Customer Reviews

Brita 35034 2-Gallon UltraMax Water Filtration Dispenser

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you can spare a little more room in your fridge I HIGHLY recommend buying this 2-Gallon UltraMax over the pitchers. It lies flat on the shelf and has a easy to use tap. MUCH MUCH better for kids and anyone else who has trouble gracefully lifting 3 quarts of liquid with one hand (read: most everyone). With this design you simply open the door and fill using the tap. With the pitcher models, the tilt and weight tend to be awkward and I think spill or overpour about 30% of the time -- especially in the middle of the night. The Ultra Max hold about 2 1/2 times the water (less refilling) and costs only $3 more.

This change in taste has dramatically changed how much water I drink. Highly recommended. A great gift, especially for those people with the pitcher models.

I upgraded from the 3-quart pitcher to this model and I find I use this one more frequently (no lifting during dispense) and I find it very convenient in terms of how it fits in the fridge (perfectly) and its sheer mass (children can frolic in it during the summer months). But it suffers from three inadequacies: 1) it takes 2-3 fill-ups of the top chamber to fill the unit so you have to come back to it several times over the course of 15 minutes. 2) the cover doesn't snap on so if the top resevoir area still has water in it the chance of you heaving a 2-gallon container into your Frigidaire without spilling any into the crisper is near nil. 3) if there are any dishes in your sink, this won't fit there to fill up so you invariably have to pitcher the water into the top.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy this again and I would highly recommend this over the pitcher, but it seems clear the design could be improved.

On top of holding more water in its main receptacle, the UltraMax holds even more than it seems. With the UltraMax, you can keep the receptacle ON TOP of the filter filled with water as well. This way as you dispense water for drinking, more water filters down into the main receptacle. When you refill, let the water filter down till full, then fill up the top part again. You will find that the unit lasts a very long time bewtween refills. You cannot do this with the pitchers because the water spills out of the top part when you lean them over to pour from them.

I believe I have the Optimax it might be the Ultramax. I find it to be very useful. I just keep a gallon of cold water in the fridge next to the brita and pour it in when it gets low so I always have cold water. You do have to take it out of the fridge to fill it up but it is no bother to me. I drink lots of water so it is very handy to have 2 gallons at my disposal. It can get costly to replace the filters if you drink lots of water. In the end it is better to buy a three pack of filters then to have to drag home a couple of gallons of water.

I bought one of these because I figured it would be easy to dispense all of the water I wanted, and the large size would help me not need to fill the pitcher all the time. I never really had any problems with the product. The water was decently filtered and the dispenser operated smoothly.

The real problem I had with it was how much of a hassle I always found it to fill. The jug dispenser was too large to easily fit in my sink, so I couldn't fill it up that way. So I tried switching to a system of filling it up with consecutive glasses of water, but that was hard to do in the confines of my refrigerator. I would end up taking the whole thing out of the fridge, filling it up with a number of glasses of water then trying to move the dispenser with the top half full back into my fridge without spilling it. This really turned out to be too big of a hassle for me so the darn thing was always empty. I just went back to ye-old-fashioned pitcher and have never been happier.

I have always had a problem with drinking the suggested 8-8oz glasses of water per day. But the Brita dispenser is so simple to use and makes water taste so GOOD that it has encouraged everyone in my house to drink more. I even have a 3-year-old who loves to open the fridge and get herself a cup. A great buy - no problems with the spicket or anything else!

I was a bit skeptical about this water filter. I was concerned that the water would not taste good. I really cannot tell the difference between this water and bottled water. I love the fact that I can refill the container. It eliminates plastic, bottled water waste and I don't have to haul water bottles home from the store. Also, I was concerned that this size container would be heavy once filled with water. It is not. It is very easy to fill and carry into the refrigerator. I highly recommend this product.

I have owned several Brita pitchers and decided that it was time to upgrade to the Ultramax. At first blush, the design seems good--it fits into the fridge well and can be easily filled and moved without spilling. One slight annoyance is that the door on my fridge bumps into the spout and pushes the pitcher back on the shelf a bit, so I have to pull the unit forward an inch or two to use it. A more serious problem is that the unit leaks where the spigot is attached to the container. The rate of leakage is great enough to fill a soup bowl in a few days. I emailed Brita about this and several days later received a response telling me to call their 800 number. The rep. asked me if there were rubber seals around the spigot on both the inside and outside of the pitcher, and I responded that my pitcher has a single seal on the inside. Thr rep. advised me that he would send me a new spigot which would come with one rubber seal, and that I should remove this seal from the new spigot and attach to the old spigot on the the outside of the container, so that I would have two seals instead of one. I asked him if this was a common problem, and if the pitchers now being made have two seals. He claimed he had never heard of such a problem before, which I thought was a little strange b/c he developed the solution so quickly and seemed certain that it would work.

Throughout the years I have used and owned many different versions of the Brita Pitcher Water Dispenser. All of these filtered water containers have been great. The only complaint I have ever had with these filters is size. The Brita Ultramax Water Filter Dispenser was supposed to answer this problem. Unfortunately due to bad design, it introduced a multitude of problems that never existed with past Brita products.

Pro:

Size: This water dispenser can definitely hold a lot of water. (Ironically, this is really a disadvantage; as you will find below.)

Con(s):

Mold: If you do not let this filter dry within a maximum of two days, you will get mold. This mold will probably make you ill (sore throat) (Conversely if you look at it from another point of view - it will strengthen your immune system). To avoid this problem, the water dispenser should be washed every week at very least (to safe you should wash it more often). I have never had this problem with Brita's other products (I have friends who never washed their Brita pitchers for months, and there is not even the slightest sign of mold when they do wash it).

Left Over Water: Due to the faulty design of the product, there will be left over water both above the filter and below it. Besides turning the product upside down, you cannot dispense all of the water. This is just stupid and hints at the lack of quality assurance testing of this product. Not surprisingly, this helps further contribute to mold growth.

Conclusion:

Save your money and buy Brita's other well designed pitchers or even Pure's pitchers. (The key word is pitcher.) You will only waste time and possibly your health with this poorly designed product.

I absolutely love being able to have great chilled water anytime I like, no plastic-tasting icecubes required. I live with two other people, so this size is ideal for our need. Fits very nicely on any refgrigerator shelf.

I only have one major warning about this product. Do NOT put it in the freezer. Seems like common sense, right? We had a party a few weeks ago and to make room for drinks in the frige, my well-intending boyfriend temporarily put this in the freezer, and forgot about it. The change in pressure ruined the seal on the spout, so it leaks now. But I'm going to buy another one, I love it so much!