Ok friends, I had PM conversation with few people, and it seems like people prefer outdoor filters. Well, let me add my 2 cents once again.

Outdoor filters are not such a good idea most of the time. There are 2 reasons for that:

1. You filter ALL the water now. You're now flushing toilets and mopping floors with filtered water. Depending on how much water you use, you may be wasting a lot of filter resources.

2. Your pipes and tank inside house are not perfect. May contain rush, lead, dirt, bacteria, dead lizards etc.

So making pure drinking water outside doesn't make sense at all, but if you ABSOLUTELY want outside filter, then this is what you can do.

1. 5 micron pleated polyester sediment filter. You just buy 20"BB (black/blue) industry standard housing and you add quality, industry standard pleated filter. A good US made one will be washable and should last you 2 or even 3 years (take it out, inspect, if looks ok, wash and put back). This will remove particles, rust, iron, pretty much everything above 5 micron with very low pressure drop.

2. I would stop on #1, but if your water has way too much chlorine in it and smells horribly even to take a shower, then keep on reading. Second filter is radial flow granulated carbon. Will last about 2 years, will take out most of chlorine, bad smell and taste. And, because of radial flow, you will not experience large pressure drop. Now you can take shower with no chlorine, rust and all other nasty stuff.

Now, to the cost. These things are more expensive, this is why it's extremely important to use industry standard components. Again, same logic, you do not want to depend on one manufacturer, who may go out of business or raise the price because "bro, Ringgit is low nowadays".

Now, how much it SHOULD cost

- A quality 20"BB housing with pressure release should cost you more or less 400RM and it will last lifetime.

- US made, quality sediment filter will cost roughly 250RM (remember, it lasts 2 or even 3 years and is washable)

- Good granular carbon radial flow filter of 20" size is expensive, close to 600RM. But this is really optional. Remember, you will need another housing for it.

I'd say most people should be ok with just sediment filter package for 650-700RM. And guess what, this is what big brands are selling too, but for 1400RM and more. Don't believe me? Check 3M AP902 filter "Removes sediments, partciulate, sand and rust down to 5 microns to provide cleaner water right from the point-of-entry for whole house water usage." Yep, that's it for 1400RM a filter that's made who knows where, just with a big brand name on it. And replacement interval once a year.

Do not get fooled by salesman and big brands

is this a DIY method?
what is the BB housing? any pics? would love to see your own design.
thanks

Bought this week, will replace my mom membrane filter. Membrane not been change for almost 7 years and the pvc angle valve been leaking, so decide must as well change it smaller unit.  Another DIY weekend

If you haven't changed membrane for 7 years and still have some flow, means that this membrane doesn't filter anything.

In our water, 5 micron will cause a noticeable pressure drop in about 6 months...

You can DIY, can hire a plumber to install.

Here is the picture of standard 20" BB housing with pressure release valve. You see them outside of some houses. It can take standard filter from any well known brand and if any part of it breaks, many quality manufacturers sell replacements. Your local plumber can easily install one.

Put a quality, US made, polyester pleated 5 micron filter inside and it will outperform any 3M or GE or whatever other overpriced filter.

Ok friends, I had PM conversation with few people, and it seems like people prefer outdoor filters. Well, let me add my 2 cents once again.

Outdoor filters are not such a good idea most of the time. There are 2 reasons for that:

1. You filter ALL the water now. You're now flushing toilets and mopping floors with filtered water. Depending on how much water you use, you may be wasting a lot of filter resources.

2. Your pipes and tank inside house are not perfect. May contain rush, lead, dirt, bacteria, dead lizards etc.

So making pure drinking water outside doesn't make sense at all, but if you ABSOLUTELY want outside filter, then this is what you can do.

1. 5 micron pleated polyester sediment filter. You just buy 20"BB (black/blue) industry standard housing and you add quality, industry standard pleated filter. A good US made one will be washable and should last you 2 or even 3 years (take it out, inspect, if looks ok, wash and put back). This will remove particles, rust, iron, pretty much everything above 5 micron with very low pressure drop.

2. I would stop on #1, but if your water has way too much chlorine in it and smells horribly even to take a shower, then keep on reading. Second filter is radial flow granulated carbon. Will last about 2 years, will take out most of chlorine, bad smell and taste. And, because of radial flow, you will not experience large pressure drop. Now you can take shower with no chlorine, rust and all other nasty stuff.

