APEC Water RO-PH90, 6-Stage Under Sink RO System, Alkaline, 90 GPD

This is my second RO-PH90 system. Simply one of the best systems on the market, in my opinion. Uses genuine Dow filmtec reverse osmosis membrane. As anyone familiar with RO knows, filmtec membranes are the gold standard and rank among the elite in rejection rates. This is not your generic RO bought in a hardware store, although some large chains carry it. Input TDS = ~225 ppm, output TDS = ~15-20ppm. Does the job. Have not tested PH yet. Water tastes great as it does with my first system. Change your pre filters once per year or at the recommended %TDS interval and expect this RO membrane to last its full schedule of 3-5 years. This is very important. Incoming water pressure must be at least 50psi in my opinion, for this system to operate as intended. At 75psi, outgoing pressure is like a dream, even with 1/4'' stock tubing. Fills glasses quickly. Consider the 3/8" output upgrade if your input pressure hovers at 50psi as it did with my first unit. RO systems thrive on incoming water pressure, this is the most important aspect of setup! Do not skip! Simple setup as usual, although this time I needed a booster pump, incoming was 40psi at best. Remember, it can fluctuate significantly during high demand/peak times. Plan a few hours for someone not so mechanically inclined. John Guest quick connect fittings are painless. Manual is very thorough, follow each step carefully and no problems should arise. If they do, customer support is USA based and very helpful. Download and read the manual available on their website before purchasing so you know what items and skill level are required. Anyone with a few tools and willful attitude will have zero problems. Easily found an Aquatec CDP6800 kit on Ebay for $108 that is perfect for this system. Came with all needed lines, pressure gauge, shutoff solenoid, pressure switch, pump and transformer. Make sure to have a sediment filter before the pump if you want it to last. Of course, APEC also offers a version pre outfitted with either permeate or booster pump although you will need your own gauge I believe. If planning on wanting 3/8" output upgrade for PH model, please go directly though APEC to purchase with it pre installed. Do not buy the output kit here on Amazon and expect it to fit the PH filter on your unit, it will not. It is for 5 stage only. You would then have to buy a 3/8" PH filter from APEC, about $40. Save yourself some time and money going directly through APEC for the upgrade route. Not much else to say, please READ the manual and you will not have to think about this system but a few times a year for TDS tests and scheduled filter changes. Good luck!

I installed the APEC Water RO-PH90 6-stage alkaline under-sink reverse osmosis system and have been very impressed with the water quality. The taste is noticeably cleaner and smoother than our tap water, with no chemical or metallic aftertaste, and the alkaline remineralization stage gives it a pleasant, “fresh” feel that’s great for drinking on its own. Knowing it’s designed to reduce up to 99% of common impurities and is NSF certified adds a level of confidence that the performance matches the taste. To take it a step further, I added a small under-sink tank heater that brings the filtered water up to near-boiling temperature. That combination has been fantastic: we now have instant hot water for tea, coffee, and cooking, all coming from the RO system rather than the regular tap. It’s extremely convenient for busy mornings or when guests are over, and it saves time compared with boiling water on the stove or waiting for an electric kettle. The RO-PH90 output is strong enough that the system keeps up well with our daily drinking, cooking, and hot-beverage needs, even with the heater drawing from it. Installation takes a bit of effort and planning under the sink, especially when integrating a hot tank, but once set up, the system is low-maintenance and reliable. Overall, if you’re looking for great-tasting, clean water and like the idea of instant hot water for tea or coffee, this RO unit combined with a small heater is a terrific upgrade for the kitchen.

I have had an RO system for 20 years (Everpure ROM) and it finally got to the point where it was cheaper to buy a new system from APEC than a complete set of filters/membrane from Everypure (Pentek). The system arrived a day early with very clear installation instructions. To be fair my installation was easier because i had the feed line and waste line already installed from my prior system but it went together easily, seems high quality and started producing filtered water right away. this system produces water faster than my old system filling up the 4 gallon tank in under 3 hours - it thrives on my house water pressure of 60 psi. i like the taste of the PH increasing filter lets see what it does to my electric kettle, ice maker and coffee maker the only installation glitch was the o-ring on one of the carbon block housings. it was leaking and even after several re-seating and application of good grade silicone it weeps a tiny bit. The o-ring was slightly too large and never fit tightly in its groove. not a bit enough issue to knock down to 4 stars. will update my review if any problems appear in the months ahead but so far it appears to be good value.

