APEC WATERSystems ROES-50 Essence Series Top Tier 5-Stage WQA Certified Ultra Safe Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Filter System

> I purchased the APEC ROES-50 to replace a similar 25 year-old system, largely because I was due for a completely filter change (including the membrane), and a tank change --- which would have costed as much as a new system.> The APEC ROES-50 system includes everything you need for a complete installation, including adapters, a splitter, and a valve to attach to your cold water line, and an RO (reverse osmosis) faucet. Caveat, I recommend a dual dishwasher/RO air gap, or at least an RO air gap faucet, which are NOT included.> Since my old system was a 1/4" tubing system (like the APEC ROES-50), I used the old 1/4" water supply line (meaning that I did not have to install any adapters, splitters, valves, nor a new line). I could have used my old RO faucet --- but I chose to use the (included) new faucet.EASE OF INSTALLATION> The two hardest parts of a new installation are installing the adapter (if necessary), a spliter, valve, and a new cold water supply line, AND drilling a hole in your countertop for the reverse osmosis faucet. If you install a dual dishwasher/RO air gap, that will require a second hole. Since I did NOT have to do any of that, my installation was very easy. Essentially, all I had to do was install a valve on the new tank (very easy), install the 3 primary filters (very easy), and connect lines to the water supply, to the tank, and to the RO faucet (easy).> Connecting the lines to the water supply, to the incoming water line, water tank, and to the RO faucet was very easy: You pull out plugs from the connectors, insert the new lines (IMPORTANT -- as deep as they will go), and then pull out on the new lines to tighten the connection. Remarkable. Installing the connections on my old system was much more difficult, and almost invariably leaked. The new quick connections were ridiculously easy, and after about 15 months, have not leaked.OTHER OPTIONS> Tempted by a smaller, more compact system? That's fine for a drinking water system, say in an office. But check out the tank capacity. You need a 5 gallon tank (which can actually deliver only 2--3 gallons at-a-time) for a home kitchen system. You may never use more than a gallon at a time, but that first gallon will be delivered quickly -- the second or third gallon will be tad slower. If you want a fourth or fifth gallon, you'll have to wait a half-hour or so.> I considered a ca $30 more expensive 3/8" line system (largely because I suspected that a 3/8" system would be less leak-prone). I'm glad I did not buy it. For one thing, I would have had to install new fittings for the water supply to the RO system. It is claimed that the 3/8" system fills big cooking pots quickly, but frankly, the 1/4" system does as well --- the difference would be measured in seconds. Theoretically, if you had to fill, say, five 2-gallon pots (a hypothetical 10 gallons total) at-a-time, a few more seconds per gallon might matter --- but the actual 5-gallon tank capacity is only 2--3 gallons (depending on your water pressure) at a time, so you can't fill five 2-gallon pots at-a-time anyway. By the way a 2--3 gallon capacity might sound inadequate, but in 25 years, I've never felt the need for greater capacity -- I virtually never used more than a gallon at a time. (As I understand it, it is possible to gang more storage tanks for greater capacity). Perhaps with several tanks ganged together (easily possible), or one or more larger tanks, such a system might be useful in a small commercial kitchen.> You can pay more for a 100 gallon/day rated system, but what's the point of that? You still can get only 2--3 gallons at-a-time (with a single 5-gallon tank). Again, perhaps with several 5 tanks ganged together (easily possible), or one or more larger tanks, such a system might be useful in a small commercial kitchen. Moreover, presumably a 100 gallon/day system probably generates 2x more RO wastewater than a 50 gallon/day system -- and the difference may add up to considerably higher water bills.> It was my impression that the ROES-50 system came with standard fittings, and that I'd have to pay more for a quick-connect system. But my ROES-50 system came with quick-connect fittings. No error by APEC nor Amzn -- the box and instructions were clearly labeled "ROES-50".TIPS> When installing the cold water supply, tank, faucet, and drain lines, it is best NOT to shorten them for a neater installation (as I did for my first RO system). In the future, you may need to change the water tank and the reverse osmosis faucet, and maybe even your main sink faucet. In the past 30 years I've changed my main faucet 3 times, my RO faucet 3 times, my RO tank 3 times, and my RO membrane 4 times, plus changing the other RO filters many times. If you shorten the lines, you might have to disconnect various lines for access, which can be surprisingly confusing, and might be difficult to re-install without leakage. If you leave the lines long, you can probably simply move the RO system aside for access without having to disconnect anything.