GE Smart Water Filter
NormanWB
| Posted in Mechanicals on
I saw a GE Smart Water Filter at Home Depot and it seems like a good idea. Not only does it provide whole house water filtration, but it is able to monitor water flow and inform you if you left something running or if there is a major leak. Anybody have expertise with this unit or similar products?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Smart-Whole-House-Water-Filtration-System-GXWH70M/307938369
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Replies
It has a 4 gpm maximum flow rate. It may be too low of a flow rate.
At 25 psi pressure drop. So for most applications, more like 3 gpm.
I think the water monitoring function is a bit of a gimmick here. If you use two Pentek “big blue” filter housings, with a 5 micron (I like the 2501 5-to-1 micron cartridge better) in one and a carbon filter in the other, you’ll save a lot of money — especially over time with filter cartridge replacements.
Bill
The real question did you have a water test that found something bad in your water?
The next question is then is this GE filter the best choice? I doubt that it is.
Buying a filter without testing is waste of money.
I do like my RO drinking water filter.
Walta
The water quality in my area is quite good, so I am mostly concerned about sediment, with its effects on appliances and such, that results from line breaks and repairs. I also want to conserve as much water as I can, so detecting leaks and faucets not turned off is of interest.
Get a single pentek “big blue” filter housing and a 2501 filter cartridge for it. That will be around $60-70 or so. Replace the cartridge as needed, but with good water quality you’ll likely get a year or more of life. With good water quality you can also save some money getting the smaller 10” housing and cartridge since the primary advantage of the larger filters is the ability to handle more sediment before replacement is needed.
Carbon filters are only really needed if you want to do some limited chemical treatment of your water. Carbon filters can remove chlorine (which I don’t recommend doing with a whole-house filter), and can remove a lot of odors. They clog quickly if used for particulates though, and aren’t a good choice if sediment (particulate) removal is your primary concern.
Bill
Anything labeled "smart" is usually questionable...just go with a basic filter body and cartridges as others have suggested. The filter itself is more important than the housing.
One can usually replace "smart" with "caution: we will invade your privacy and sell everything we learn". And being on your wireless network and phone means that it isn't limited to your water usage patterns.
You left out “our smart gizmo likes to break at 3am on Christmas morning while you’re away” too.
Putting smarts like this in a water filter isn’t very useful in my opinion. A smart shutoff valve would be a better place (and such devices exist if you’re worried about water leaks while you’re away).
Bill