Doulton W9223002 UltraCarb OBE Ceramic Filter

I've been using this filter for 15 years but didn't realize how good it was until I got to my current property and had well water with huge amounts of iron, arsenic and iron bacteria. The water coming directly from the well smells like rotten eggs and is undrinkable. My neighbor spent over $2500+ on filters that didn't work and had to buy bottled water. After hearing that, I didn't have high expectations that the ultracarb would make much of a difference(especially since I'm very sensitive and can taste and smell things that other people cannot) but tried it anyway, since I'd had such a good experience in the past. I was really amazed at the difference. The water tastes clean and fresh, has no bad smell whatsoever and virtually eliminated the arsenic and iron in the water!!I do have to clean the filter every 2 weeks or so, which takes under 5 minutes, because the iron bacteria creates so much slime that it clogs the filter eventually, but then it's like new. And the filter can be cleaned 60 times before it needs to be replaced!! Really amazing!! Hope this review will be helpful to other's who have similar issues and need an inexpensive way to get really good quality drinking water.Just another note, remember to get housing that's bpa free(doulton is bpa free but so are many others available thru amazon) If you want more detailed info on the doulton filters, Dianne at Doulton Canada (1-800-439-1671) and Max at Doulton USA (1-888-664-3336) have been very helpful. Good luck to everyone!

Great filter for third world settings. I used them for almost 10 years in Equatorial Africa, and never had any sickness from our drinking water, even though the source is a swamp a few miles away. When the filter gets muddy and stops allowing water to pass through, just clean with the soft side of a sponge -- not too abrasive -- and return the filter to the enclosure. My filters last well over a year -- until I accidentally drop them. That's the only reason I've had to replace them with this cleaning method. Other have tried RO or UV filters, but most require electricity for a pump (to push through the RO) or for the UV light. When power is off, they can't filter. This can work off a gravity-fed supply -- my supply is a tank about 12 feet above the filter, and I get about 1 liter per minute flow through the filter into a smaller storage tank with a ball-float valve so I always have about 20 gallons of drinking water ready to go. This is great for a plumbed system. For a portable or temporary solution, the Sawyer Point-One or Point-Zero-Two filters are a great alternative.

Other than seeming to be a little pricey, this is a good filter. I do prefer the reverse osmosis type of water filters more than this ceramic filter, but since I'm reviewing the filter itself, not the entire product, I'll just say that the filter is fine. One does need to be careful with how tight one screws on the filter housing as I think that's why the last one broke, after less than a year of use.

Great filter for me. Being that most of our city water comes from the river I don't trust up river companies in oil, gas, coal, and power generation to keep their filth out of the water supplies. Also worry about radiation from who knows where. The last thing radiation scares me to no end. I see no radiation facts on my city water facts. Seems like nobody cares what the frack is in our water. Especially curious as to drill water companies legally using our waste plant and I have to pay for their making money while I just pay, pay. . And I am also paying for a new water plant for drinking water. Some one knows what is going on and our elected will do anything for money. Look at all the crying about air pollution and them trying to stop upgrades. London stopped all coal burning in the city because of people dying. We have know for a long time the effects of pollution yet our paid off elected officials only cater to their rich friends and crybabies. Look at how they don't mind funding some people to get elected so they look the other way. No doubt that is corruption at it finest hour. Claim to be for all Americans but only protect the rich polluters. Take the coal mining problems. We have known for years coal needs cleaned up to use. But nobody wanted to give up profits to do it. Now they cry about coal jobs. Where were they when we lost most of our industrial jobs. The alls of even getting paid to ship jobs overseas. All involved should be convicted of breach of oath of office. US workers did not try to get these job shifts out of the country. The rich ANTI-Americans did.

I've owned this brand/model for almost 3 years. I originally purchased the under-counter kit ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B7PDN6/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ), and have replaced the cartridge twice (our average use is only about a gallon a day and our tap water is pretty decent). I'm not an expert, and can't provide chemical analysis of this filters performance. I am happy with the product with two exceptions: 1 - In the product detail information (here at Amazon) is this statement, "The Ceramic ultracarb cartridge can be cleaned and reused many times." While the exterior of the ceramic portion of the cartridge can be cleaned, the carbon block and ion exchange resin (the 2nd & 3rd stages of filtration also noted in the description) cannot, and I'm sure they have a limited lifespan. Unless you're dealing with very dirty water - to the point you have to clean the filter every 100 gallons or so, you should consider the 'cleaning-reusing' feature irrelevant since the carbon and resin filtering portions can only adsorb so much. 2 - I think there is a health issue with the filter when first used. I suspect (but of course can't prove) that tiny ceramic or carbon or resin particles end up in the outflow. I know to flush any new filter with at least a few gallons of water before use, but I've experienced a slightly sore throat for the first few days after replacing the filter (twice [and also with the original purchase]) that I can't attribute to anything else. This is likely remedied with more extensive flushing before use. Might be a good idea to run several gallons through before using for drinking. Personal water source note: Our water comes from wells that are just barely downstream of an outflow from the local lake which sees fairly extensive boating/swimming/fishing activity. Our tap water is treated, so I'm less concerned with bacteria than I am with the byproducts of agricultural/grazing runoff and byproducts of motorboat use. Would I buy this again? Maybe, but in my situation, I think the best solution is a multistage under counter filter. Reverse osmosis is out of the question for me due to wasted water (the local lake is at 19% capacity and we're on stage 2 water use restrictions). I'll ultimately be purchasing a Sterasyl™ ceramic microfilter (which should be pretty easy to clean), followed by an activated carbon block filter and then an ion exchange resin cartridge for heavy metal removal. The latter two filters can be replaced as needed - a more economical solution than replacing a do-it-all filter. There's a chart of various filter types and applications here: http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/thenetmall/faireytable.pdf (not sure if Amazon will allow the link - if it doesn't show up, search "faireytable.pdf" ) On the other hand, if you can afford forty plus bucks every 6 - 12 months, this one might be the easier solution.

I have been using this product now for two years in an area where drinking tap water is GUARANTEED to make you sick! I have never had a stomach ailment. I use it for drinking water, coffee, tea, etc., washing fruits and vegetables (after bleaching) and anytime I cook pasta. It does not remove the minerals that you need for good health. So your water may have calcium or other good things in it. But it won't have heavy metals or bacteria - in my experience, anyway. Great product!

I got excited about this product after a demo at Expedition Expo. However, I was in the end disappointed at its flow rate. I wanted to use it to fill my RV fresh water tank, and it would have taken about a half-hour or more for 70 gallons. Just not fast enough. As for the cleanable aspect of the ceramic, sure that is a handy feature. But there's little you can do to reactivate the carbon (look up the process for doing this) - - so the filter has to be replaced anyway. Add to this my concern about the possible long-term toxicity of the silver - - I ended up going with a high-flow ceramic unit with KDF carbon.

I like the fact that our water tastes better. What surprised me was that it was slimmer than the one that was in there. Otherwise it performed up to standards.