> To install the cold water supply, tank, and reverse osmosis faucet lines, keep the connection clean until installation (i.e., don't remove the plugs early, and wipe off the ends of the lines with a paper towel (or, better, a clean cloth) just before you insert them into the connectors). Insert the end of the line as deep into the connector as it will go, then pull back hard to set the connection. Leave 3--5" space with your cabinet walls (or door) so that there is no sideways strain on the lines at the connectors.> Use (food grade) silicon grease (NOT included) when installing the three big filter housings. The 3" diameter o-rings in the three big filter housings come greased already with silicon grease (be careful not to contaminate the surfaces of the greased o-rings with dust or grit). When you change the filters in the future, you should clean the o-rings (until no more black carbon comes off on a paper towel), and re-grease them with silicon grease, and wipe off the excess.> The 2 large carbon filters also have rubber disks, which are best lightly greased with silicon grease (wipe off all excess). Don't forget to remove the shrink plastic around the three big filters before installing them (as one reviewer claimed that her plumber had failed to do).> APEC recommends installing the RO drainline into your sink drain pipe as low as practical to avoid the sounds of RO waste water dripping into your sink drain. Instead, I suggest installing the RO drainline below the level that the drain line exits the RO manifold (which depends on where and how you mount the RO manifold), but otherwise as high as possible, to minimize backflow from your sink U trap, which really has disgusting stuff (mats of bacteria) in it. Beware that the water level in your sink waste line can be higher than the top of the sink drainline U-trap if your sink is draining slowly. Be vigilant to maintain your sink waste line clear at all times and that water never backs up. [See "No Air Gap" below for a better idea]> Applying silicon grease to the threads of the big filter housings makes them easier to tighten tight enough to prevent leakage, and to later loosen to change the filters. (Read some of the negative reviews which complain that it is impossible to tighten the housings tight enough to stop leaks, or that it is impossible to remove the housings to replace filters. Trust me --- use silicon grease on the housing threads. Screw the filter housings on and off several times to be sure that the silicon grease is well spread).CAUTION -- Some day, your system or your sink will leak. So, I very strongly suggest that you invest in a leak detection alarm. You don't need to get fancy. You don't need WiFi and other silly features. I bought a package of 2 alarms for $8 twenty years ago, and they have saved my hotwater heater cabinet from being destroyed, and my sink cabinet from being destroyed a half-dozen times. These days $10 (each) alarms are good enough for this purpose. Weathertek (and probably some other manufacturers) also makes a sink cabinet mat which I highly recommend. The mat catches leaks before they puddle up enough to trigger your leak alarm. Slow leaks can damage press-board cabinets without setting off a leak alarm.NO AIR GAP> RO systems require a wastewater drain line --- almost always draining into your sink drain pipe. That's because additional water is used to flush the reverse osmosis filter --- you've got to get rid of those sodium ions, calcium ions , chloride ions, etc. trapped by the osmosis filter, or the filter would be quickly hopelessly clogged up. That RO wastewater has to drain somewhere.> I was surprised by the lack of an airgap in the wastewater line in the APEC ROES-50 system (which is usually built into included RO faucets). The cheapest option is to connect your RO wastewater line to your dishwasher air gap (if your dishwasher is adjacent to your RO system, and has an airgap).> The best option is to use a "dual inlet air gap" specifically designed for a dishwasher and an RO system --about $40 from Amzn. There is even a model with a 1/4" push-in fitting on the RO side (the same type fitting as this APEC ROES-50 system for all the other connections). The only downside to a dishwasher/RO airgap is that you need another ~1" diameter hole in your countertop. Also, the APEC ROES-50 wasteline is 3/8", so you'll need a 3/8" to 1/4" tubing adapter -- but that's cheap and easy.> If your dishwasher is NOT adjacent to your RO system, you can replace the included RO faucet with an airgap RO faucet. Easy-pesy, but an extra expense, and not as good a solution as a dishwasher/RO airgap.