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I agree that the filters are wear & tear items. In this case, the filters gave up on the last day of the warranty (I raised the ticket on the last day of warranty). And according to the terms, they are covered for the first 6 months of purchase. This was confirmed by the regional technician as well and he sent a mail to the HQ for the same. But it was denied later for unknown reasons.

Just ensure that the RO works on 230V and not 110, In case you get only 110V models, buy a suitable transformer - a heavy duty design, that can be kept on 24x7.

Thanks will do. This is the model of the RO I have narrowed down. Any thoughts?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/ISPRING-...K-UV/206553338

Seems to be a good system, though at nearly USD 300/ quite expensive.

I suggest that you go through the parts details thoroughly and figure out what consumables are needed for two years and get them. What is most frequently used up is the RO membrane and the Activated Charcoal (if there) cartridges.

By the way how are you going to get it through the customs? If they levy a duty then the system will end up costing you upwards of 30K, and for that you will get an equivalent system here.

Aquaguard has a system which is similar to this one called the Invisipure - https://www.eurekaforbes.com/water-p...-invisipure-ro

Comes with a 7 stage purification process, a 12 litre storage tank and a water faucet as well. Add a pre-filter so you can filter out the sediments from the inlet line yourself without calling the Aquaguard service engineer when the output line gets choked (in case the municipality water line has this issue).

We installed these units on our ships for the drinking water system. No complaints yet.

Diyguy, I'm wondering why not but Indian for this? It is not the sort of thing I would import.

If you want something more industrial than the consumer brands, look at Zero B. Buying local will ensure service and parts availability. Warranty on an item from USA will be worthless.

Our Zero B unit was completely rebuilt after the flood. Well, actually it is probably not really Zero B any longer as our maintenence guy is independent... But it is ten years old and functioning.

You should have gone to the Water/Energy expo a month or two ago. :). Although most of it was industrial-scale stuff.

@Thad ten years and still functioning. So why bother about the rest. I hear the average like of a Kent is about four to five years. I think you have given a great tribute to ZeroB.

Well, yes, but you know the story about the mason's hammer...

I've had this hammer since I first started twenty years ago. Three new heads and five new handles...

And I guess our water purifier is much the same. Especially post flood, when all of its electrical components were replaced.

Thanks for the input. I was dead set on the 3M Ro costing 34k in India. It is a no storage and instant water flow device which I liked. Then I started looking at an equivalent US model but couldn't find it there. The Indian 3M one is quite small and hence thought of looking for it in the US. I couldn't find it in the US but my searches led me to various models and I liked the 7 stage one. If I do purchase this on my trip starting tomorrow, I will try and purchase the filters as well. The model on Amazon has 3000+ ratings which helped me decide as well. Customs shouldn't be an issue normally. I am now seriously considering this but am not seeing the model as a 7 stage model but a 5 stage one. I am carrying this because I have baggage space and an equivalent indian model is either not available or more expensive. I have never been a fan of an RO system but read recently that one of our cyclist BHPian had a hernia and was told not to cycle and lift water cans!! That's when I decided to get a RO because at home either me, my son or my wife do this job. I do not want my son to get any long term issue due to my stupidity.

Posting initial ownership experience of the new water purifier that I have bought recently.

Make : Ruby

I have earlier used Philips UV purifier for 8 years and needed a change due to leakages and change of water taste. The new purifier has RO +UV + UF technologies, which claims to have 12 stage purification process. After reading through this thread and understanding my requirements, I shortlisted Livpure & Kent ( Glo & PEP). However, on Amazon I saw that the user ratings of Ruby was equally good or somewhat better, with good recent reviews. This could be due to lower price point. After considering everything, I opted for it.

Ruby water purifiers are made in Satara near Pune and are marketed by Aqua-Phoenix. The equipment's build quality is acceptable. The installation was hassle free - which can be booked in advance. ( Chargeable @ 500INR). During booking this appointment, I had a long chat with the customer relation executive. The executive sounded very helpful and professional, which further provided confidence in the product. She arranged for local representative and also shared contact details to call for any kind of product support.

After installation, I faced one major issue. The water flow rate reduced down, almost to drops. I called the Customer care person and she immediately connected me to the local representative who, based on his experience, suspected that the Carbon filter might be malfunctioning. The executive directed the local rep. to change the filter at no additional cost. She additionally assured me that I didn't have to worry and equipment would be partly / fully replaced if the problem was not fixed. The problem was fixed after the change of the filter and currently, the equipment is working fine.

Company executive also informed me that the full AMC should not be needed in the first year as all the parts are covered in warranty. The AMC cost is quoted as 2K for the first year. From the next year onward, it would be 3.5K inclusive of all consumables and warranty. The Service rep. (who is educated and is doing double job including in a finance agency) tells me that the components of this and other known brands are from same source. The RO membrane is anyway imported in all the purifiers those are available locally.

The input water is at 150+ TDS & output is set at 90-100 TDS. Water taste is tad bland but acceptable ( Somewhat similar to the packaged water available in market). The Purifier comes along with a mineral cartridge.

At the price point of 4.2K ( Including Amazon discount), its easy on pocket and has good product support.

With input TDS around 150+ and output set at 100, you might as well drink the input water itself. Because, with Input 150, the RO out put will be just around 10. To bring it up, input water is mixed.

Yes, you are right. However, the source of water is my apartment's water storage tank, which gets cleaned 2 or 3 time in a year. The last cleaning happened only a month back. I am doubtful about the consistency of the input water TDS over 6 months. Sometimes, water tankers are called in to face water cuts.

A water purifier was anyway needed. UV filter might have done the job, if I was sure about TDS.

@Thad; I like your comment, but I am sure you do appreciate the build quality.

ZERO B gives very good products and most of the parts are manufactured in India, so cost and availability are really not an issue. Most other commonly advertised brands have common/cheaper OEMs based in East asian(Thailand/Taiwan/China). But essentially all these products are same. Zero B does not advertise much as they are priamarily Industrial manufacturers. Service should not be an issue though.

Disclaimer : I am not directly employed/associated with Zero B. But I am a Consultant associated with its parent ION exchange and has some insider knowledge about the water industry by interacting with people working there. I have a Kent and Zero B installed in my, parent's kitchen respectively and both are working without much trouble.

I certainly appreciate Zero-B quality. Ours was one of the higher-capacity (ltrs/hr) of the small, household, under-sink units, and I'm not so sure about cost not being an issue: it was expensive. We also did not actually need that capacity, and should have bought a lesser model in the same range.

At that time, water purifiers had not become such common items in the consumer world; there was less choice.

I recommend Zero-B. My point about ours and hammers, is that it is probably not really Zero-B any longer, having been totally rebuilt by an independent service guy. But it still works well.

Maintenance of water purifiers is absolutely essential. The machine really is as good as its last maintenance. Filter cartridges need to be cleaned several times a year and replaced from time to time (I forget how long!). This is one reason why I would be loathe to import one, unless identical spares were available here. Imagine having a car for which one had to get oil from abroad!

My wife's taste buds are a pretty good indicator of our unit being due for service (far better than mine), but a recent online impulse buy was a TDS meter. Not, of course, that I remember to use it often, but it is good to be able to check. It is made by Mi, and came from Aliexpress.

Oh! Currently, our un-treated kitchen tap shows tds at 439! Maybe time we did some sump and tank cleaning! But treated water shows 58, so our RO machine is certainly doing its job.