Review: Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter
Written by: Gene Fitzgerald // Expert Fact-Checking: Buddhini Dolapihilla, MBSS // Last Updated: Sep 12, 2023
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In this review, we’ll look at the Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter, an affordable system featuring an inline design.
At first glance, it appears to have some promising features, but let’s take a closer look to see if it’s worth the purchase!
Contents
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Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter |
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| Price: | $ |
| Filter Process: | Not Specified |
| Filter Life: | 8,480 Gallons |
| Flow Rate: | 2 Gallons Per Minute |
| Annual Cost: | ~$60-120 |
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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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Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter – All Specs
- Model: Advanced WD-G4-DC
- Annual Maintenance Cost: ~$60-120
- Filter Media/Process: Not Specified
- Flow Rate: 2 gpm
- Filtering Capacity: 8,480 gal
- WxHxD: 15.4″x 3.6″x2.52″
- Fitting: 3/8″ NPT
- Warranty: 1 Year
Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC – Key Features
First, the Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter is a single-stage system that connects directly to your existing kitchen faucet.
It has a high 2 gpm flow rate which ensures enough water pressure under your sink, and a (claimed) 8,480-gallon filter life – more on this later.
There’s a built-in shut off valve and filter cartridges costs $60 to replace.
Woder claims their Advanced WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter to remove up to 99.9% lead, chromium 6, and other heavy metals; chlorine, PFAS, VOCs, sediments, odors, bad taste, and more contaminants from water.
If your water contains high levels of sediment, they recommend that you install a pre-filter.
Woder Under Sink Water Filter Pros
The Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC is quite affordable.
Another pro is the inline design – the single-stage system connects directly to the main faucet (using durable stainless steel hoses), so there’s no need to install a new faucet or drill any holes. Woder also makes it pretty easy to install and maintain this system. There’s a built-in shut off valve, so you can replace cartridges without shutting off the water supply.
Filter cartridges are supposed to last a very long time. But even if they need replacement once or twice a year, it still keeps maintenance requirements at a bare minimum, and you only spend $60 on a new filter element.
The one-year warranty and 60-day satisfaction guarantee are also a huge plus.
What Contaminants Are Being Removed?
This Woder under sink water filter is claimed to remove heavy metals including lead, mercury, and chromium 6, chlorine, PFAS, volatile organic compounds, turbidity, and bad taste and odor.
The Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC – learn more on Amazon.com
Installation
As mentioned before, the system has an inline design, so installing it is pretty simple. With basic plumbing knowledge, you can get this done in no time.
Please consider these instructions as a general guideline. Always make sure to check and follow your user manual before getting started.
Here are the steps needed for installation:
- Shut off the water supply.
- Next, disconnect the ⅜” female compression end of the supply line from the faucet.
- Attach the water supply valve to the ⅜” female compression end of the inlet hose. (You’ll find the inlet on the mounting head’s left side).
- Connect the ⅜” male compression end of the outlet hose to the supply line’s end linked to the faucet.
- Secure the head in a good location.
- Turn on the water supply.
- Allow the filter to run for 3 minutes to activate the filter.
- Your system is now ready for use.
The Package (Parts)
- Filter cartridge
- Head with built-in shut off valve
- Inlet hose (3/8″ female compression by 1/4″ standard pipe thread)
- Outlet hose (3/8″ compression by 1/4″ standard pipe)
Maintenance
Maintaining the Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter is easy.
Each new filter element costs $60. We assume replacement is due every 6 to 12 months, depending on your water quality and usage.
The system has a built-in shut off valve, so replacing cartridges is a breeze. All you need to do is close the shut off valve on the filter head and replace the cartridge.
Manual
Here is a link to the official manual:
https://woder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Woder-Single-Dual-DC-Installation-Guide.pdf
NSF and Other Certifications
This product has no NSF certifications.
Earlier Product Versions
The WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter is the fourth generation of the Woder Advanced under sink water filter. Things that have changed with the latest version are the design and the included metal hoses.
