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Review on 🚰 Oversized Commercial Reverse iSpring RCB3P by David Causillas

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Damaged in transit

I have just received my iSpring RCB3P GPD whole house reverse osmosis system. I'm not sure what happened when this item was packed, but the screws for half of the brackets holding the membrane and carbon filters came loose leaving the filters floating during shipping and the unit is very heavy. Consequently, the end of the faucet of the built-in activated carbon filter broke. It took me more than two weeks to receive the product, now I have to contact the manufacturer to get a replacement for the built-in activated carbon filter before I can even check the unit for other issues. The integrated activated carbon filter looks like a solid block with special fittings, so I can't just go to the store and buy another filter to test the system. There is no part number on the built in charcoal filter so I'm not sure how to go about replacing it every 6 months as recommended. These are the questions I should ask the manufacturer. I bought a device with a pump and the power cord looks like the styrofoam on the cord has melted. It doesn't look like the foam should affect the functionality of the device, it's not very attractive. Additionally there are color coded stickers covering the holes where the tubes are to be inserted. The tape for the 'To Water Inlet' hole slipped into the hole and it took me a hell of a long time to get the tape out because it was stuck to the inside of the joint. The velcro should probably be bigger so they can't get into the connection holes. The body of the device is quite massive, and the engine, pressure gauge and other electronic elements are well installed. I will update my review as soon as I can test the device. This unit costs over $500 so the initial problems are very frustrating as I have no idea how long it will be before I receive the defective part. 1/16/18 Update I posted iSpring sends an email late at night via the Contact Us option on their website after you post the above review. The next day I received an email from one of their representatives (James). He worked with me to fix broken connections on the in-line charcoal filter. First he had to check my purchase. Now he's sending me a replacement part. So at this point, iSpring's customer support is very responsive, which means they care about the quality of their products and customer satisfaction. I will provide more feedback as soon as I can test the device. 1/21/18 I received a replacement activated carbon filter on Friday 1/19/18. I was disappointed that the replacement filter was 1500 gallons and the original filter was 3000 gallons. Knowing that I had to do all the reductions and extensions of pipe connections, I would give 5 stars here. The following information can help to avoid disappointment. I believe ISpring is having some quality control issues due to the off-the-shelf iSpring RCB3P GPD reverse osmosis water filtration system with booster pump and oversized pre-RO filters was damaged on arrival and the 20 gallon iSpring storage tank I purchased was damaged on arrival was also damaged. The damage did not affect the functionality of the devices, but only caused frustration. During the testing phase of the reverse osmosis system, I found another plug that was broken during transport. I didn't find the second defective plug until around 8:30 p.m. when I opened the water valve on the reverse osmosis system. It's very inconvenient to walk to the parts store when they're all closed. I don't know why but the design of this reverse osmosis unit (RCB3P) has a 3/8" OD tube inlet but the tube size is reduced to 1/4". OD tubes through membrane cartridges and carbon filters. The outlet lines to the faucet and storage tank are 1/4 inch OD. The inlet to the 20 gallon iSpring storage tank is 3/8 inch OD. I couldn't find any fittings that would reduce the OD from 3/8" to 1/4" and vice versa, so I had to spend a lot of time at hardware stores to find the parts needed for this purpose. This is very frustrating and inconvenient for the customer. I will say that the device is working fine after all the issues are fixed. My TDS before the unit was 435 and the TDS from the reverse osmosis faucet was 26. I let the unit run for a while before taking the reverse osmosis TDS as I wanted to flush all the lines. The storage tank also recommends rinsing the tank after the initial filling. Make sure the faucet and tank lines are vented into a bucket or drain before connecting to the reverse osmosis line and tank at home. This flushes all carbon from the carbon filter in the lines. On the plus side, I installed a Shark pressure gauge and Shark check valve just before I went from my house's 1/2" copper line to 3/8" OD piping. My pressure is just over 50psi at the equipment inlet. The water pressure of our external faucet is usually 5-6 GPM. The reverse osmosis system was producing about a gallon of reverse osmosis water per minute using about a gallon of waste water (to get this info I put the drain hose in one 5 gallon bucket and the return cock hose in another 5 gallon bucket and timed the test). I'm not sure how this unit works without a booster pump, but I highly recommend getting a unit with a pump as all the wiring and other electronics are already installed. Don't worry if the pump runs for a long time. After I started filling the tank, it took about two hours for the tank to fill up and for enough pressure to build up in the unit to turn off the pump (the gauge on the reverse osmosis unit read about 1 when the unit turned off became). When the device is turned off, the water coming out of the sewage pipe also stops. Our reverse osmosis water is odorless and tasteless so I'm not sure why some of the other reviews had such complaints, maybe they didn't flush the lines. Both the tank and some flux or other plumbing chemicals got into their tank and now it is difficult to get it out. Like me, I suggest running both RO water lines (the line to the faucet and the line to the tank) down a bucket or drain before connecting the lines to the faucet and tank. Don't contaminate your tank. I ran my device in this configuration for about 20-30 minutes. A day has passed and now that the device is working, my frustration is rapidly diminishing. I keep my fingers crossed that the design of the device is good design. Much luck.

Pros
  • Fits me perfectly
Cons
  • No instructions