Customer Reviews

Watts WP5-50 Premier Five-Stage Manifold Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment System

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

For an aspiring indoor hydroponic vegetable gardener like Your Humble Narrator, a source of clean water is essential. Here in suburban Salt Lake City, we are blessed with some of the dirtiest water in the country. Using this meter: pH-EC-TDS Meter my tap water clocks in with a pH of 8.2-8.4 and TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) reading of 300-350 ppm (parts per million). This review specifically addresses the suitability of the Watts WP5-50 reverse osmosis system to the task of providing a water supply for the home hydroponic gardener.
I've used other filtration devices, like straight carbon filters, and have been disappointed. Yes, they do remove sediment and some contaminants, however the drinking water never genuinely tasted "clean". Moreover, taking the testing meter to this water, and the TDS reading never went below 280 ppm which is unacceptable for hydroponic growing. After doing some research, I concluded that the only option was reverse osmosis.

Package Inspection

Out of the box everything looked okay with the exception of the faucet, which, as other reviewers have noted, is a cheaper version of the displayed product.

Installation

Installation was straightforward. The instructions, while not written by an English professor were sufficient albeit vague in a few critical places. I had the unit installed within two hours.

Waste Water, Output Water Quality and Quantity

My three biggest concerns with this product are output water quality, output water quantity and waste water production. Bear in mind that all of these are dependent upon the quality and pressure of your incoming water supply, which can change from season to season as well as from one time of day to another. Take a certain degree of comfort in knowing that my incoming water is probably worse than yours.

I have not yet connected the waste water tube to the sink's drain. Rather, the waste water tube is currently draining into an 18-gallon bucket so I can take measurements for the purposes of this review. To leave this setup in this manner is a code violation. I suggest that you connect your unit properly.

The amount of waste water this unit produces is staggering. For each gallon of clean water, I produce an additional 6.5 gallons of waste water. I have come to understand that I will experience a similar ratio regardless of the reverse osmosis unit I use. This phenomenon is a consequence of RO technology in general rather than a peculiarity of this particular unit. As I've suggested, the amount of waste water produced is proportional to how contaminated your incoming water supply is.

The output water quality is excellent. TDS (total dissolved solids) are 15-20 ppm, which is ideal for hydroponic growing. Any purer than that brings you into the realm of distilled water, which would need to be supplemented with minerals to be suitable for hydroponic use. Output water quantity is sufficient although disappointing. It produces one gallon in about 90 minutes. Higher water pressure and cleaner incoming water will decrease this time. The storage tank, although it has a physical capacity of three gallons, drains to empty after drawing two gallons. I consider this is a consequence of the technology, not a case of misleading advertising.

Summary

The Watts WP5-50 reverse osmosis water treatment system is well suited to the task of providing contaminant-reduced water for the purposes of hydroponic growing. It produces clean water in sufficient quantity for the purposes of a home hydroponic garden. Insofar as the waste water is concerned, for the time being, I'm leaving the waste tube in that eighteen gallon bucket. I'm using that water for my lawn.

June 20, 2009 - Important Update

Several weeks ago, our city's water changed for the worse. I'm assuming that it's because of a switchover to summertime procedures where water consumption is considerably heavier. Incoming water is now 800-900 ppm of Total Dissolved Solids. The unit's output water quality is 80-100 ppm which is still in the "good" range. It now produces roughly twelve gallons of waste water for each gallon of clean water is generates. The lesson here is that water quality can dramatically change from one season to another, as well as from one time of day to another.

I have one of these that is about 10 years old now and it still works great. Of course I change the filters as recommended. We have a well with sulfur and iron in the water but the water out of this unit is perfect. We use the RO water in our coffee maker and we don't get any scale buildup. I have no problem getting replacement filters as these are standard 10" size. Watts Premier also has a great website and will even remind you when it is time to change the filters.
I just read an article about trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in the water supplies in many states. The article said that normal filtration does not remove the pharmaceuticals, but RO filtration does.

I wasn't looking to buy a new R/O system but couldn't find the filters for our old one so instead of wasting more time searching for them I opted for this entirely new Watts unit. There was a very long delay in shipping and I'd felt the order had been lost but before all hope had evaporated the boxes arrived and I got into the swing of installing everything. Give or take an hour or two, for someone as plumbing challenged as I am, everything was up and producing water. Following the manufacturers advice two tanks were run through before we started using the water and I have to say it works wonderfully and tastes absolutely great. It produces more than enough for our family of six for cooking and drinking and is very well built. Very pleased and will order another for my new house.

The only major problem is that the faucet is cheapo chromed plastic. I bought a nice brushed nickle one at Lowes.

