Review: EcoPure EPWHE Whole House Water Filter System
Written by: Gene Fitzgerald // Expert Fact-Checking: Buddhini Dolapihilla, MBSS // Last Updated: Aug 4, 2023
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The EcoPure EPWHE Whole House Water Filter is an easy-to-install system designed for basic city or well water filtration.
It has an average filtration capacity of six months and a 9-gallon-per-minute flow rate, making it suited for small to medium-sized homes.
If you are considering buying the EcoPure EPWHE filter, keep reading to find out if it’s worth a shot!
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EcoPure EPWHE Whole House Water Filter System |
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| Price: | $$ |
| Filter Media: | Sediment (5 Microns) + Activated Carbon |
| Filter Life: | 6 Months |
| Flow Rate: | 9 Gallons Per Minute |
| Annual Cost: | ~$200 |
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Overall Rating: 3.0/5.0 ⓘRating based on filtration performance, filter life, price and yearly cost, NSF testing/certification, customer support, product warranty, our testing/experience, user feedback, and other factors.
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EcoPure EPWHE Whole House Water Filter System – All Specs
- Model: EPWHE
- Annual Maintenance Cost: ~$200
- Filter Media/Process: Sediment (5-Micron) + Carbon
- Flow Rate: 9 gpm
- Filtering Capacity: 6 Months
- WxHxD: 12″x16″x7.5″
- Weight: 9.11 lb.
- Water Temperature: 40-100 °F
- Water Pressure: 30-100 psi
- Fitting: 1″ Male NPT
- NSF Certifications: Standard 42 (Nominal Particulate Reduction, Class III)
- Warranty: 2 Years
EcoPure EPWHE – Key Features
The EcoPure EPWHE is a whole house water filter system that features simple sediment and carbon filtration. Sand, dirt, rust, and other sediments are removed down to 5 microns in size. Activated carbon removes chlorine taste and odor, and possibly other, organic chemicals.
The flow rate is 9 gallons per minute, making the EcoPure EPWHE suitable for small to mid-sized households.
It has a bypass valve.
Plus, you get a two-year warranty on the system parts, which is a pointer to good quality.
EcoPure Whole Home Water Filter Pros
Thanks to the automatic bypass valve and encapsulated filter design, the EcoPure EPWHE is easy to install and maintain. With the bypass valve, you don’t need to shut off the water supply before changing filters. And the encapsulated design spares you from touching dirty components, allowing you to enjoy a mess-free filter replacement process.
As a whole house system, the EcoPure EPWHE filter improves the water quality throughout your home. It protects your plumbing and water appliances from some of the contaminants that could ruin them (sediments). And it can also improve how your water tastes and smells, especially if there is a lot of chlorine.
The filter life is pretty standard — six months. So, you only need to replace twice a year.
What Contaminants Are Being Removed?
This EcoPure whole house water filter removes all sediments rated at 5 microns or larger, including sand, dirt, and rust. It also removes chlorine and improves water taste and smell.
The EcoPure EPWHE – learn more on Amazon.com
Installation
The EcoPure EPWHE system is easy to install, also thanks to the built-in bypass valve. As long as you have essential plumbing tools and are familiar with fixing stuff around the home, you’ll pull it off with a breeze. Here are the supplies you’ll need:
- Flexible connectors
- Teflon tape
Please consider these instructions as a general guideline. Always make sure to check and follow your user manual before getting started.
Installation steps:
- Set the filter in an upright position. Make sure the water flow aligns with the inlet and outlet arrows on the filter.
- Mount the bracket to a wall or wall frame. Ensure the frame is stable enough to carry the filter’s weight.
- Fix the filter to the bracket. Confirm that it’s in the correct position explained in step one.
- Connect the vent tube to the barbed fitting on the filter.
- And that’s all — simple and easy!
The Package (Parts)
- System
- 6-month filter (EPWHEF)
- Mounting bracket with screws
- Installation adapters
- Clips
- Vent tube
- Written installation guide
Maintenance
In terms of effort, the EcoPure EPWHE whole house filter is easy to maintain; filter replacements are easy and mess-free.
But money-wise, the system is not the best. It’s not standard-sized, so you can’t buy just any standard cartridge for replacement. You have to stick to EcoPure or a few other brands like 3M, which costs about $200 per year (very expensive in direct comparison).
Here’s how you replace the filter element:
- Turn the sump upward until it gets to the bypass position.
- Remove the sump from the head by pulling it downwards. It’s best to remove it in a sink in case water spills from the filter head.
- Pull the latches on the lid clamp in opposite directions to release the clamp.
- Remove the lid from the filter cartridge and sump.
- Take out the old filter cartridge from the sump. You can use a screwdriver if it doesn’t come off easily.
- Unwrap the new filter cartridge and remove the caps on its ports.
- Place the new cartridge in the sump and turn it until it locks into place.