***Update 2 years later*** Still love this system. You are supposed to change the filters out once a year. I forgot to do that. It is now 2 years almost to the day and it is still tasting great and running smoothly. I am still very satisfied with the purchase and would recommend this unit to anyone. So i went into this knowing it was going to take a bit of effort. That being said, i was very impressed with the installation instructions. As you can see from my photos of under the sink it was a bit of a tight fit. I ended up putting screws in the wall to hold up the filters. Apec color coated the tubes which made for a very intelligent guide to follow. I chose this particular model because it included the larger tubes for better water flow. All in all i had it installed in about 2 hours. The most difficult part for me was actually securing the faucet underneath as i had to reach around the sink. The flavor of the water though and not having to buy filtered water is totally worth it without a doubt. The only thing i will say which technically is a negative, but not enough to drop it a star is the fact the instructions say to run through one complete tank of water and it will then be ready for use. We had to go through 2-3 tanks before the water came out clear. Once it did though, we have had no further issues now and had it installed for about a month now.

This is my 3rd unit from this manufacturer and I installed the other 2 10+ years ago! Easy to install, comes complete with everything you’ll need to install with standard faucets. Top quality and made in USA! What else do you need? I highly recommend this particular product!

This water worked until it didn’t. I’m so frustrated with this filter, I am looking for a replacement because this thing stops working very often and we’re left with no drinking water in this house. I’ve spent so much time talking to customer service and I keep having to replace the filter, and it’s extremely moody. There’s no way of knowing when it will stop filtering, and when it does. It just stops working and suddenly I’m running to the grocery to buy cases of water until the replacement arrives. We live in New York and APEC blames it on the New York water, but that isn’t an excuse. If they sell this product to someone living in NY, it should work in NY! I’m going to be shopping for a new RO filter, because I’m sick and tired of this one. I wish I didn’t have to work this review but I wish someone would’ve been honest and warned me:-(

I have purchased and installed many APEC RO water systems as everyone who come to my house tries my water and loves it. I then show them how easy it is to install one and many do. Prior to this system I owned their 90 GPD system without the PH add back feature. I suffer from chronic acid reflux, and found research that shows that regular RO (lower PH) water can actually trigger stomach acid production, so I switched to bottled alkaline water and found that sure enough, I saw an improvement. I was bummed that I was going to have to buy bottled water, and not just have it on tap in my house so I went in search of alkaline water at home and found this. Sure enough it is great, but I do have a few notes if you are replacing an older RO system with this one. Prior to installing this system my APEC RO water was reading at an alkalinity of around 5.5 as measured using a meter purchased here on amazon. After tinstalling the new system, it is currently reading at around 9.5, which is competitive with most "alkaline" bottled water. I am so happy with this. As far as install, this system uses a 1/4 inch apec line for output to the faucet, and in all other places where the other (at least the older) 90 GPD system uses a 3/8 inch line. This worries me a bit as I may not see the same strong flow-through I had with the other system. Perhaps more importantly, it means that install is a bit tricky if you want to leverage the old lines, particularly the line to the faucet and tank. You will likely need at least on 3/8 to 1/4 inch reducer fitting, two if you plan to use the old tank. I believe the "waste" line on the old system already used 1/4 inch so you should be fine there. One other note is that the seals on the inside of the filter containers seems to pinch easily compared to the old system. Double check that they are seated properly before screwing on the container, and be careful not to over-tighten. Ultimately I am very pleased as everything comes with the quality I expect from APEC and I am very happy.

Would have been 5 stars but I now have a leaking filter housing after 2.5 years. Turns out it is the cap. APEC support was very helpful. Returned my call promptly and provided the idea of switching the bowls to determine if it is the cap or the bowl leaking. Duh , I should have thought of that. Sent the link to the part and that was that. I'll not tighten the caps to the bracket this time.

Very good quality RO filter Decent manual and instructions for installation So far so good Only had leakage from the needle valve however fixed the issue with using more teflon tape inside and wrapping outside with water leakage pipe repair tape. Now working perfectly

First time installer. Instructions made for a very easy install. Water tastes very clean. Took about a week to get used to taste of alkaline/remineralized water. I bought glass bottles to refrigerate water so now I have the best tasting water around

Es un sistema super padre, fácil de instalar aún cuando tuve que perforar granito, pero eso es otra cosa, las instrucciones son sencillas, considerar colocar muy bien el teflón en las terminaciones de metal y contar con la herramienta necesaria, el tiempo de llenado fue poco más de una hora ya que cuento con bomba de presión para todo el sistema hidráulico. Consideren tener buena presión o instalar una bomba con el sistema. No tiene sabor y no tiene acidez.

Las instrucciones de instalación, muy claras y acorde al producto. La calidad de todo lo incluido en el kit impresionante. Hasta ahora todo muy bien, pero cometí el error de no comprar el kit que viene con la bomba incluida y ha sido un poco complicado lograr la presión requerida para el correcto funcionamiento.

The beast takes a lot of room under the counter but we love it. Wouldn’t want to do without. The water is delicious and no longer smells of chlorine, is crystal clear and yet doesn’t taste “dead”. Thank goodness hubby has plumbing skills. It wasn’t that simple to install.