Filter price is nice. $40 on amazon for a 7 filter pack good for one year. They are standard filters too so you don't have to buy Watts replacements. You will have to spend $65 more every 2-5 years for the membrane.

Not too hard to hook up if you don't have to cut a hole in your sink. Lots of connections to make. Make sure you only use teflon tape where the instructions specify it.

Fast water flow. Tank takes hours to fill. Unless you need more than a bucket full within a few hours you wont run out of fast clean water.

Tank is a little shy of 12" x 16". It fits behind the drain pipes of my sink, but I had to remove the bottem of the cabinet (which was warped and water damaged anyway so due for replacement) to get it past the pipes. Would have fit in front, but didn't want to loose the space.

Wattspremier web site has a FAQ if you need more info:

RO wastes water, but I used to waste water by running the water for a bit before filling my glass.

Iron is bad for a RO membrane. You can buy a TDS water tester on ebay for about $20 to monitor how well the membrane is doing.

Water pressure should be 40-85 psi. Pump or pressure relief valve may be required otherwise.

You should sanitize an RO system yearly with a little bleach.

I finished up with my install of the 'Watts Premier WP5-50' RO unit about an hour ago. I replaced a 3 stage rental unit that never seemed to make very much water as it was not maintained very well by the rental company. I am guessing it was a 18 gallon per day unit, they would change a filter once a year and never did sanitize (not hard to do) the unit. A membrane change happened about every three years.

The WP5-50 start up instructions say to flush the tank twice so that is what I am doing as I am typing this. The thing is NSF certified so I am not worried about the initial water quality, I mainly just wanted to state a few things that would be important to anyone considering a purchase.

1. The faucet is a good quality metal chrome air gap type with a plastic on/off lever. The hoses were already connected and mostly cut to size. I did cut about a foot off of the drain connection for a better fit. The faucet matched the quality of my rental unit's faucet. I am happy with that.

2. The faucet made a bit of a hissing noise until I let the system fill a little and drain a few times. I would guess that was just air in the system. The unit is now just making a low gurgling type sound that my rental unit always made, the WP5-50 is actually quieter than my old rental unit. All under sink reverse osmosis (RO) devices will make some type of noise, the air gap faucet (required by many plumbing codes) is a little noisier than a non air gap faucet.

3. The install took about an hour, I did already have a sink cut-out for the faucet as well as one for the drain, that saved some time. The flow restrictor is inside a hose already attached to the manifold. My unit came with a heavy duty filter/manifold wrench and I did verify that I could open all of the filter housings with it. A small roll of Teflon tape (required for installation) was also included.

I wanted to state this because some of the reviews really had me wondering about the WP5. I will post more info later.

Update 1, 15-Jan-10 : The unit appears to make (at my location) about one gallon per hour from an empty tank. I went ahead and ordered a permeate pump from the Watts Premier web site. The pump is supposed to decrease waste water and increase efficiency. A side effect is that it reduces noise. I will let you all know how that works out after I get it installed. I have 100 gallons worth of fresh water aquariums so I intend to give this unit a good work out. Baseline TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) reading of 400 ppm (parts per million) in and 30 ppm out.

Update 2, 19-Jan-10 : I have a water pressure regulator on my house that I turned up a bit (from 40 psi to 60 psi) and the air gap faucet did get noisy (hissing type noise). I am going to ask a plumber about this, but I plan to install a check valve and bypass the air gap. I guess if you do not need a lot of water, an 18 or 24 gallon per day unit would be an easier solution. For me it is no big deal.

19-Jan-10 : I have installed a check valve and bypassed the air gap faucet (not legal in all locations). Zero noise from the faucet now. I have also installed a permeate pump, mostly for testing. The pump makes a low clicking noise that almost sounds like a grandfather clock a few rooms away on about a four second cycle. This is only present when the unit is filling the tank. Today's input TDS was 397 ppm and the output was 25 ppm. I'll leave my observations at this unless something noteworthy changes.

Conclusions :

The average family who just needs drinking water will probably not enjoy this unit due to the noise from the air gap faucet. A low volume (gallons per day) membrane (with matched flow restrictor) should solve the noise problem.

For someone like me, who wants/needs a large amount (greater than 10 actual GPD) of fairly pure water, this thing is very good. I will stay with my 5 star rating as I bought this to produce lots of good quality water, it will do that.