> If your RO system drains into the highest sink in your house or building, which is also and the highest sink in your neighborhood, you do NOT live in a flood zone, and your water pressure is stable (even after severe storms, etc.) -- then you are probably okay without an airgap, albeit I'd still recommend a combined dishwasher/RO air gap.> If you are at a comparatively low elevation of a municipal sewage system (i.e., if sewage may flow into your home during a flood, etc.), then an air gap RO system is recommended (and probably mandated by law if you are connected to a municipal water system). You MAY be able to recover from a potential contamination event by replacing ALL of the filters in the system (at about the cost of an entirely new system, which would be a better idea), but the true danger is in not knowing that your system has been contaminated.> Without an air gap, your system can become contaminated simply from the sewage-like gunk in your sink drain line if your RO system ever looses water pressure (say during a widespread power outage that shuts down the municipal water pumps, or even during maintenance of the municipal water lines). If your system is for vacation home etc., where you may turn off the water for long periods (or otherwise your water pressure is not continuous), then an airgap is probably essential.WHY IS A DISHWASHER AIR GAP BETTER THAN AN AIR GAP RO FAUCET?> That sewage like bacteria in your sink U-trap can grow up into your RO drain line and clog it, causing your air gap faucet to leak onto your counter (it is designed to do this). Your air gap RO faucet wastewater drainline needs to be cleaned every 4-6 months. Read the reviews -- several reviewers claim that they replace their entire RO systems every 2 years or so because of the leakage from the RO airgap faucet (even though, obviously, it would be much more practical to simply clean the RO wastewater line).> Cleaning the wastewater line of an RO airgap faucet usually means disconnecting the RO drainline at the U-bend and running a special brush up the drain line to the RO air gap faucet. Alternatively, RO air gap faucets usually have a ~1/8" diameter drain hole on the side, and it is possible to force a blast of air, or to inject an ounce or so of Clorox through the drain hole (and down the RO waste-water line) with a large syringe. The problem is that it is easy to forget to clean the line on schedule, and wake up to a flood on your countertop some morning. It's happened to me MANY times.> WHY WON'T AN RO WASTE WATER LINE ALSO CLOG IF IT IS ROUTED THROUGH A DISHWASHER AIR GAP? A bacterial mat won't grow up your dishwasher wasteline because the drain line is much larger, much longer, and is vigorously flushed every time you run your dishwasher -- and even if the bacterial mat got to the dishwasher air gap, the airgap would stop it from getting any farther.> Why does the APEC ROES-50 have a 3/8" wastewater line even though my old RO system had a 1/4" RO waste water line? This is apparently APECs attempt to reduce the probability of clogging of the RO wasteline with a sewage-like bacterial mat growing from the U-trap of your sink drain pipe. But, in my opinion the larger wastewater line only slows down the wastewater flow velocity, making it easier for the bacterial mat to grow up the line and into your RO system (since there is no air gap to stop it).

"You have one on every floor?" Yes. I have three APEC RO filters, and I love them all. Let me explain:Where I live, we have "city water", but that's really a community well. The water here is EXTREMELY hard. The last time I had it tested to size out a water softener, I was hovering around 30 grains per gallon (that's about three times what the WQA considers "very hard water"). There's tons of sediment, too. At the tap, using my trusty water tester, we're hovering in the neighborhood of 600 ppm. Not "that one time I used a glass that I wasn't sure was clean, and got 571 ppm" but "in new, plastic cups rinsed with distilled water, the readings are between 590 and 630." Not surprisingly, the net result is that the water tastes gross.If you don't want to read the entire review, here's what you need: this filter turns 600 ppm water into 10 ppm water. Ten. One, zero.Anyway, I had gone the Primo water route for years (a water cooler with bottles you exchange at Kroger / Walmart / etc.) but got really tired of lugging 40 gallons of water around every time I went to the store. And when I did the math, my almost top-of-the-line Ultimate RO-PERM filter by APEC was going to pay for itself in about six month's time, versus what I was paying for Primo water every month (not even factoring in gas and time involved in getting the bottles).Then we had a PFAS scare. The river just yards from the municipal water supply was found to be contaminated with PFAS. That's "Don't eat the fish, and if you decide to swim and accidentally swallow some water, you'll get sick" contaminated. Testing was done on the municipal supply, and it was deemed safe. Let me pause here. I live in Michigan. I don't live in or