I must say the process in home reverse osmosis system is advancing much more quickly than I thought. When I was buying my Home Master RO system, 5 stage reverse osmosis system was the best that money can buy. Nowadays, we have 6 stage and even 7 stage reverse osmosis systems. Being a 5 stage ro system owner, it is interesting where are the improvements and whether it is worth the money to upgrade a newer one.
Today’s article will feature 2 types of 6 stage RO: under sink version and the counter top version.
iSpring RCC7Ak under sink 6 stage reverse osmosis system review
The iSpring RCC7Ak is one of the highest rated 6 stage RO system on Amazon so I thought it is the best model to review here. The first thing I focus on was the additional 6th filter. Turns out that it is actual a reminerlization filter. With this, iSpring now has a model that can rival the Home Master, which I bought preciously because it was the only 5 stage RO stage that came with remineralization at that time.
Now, a question you might ask is why iSpring requires a 6 stage for remineralization while Home Master can do it with 5? The answer is that iSpring uses the 4th and 5th filter for finer filtering to remove stuff such as granular active carbon (GAC), carbon block (CTO).
With more filters, does it mean that the water quality is better. In theory, the answer is yes but is not always the case as you might also look at the quality of the filtering. 15 lousy filters still make a lousy RO system. The best way is to use an objective measurement like the TDM. For the iSpring 6 stage RO, I see reviewers getting around 15-20 PPM for their TDM. That is considered very good. However, my Home Master system constantly produces water below 10 PPM. In this case, even though there are 6 stage filtering, I feel that the Home Master has a better filtering system that has remineralization as well.
Installation wise, the iSpring RCC7Ak is as challenging as other under sink reverse osmosis systems. One tip is to make sure the lines are cut clean so that there is no odd angle, which might cause leaks and drips. On average, you should budget out about an hour for the installation if you have no prior experience in doing such handy work.
Reverse Osmosis Solutions counter top 6 stage RO system review
For the counter top version, the best rated product comes from Reverse Osmosis Solution’s model, which unfortunately doesn’t have a product name. Similar to the iSpring 6 stage RO, the last additional filter is meant to raise the PH level of the filtered water as well as to remineralize it with tourmaline.
The good thing about any counter top reverse osmosis system in general is the ease of installation. This model is no exception. Getting it hooked up to your water faucet is a no brainer and will take you probably less than 15 minutes to complete the set up.
Water filtering is also very good despite its small size. Reviewer reported that after the RO process, the water quality improved from 150ppm to 8 ppm. That is a remarkable improvement and should result in clean and tasty water for your home.
Another good thing about this unit is its affordable price of USD170+. Compared this to any under sink RO, which usually cost from USD250 to USD500, it is very cheap and can be affordable by anyone who wants clean and clear water.
The only downside is that it cannot store the water so you need to wait for the filtered water. A solution is to first store up the filtered water so that you can use it immediately whenever you want a drink.
Conclusion
6 stage reverse osmosis system is different from 5 stage with the inclusion of a remineralization component. Although Home Master has a 5 stage RO system that also has a remineralization capability, most other 5 stage RO system do not have it. Hence, if you want remineralization, the 2 models recommended here are very good choices, depending on whether you want under sink or countertop RO systems.