Update 06-APR-10
FYI:
I just tested the TDS from this unit again, today, and have 348 in and 18 out, excellent! I draw an average of 3 gallons a day for use in my aquariums, the rest is used for cooking and drinking water. So far we have had plenty of RO water available. My rental unit, on its best day, always left us wanting and we mostly had to use regular faucet water for cooking. For the people who are annoyed by the noisy air-gap faucet; 1) Ask someone about converting you unit to one with less of a GPD rating. That will require a membrane and flow restrictor change. 2) Look into bypassing the air-gap on the faucet (you can still use the same original faucet) and installing a good quality check valve on the drain side line. Plumbing codes do not always allow this so use with caution. Mine went 100% quiet when I did this. By the way, pinto beans, cooked very, very, slowly in RO water, salted only during the last 30-40 minutes of cooking, are delicious. Enjoy.

k



Ken

This is a fantastic product, but I would strongly recommend against this model if you have a sink that backs up often (such as in an old house, like mine). I bought and installed this unit, but had to return if after encountering this problem. Basically, there is a "waste water" tube that connects to your sink's drain pipe, so when the sink backs up, all the water/food/gunk in your sink's drain pipe gets pushed up this tube also and clogs up the actual filter faucet. I spent some time on the phone with Watts support, and they indicated this is a common problem when sinks back up. They recommended purchasing a different model, in this situation, which is the "zero waste water" model. I found it online at costco. This zero-waster model doesn't have the waste water tube,and thus is not succesptible to this problem. (I gave this product 3-stars, because for a limitation this major, I felt the product details should definitely have said "not recommended in situations where drain backs up frequently.")

Our water (from a shallow well) has all sorts of sediment in it, especially in the spring when runoff is highest. After being filtered by this filter, the water is crystal clear and tastes great.

Three things to be aware of: (1) with the filter and the tank, it takes up a considerable amount of undersink space (about 1/3 of our space is now gone); (2) if your sink doesn't have a cutout for the filter's faucet, you'll need to punch a hole in the sink; (3) if your incoming water pressure is not consistently at least 45 psi, you'll need to buy a booster pump from Watts (the phone number/web site will be on the registration materials, about $140).

The push-in connectors for the tubing are nice, but remember to push them in firmly until they seat, otherwise you'll have a leak.

We were very excited to install and use the filter system for our well water. The installation went fine, the storage tank does take up space underneath the sink area. But the noise, we were not expecting. After the initial fill up and subsequent refills to settle the charcoal dust, we were ready to go. Each time the tank needs to refill you hear the trickle of water down the drain, 4 gallons of water is processed to make 1 gallon of filtered water. Plus a hissing noise similiar to a pressure cooker until it refills. We called Watts, and while they were very friendly, the rep. agreed "Yes, it is noisy." No solution was offered. We decided the cons outweighed the pros and uninstalled the system and sent it back. Had we known about the noise and the amount of waste water, we would not have purchased.

I was using a 5-stage Genesis V system from Havapure for years. It was quiet, and produced good water. I just moved and bought this system. It has an "air gap facuet" which means that it hisses when it's filtering. It sounds like a mini garden hose, and lasts for about 20 minutes for each glass of water. It's beyond irritating to have in the house. It was professionally installed, but it's going back to Amazon *tomorrow*. I can't believe people listen to this after each drink of water. I wish I could give it 0 stars...

What my wife and I were looking for was a system that would filter our well water so that we could actually drink it. Like many areas, we had a fairly heavy smell of rotten eggs and it was impossible for us to drink our water out of the tap. This system really did the trick. My wife says that it tastes better than bottled water and no more rotten egg smell. So on that basis, I give it 5 stars. I should also tell you that we use about 2 to 3 gallons a day between beverages, water for the dogs and cooking and we have never run dry.

However, there are a few things to be aware of and our experience was not flawless. First, when I installed the system as instructed and turned the water on, water spewed everywhere. It turns out that both 1/4" tubing push connectors on the system were missing o-rings. So check for o-rings before you turn the water on. However, Watts Premier CSR was easy to contact, responsive and immediately shipped out replacement parts. Within a week, we were up and running.

As I said, I installed the system as per instructions. You need to be aware that whenever the reservoir tank is filling, the unit discharges some waste water into your drain. The instructions have you installing it above the trap under your sink. I did this and the trickle echoed though the entire first floor of our house. It would have driven us mad I think. Fortunately for us, I was able to run a length of tubing to a waste line in our basement and the problem was solved. All we hear now is a barely audible gurgle at the faucet itself.

My last comment is about long term maintenance. Unlike many other systems on the market, this unit requires very minimal maintenance. I could have gotten a system for $100 less at our local home center, but I would have been changing out filters every month. I don't mind doing the work, but when you add up the cost of all those filters (not to mention the environmental impact), it gets pretty expensive over the course of a year. This system recommends doing maintenance every six months. I estimate that in two years I will have made back that $100 and then some.