Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This review is over 1700 words long BUT will give you info not found in other's reviews. I hope YOU find it informative. I have the Stainless version with glass bottle. Got it Aug 4, 2015 Please note that I USE WATER THAT IS FILTERED to start with. The filter I use is: Watts Premier High Capacity In-line Water Filter (pil-10) under the sink. The spigot assembly on the kitchen sink is: Watts 116023 Standard Faucet, Chrome I had both of these PRIOR to considering a distiller purchase. EASY-PEASY install for those with some mechanical aptitude. I also use the very same filter on the Ice-maker. So far, Nov 3, 2015 (91 days later) - I've made about 90 gallons. I've cleaned the unit after every 4-6 cycles with 2 Tablespoons of Citric Acid which works GREAT. 6 cycles worth of residue HERE where I am is what 2 tablespoons of the Citric is able to remove in a single cleaning cycle and cleaning it completely in ONE cycle is how I determined the cleaning interval. I've found Citric Acid which is what the "Distiller Cleaner" is for a great price HERE: Citric Acid - 2 Lbs Food-Grade - 100% Pure Powdered Crystals - Our Earth's Secrets I reviewed other comments here BEFORE I purchased, making note of one in particular which as a result of reading. I DO NOT and NEVER have let the unit boil the container dry. I use a timer that is set for 5hrs 55Min. ( YOUR time will probably be different due to line voltage which will affect Watts and so, intensity of boiling.) That leaves about 1/2 cup of water in the unit. YOU will need to experiment to find that sweet-spot for YOUR location. The thing that looks like a "Start" button is in reality a resettable "Klixon" style temperature overload and you ARE tripping it every cycle IF you are NOT using a timer. My Stainless Steel tank never looks NASTY, sure there is some scaling but it is easy to clean. I suspect this is because I pre-filter and the remaining mineral impurities have NOT been concentrated, left in the unit for many cycles and then baked dry into it. The tank is PERFECT. Pristine as the day it first arrived and not discolored or "rusting" AT ALL. The timer I use is this one: Instapark TUE-12 15 Amp Heavy-duty 7-Day On/Off Plug-in Digital Programmable Timer with 3-pin Grounded & Polarized Outlet (Single) I didn't even bother to set the time on it since I'm only concerned with a "COUNT-DOWN" of 5:55. The LCD window on the timer is a bit small, but for $10 you'll not hear any further complaints. NOW to the one concern: The propaganda they use says: "Pure water, no chemicals, no unwanted impurities!" I don't know about YOU, but NO MEANS NO in MY book. SO, IF that were true, then WHY does it come with charcoal baggies (which I DO NOT use) for the water to exit through? I'll tell you why. It REMOVES impurities from water. Contaminates bind to the charcoal due to its extreme porosity and surface area density. If it were indeed PURE coming out of the distiller, there would be NO taste, and NO need for that baggie, EVER. Obviously, that isn't what YOU will experience when you use any distiller. Depending on what is in your source water, you probably WILL have that "distilled water" taste if you do not use the charcoal baggies and I'm afraid it most likely will be unavoidable. NOT AT ALL because the unit is bad, but because of one simple fact of physics: Differing vapor-points of the various minerals and "impurities" of your supply water. Obviously some vaporize at or very close to the boiling point of water, carrying them along WITH the steam. Doe's that mean this unit sucks? NO, not at all. The VAST majority of nastiness will be removed! Just understand that if you want TASTELESS water you will most likely need to use the charcoal baggies and that WILL add to your cost per gallon. A BIG point of consideration will be just how "NASTY" the water is that you start with. It could significantly impact your cleaning frequency AND cleaning material costs! Like others have stated in their reviews which I back, it is very well made and should last YEARS. In fact, (I) completely dismantled and re-assembled mine out of curiosity and always thinking of ways to improve things. I highly recommend that YOU, do NOT do this! - I have technical expertise and ability. I can say from first-hand observation, the build quality IS very good and it SHOULD be, given the cost. Dropping it would not be a good thing though. I think due to its sheer mass it would probably break the base material which appears to be a hard plastic similar to "bakelite" from years ago. It could also quite possibly damage the heating unit. Essentially it's a very simple, glorified electric kettle with a distiller attached at the top. For those of you wondering if it is cost effective, here are MY REAL costs broken down for about 6 gallons: Electricity here where I live: 9¢ per KWh OFF-PEAK The unit uses 530 watts @ 117vAC (MEASURED) MY cycle time is 5 hrs and 55 min which means 3.13 Kwh x 6 of electricity use = $1.69 for 35.5 Hrs total run time. Cleaning materials: 2 tablespoons costs 31¢ 2 tablespoons = 1.03 Ounces (MEASURED) Electricity during cleaning cycle: 2¢ 6 GALLON TOTAL COST = $2.02 (a little more really since there is some water left after a cycle) 1 Gallon = 34¢ This of course, minus charcoal baggies. For REAL WORLD comparison, A local nation-wide superstore at this time sells a gallon for 88 cents which is the CHEAPEST I could find anywhere. A difference of 54¢ Using this as a reference point, you will need to be using a LOT of distilled water to justify the expenses of purchasing, using and maintaining your own distiller. I USE about 7-9 Gallons per week. Saving about $4.32 each week over store bought. At this rate, factoring the cost of the timer, cleaning supplies AND my AMAZON bought storage containers that I purchased as a direct consequence of buying the distiller, (I) will not break even for AT LEAST 66 weeks! AFTER that it WILL be a true 54¢ per gallon savings. Perfectly