REVIEW – I have never been a big fan of buying water bottles only to throw them away (worst case) or recycle them (best case). My husband has his own business, and he buys the big 5-gallon jugs and puts them in a dispenser once a week. So when the SimPure water filtration system came up for review, I thought this would be a good way for him to always have fresh good-tasting water at work without having to travel and lug around the big jugs of water.
What is it?
The SimPure water filtration system (model Y10C) provides cold and ambient filtered water via a 5-in-1 RO + CTO + UV 7-Stages Filtration (MRO and CTO Filter Pre-installed). I will always have a 1.2-liter pitcher of filtered ambient temperature water available and can provide up to .2 gallons of cold water at a time.
What’s included?
- water pitcher
- Y10c System
- MRO and CTO filters pre-installed
- filter wrench
- drip tray
- instruction manual
Tech specs
Design and features
The SimPure Y10C is not an instant filtration system. Water is pulled from the feed water tank at the back of the machine into the MRO filter, CTO filter, and pitcher. From the pitcher, it goes to a cold water-holding tank with a UV filter. When cold water is requested, it comes from the cold water tank. When ambient water is asked for, it goes straight from the pitcher to your glass. RO reject water is returned to the feed water tank for reprocessing. SimPure recommends replacing the water in the water tank daily when the unit is in use.
The picture below shows the place where the water pitcher sits. The hole to the left is a notch for the water pitcher to lock into place. The port to the right of that hole is where the fresh filtered water is pushed into the pitcher. I also included a picture of the bottom of the pitcher for reference.
To the left of the pitcher, you will find clips where the drip tray can be inserted. The drip tray has a removable metal top where you can clean out any water that has accumulated. I noticed the metal plate was easy to move. It was almost too easy, and I wish it had clipped into place so it would not slide out so easily.
There are several indicators above the pitcher. From left to right and top to bottom, they are:
- cooling – indicates the machine is currently cooling water in the cool water reservoir
- reset – you press this button after replacing the filter cartridges
- flush – indicates the system is flushing
- cold – you press this button when you want the system to dispense cold water
- ambient – you press this button when you want the system to dispense ambient temperature water
The next three pictures show you the sides and back of the unit. You can see several ventilation ports you want to be sure you don’t block. You can also see the cold water tank sitting on the back of the unit.
Removing the feed water tank exposes the input and RO filtration output ports. The bottom of the tank has inserts for those ports. When you remove the lid you want to do it slowly when you are ready to dump and refill the water for the day. Water droplets will form under the lid and go everywhere if you are not careful. Inside the tank is a max-fill waterline (which I found very hard to see). Inside the tank, they provide a carry handle, which is very handy. When the tank is full, it holds 1.3 gallons, almost 10 pounds.
You will notice a divider between the two ports, keeping the return RO water on that side as it is pulled out of the other side. When the water level in the tank gets to just above that divider, a change water light will light up above the spigot. Because the RO rejects water that comes back into the tank, SimPure recommends replacing the water in the tank every day. They also recommend you remove the tank to refill it and do not pour water directly into the tank. This is an issue if you want to keep the unit under some cabinets on your countertop.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
On top of the main unit is a diagram showing how to replace the filters.
I pulled the cover off the front/top of the unit to expose the main filter. You will notice the filter is currently in the locked position. You would use the filter wrench to twist it counterclockwise to unlock and lift it out. The CTO filter is directly behind the pitcher behind a panel. You pull it forward and twist it counterclockwise to uninstall it. The water purifier came with both of these filters preinstalled.
When first turning on the water system or replacing the cartridges, they have some steps for you to follow.
- Fill the tank with fresh water.
- Place a large container under the spigot. It should be enough to hold the 1.2 liters from the pitcher.
- Plug it in, and the system will automatically initiate internal flushing in 30 seconds. Then, the filtering light will come on. Once the filtering light comes on, you will notice the pitcher begin to fill up.
- Wait until the filter light turns off (this will happen when the pitcher is full.
- Push the ambient button to empty the pitcher into your container
- Continue to let the pitcher refill, and you empty into your container until the unit flashes the ‘change water’ light,
- Refill the water tank and do this process for a total of 3 times.
Performance
I did think that having to go through three full tanks of water before initial use and after each filter change seemed rather lengthy. However, when the unit was ready, my husband and I found the water very tasty. I always laugh at this because I am a Generation X kid. I grew up drinking out of the outside water hose in the summer! For the longest time, I thought people were crazy to want to pay for drinking water when it was already free from my faucet. I realize our pipe systems have aged quite a bit over time. We also have very hard water from the aquafer (limestone) here, which does not help. Since I started drinking water from this system, I have really begun to notice the taste difference from our regular tap water.
Living in south Texas, I always want to drink cold water. The initial temperature when it comes out of the unit is 43 degrees. Filling up my Hydroflask that you see below takes about 30 seconds; during that time, the water will go up to about 55 degrees. In the picture below, you can also see the change in the water light above number 3. The image to the right of that indicates that water is coming from the pitcher into the cold water tank, and the picture to the far left shows the UV light is on from the cold water tank. The blank space in between the UV and change water light is a filtering indicator when the unit is filtering.
A nice feature of the unit is the ability to quickly pull the pitcher off and use it to fill up items like our coffee maker. I will note that you must press the cold or ambient button a few seconds before your water level reaches the top of the container you are filling. There is a slight delay between the button push and when the unit will stop water from coming out of the spigot.
Final thoughts
The SimPure water filtration unit has earned itself a permanent position on my kitchen bar. I found a place for it next to my knife block where it is easy to fill up with water daily. My husband uses the pitcher almost daily to refill his coffee maker, and I use it to fill my water bottles. I love that it can provide both cold and ambient temperature water. I checked on the filter cartridge replacement prices, and direct from SimPure, the CTO cartridge is $14.99 and the MRO cartridge is $49.99
What I like about the SimPure Y10C
- It provides both ambient and cold water.
- It has a pitcher to dispense filtered water into items quickly.
- The spigot is high enough to handle the majority of our water bottles.
- The water tastes great.
- They are based in Seattle, WA.
What needs to be improved?
- It would be awesome if they could move the water tank to the front of the unit so you could store the appliance under a cabinet. Then, you would not have to pull it out daily to replace the water.
- Make the max fill line on the water tank more visible.