- Return the lid assembly to the sump. Lock it in using the latches on the lid.
- Return the sump to the head and push it until it seats right.
- Pull the sump down so it returns to the service position. Flush the system for about five minutes before resuming use.
Manual
Here is a link to the official manual:
https://ecopure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EPWHE-Eng_01.pdf
NSF and Other Certifications
Although we could not verify it, this system claims to have an NSF/ANSI Standard 42 certification for Particulate Class III reduction.
Earlier Product Versions
The EcoPure EPWHE has no earlier versions that we know of.
EcoPure Whole House Filter Cons
What about drawbacks? Well, the EcoPure EPWHE has several of them:
- For one, it’s not the standard-sized big blue whole house water filter, so you can’t buy standard-sized cartridges for replacement. EcoPure claims it will fit some other brand’s models (like 3M), but even those are expensive. It would have been better if this filter was standard-sized, also because proprietary sizes can be harder to get by.
- Another thing is, the EcoPure EPWHE is a very basic sediment and carbon filter, yet it costs about $200 to maintain annually. That’s too pricey compared to other filters on the market, even those that use more sophisticated filtration.
- We also couldn’t verify the claims regarding the NSF/ANSI Standard 42 certification. And more information about chlorine reduction rates would have been nice.
- One more thing, there’s a chance this filter leaves black stains in your toilet tanks. We saw a rating where a user who complained of black carbon stains after just one month of use.
EcoPure EPWHE Review: Our Verdict + Best for
The EcoPure EPWHE Whole House Water Filter is suited for basic city or well water filtration removing sediments and chlorine taste & odor – nothing wrong with that.
The filtration process is simple, so it’s not for water that contains stubborn or more dangerous contaminants like lead, arsenic, or iron. And with a 9-gallon-per-minute flow rate, it won’t serve larger-sized homes.
Our biggest concern is the high cost of replacement filters and the fact that they aren’t standard-sized. We don’t like it when you can’t opt for cheaper replacement filters (and you have to spend $200 per year), so we’d recommend choosing another product.
Our Rating in Detail:
- Filtration Performance: 4.0/5.0
- Filter Capacity (Life): 5.0/5.0
- Purchase Price: 3.0/5.0
- Annual Cost: 2.5/5.0
- Overall: 3.0/5.0
Comparison to Other Whole House Water Filters
The SpringWell PF and Kind E-1000 are two popular whole house filters. Let’s see how the EcoPure compares to them.
SpringWell PF |
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| Price: | $ |
| Filter Media: | 5-Micron Sediment |
| Filter Life: | 6 Months |
| Flow Rate: | 20-35 gpm |
| Annual Cost: | $35-65 |
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Overall Rating: 4.5/5.0 ⓘRating based on filtration performance, filter life, price and yearly cost, NSF testing/certification, customer support, product warranty, our testing/experience, user feedback, and other factors.
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Kind E-1000 |
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| Price: | $$$ |
| Filter Media: | 5-Micron Sediment, Catalytic Carbon Block |
| Filter Life: | 12 Months |
| Flow Rate: | 15 gpm |
| Annual Cost: | ~$145 |
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Overall Rating: 4.5/5.0 ⓘRating based on filtration performance, filter life, price and yearly cost, NSF testing/certification, customer support, product warranty, our testing/experience, user feedback, and other factors.
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EcoPure EPWHE |
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| Price: | $$ |
| Filter Media: | Sediment (5 Microns) + Activated Carbon |
| Filter Life: | 6 Months |
| Flow Rate: | 9 gpm |
| Annual Cost: | ~$200 |
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Overall Rating: 3.0/5.0 ⓘRating based on filtration performance, filter life, price and yearly cost, NSF testing/certification, customer support, product warranty, our testing/experience, user feedback, and other factors.
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The Springwell PF is a 5-micron sediment filter, so all is does is remove floating particles. But it is far more affordable to maintain than the EcoPure EPWHE. It uses standard-sized filter cartridges so that you can opt for cheaper replacement filters, too. You’ll spend only about $40 annually to maintain this filter, while EcoPure costs $200 per year.
The E-1000 by Kind Water Systems (click for review) uses a sediment and a carbon filter. The purchase price is higher but costs less to maintain (about $145 per year) than the EcoPure. Also, the Kind E-1000 uses catalytic carbon and a lot of it, so filtration is much stronger than with the regular activated carbon in the EcoPure. Aside from chlorine, contaminants like chloramine, pesticides, organic chemicals, VOCs, and few heavy metals can easily be removed for water that not only tastes a lot better but that’s also much safer to consume.
Both the SpringWell and Kind also have higher flow rates, a long satisfaction guarantee, and a limited lifetime warranty. In our opinion, they are far better investments than the EcoPure EPWHE.
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This completes our review of the EcoPure EPWHE Whole House Water Filtration System. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
About the Author Gene Fitzgerald
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