RO Water Filter Mount

[Allen Breinig]

I know this is a little off topic but here goes. I'm getting ready to mount an RO water filter under my kitchen sink. Having been down this road before I know that these can be a little hard to service and you end up with water in the sink cabinet. My idea is to have a pull out mount that I can mount the water filter assembly too and have it slide out when filter changes are required. This would allow me to put a pan on the floor to catch any spilled water and make it easier to access the filter housings. I'm picturing a plywood panel mounted on a couple of drawer slides that are mounted to the side of the cabinet. The water lines would of course need to be long enough to allow for the filter movement.

Has anyone done something like this? Problems and issues to look out for?
Thanks,
Allen

[George Bokros]

An RO unit under the sink in my mind is problematic. Any chance you can put in the basement? You may need a storage tank like one use for a well water system. I used to have one set up that way. You will need to bleed the air pressure in the tank down to ~7#

[Allen Breinig]

George
It is somewhat problematic under the sink but it does keep the connections short. I would guess most of these filters end up being mounted under the sink. I don't have a basement just a crawl space on this house so not too good for access. The slide out is my odd ball solution to some of the problems, if it works.

[Bill Dufour]

How about near the water heater?
Bill

[George Bokros]

Allen, with no basement under the sink is the best option. If I had to mount one under the sink I would do as what you have in mind.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Seems like a really good idea, if you have to go with the under-sink option.

Last house I lived in also had a crawlspace (no basement), but I put the RO storage tank down there since it was consistently cool, keeping the dispensed water a little cooler. The actual filters were put in a water heater/utility closet, since it had both water and a drain available. Allowed mounting them at eye-level for much easier servicing. Don't be dissuaded by long distances between the filters/tank/faucet - tubing is VERY cheap.

[Randall J Cox]

I'm on my 2nd or 3rd RO unit under the sink. What a messty pain changing the old filters were. However my newest unit that I installed about 6 months ago is made by Watts Premier (as were the old units) and has new technology where you just push a button and basically tilt out and lift out the filter cartridge with only a drop or two of water dripping for each filter. Just put a towel down to catch some drips. Sooooooooooo much better and easier. I did mount the head unit (that the filters attach to) on a freestanding board because I didn't want to put holes into the side of the cabinet, which means I can slide it out a bit too so I can get to it easier. And yes my tank is under there too. I have no basement. Hope this helps. Randy

[Nike Nihiser]

Since it's "little off topic" you might try putting it in the off topic forum.

[Mike Henderson]

I had one of those under my sink. After problems with it, I switched to just a filter system. Took less space and easier to service.

Mike

[Allen Breinig]

Guys thanks for the replies it gives me a few things to thing about at the least. I had never thought about putting the tank in the crawl space to keep it cooler for instance. This will be my 3rd or 4th RO system and have had both the standard screw on filter housings and the quick change Watts filters. The quick change are very nice as far as maintenance but it bothers me that I am stuck with only one supplier. What they supply is what you get and if they discontinue the product you are out of luck. With the screw on housings you can change up components to fit your filtering needs, not that I plan on changing too much but there are different grades of filters on the market.

[Peter Kelly]

Why 4 RO systems? Are these things that fragile or wear out quickly? After testing, I've found that the well water at my house upstate has 14 PPB arsenic so was planning on installing an RO unit under the sink with a separate tap.

Been looking at the Apec RO-90 https://www.freedrinkingwater.com/ro-90-detail.htm

[Allen Breinig]

Peter
I keep moving and leave them with the house they aren't real expensive. I think they have a fairly long life as it is really just plastic housings to hold the filter elements. You continue to replace filters and they will run just fine. I have ran one system 6 years and the latest one almost 10. The new one will be an APEC RO-50 and then I will install a permeante pump on it. The pump really makes a big difference in my experience.