Customer Reviews

Watts Premier 560043 Water Filtration Booster Pump Kit

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I realize not everyone out there owns an RO (reverse osmosis) system and perhaps even fewer have one connected to their refrigerator. But if you do, you may want to consider this...

We've owned an RO system since 1994, in fact we still have it. During that time we connected it to our old Maytag refrigerator's ice maker and water dispenser. Neither worked reliably or well. When the ice maker wasn't literally shooting ice cubes horizontally out the cup, it would continually freeze and malfunction (as ice makers do). I learned some valuable lessons from this appliance, one was the value of extended service plans. It was the only appliance we ever purchased with an extended warranty and recovered our warranty cost (several times over) due to abnormally high frequency of repairs... it was that horrible.

That's why after both doors eventually "bowed" out so bad (side by side) you couldn't close them without an abnormal degree of effort we knew it was getting close. Years of picking insulation out of the freezer vents, thermostat and numerous electrical components failures... we endured it all. Did I mention how excruciatingly slow water would "dribble" out through the door's dispenser?

Ultimately the compressor /condenser finally succumbed and performed a terminally slow and lingering death spiral last November. The internal temps were more appropriate for a toxic petri dish culture than cold air appliance. I can't say my wife and I were heartbroken (except for the loss of +$200 in groceries).

The only redeeming value we derived from the contentious parade of service technicians was the opportunity to pick their brains. Time after time, each confirmed the same information regarding why the door mounted water dispenser was so agonizingly slow delivering water. It was primarily due to the reduced pressure from the RO system.

According to the techs it was a double edge sword. Having an RO system did provide a cleaner (no minerals) source of water but the low water pressure was responsible for creating "ice dams" located within the ice maker H2O feeder line. The internal ice-maker switch that regulates water flow would not consistently engage due to insufficient water pressure. Inevitably the water line (necessary for ice making) would fail to fully purge itself and froze-up and disabled the ice-maker, again and again and again.

After recently replacing our "Maycrap" refrigerator with a Samsung (I know, not everyone loves Samsung either), I contacted the company and checked if this was a known condition with their units. According to Samsung, they do recommend if you connect an RO system to one of their refrigerators you should install a water booster pump. So I did my research and found this Premier model (coincidentally the same manufacturer as our RO system) and ordered it through Amazon (actually priced less than through Premier's website).

Since I installed it the same time we received the new Samsung I can't definitively state how much improved it is with the booster pump. But compared with the previous Maytag, water delivery is measurably quicker. I realize it may be too soon to report but even after almost 2 months we haven't experienced any ice issues and water flow is never a problem. While I'm unable to state unequivocally this pump is making all the difference but I do feel confident it is helping prevent any recurrence of similar issues... so far, so good.

If you've ever replaced your RO system filters, have experience with basic tools (semi-skilled with home repairs) you can easily install this. If not, it shouldn't cost much to have someone do it, I was able to install ours in about 30 minutes. After you depressurize the RO system (same as during a filter change); mount the pump vertically to any wall (under the sink); splice into one RO water line; re-pressurize the system; plug the pump into a standard 120VAC outlet (typically available under most sinks for dishwashers and disposals) and your good to go.

As for the pump, it operates automatically (on-demand) and is exceptionally quiet, we never notice it working. Don't know if this would have made much difference with the old Maytag but I am glad we have it now...

Pump was easy to install, comes with the poly hose quick connects in place and two pieces of poly hose. Mine had the instructions - took 5 min to hook up. My dissolved solids went from 25ppm down to 6 and the product water has increased in volume by quite a bit.

I am happy with that pump, the only problem was that there was no istructions. But i called a customer service and spoke with a live person with any waiting so thats a plus.
also instruction you can find here:
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