near Flint, but I'm willing to bet you've heard of it, and that the state said their water was safe, too. And I'm like a level 1 still on the training level conspiracy theorist.I decided I wanted to have a second RO system on the second floor bathroom. My family tends to spend a fair amount of time upstairs, and I thought it would be good for brushing teeth, and so on. As much as I love the Ultimate RO-PERM, I was kind of skeptical about the Essence series. It was cheaper, but the specs seemed to be similar (minus the permeate pump and associated output). Turns out, the biggest difference is that the Ultimate series filters are all made in the USA and WQA certified. The Essence series has imported filters, and APEC seems to have skipped passing on the cost of WQA certification. Side by side, you can't really tell the filters apart, other than looking at the labels to see where they came from. As far as I can tell, the quality is the same. And what's more, the parts are interchangeable, so if you want to "upgrade" the Essence series by replacing the filters with the American-made Ultimate filters, you can.But as far as TDS, both filters appear to be equally effective!Installation -- just like my first system -- was dead simple. Turn off the cold water, take off the compression fitting to your faucet, install the adapter (there are several different configurations that should work for just about anybody, included in the package) put your faucet on the adapter, drill a hole for the new RO faucet (difficult on steel, super easy on laminate / composite surfaces), drill a hole for the waste water, tighten your fittings, connect some push-in PEX lines, and you're done.I'll say this: the first time I installed one, I was feeling really overwhelmed before I started, took a crazy amount of time in unnecessary prep and caution, and had no trouble whatsoever. After I was done, it was so easy, I was offering to help friends and family. Installing this one took me maybe 30 minutes, most of which was spent making a small modification.So, basic installation doesn't get easier, quality is excellent, and oh by the way, their customer support is awesome. I had a reservoir lose pressure, but initially I couldn't figure out if it was a problem with the filter or something else. They responded to e-mail super fast, we determined what the problem was, the troubleshooting steps were easy, and when we figured out a part needed to be replaced, there wasn't even the slightest pushback about just sending me a whole new reservoir. Thinking about an RO system? Buy it. Have a few bucks more / want to buy American? Get the Ultimate series instead.NOW... I know this is wordy. If you don't care about pressure, efficiency, or the modification I made, skip the rest of this.I decided this specific system was going to go in my basement. I've got different projects I work on in the basement, including indoor gardening. Lugging bottles around for water changes isn't the most fun thing in the world, and heavily softened water with 600 ppm is just not going to work for gardening. I already ran a bunch of PEX down there to install my whole-house humidifier last year, so I knew adding another RO filter was going to be a cinch. But... I also knew the pressure on that line was low, and didn't like the idea of creating so much wastewater.Enter the permeate pump! I wanted maximum pressure and regeneration on my Ultimate filter, so buying the version with the permeate pump was overkill on my part. But in the basement on the low-pressure line, it was useful. Permeate pumps also increase efficiency by something like 80% and reduce wastewater discharge by over 50%. Not everyone needs one, but you might for pressure. Or, you might want one for efficiency and / or reducing water usage.I'm pleased to say with that pump, Essence ROES-50 performs like an absolute champ on a low-pressure line. All I did was tee off the water line to my humidifier, add a shutoff, and extend the waste line a bit to go to a floor drain. The manifold on this filter is metal, so drilling through it was a tiny challenge (we're talking maybe three or four minutes) but adding the clamp for the pump and rerouting the connections from the auto shutoff took just minutes. Almost everything you need (depending on the length of PEX you need if you're extending a feed line or drain) can be found in this kit for less than you'd pay for a tee and a shutoff valve at any home improvement store.TOTAL installation from box to modification to making clean water was about 30 minutes. And after filling, flushing, and filling, now I have 10 ppm water in my basement, too.I adore this system, and wouldn't even consider buying from another company. If you're not going for an Ultimate system, don't mess around with the cheaper lookalike brands on Amazon. Go with an APEC and enjoy clean water from a solid system, from a company that's still going to be around when you need to change your filters.