Waterdrop AP431 AP430SS Whole House Scale Inhibitor Filter, Heater Softener System, Prevent Scale Build Up On Hot Water Heaters, Pipes and Boilers

Update: I was able to get in contact with their customer service. They sent me a new unit which arrived in a couple of days. Installed exactly the same way as I tried with the first one, but no leaks this time! I'm not sure why there's some issues with these units. It looks like other reviewers had issues too but they were also fixed with a new unit. Thank you waterdrop customer service! I installed the whole house scale inhibitor filter, but unfortunately it's leaking. I've clamped the fittings, but unfortunately water leaks from the waterdrop unit. I haven't had luck reaching customer support leaving a review here as that seems to have worked for others.

I’m an HVAC technician. I am using this for my plate heat exchanger, which is in charge of the hot water for my entire house. I have installed many like it in other houses. The competitors have a very similar design but a much higher price tag. With a lot of stuff I sell out in the field I like to try it in my own house first. That being said, this seems like a good less expensive option. So far, I would recommend it. A little pro tip I found the easiest way to change the cartridge is to install two ball valves on either side. It’s a little bit more work upfront and may cost a little bit more for the plumbing fittings, but when it comes time to change the cartridge out, you can do it seconds.

These are great filters, I use them with my tankless water heaters. They are much less expensive than that "other name brand", especially when you replace them every six months, I recommend!

I recently installed a tankless water heater, even though I installed the valving to allow "relatively easy" annual flushing (to remove scale) I bought this as an additional "insurance policy" to prevent scaling and extend the life of my (new) tankless water heater. Good features: An arrow to show correct direction of water flow Price was very good compared to the competition. Replacing teh cartridge does not require removing the "device" from the pipe. Issue(s): The design of this device relies on using a large amount of teflon tape to seal the threads. If a "NORMAL" amount of teflon tape (actually not a sealant but thread lubricant). This is due to the design that there are no sealing surfaces on this device. Using a significant amount of teflon tape does seal it when significant torque is used to tighten teh fittings.. For that reason any installation should NOT disturb these fittings again and unions or something similar should be installed.

Easy. Hard to say how well it works, but it couldn't be easier to install.

It leaked on the thread connector on the t. Going to try to add more tape and piped up.See what happens. I felt the threads went in too deep, so my fitting .bottomed out.

Once you get the bugger in, works great. If you have a fridge like mine, you understand the annoyance of changing the filter. For mine you have to lay on the floor (literally!) and don't forget to take a pair of pliers down with you because you'll never turn that bugger without them. Then change it out and put the fridge back together (I have to remove the baseboard thing). After you do all that you are sooo happy that this filter lasts a looong time! I don't bother with setting the calendar, I can taste the change in the water when I need to replace it.

Looks well made. Haven’t installed yet. Will update if any issues

Works the same as the 3M for less money. I was a bit disappointed in the finish quality (mostly the markings) of the stainless fitting, but it's cast stainless so I probably had too high of expectations. Would definitely buy this one again.

Excelente producto, funciona muy bien! El agua en mi departamento tiene mucho sarro y recientemente instalé un lavavajillas, el problema fue que los platos salían con muchas marcas de agua dura, compré e instalé el filtro y asunto resuelto, los trates salen impecable. Ahora compraré otro para instalarlo en la entrada principal y despedirme del sarro en la regadera. Ojo, pónganle mucha cinta aislante para que no vaya quedar goteando.

As others have mentioned on the side female threads they need a lot Teflon tape on the input fittings or it will leak trying with about six raps Nope still leaks, 10 - 12 which is over kill but hey no more leak I guess its because of the stainless steel fitting which is way harder metal than brass other than that the cartridge screws on good just be careful slowly threading it so you don’t cross thread the soft plastic Time will tell if it actually fixed the hard water issue

I have only had it one day so I don't know yet how well it decreases scale formation. Time will tell. I do have an installation tip for you though. Make sure your ¾" NPT connections are super, duper tight before you button up the installation otherwise you'll be tearing it apart to retighten. I made it appropriately tight for ¾" but it leaked on both ends. I cut one end to be able to spin the tee and tightened both ends 2 more turns, which was well beyond what is normal for ¾" and it still leaked. I cut in again and tightened them both until they were basically bottomed right out and it finally held. It almost makes me wish I had used thread dope in addition to the teflon tape but this is for drinking water. Save yourself the headache and make sure it is freaking tight. Edit: Had it two days now. It still leaks but very slowly. One drop every two and a half minutes. I cannot get it any tighter. There are no threads left. I have changed my rating to one star. I'm going to have to buy something else. Edit #2: Waterdrop contacted me, presumably because of my review. They were good enough to refund the full purchase price so I will once again change my rating, this time to three stars from one. The tee didn't do any better but the company did. I have an idea for them that might reduce the number of bad reviews they get due to leaks caused by improperly cut NPT threads. I think they should find a good supply of quality ½" to ¾" brass bushings that are properly threaded to industry standard and sweat them into the tee (ie: solder). Most people will be installing the tee into a ½" system anyway. The rest can use an adapter if needed. The solder will seal the poorly cut ¾" threads and the quality brass bushing will not leak on the ½" threads.

Seems to be working, only complaint I have is the same as others the pipe fittings leak if you don’t put 10 wraps of tape on them. Other than that it’s good.