Ultramax 18-Cup Water Dispenser with Filters - Countertop Water Cooler for Home & Office Use

Pros:1) It tastes so much better than my old 6 cup Brita! I think it's because it's twice aerated (internally and at the glass) and because the filter isn't immersed in the water for hours each day.2) I refill once every 2 days vs 7 times in two days.3) Even the pets enjoy Brita water and drink more water with the larger dispenser. (I started using Brita water for them when my dog had kidney disease - it made a big difference.)4) It slides forward, so you don't wind up playing Refrigerator Jenga every time you want some water.5) It takes up about 1.5 times the same space as the 6 cup. (Taller, no handle). I have enough room behind it for a pickle jar/mayo/soda cans.6) I prefer the aerated taste over bottled water.Cons:1) It's a little heavy when you fill the top compartment twice. (So I bought a pitcher for refills.) (A clean empty 2 liter soda bottle would work.)2) The spigot seems very close to the refrigerator floor (so I put a clean wood shim under it on the left edge). A 1/4" cutting board would also work.3) You never completely empty it unless you remove it from the fridge. Every 3-4 days I prefer to empty it out into the sink. Since it's almost empty anyway, it's very lightweight.4) It's bulkier (but lightweight). You trade fiddling with that little tab on the 6 cup (I kept a flat blade screwdriver in the kitchen so I could take it apart and wash it) for being careful not to knock the spigot on the 27 cup. Taking the 27 cup apart (to clean it) is so easy. To clean the spigot internally pour some white vinegar into 1 cup water and drain, followed by 2 cups of water.Overall I'm very pleased with my purchase and wish I'd bought it earlier. My dogs and cat love it too!We have hard water that contains elements that produce odor and a bitter taste to the water. I bought this filter based on reviews on its performance and am completely satisfied with it! It takes out the bad taste and the odor and gives a nice refreshing glass of water in return. I live alone so it is just me but chose this size as i drink usually 64-80 oz. of water a day in addition to what i use to cook with or use for coffee and tea. I highly recommend this size and type of model as it has the pour spicket and the top pour "hatch" . Works well for counter top dispensing. I dont put it in the frig i filter the water in the dispenser first then pour into a separate pitcher from that for refrigeration so i can always have full dispenser for use at any time.I love the pitcher. Easy to fill and use and clean. Fits inside our fridge. Water tastes very good. But the long-lasting filter that came with it lasted only 1-1/2 months. We don't use it more than average. Our water is no harder or worse than average. I've had other filters from other brands last a lot longer. Though I think this one gives the better tasting water. I hope a brand new, separately purchased filter of the same type will last longer. Maybe the filter that came with it was old? Other than that, I'm happy with this purchase. Not happy it's made of plastic. And not sure about the quality of this plastic. But bottled water comes in plastic, and tap water can be full of stuff this filter removes. I have not tested the filtered water for overall purity.Works as advertised; noticed the basic filters were passing water rather quickly and I still tasted a chlorine-y taste so I splurged on the elite (AKA Plus) filters and MUCH better cleaner taste although obv. water takes longer to filter through. With all the horror stories of teh Flint Michigan , Detroit, lead pipes, military bases, crap in water stuff I am Uber concerned about what goes in my body; I mean, how many people you know that have or have had cancer from cysts etc. I'll spend the extra $30-$40/ yr to mitigate that.We live in the mountains and you'd think our water would taste good. Mostly, it does, but for some reason, that out of our fridge has begun to have a metallic taste to me. (I'm super sensitive to all manner of odors and tastes, truly not your normal person.) This filter has made such a difference. I don't like water to begin with. I grew up drinking Granny's sweet tea! Can anything compare??? But this filter has made my water consumption expand exponentially. I'm sure my doctors are happy. Great job, Brita!!It holds a decent amount of water and it so easy to use my 4 year old csn get his own water. I live in an area where water from the sink is gross and we got tired of all the plastic bottles, especially with how expensive it gets. Butnusing this, we can cut out the plastic and use the sink water and it tastes just like filtered water from a fridge. It was easy to clean initially so I don't see it being difficult to clean up. We don't keep it in the fridge because ours is small so it sits on the counter. It's light weight so easy to move and it sits far enough on the counter that it's not in the way.We love this extra large Brita filter. Since our fridge does not have automatic water this is a great alternative. We've been living with just the pitcher version and we are constantly filling it up and waiting for it to drain through the filter. Now we just have a large picture of water in the fridge and when this new extra large version is low we just pour the water in. The filtering process is much faster and allows for water anytime! It may feel a bit flimsy but it works great and is easy to clean.It takes the city water and makes it taste GOOD. I can actually drink water from the tap now without a heavy chlorine test.Using tools to test the water doesn’t work out. Doing a conductivity test doesn’t tell you how clean the water is. It would be easier for you to get an actual water testing kit to show how it filters the water. Don’t listen to the people doing conductivity tests on the water and saying that this doesn’t filter it it does.The only issue I have come across is, even if I don’t let the top get empty, the filter itself tends to get bubbles and it stops filtering new water. I have to bang on it a bit and squeeze the side of the container to get the air bubbles out so it will continue to filter. That is extremely inconvenient.El producto me encanto. Vi uno parecido en un viaje a Estados Unidos de la marca PUR, pero definitivamente este está o a la par o de mejor calidad. Llega en un embalaje sencillo y con su instructivo. El cartucho filtro es el más sencillo que tiene la marca ya que existen unos de color azul que duran más. Los filtros de la marca cuestan cerca de 1200 un paquete de 8 filtros y cada filtro te dura de 2 a 3 meses dependiendo cuanta agua filtres. Yo filtro nada más agua purificada para sentirme todavía más tranquilo del agua que tomamos en casa. Evitó filtrar agua que venga directamente del tubo ya que le quitaría vida al filtro, pues el agua que viene del tubo no siempre es de buena calidad o viene en ocasiones con elementos extraños. Ojo! Este producto FILTRA el agua, no la purifica. No crean que echando agua contaminada saldrá agua purificada. Según las especificaciones elimina muchos elementos pero microorganismos como ciertas bacterias o virus no pueden ser filtrados.It functions okay, but there is so much room for improvement in it's design.There is a useless plastic rim on the bottom of the container that serves no purpose at all. It does however introduce the problem of making shelf clearance an issue. That and it's prone to becoming brittle and snapping. It should have a flat base.Secondly there is no seal between the filter and unit. So it's very plausible for unfiltered water to make it's way into the drinking chamber. Could have remedied this with the inclusion of a 10c O-ring.I guess it's fit for purpose though I am a bit dubious about it's ability to filter adequately.Looked at getting a larger Brita product. Decided to try 18-cup Brita. Black\white fails to provide easy way to know how full reservoir is. Filter provided with product is a slow to fill and will need to be changed to see if refilling time improves. Product takes a LONG time to prep filter and drain three times for general use with filter provided. Hopefully a new filter will help with fill time.Solo quita el mal sabor del agua. Es un filtro. No purifica. No mata microorganismos. Lo deberían de aclarar en la descripción. Lo tuve que devolver.this thing is the perfect size. we had the regular jug before and it was so messy to get into water bottles and two people could drain it really quickly. the spout on this is perfect for bottles and the thing is so big that itll be perfect for the two heavy water drinkers in the home as well as for the dog! we live in an apartment and cant get a tap installation so this is perfect