What they are really like to have
Written: Sep 21 '02 (Updated Jan 06 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Removes sediment, dirt, rust, sand, and silt from your drinking water
Cons: Valve-in-head troublesome. Long-term reliability questionable.
The Bottom Line: There are better (and cheaper) alternatives offered by Culligan and others (see review). Whatever you do, get a high quality whole house sediment water filter, you'll be glad you did.
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| cikaris's Full Review: Culligan Valve-In-Head Whole House Sediment Water ... |
The availability of clean drinking and bathing water is something we all take for granted. But the QUALITY of our household water supply can not be taken for granted. To improve and insure water quality a whole industry has arisen offering a plethora of products.
Unfortunately, there are so many products which promise so much it is hard to know where to start. One sensible place to start is where water comes into your house - at the water main. WHOLE HOUSE WATER FILTERS are made to filter water that is used throughout the whole house, hence the name.
The Culligan HF-365 whole house water filter is one such unit. Since I purchased and installed a HF-365 water filter I shall describe it to you and you can decide for yourself whether to get one too, although I don't recommend that you do.
All whole house sediment water filters work quite simply - water goes in one side and comes out the other; in between is a replaceable filter cartridge which filters out sediment, dirt, rust, sand, and silt.
The Culligan HF-365 unit in question consists of only three parts: a valve-in-head cap, an O-ring, and a clear housing. Having only three parts, all of which are replaceable, is good. However, I have serious doubts about one of those parts - the valve-in head cap (more about that in a moment).
The Culligan HF-365 is relatively inexpensive. It costs about $40. I bought mine at a Sears department store in January 2001 and installed it on January 19, 2001 (to be precise).
Installation of the HF-365 is relatively easy if you are handy. Since I used to be a plumber's helper it was really easy for me to install, but if you are not handy get a good plumber to install one for you.
The HF-365 is designed for 3/4" water inlet and outlet. If you have a larger pipe after your water main (1" or larger) you have to get special plumbing fittings to make your HF-365 fit. But why bother? If you have a larger water main your are very fortunate because you can install a larger unit like the Culligan HD-950 whole house water filter unit or equivalent. (Larger pipes yield a larger volume of water, expressed in gallons per minute, or gpm, for short.)
The HF-365 uses standard sized filter cartridges which are 9-3/4" high and 2-5/8" in diameter. The HF-365 comes packaged with an excellent filter cartridge - the Culligan P-5 which is made of spun polypropylene. The P-5 has a micron rating of 5 which means that it filters out all particles larger than five microns (five millionths of a meter) which is roughly about 1/25,000 of an inch!
The HF-365 also accepts the CW-MF filter cartridge (micron rating = 30), the S-1A (micron rating = 20), and the CW-F (micron rating = 10), as well as the P-5 cartridge. Filter cartridges are relatively inexpensive ranging in price from about two dollars to ten dollars depending on their construction, porosity (micron rating), and capacity (useful life). All in all, they are pretty cheap insurance.
Sediment filters also vary in their flow rates and their rated life. The Culligan P-5 has a rated life of 8,000 gallons, however in practice it lasts according to the quality and quantity of particulate matter in the incoming water supply. The other filters filters I mentioned are supposed to last longer because they allow larger particles to pass through. Personally, I don't mind changing the filter cartridge more often in exchange for removing the smallest particles possible.
Note bene: There are sediment filter cartridges which can filter out even smaller particles but they can work too well. I tried a filter which is supposed to filter particles between one and five microns, but it did not last very long (only two days!) because it clogged up with sediment.
In practice, it is easy to know when to change a sediment filter cartridge - there is a noticeable drop in water pressure and volume at your faucet or shower. I usually notice the drop in pressure while taking a shower. In the meantime, the Culligan HF-365 has a clear filter housing to allow you to monitor the condition of the filter cartridge.
Replacing the filter cartridge is easy - you use a plastic wrench (supplied) to screw and unscrew the heavy duty clear plastic housing.
Of course, before you unscrew the housing to replace the filter cartridge you have to momentarily shut off the water going through the housing. To do this, the HF-365 has a shutoff valve built in to the head of the filter unit (hence the name "valve-in-head"). Good idea, but not so good in practice.
Now I will tell you why I DO NOT recommend the HF-365. Until quite recently its shutoff valve worked okay, but lately it is starting to leak a bit of water when its supposed to be shutoff completely. I am not surprised. Why? Because before I got the HF-365 I had a similar unit put out by Sears which also had a valve in its head. That one lasted about two years before the valve stopped working. The HF-365 I have now is exactly one year and eight months old and is starting to show trouble with its valve. I bought the Culligan unit because I hoped its valve would be more long-lasting than the Sears unit. I turned out to be wrong.
The theoretical advantage of having a valve-in-head whole house water filter unit is that it precludes the need to "isolate" the unit with shutoff valves both before and after the unit. However, I have discovered through experience that this valve-in-head design is problematic. Therefore I can not recommend this unit to you.
