reviews on these 3 tools as well, for more details on how to use each for this application.PRO TIP: DO USE plumber's tape (the white one) on all male fittings. This will ensure no leakage.PRO TIP: when i first turned on the water, nothing came out. This was because the filter needed to click TWICE when tightening it in. Just make sure its nice and tight.Installation observations:- No leaks whatsoever were observed. A few people have complained about leaks, for us, this was not the case. We did use plumber's tape.- The process was very straightforward. Took us more time to clear out the area under the sink, than it took to install.- We left the filter loose (did not mount with screws) to be able to take it out and replace it easier.

I have installed and used expensive reverse osmosis systems, but the water at my current residence is pretty good, so it only need a little conditioning and this fit the bill. I like the simple single cartridge and the price on the system and replacements cartridges is great.Now the rub; The kit comes with parts to connect to 1/2" water hoses, but many houses have 3/8" supply lines, so you left trying to figure out a way to adapt the system to what you have. If you call Culligan they will tell you to get a compression saddle valve with a 1/4" hose hookup (commonly used for ice makers), but I don't like using those, especially since they install before your water valve, so if you have a leak, you have to turn off the water to your house to repair. You can also buy adapters, different hoses and spend more on getting it to fit that the system cost. Here is the right way to do it:Buy a Proline 993-015NL brass supply line. These are a "T" that are designed to add another line and they include a male and female 3/8" connector (faucet goes on one side, water valve on the other) and 1/4" outlook to hook your Culligan system to.Buy a Watts A-4 961-P brass compression nut with insert. This will allow you to hook the 1/4 Culligan water supply line into the Proline "T" from above.

Installation is not too bad if you are handy. Of course you must handle plastic parts carefully.I have ONE major note for all - please read -if your tap water contains high Chlorine, this unit will filter that for you, then noticeable there are some white stuff appears in the filter water after you boil the water. I've contacted Culligan guys here is the answer -"What you’re seeing appears to be calcium hardness which presents itself as white flakes or crystals. When water evaporates, the calcium hardness can also have a powdery appearance. Chlorine can mask the presence of calcium hardness in the water, which is why you almost never see it in unfiltered water. The US-EZ-4 removes 97% of chlorine from the water. Not all filter manufacturers make filters that will reduce that much chlorine, which is why other filters might not expose the calcium hardness in the water. A simple test is to boil 4 oz of filtered water from the US-EZ-4 and you see the calcium flakes appear. Then add 4oz of pure vinegar to the 4 oz of water and stir. If the vinegar dissolves the flakes then we will know for sure that there is calcium hardness in the water."So, if you saw white flakes in your boil water, you should now have known the cause.