Now, to the cost. These things are more expensive, this is why it's extremely important to use industry standard components. Again, same logic, you do not want to depend on one manufacturer, who may go out of business or raise the price because "bro, Ringgit is low nowadays".

Now, how much it SHOULD cost

- A quality 20"BB housing with pressure release should cost you more or less 400RM and it will last lifetime.

- US made, quality sediment filter will cost roughly 250RM (remember, it lasts 2 or even 3 years and is washable)

- Good granular carbon radial flow filter of 20" size is expensive, close to 600RM. But this is really optional. Remember, you will need another housing for it.

I'd say most people should be ok with just sediment filter package for 650-700RM. And guess what, this is what big brands are selling too, but for 1400RM and more. Don't believe me? Check 3M AP902 filter "Removes sediments, partciulate, sand and rust down to 5 microns to provide cleaner water right from the point-of-entry for whole house water usage." Yep, that's it for 1400RM a filter that's made who knows where, just with a big brand name on it. And replacement interval once a year.

Do not get fooled by salesman and big brands

Bought this week, will replace my mom membrane filter. Membrane not been change for almost 7 years and the pvc angle valve been leaking, so decide must as well change it smaller unit.  Another DIY weekend

i got this transparent poly plastic housing sold quite cheaply in tesco or even in ace.
but i have one doubt of this filter.

the filter inserted into this housing right but it just dropped to the bottom of the housing. Im sure the top part of this filter will have a top gap not filtered. I mean those dirts or green algae will get suck and trapped onto the cotton or fabrics but the top part where the water flows into the inlet will still carry this dirt to the drinking pipe in the end right?

I been exchanging this filter for sometimes and im just curious on how the system really trapped this dirts 100%. I still don't have the confidence of the filter trapping all the dirts and bacteria in 100%.

Im not sure about how 3M design looks like because it seem close.

Valuable info 
Can you comment on the below POE filter. The design for the built-in back wash is very interesting, minimise the requirement of control valves and unsightly messy bypass piping.
Affordably priced at RM468 and replacement cartridge @ RM48.

Nice. Please share the picture after installation. Want to see if this filter can really reduce the ugly piping and valves.

Nice. Please share the picture after installation. Want to see if this filter can really reduce the ugly piping and valves.

Valuable info 
Can you comment on the below POE filter. The design for the built-in back wash is very interesting, minimise the requirement of control valves and unsightly messy bypass piping.
Affordably priced at RM468 and replacement cartridge @ RM48.

It's first time in my life I see someone backwashing melt blown filter. Not a good idea at all. You wash melt blown once and it's performance decreases by a lot. Melt blowns are never meant for backwash or any kind of wash, they're cheap and should be replaced regularly (like every 3-6 months!)

This is in fact 4.5" by 10" housing, slightly weird design so that you can only use their filter (my guess, maybe any filter will fit).

You can just get a standard 4.5" by 10" housing and install high quality pleated polyester in it. It will be just a little bit more expensive, but your flow will be much better, it will last longer and it will not degrade significantly for whole 2 years. But even pleated polyester, just take it our and quickly wash, no need to backwash.

Yes, this size might be too small for a full house, but also feasible if you don't use much water.

Price breakdown (approximate):

1. Housing with pressure release valve - 250RM

2. Quality pleated polyester 5 micron - 150RM (NSF, US made, washable, 2-3 years service life)

3. If you absolutely want melt blown filter for some weird reason, then good NSF one will cost roughly 50RM. But no way it can last 2 years. Change at least every 6 month or even more often depending on water quality.
So yes, all in all this is what I described before, just smaller and uses melt blown for some reason. For "whole house" solutions always use pleated polyester, for drinking water filters can use melt blown if change often.
Now, when they tell you ("they" including me) "it will last 3 months, 6 months etc. These are just AVERAGE numbers. It may last 1 month or 3 years depending on how bad is your water and how much of it you use. So how to determine???

The ONLY way is to install pressure gauges before and after the filter. So with new filter, the drop in pressure will be say 3 psi. 3 months after, the drop becomes 10, at 13-15 it's time to change (or wash in case of pleated polyester), means your filter is clogged. You can buy cheapest gauges, you don't care how accurate, only care to see difference in readings.