But do not despair because there is a better and cheaper alternative. When the HF-365 wears out - I give it another four months or so - I will replace it with a standard whole house water filter which does not have a valve in its head. I will also install shutoff valves on the inlet and outlet pipes. Unless you have plumbing experience, I do not recommend that you attempt to do this by yourself, get a good plumber to install the shutoff valves and the whole house water filter. (Tip: Install high quality ball valves instead of gate valves - they flow better and are easier to open and close).
There are numerous whole house sediment water filters on the market which do not have a valve in their head, all of which are very similar and very durable - I know that because the housing on these units is made of a durable tough plastic and without a troublesome valve in their heads they should last a long time before needing replacement (about ten years according to the literature I have read). If you want to get something even stronger there are brass/stainless steel units built for industrial and commercial applications on the market but they are, as you might expect, a bit pricey. Besides, you do not really need to go that far. The residential units are adequate and relatively inexpensive.
Culligan makes two very good units for a 3/4" water supply: the HF-150 and the HF-160. The HF-150 costs about fifteen dollars and has an opaque filter housing. The HF-160 costs about twenty-five dollars and has a clear filter housing (like the HF-365) to allow you to monitor the condition of the filter cartridge. The Culligan HD-950 is heavy duty (it uses larger 4" diameter filters) and is made for a 1" water supply.
I repeat, there are many very good whole house sediment water filters on the market put out by numerous companies like: Culligan, Ametek, Aqua-Pure (Cuno), American Plumber, GE (Smartwater), Omni, Kenmore (Sears), etc. Whole house water filters and filter cartridges are available at Home Depot, Lowe's, Sears, plumbing supply houses, and most good hardware stores.
Whichever model you buy, make sure you get to see and feel one before you buy one. That way you can satisfy yourself how tough it is. You really can not go wrong as long as you get a heavy duty model.
Whatever you do, I strongly recommend that you get a whole house sediment water filter. Every homeowner should get a whole house sediment water filter because they are so beneficial. A whole house sediment water filter will protect your hot water heater, your hot water boiler (if you have a steam or hot water heating system), your plumbing fixtures (like your kitchen faucet, shower head, and toilet), your water using appliances (like your dishwasher and clothes washer). And, most importantly, it cleans the water you drink and bathe with!
However, keep in mind that whole house sediment water filters CAN NOT treat water which is chemically or microbiologically contaminated. Therefore do not use any whole house sediment water filters with a water supply that is microbiologically or chemically unsafe. In such cases, you need a much more sophisticated water treatment system and the advice of a certified professional.
Before you invest in any expensive advanced water treatment system, you should get your water tested if you are unsure about its quality. If, like most Americans, your water is provided by a municipality, you should write to your water supplier and ask them for a water quality report. In some places, water suppliers are required by law to provide you with that information.
Finally, even if there is nothing seriously wrong with your water (like mine), you should still get a whole house sediment water filter because it works so well and offers additional protection and peace of mind. Besides, once you SEE for yourself how much gunk a whole house sediment water filter gets out of your water, you will be glad you have one.
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First Update (10/26/02): Since I last wrote this review in September (thank you to everyone who rated it "very helpful"), I have done additional research regarding whole house sediment water filters.
Everything I wrote above is correct, but I would like to add that two organizations test water treatment devices including whole house water filters (see under "point-of-entry" systems).
The Water Quality Association (www.wqa.org) validates filtration systems that are in accordance with the "Voluntary Industry Standard for Household and Commercial Water Filter Systems" (S-200). Their website has a list of filtration products which have received their Gold Seal of quality.
The National Sanitation Foundation (www.nsf.org) certifies water treatment units according to their own strict standards for aesthetic and health effects. They also have a list of NSF certified drinking water treatment units.
Both of their websites can get a little technical but are well worth consulting.
Good luck!
Second Update (11/23/02): I have been informed by another member of epinions that the Water Quality Association is an "international trade association" and, as such, their opinion may not be unbiased. Like everything else, members have to do their homework on this subject. But since we are all here, that is what we are doing!
Thanks again to everyone for their kind comments and review rating.
Third Update (11/27/02): I decided to update my assessment of this particular product downward since its valve-in-head failed entirely just a few days ago. Since I have just put in a larger 1" water service line, I decided to install a larger Aqua-Pure AP810 water filter unit (the heavy duty Culligan HD-950 is very similar).
Nevertheless, for a 3/4" water line a Culligan HF-150 or HF-160 or equivalent should be more than adequate. As already stated, whichever one you get make sure that you see and feel it in the store first so you can be satisfied with its physical integrity.
Fourth Update (12/5/02): The latest issue of Consumer Reports (January 2003) has a report on water filtration. It is certainly worth reading. However they only tested two whole house water sediment filter units, neither of them by Culligan.
I have noticed that CR can be a bit "lazy" quite often. They frequently fail to test many things that are commonly offered on the market. Whatever the reason, epinions is available to fill in the blanks.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
cikaris
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Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 8 members
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