Pentair T600RO

Now this little guy from Pentair is something special.  Tankless, easily replaceable cartridges, and looks like a tiny desktop computer.  It even has a bunch of blinky lights to tell you when to replace the cartridges.

And the best part?  It's one of the least wasteful RO systems on the market.   In general, reverse osmosis flush about 3 gallons down the drain for every 1 gallon you get to drink.  But that's in really great water conditions.  If the incoming water's not so great?  It can get as bad as 10 gallons down the drain!

But according to Pentair, you might even get close to the holiest of grails in RO: only flushing 1 gallon down the drain for every 1 gallon you get to drink!!

(YMMV, of course, but that's a helluva selling point, right??)

But how does it work?

The incoming water goes through the composite filter to get rid of big stuff, like sediment.  Then it goes through the activated carbon filter, handling any chlorine or taste issues. 

Finally, like every other RO system, the water is pressurized and forced through the membrane. Anything that can't get through gets dumped down the drain.  And usually this means some of the incoming water gets dumped too. 

What about changing the cartridges? How often should I do that?

There's blinky lights that tell you when, but the RO cartridge should be replaced every two years, and the other two cartridges should be replaced every year. 

That said, if you notice any taste/smell issues, or if there's a drop in water pressure, you should consider replacing them sooner.

Prior warning, replacing the cartridges will feel super cool.  I'm not even kidding a little bit.

Dimensions:

The whole system is about 6" wide, 18" long, and about 17" tall.