Woder Under Sink Filter Cons
We know Woder Advanced is a single-stage system, but they don’t say what the filter media is.
They also say the filter is tested by CLB Labs, but there’s no additional information provided. We don’t know if there was any standardized testing (like NSF testing), and there are no lab reports either.
What’s more, Woder specifies an 8,480-gallon filter life, but we highly doubt that the filter reaches this point before clogging or becoming ineffective. We’d say it gets to 2,000 gallons at most. You probably should replace once or twice a year.
Many users also claim that the filter began to leak after a while, and others said that the water flow gradually reduced after about six months.
Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC Review: Our Verdict + Best for
How do we rate the Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter?
Well, we have our reservations about the claimed 8,480 gallons filter lifespan and the system’s filtration capabilities not knowing what types of filter media are being used and without any NSF-standardized testing. The Woder filter cartridge is quite small, so there’s a low volume of filter media. Also taking into account the fast flow rate, we simply doubt that the filter works on a broad range of contaminants, much less filter 8,480 gallons.
What’s good is the low price. 3 stars.
Our Rating in Detail:
- Filtration Performance: 3.0/5.0
- Filter Capacity (Life): 4.0/5.0
- Purchase Price: 5.0/5.0
- Annual Cost: 5.0/5.0
- Overall: 3.0/5.0
Comparison to Other Under Sink Water Filters
We’ll compare the Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter to two competitors; the Clearly Filtered and Epic Smart Shield.
Clearly Filtered 3-Stage |
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| Price: | $$$ |
| Filter Process: | Activated Carbon + Proprietary Blend |
| Filter Capacity: | 2,000 gal |
| Water Flow: | Not Specified |
| Annually: | $440 |
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Overall Rating: 5.0/5.0 ⓘ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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Epic Smart Shield |
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| Price: | $ |
| Filter Process: | Activated Carbon Block |
| Filter Capacity: | 651 gal |
| Water Flow: | 1.25 gpm |
| Annually: | $115 |
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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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Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC |
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| Price: | $ |
| Filter Process: | Not Specified |
| Filter Capacity: | 8,480 gal |
| Water Flow: | 2 gpm |
| Annually: | ~$60-120 |
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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 Clearly Filtered is a 3-stage system that features different filter media. The first stage consists of granular activated carbon. The second stage is a blend that traps VOCs, radiation, heavy metals, and PFAS among other harmful stuff. The third stage targets fluoride and arsenic.
In all, the Clearly Filtered has powerful filtering abilities and covers a broad range of contaminants. The system is tested against NSF standards 42, 53, and 401 for over 200 contaminants with impressive results. Plus, they currently work on NSF certifications.
Built in the USA with a 12-month filter life, a limited lifetime warranty, a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, and an inline design, this system has many more upsides. A major downside is the higher price.
The next system, the Epic Smart Shield, also comes with an inline design and a single carbon block. It’s NSF-tested and certified to remove sediments, chlorine/chloramine, lead, mercury, asbestos, cyst, MBTE, VOCs, pharmaceuticals, and a lot more. The Epic Smart Shield is a lot more affordable to purchase and maintain than the Clearly Filtered. It costs about the same as the Woder. It’s easy to install and maintain, and all parts are made in the USA. They have really good customer support, a lifetime warranty, and a smooth return policy.
You can also recycle your filters through the company’s recycling program; you collect 3 used ones, mail them back to Epic, and get a new filter as a reward. One downside is the slow 1.25 gpm flow rate.
Bottom line: The Clearly Filtered is the best of the three but also the most expensive. The Epic is a lot more budget-friendly and has been tested to clear out many different contaminants. The Woder system may be effective, but there’s a lot of missing information and claims we don’t really buy. Simply put, we remain skeptical.
This completes our review of the Woder Advanced WD-G4-DC Under Sink Water Filter. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
About the Author Gene Fitzgerald
Information provided on BOS is for educational purposes only. The products and services we review may not be right for your individual circumstances.
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