Under Bench Water Filtration System - What to Buy?

Daniel Plainview on 06/04/2016 - 12:40

Hi All,

Have just moved to a rural property, which alas had been allowed to go a bit by it's elderly previous owners.

It's on tank water and the filtration system is a very antiquated Aqua-Pure one (single filter only) that uses AP9112 filters - I just checked the current one and it's looking WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY beyond 12mths old and water barely dribbling through - quick search shows me replacement filters are ~$120 each!

Hence leaning towards replacing this with a more standard multi-stage filter system - which I assume I could essentially just DIY install myself in place of the current one…? Looks easy enough to change over.

Anyone got any recommendations at all for something relatively cost effective that works well and uses cost effective filters? It's just my wife and I so not going to use a massive amount of water but strikes me buying a new filter for this old one is wasted money.

Thanks in advance,

Nick

Home & Garden

Comments

  • altomic on 06/04/2016 - 13:54
    +1

    are you going for a filter just for a drinking water tap or the cold water tap?

    i installed a filter system in the kitchen.

    i bought a tap like this

    and then a dual filter like this)

    and these filters

    plenty of plumbers tape.

    plenty of patience as the tap access was up under the sink and difficult to get to and the water mains tap was out the front of the house.

    • Daniel Plainview on 06/04/2016 - 21:37

      Just for the drinking water.

      Much thanks, what you bought & recommended was exactly the type of thing I was envisaging. Thankfully it'll be a tad easier for me to fit as the existing filtration system is in place so essentially it'll just be removing it and putting the new one in, fittings etc to the water under the sink should essentially be like for like. :-)

      Thanks for the recommendations. :-)

  • EightImmortals on 06/04/2016 - 16:00
    +1

    If you go for a reverse osmosis setup (expensive) be aware that you need to add minerals back into the water that you drink.

  • northern nsw on 06/04/2016 - 16:13
    +2

    If you're on tank water, get yourself one of the whole-of-house 10" Big Blue housings (plenty on eBay etc) and fit a 10 micron (or less) pleated paper sediment filter, put this just downstream from your tank. Change that filter even 12 months max. Further downstream from your tank, ie under your sink, put a charcoal filter and a 0.2 micron ceramic filter, change the charcoal filter every 12 months, clean the ceramic filter when the water pressure drops.
    Those links above to various eBay items are what you need but I'd go for the underbench housings.
    Do yourself a favour and make sure you have the necessary mesh filters for your tank, to keep the inflow as sediment/gunk free as possible.

    • Daniel Plainview on 06/04/2016 - 21:40

      Great advice - the previous owners lived here 20+yrs and in our first week here I've been GOBSMACKED by what I'd consider essential/basic/OBVIOUS items they didn't bother to put in place …..and filters/debris traps on all their downpipes is one of them! Nothing on them at all so any leaves, frogs, spiders etc all go into the tank!!!!!!

      Suffice to say I'll be looking into something either off the shelf or DIY for this tomorrow.

      I'll look into that Big Blue suggestion….makes sense. Great advice, thank you. :-)

  • cDNA on 06/04/2016 - 19:18

    This is not related, but what does it feel like to sleep and not be disturbed in the morning from loud noises outside or other people?

  • northern nsw on 07/04/2016 - 09:13

    I also meant to say that if you can find someone in your area, get the tank cleaned, and do it every 5 years. If you're on an old septic tank system, every 5 years for it too! I found an engineering company in Mullumbimby that supplied me with stainless steel mesh, cut into approx 200 x 100mm they fit inside the gutter over the downpipe outlet, keeps the vermin out of the system. Our green frogs have to live elsewhere! Good luck with it, and to the other poster, our guests (from the city) sometimes can't sleep because it's too quiet LOL.

  • ibelynn on 07/04/2016 - 10:45

    We live in Regional Qld and have tank water.
    due to passing bats, birds etc we really looked into this.
    The cartridge systems do not kill virus's.
    We use a sink UV filter system, you will have to read up about it.

    If you think the systems are too expensive in Au, look at aliexpress, we have bought replacement UV cartridges from there.

    They use UV filters for swimming pools too
    Good luck

  • denuto on 07/04/2016 - 13:36

    If you're going to buy components as recommended in the first post, I recommend you look for a tap with a ceramic disc mechanism. It will cost a little bit more, but last at least five times as long as a cheapo "water spout" tap. The cheapo versions just have a rubber ring which acts as the valve and they don't last well and cannot be serviced with replacement parts.

  • Lancerx on 17/07/2016 - 21:53

    Sorry, on another topic, what brand would you use to improve the taste of tap water in Perth metro? Cheers

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join