Here the final result. Minor leak, need to redo one part of the pvc connector. Not enough white tape

Thanks for your comments. I guess the small form factor is probably cater for condo/apartment. They have the option for pleated replacement cartridge too
Cool, how do you compare the piping set up to your 3M AP902 ? Neater ?

I will say about the same, but this have extra pipe for the backwash.  3M still smaller foot print, but price don't compare

Ops !  3M 902 can't backwash, that's why less piping and valves. Please give follow up review on the performance of the cartridge ya.

Will get my mom input since is in her house

Her Amway filter will be the first one to know, as previous sand filter, every 6 months need to change.

Wow..! that's RM1166 per year for the replacement cartridges. . Maybe what hestati pointed out was right, the filter doesn't filter anything.
My mum's eSpring replace cartridge once a year, PoE using the old school stainless steel rocket.

Ok, this time I will post without any links or any sales.

My background is water treatment. I worked in Canada, USA and South America on various water treatment projects mainly RO projects though. I was also appointed by one of my employers to go to establish manufacturing in China, which didn't go well, but whatever.

So what a good home system must have? Right now we're talking about 3 stage system only. Why 3 stage? Surprisingly, it's the most economical and easy solution. You can do 2 stage as well, but it's not worth it, I'll explain why.

Stage 1 MUST be a sediment filter. It's cheap and it takes the first hit and you should replace it often (3-6 month). There are 3 types, string, pleated and melt blown. Just use the melt blown one. Cost for a good, USA made one is roughly 20 RM, change it 3 times a year. So 60RM yearly for this one. Choose 1 or 5 micron (I prefer 5 for better flow)

If your system doesn't have a sediment filter as a first stage, then all the large kaka goes to your first filter and reduces it's lifetime and performance dramatically.

Stage 2 is your main filter. Normally it's sub-micron, hollow membrane or other technology (in USA they don't even make UF, they have other sub-micron filters). This is the heart of your system and it's also must have. Make sure it removes: bacteria, viruses, cyst, lead, arsenic, ferrous iron, mercury, pharmaceuticals and plastics. Pretty much everything except: fluoride, chlorine, bromine, iodine and VOC. Change once per year. Roughly 160-200RM for a very good one (US made)!

Stage 3 is your carbon block. This will remove chlorine, bromine, iodine and VOC. Change once a year, roughly 80-100RM for a very good one (US made, coconut activated carbon).

So you're looking at 300-350RM per year worth of outstanding quality filters.
So see the logic here: first, remove large particles. Then, remove all nasty stuff such as bacteria and heavy metals, then get rid of bad taste and odor.

What's left? Normally it will be minerals and fluoride. But, sometimes you still have a bad taste, how come? Answer is chloramine. Nasty nasty stuff. Widely used in USA now instead of or together with chlorine, but can also form if ammonia is present in your water. You need a special chloramine carbon block and these are not cheap. EVEN THE BEST SYSTEM without chloramine filter will produce nasty water. Chloramine is not removed by any UF or sub-mic or anything else. If you have chloramine, your cost of carbon block (stage 3) becomes close to 160-200RM.

So say you don't have chloramine and let's assume you don't have any radiation (unless it's well water, hopefully not). Then what's left is fluoride. They do add crappy fluoride to our water in USA and in Malaysia (Western Europe banned it for example). You need a special filter if you want to get rid of it, so an extra stage. I personally don't care, but choice is yours.

Now to plastic leaching. If components of your system (not filters, but everything else) are made God knows where, then there are high chances that they leach chemicals into your water. Anything before stage 2, we don't care, since our stage 2 will take care of it, but anything after it goes straight to your cup. So know where each and every COMPONENT that touches the water is made. (example, does your faucet contain lead? if yes, then what's the point if filtering out all the lead before?)

Last but not least, I HIGHLY recommend a system with standard housings and filters. We call them 2.5 by 10, 2.5 by 20 and so on. Even if the manufacturer of your system jacks up the price for replacement cartridges or goes out of business, you can always buy cartridges from reputable US companies at reasonable prices.

This is it for now. If you have any questions, please let me know

any brand or model that you recommend?

3M only uses 2 filtration.. which brand has 3 stage filtration?