Brondell Circle Reverse Osmosis System, Under Sink, Black – 4 Stage RO Water Designer Chrome Faucet– Quick Change Filter, WQA Gold Seal-Certified

First things first, the Brondell Circle is a darn good RO system. It does a great job at filtering our home's well water for drinking. Installation was extremely simple. The design is elegant (which seems like an odd statement considering this isn't a new iDevice, or the like).In our home, the Brondell replaced an 8-year old 'traditional' RO system which had failed (more about that, later). Thus, I already had the water supply, drain, and faucet lines ready for the Brondell's installation. I was up-and-running in less than 15 minutes. If you are starting from scratch, plan on at least 30 minutes to install those lines- even more time is required if you need to drill the faucet hole in your sink or counter top.Post-install, we could immediately see the difference in our water. Our total dissolved solids (TDS) levels dropped to less than 1/10 of the incoming water supply: pre-RO, my digital TDS meter read 202 ppm; post-RO, the TDS level dropped to 19 ppm (see photos). Our water has never looked so clear and tasted so good!What drew me to the Brondell Circle was how it has improved upon the design of the traditional RO system. Aesthetically, it is a beautiful system- if you've ever seen what an RO system normally looks like. As an engineer, I truly appreciate the thought, attention, and design touches incorporated into the Brondell Circle.The Circle's all-in-one filter system, with its quarter-turn filters, makes filter changeover so much easier than the normal RO system. Before owning the Circle, I used to have to remove each of the system's 3 filter canisters (dumping water everywhere, in the process) to change the pre-stage filters. O-rings sometimes didn't seal making for a frustrating mess. Water tubing tentacles ran in all directions and around the system and looked like a mess. It worked but it wasn't pretty! But, during the last filter changeout, I must have stressed one of the tiny water inlet elbows. I didn't know that it had sprung a leak until we discovered water stains on the ceiling below! I'm sure that the Brondell's simplified design will help reduce the risk of damage during filter changeover.Next, the Brondell Circle includes a gorgeous chrome faucet which is much improved over the old, generic system's faucet. The Circle faucet has a blue led which flashes gently while the RO water flows. The LED changes to red when the filters need to be changed. Genius! This great feature will help its owner remember to change the filters in a timely manner so as to continue to allow the Circle to perform at its peak.The Circle's great design improvements only served to excite me over what might be next in the evolution of its design. My kids wanted the LED light to illuminate the RO water being served out of the faucet... that would be an awesome feature in the dark. Perhaps a phone app could control the LED color! Speaking of apps, one could help me monitor and manage the filters' life expectancy as well as reorder replacement filters. The Brondell Circle should offer a selection of different faucet finishes, such as brushed nickel, antique bronze, etc., as part of the base offering of this premium system. The Circle could easily measure TDS, and other key water measurements, which could be displayed on a small LCD (or, in-app). The Circle could measure flow to detect a parasitic (or, catastrophic) leakage... if detected, it could close an input valve to prevent water damage. But, I digress.Now, the opportunity for improvement: the cost of the Circle system's replacement filters bothers me. I used to be able to replace all filters plus the membrane, in my 5-stage system, for under $40, annually. Understanding the recurring revenue model tied to the filter consumable, Brondell could make it easier for a consumer to buy the product but they need to consider what is a reasonable price point to make money yet sell more product. Right now, I feel that their price point ($60+) for a 3-pack of filters (which need to be replaced every 6 months) is too expensive relative to the competition. This is a business decision which Brondell needs to weigh... do they want to change the game and become the leader in this entry-to-mid market? If so, they have built the foundation with a great product. I'd love to see them get this system into as many homes, as possible, since great RO can be simple, elegant, and available to everyone. Brondell could sell much, much more if they lowered the recurring filter cost. Market penetration could be immense if they continued to make improvements and add features while being price competitive.

EDIT: was a great system. Lasted around two years of low usage. Now it refuses to work. I changed the expensive cartridges every 6 months religiously. I replaced the RO filter at the two year mark when we started having flow issues.Drain the tank, and it will sometimes make a little water.. Or it will make no water.I've been messing with it for months without it working and have around $140 worth of useless new filtera. I'm giving up and going with a different brand. For such a premium price I'd expect the silly thing to work for more than 2 years.*Great* reverse osmosis system.The installation was really simple and all of the needed parts and adapters were included. The overall quality feels high, the faucet tee is solid cast metal includes all of the needed gaskets. We installed the system in a house with *rural* Texas well water. The system works great and takes the 450 TDS+ down to ~19 TDS. It also does a great job removing the sulfur/egg smell which creeps in during the height of summer.The only con is the non-standard and expensive Brondell filters. ~$60 USD every 6 months, $80 every 2 years (RO)I'd highly recommend to anyone. Worth the cost, and the quality is pretty high.

I had an EcoWater ERO 300 which lasted 26 years, but this last needed repair made me look for alternatives when the part came up "no longer available." I was intrigued by the 1:2 water saving ratio (makes 1 gallon and wastes 2 gallons), which is a better rating than the old EcoWater, which was a 1:3. So not a huge savings, but it is a water savings nonetheless. Installation/Owners manual is well written by a technical writer that understands how to give good, detailed directions - unusual for this day and age. Installation was easy (for me) and took about 1 hour after reading through the manual. There were no leaks. The taste is as good or better than the old EcoWater, but that's to be expected as the Brondell is a 4 stage and the EcoWater was a 3. Brondell filters are available online or at various B&M stores at a reasonable cost range of $40 to $60, or $7 to $10/month without the water usage or membrane cost included. Brondell also packages a new filter change indicator battery with the RF-20 filter replacement set, and a neat filter change card (to post the date of each filter change cycle, four cycles over a 24 month period) is supplied with the RF-40/membrane replacement. Brondell specifies the 1.6 gallon tank should replenish rather quickly at 40 minutes, which I found to be accurate for my installation. I timed it...It takes about 15 seconds to fill a 14-16 ounce glass at the faucet with a full tank. Slightly slower than the older 3 stage EcoWater, but not by much. Brondell is also up front about their flow rate specs in their manual, and the specs have proven accurate. So no downgrades from me. I'm very happy with mine and I've had it for a week.