Love it- used it daily from day one with no problems. HOWEVER, DO NOT RUN IT AS SUGGESTED- the directions pretty much amount to telling you to run it until the heat makes the fuse trip out every time when the water completely dries up. Of course that's going to make it die early- it's like relying on a device to turn off by deliberately overloading it. Crappy design there in spite of the rest of the unit being solid- there's no on/off switch, you just plug in and it goes. That's what all the people here are complaining about. I took a star off for no full disclosure on important details like this (no on/off switch? KIND of important, don't ya think?). No worries, though- quick fix. Just go to Home Depot or Lowe's, get a good digital power on/off timer plug (~$30), and program it to stop just short of drying out (After experimenting, I now set mine to run for 4h55m). This will make just under the full gallon, but it takes MUCH longer for the scale to build up since it doesn't dry completely out, and I just dump the small bit of nasty water left at the bottom into the sink before refilling. And trust me- you'll be glad to see it there and not in your drinking water, so I'm glad for my purchase. Hope this helps!

P.S.- be careful with the glass jug provided- it's thin and fragile...

I've been using this for several months now, and I have nothing bad to say about it. After about 10 gallons or so it must be cleaned to remove residue. That may vary according to your own water supply. I bought another for my daughter because I was so impressed by it. I use it for drinking water and cooking water. In adding a picture, I need to state that the nut is a thickness of .265 thou. or 6 73mm. That is the approximate thickness of the height of the chemical buildup left in tank after about 10 gallons has been processed. This is using a a small city municipality water supply system in Iowa.

Excellent product. I've had since February 21, 2015 and can say I've used it usually 1 or two times every day. It's always on. For one person or at most two people it's great. If you want to keep to a gallon of water a day per person two people is about the max you can get out of this unit. It's high quality in all ways. I really really like it. I would never believe how much crap is in tap water >_< if you drink tap water you need this.

I have attached two pictures. The first is after one day of use. The brown oily liquid left smelled like chemicals and toxic junk. The second picture is after a week or two of use. You can see how much crap builds up in there. That junk ends up in us when we drink water regularly.

Bottom line: I've gotten solid value out of this unit.

(see updates at the bottom) Got this the other day. It works just as promised; I have no issues with it. It arrived packaged very well - so well in fact I am impressed with whoever designed all the specific/unique packages within the main package. It came with 6 little charcoal filters and a cleaning solution for the stainless steel inside of the distiller unit. The water looks so clean and tastes good; it holds one gallon and takes about 5 hours and 15 minutes from start to finish. I've heard that heating the water first will hasten the process, however I just use cold tap.

Some have said the pitcher spills water when poured. Either they are pouring it wrong or the company has re-designed the pitcher because I have not spilled a drop and think the pitcher is great.

Many have reported yucky stuff left behind that is slimy, stinky and so on. YES!! This happens every time (I just wipe it out with a damp cloth). For an experiment I ran a gallon of newly distilled water through the distiller again and I am so happy to report that nothing was left behind :) Next I plan on trying a gallon of distilled water from WM.

I am thankful for this machine and hope it lasts me a while. I will update any changes.

Edited on May 24, 2014
The machine is still running strong however there is one quirk that has surfaced ... for some reason once in a while the water will leak out where the spout is connected to the lid. I have not figured out why this happens and it seems to be random. I just keep a towel under the machine 'just in case'. It will go for several weeks without leaking and then all of the sudden it will leak for a few cycles and then stop again. When it does leak it's usually not that much (a few tablespoons to a fourth cup maybe?), however a few times it has leaked 1-2 cups!! But, like I said, it suddenly stops and there are no issues.

I'm not sure if this is bad or not but the stainless-steel underside of the top section is no longer nice and shiny but dark orange/brown in color. This could be because of our really bad water here where I live? (SW MO) Has anyone else had this issue? I know that when I used to filter my water it first went through a 'micro sponge' of some sort that was white ... but would turn burnt orange if I did not clean it off regularly. It might be totally unrelated but then maybe not.

As I stated in my original post, I have no problem with the container leaking when I pour out the water ... UNLESS I pour too fast. So, my advice to those who have issues with the pitcher leaking: try slowing down.

When my cleaning solution that came with it ran out I tried to find the exact brand online to reorder however I could not so I just ordered another brand. The new brand does NOT do as good of a job as whatever brand came with the machine (the bottle had no brand name on it). If you know of a good brand to order, please let me know as I am not happy with the one I got.

I am still very thankful for the purchase and will update again when I feel the need.

UPDATE 03/14/15
It is still working HOWEVER about half the time it makes and obnoxious, high pitched, squealing sound for a few minutes when you first turn it on. This, I assume, is the fan motor struggling to go properly. I tried using a can of compressed air to force out the dust, and while a lot of dust did come out it had no effect on the squeal. I am way past the year warranty so if anyone has ideas on what to do, let me know!

Other than that, it does work and we still run about 2 to 3 gallons through it each 24-hour period.

UPDATE 11/08/15
The obnoxious, high pitched, squealing sound: I finally took the top apart and cleaned it off really good, however this did NOT work. My son took the motor apart, cleaned all the inner parts, lubricated them with sewing machine oil, and WOW!! it runs like new again. SO HAPPY.
I'm including a photo of the discoloration on the underside of the lid - the side that is stainless steel. It just gets darker and darker, but I assume this does not matter??
TO CLEAN IT: No need to buy the yucky chemicals!!! An elderly friend of mine gave me some advice a few months ago ... just fill the tank up 3 or so inches with white vinegar and run it through like water. Once done, I scrape off the nasty and run it through one more time. This works SO MUCH BETTER than the chemical stuff!! After I am done cleaning it out I fill the tank with an inch or two of water and run that through so vinegar is rinsed out of the pipe.

UPDATE January 2017
My son has cleaned it about 4 times since my last update, but it finally broke and I'm not sure why. We have had thoughts of taking it to a small engine repair man and seeing if he can fix it, but so far we haven't because we are just too busy right now. Once things settle down a little I might take it to see if the man can fix it.

Update: this distiller worked great in the beginning i used to rave about it, I purchased it on June 6, 2015 it is now 10-14-2016 this distiller should have lasted me a lot longer for the price, we were going to buy some for our family members but we are changing our minds after finding this crack on our bowl. I will contact customer service to see if i can get it replaced i never mishandled or dropped it this is from regular use.

I purchased this distiller short of a year ago, and with constant use, it continues to work wonderfully.
I preformed a series of tests to test its effectiveness, and it appears to filter the water completely. The ppm is one ( distilled is typically in the range of 0 - 2.) Along with this, I tested the tested the pH, which came out at about 6.9. If you are looking for completely distilled water, then I highly recommend this.
The only negative quality I may attribute it with is the taste. This is not actually due to the distiller itself, but rather simply the taste of distilled water, which has been robbed of any minerals our that we are accumulated to tasting. To combat this, I use the Trace Mineral Solution, which mineral healthy compounds, and, as an added benefit, counteracts the sour taste. With it, the distilled water is the cleanest I have tasted. Along with this, the mineral solution slightly alkalizes the water to 7.1-7.2.