[SIX YEAR UPDATE: 2/6/2016 - Our water distiller is still going strong after six plus years of use. When we wrote the original review we had no expectations of this appliance, that's been run daily distilling either one or two gallons of water, to last this long - with no repairs or replacement parts. We were pleased with the distiller back then, and now, in this era of planned obsolescence and "mean average time to failure" equipment, we are beyond amazement at this well made appliance. Perhaps we are just lucky at the longevity of our distiller, but we felt it was worth mentioning.]
Original Review:
Where we live the water is bad looking and bad tasting, and our home has old galvanized piping and copper with joints that are lead soldered. We've been buying bottled drinking water for the past couple of decades.
The cost of bottled water keeps going up in price. Pulling out the calculator, we estimated that our family's bottled drinking water consumption, at current bottled water prices, is costing around six hundred dollars a year!
The economics of the matter was quite clear; despite the initial cost and the electricity to run the appliance, a water distiller would save us money and effort over buying and hauling water from the store.
Enter the distiller.
We bought a water distiller and have been making a couple of gallons of distilled water a day since it arrived. The distiller works very well with little oversight or interaction needed, though it needs occasional descaling and rinsing, and you must be careful when working with the appliance when it is hot.
The method for using the distiller is dirt simple: Fill the tank with water to the line, place the cooling/steam recovery tower on top of the boiler tank, put the water collection bottle under the water drain, plug the appliance in, and walk away. Then, come back later to pour the freshly distilled water into your water storage container of choice.
Other reviewers have noted the problem with large amounts of scale residue left in the boiler tank after distillation, and we noticed the same thing especially with the crappy water we start with. We partially solved the problem of scale residue by buying a "pitcher style" water filter and using that as a quick "pre-filter" to remove much of the sediment, chemicals, and other impurities, and then pouring the filtered water in the distiller. We now filter the water before we add it to the distiller.
(Note that "pitcher style" water filters are only rated for removing a portion of the contaminants found in the average municipal water supply, and for us is no substitute for the purity of distilled water. Using a pitcher type water filter as a "pre-filter" for your distiller adds to the final cost per gallon of distilled water when you factor in the replacement cost of filters.)
We noticed that the "pre-filtered" distilled water tastes better, as the pitcher style water filter uses activated charcoal to filter water before it goes into the distiller. The "pre-filter" method has cut down on most of the baked on sediment and residue that coated the bottom and sides of the distiller, making boiler tank cleaning a much more infrequent necessity and saving us time and trouble.
(Even after filtering the water with a "pitcher style" water filter like those advertised on television, the quantity of residue left in the distiller tank is amazing.)
We also followed the advice of other reviewers and now use a heavy duty appliance timer to turn off the distiller after five hours of running, and that leaves about a half inch of water in the bottom of the tank so the sediment and residue remains dissolved and doesn't cook to the tank.
One caution: Wait a good half hour or more after turning the distiller off (pulling the plug) before removing the top "cooling tower". A distiller is nothing more than a boiler, and it gets very hot and contains lots of high temperature steam that can burn you quickly. Wait for the machine to cool before handling.
We have the distiller on a kitchen counter and we don't find the fan noise obnoxious or disturbing, but it does make a noticeable sound.
The best advantage of the water distiller is we no longer have to haul gallons and gallons of drinking water home every week from the store! We have arrived in the twenty-first century; finally, we have clean drinking water on tap.
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Two (2) year update:
Our distiller is still going strong with constant use, distilling at least one, and often two gallons of water a day and it still works as good as new. We're very pleased to the point where we are adding this update with our latest observations about this excellent appliance.
Before we made the purchase two years ago through Amazon, we factored in all of the costs in a spreadsheet to see if buying a water distiller made economic sense, and at the time we determined it would take two years of use for the distiller to work out being cheaper than buying store-brand distilled water in gallon containers. If you break down the costs for the distiller unit based on the number of gallons you use per year divided by the cost of the unit, then add in the electrical cost (distiller wattage times number of hours to distill a gallon of water, times cost per watt hour charged by your electric company), you will arrive at a cost per gallon of distilled water.
We determined that the distiller's cost per gallon was around seventy-one cents per gallon, after two years producing two gallons per day. Two years ago, distilled water was selling for around eighty-three cents a gallon at the grocery store, so it made sense to buy the distiller if it would last at least two years, and we are please to report that the distiller has indeed lasted two years and is still going strong.
You should be aware that your distiller might require special maintenance (beyond regularly descaling the interior boiler compartment with white vinegar), as described below:
The upper section, the removable top of the unit which is the steam recovery area, has a small fan to draw outside air through a series of fins attached to a long curved water tube that captures the steam and then cools and condenses it back into water to drip into the glass collection container. The closely spaced cooling fins can collect dust when air is pulled through the upper unit by the fan. To remove the dust build up, there are three (3) screws that can be unscrewed to remove the outer plastic cover of the upper unit, giving access to the interior fan and water cooling section with the attached fins.