acceptable LONG-TERM if you USE the water. Bear in mind that making it yourself ALSO adds LABOR on your part. You will not simply be pulling jugs off a shelf at the store. Consider what YOUR time is worth too! I figure I spend about 1 hr and 22 mins for every six gallons or about 14 min per gallon made. This is for filling the fill jug, transferring to the distiller, from the distiller to storage, transfer from storage to dispensers, and cleaning. Is your time worth more than $2.36 per hour? THAT is what MAKING the water PAID you TIME-WISE vs. buying it while you were already AT the store. Bet THAT is a bit of a surprise eh? To store the water I put INTO the distiller: Reliance Products Desert Patrol 3 Gallon Traditional Jeep Style Rigid Water Container I'm NOT real happy with this container. The pour-spout gasket configuration is CRAP and leaks when I pour. It sucks. READ The review I posted there. If you get one, you WILL understand what I mean... GUARANTEED. I can modify it by maybe using a large O-ring instead and make it work, but I should not HAVE to. To store the DISTILLED water: Reliance Products Aqua-Tainer 7 Gallon Rigid Water Container This container is OK. I leave the CAP with the spigot on it slightly loose until I turn it on its side to use it. That keeps the pressure OFF the silicone washer built into the cap which I hope will prolong its life by not being compressed 24/7. Is it overpriced? Well, (I) bought one so it wasn't TOO overpriced for ME at least. Could YOU build one for the price? Doubtful. You can see that I did some math to justify it all and I DID mull it over for several days due to the long time period before I reach break-even. If YOU are using 10+ gallons per week and already have containers, this would be a easy-to-justify purchase. Less than that and it would be wise to evaluate YOUR situation much as I did. UPDATE: 11/11/2015 – Since writing this review. I have since bit the bullet and decided to start using the charcoal sachets since the finished water DID have a taste to it. I AM a bit worried about costs. Making this decision set me back an additional $27 5 Lbs Bulk Air Filter Refill Coconut Shell Granular Activated Carbon Charcoal Regency Spice Bags for Bouquet Garnis with Drawstring Tops, set of 4 The unit came with 6 when I bought it. So far, I've run five gallons through the first one and the water still has NO taste whatsoever. The NEW charcoal arrived and I'm running it through two cycles of sachet, I will not know what kind of yield I can expect. I ran 10 gallons through one of the filters that came with the distiller and it was still 100% effective. I dropped it on the floor so… Started the experiment today 12-1-15. I loaded my new material for the first time and at this moment running my first gallon. Here is the breakdown: ( I WILL update this as soon as I have good reliable data from the distiller runs.) Bag weight: 2.2 Grams Charcoal weight 7.1 Grams or .25 oz ( This was the amount that filled it to what I consider optimal) OMG THAT means I will have a yield of 320 sachet's!!! for $27! Broken down, that is 2¢ per charcoal fill! I am ESTIMATING 15 gal/fill which will EASILY be cost effective. ( that proved more than true) Stay tuned ;-) One final note: Store-bought water is most likely about 3 months old sitting in those milk-jug type of containers. Making it yourself will be as "fresh" as it can get and THAT may be your primary motivation for this venture. Hope this info helps YOU make your decisions and thanks for reading. 3/4/16 - I'm working on improving the charcoal filtration. Stay tuned. 4/26/16 - I THINK I may have found a excellent solution for DIY charcoal filtration. I ordered Keurig My K-Cup Replacement Coffee Filter Set fits B30 B40 B50 B60 B70 series and the plan is to elevate the distiller and rig the intake of the kuerig to the distiller outlet and TADA! I will be able to EASILY use that coconut charcoal I mentioned above! I MIGHT just need to drill out the inlet to match the exit point of the distiller! I have ALL drill sizes - Letter, fractional and Number drills. SHOULD be a piece of cake! Will know more in a week or so. UPDATE 6/21/16 WORKING LIKE A CHAMP! I drilled it out and used hotmelt glue to attach it to the spout end. EASY-PEASEY! The set of filters I got were a 2 pack. So one has charcoal, the other doesn't. I use it in 2 configurations, With and WITHOUT charcoal. WITHOUT charcoal for production water to be used to make Colloidal Silver with my own design of generator. In that configuration, I get water that registers .8 uS/Cm which a more precise scale than a standard TDM meter does. On a TDM it would read ZERO every time. ( I USE A: Hanna PWT AND I use calibration solution - BECAUSE it is necessary for CS production.) NOW REMEMBER, it works for ME with the water supply (I) have from the tap. YOUR water may be WAY crappier. For CS generation that may require 2 or 3 runs through the distiller in which case STORE-BOUGHT MAY be a better alternative for CS production. This now concludes all testing I will doing regarding this product. It STILL is spotless inside when cleaned. It has performed absolutely flawlessly across several HUNDRED gallons of production when used as I described above. Hope This all helps you.... UPDATE 12/5/16: STILL working perfectly, Tank is PERFECT. I've made A LOT of water with it! UPDATE 1/15/19 STILL working perfectly. I now put RO water into it. Can Make MANY gallons with nearly NO residue. TIDBIT: REMEMBER: RO water is absolutely NOT the same as distilled water! DO NOT use it in your car battery! IT WILL screw it up. Distilling is the most pure you will get, AND IS THE ONLY WATER YOU SHOULD USE IN A CAR BATTERY. UPDATE: 05/10/19 - It is still going strong and looking like new. One thing I did was to start using RO water in it. WAY less sedimentation as would be expected. Has cut my cleaning cycles to nearly never. UPDATE: 04/05/20 (4 YEARS and 8 MONTHS) - STILL looks like new and has made hundreds of gallons.