It is quite simple and easy to clean the upper section: Remove the three screws (gently pry back the rubber sealing ring to expose the screw heads), and take the two sections apart. Then rinse the solid plastic cover to remove any accumulated dust. Be careful with the section containing the water cooling fins and the electric fan - we used a small dusting brush with soft bristles to successfully remove all of the built up dust that had worked its way into the upper system and into the fins surrounding the cooling tube. Once all of the dust was removed we screwed the unit back together and put the distiller back to work.
Our distiller sits on a section of kitchen counter close to an outside window, and we were surprised to find that after a couple of years use there was a substantial amount of dust build up inside the upper cooling tower. Possibly our unit is pulling dust from the outside that's being captured in the cooling fins, but this is something you might want to monitor to ensure there's no dust build up in your machine. Dust build up along the cooling fins will reduce the efficiency of the water recovery tower.
We recommend this appliance to anyone looking to save their back and their wallet by processing their own pure water at home.
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Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Reduced air and/or water in the product or packaging for more efficient transportation.As certified by
Compact by Design (Amazon-developed Certification)
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USDA Organic is protected by law, inspected by experts, traced from farm to store, and shaped by public input. USDA develops and enforces the organic standards, which require products to be produced using farming practices that maintain and improve soil and water quality, minimize the use of synthetic materials, conserve biodiversity, and avoid genetic engineering, among other factors. Crops can be certified organic if they’re grown without prohibited substances such as most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years prior to harvest. Livestock are raised on pasture and treated humanely without growth hormones or antibiotics. Organic products do not contain GMOs or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Products that contain a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients and use the USDA Organic seal are part of Climate Pledge Friendly.Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Made with chemicals safer for human health and the environment.As certified by
EWG Verified
Choosing EWG Verified products means reducing chemicals of concern and supporting companies that are committed to using safer ingredients. This mark is backed by EWG's scientific rigor and decades of research on chemical safety and scientific evidence on the impacts of exposure to toxic chemicals on human health.
Product Description
Product Description
This Megahome MH943TWS completes 1 gallon of pure steam distilled water in 5.5 hours. The interior boil chamber, including upper cover and condensing coils are high grade 304 Stainless Steel. It comes with a 1 gallon glass collection bottle with a removable lid for convenience. Distilling your own water can't get any easier, simply fill the boil chamber with water and press the reset button. At the end of the cycle, the distiller will turn off automatically. The outside body of this distiller is a heavy duty metal with an attractive white baked enamel finish.
What's Included:
- Top Condensing Unit
- Distiller Body
- Glass Collection Bottle
- Activated Charcoal Sachets, 1 package of 6 filters (approximately a 6 month supply)
- Cleaner for Boil Chamber, 8oz
- Main Power Cord
- Porcelain Nozzle Insert
This distiller is 110-120 volt for use in the U.S. and Canada.
Join The Distilled Water Revolution
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You Are 70% Water
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Planet Friendly
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Doctor Recommended
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Simplicity At It's Best
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How Distillation Works
Your water is brought to 212 degrees (boiling point) which kills bacteria, parasites etc. As steam rises, it leaves behind the impurities and enters the stainless steel cooling coils where the steam is cooled and recondensed into pure water.
Megahome Distillers Are Rigorously Tested For Your Safety
The Megahome water distiller is UL listed (Underwriters Laboratory) and approved. Every Megahome unit is built and tested to ensure safety and longevity. Included is a high temperature thermostat to prevent overheating and ensure automatic shut-off. For over twenty years, Megahome has specialized in manufacturing only water distillers, putting their focus on quality and consumer satisfaction. Megahome is now the most widely distributed distiller in the world.
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No Mineral Buildup!
Compare the two photos. The first photo shows the interior of a new distiller from the Amazon website. The second photo shows the interior of my distiller after distilling 238 gallons over the past year. Absolutely NO mineral buildup! Just a slight heat discolorization and a tiny bit of pitting and crystallization over the heating element! I attribute this to the machine's design. It distills at a lower temperature, which leaves a slight bit on mineralized water remaining after each distillation I then wipe this timy bit out with a single paper towel and refill. I know the residual water contains minerals because early on I poured the residual water from five distillations into a container and let it evaporate. It left behind about five grams of minerals, which at a water hardness of 12 grains before softening seems about right. And sometimes I restart the distiller right after a distillation to coax a bit more water out of the tank. Still no buildup! If I could change one thing about this machine, I would redesign the spout. The clips on the spout don't hold it onto the top very securely, which means I have to remove the water pitcher with some caution to avoid having the spout fall into the pitcher. But absent this minor inconvenience, I wouldn't change a thing! Buy with confidence. It has more than paid for itself.
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Labranche André
comment structurer l'eau distillé pour la rendre de qualité potable
Reviewed in Canada on March 1, 2021
