Nova Filter Canisters Failing
 

I know we spoke about this about a month ago where some Villagers were complaining here on TOTV of the discovery during a filter change that their Nova filter blue canisters were showing signs of cracking and were told to replace them. Recently, I had a neighbor where one of their filter canisters sprung a small leak and was spraying water in the garage.

Well, I'm sorry to report this because I really like Nova filter and the owners but when I checked my Nova filter today, I found one blue canister started to form a crack on the inside and another started to bulge on the bottom. The third canister was fine on a system that was installed in 2021.

So, I'm 100% positive the water pressure in my home never exceeded 80psi. Also, I replaced my hot water heater's expansion tank and pressurized it correctly to the water pressure coming into my home right before I had the Nova filter installed 4 1/2 years ago and I check the expansion tank every 6 months. I still have and am enjoying my Nova water softener which is working just fine.

Because of all the reports recently concerning the problems with these blue canisters from Nova, I decided to install an Express Water three stage water filter system which is basically the same as the Nova only a little more well built and no reports so far, of their blue canisters having an issue. Most of my neighbors have the Express Water filter installed for a couple of years now.

Again, I really like Nova but I guess something is going on with the filter canisters. The issue I have is I can only get the Nova filter canisters from Nova and I don't know if the replacements will fail since Nova, from the reports, is claiming the issue is from high water pressure and is the homeowners problem. On the other hand, the Express Water filter canisters are generic and are readily available from many manufacturers on-line. Again, after doing some research, I couldn't find any significant reports of filter canister failures with the Express Water system unless someone dropped one when replacing the filter by mistake.

Just wanted to share my experience and in no way am I trying to discredit Nova since I know they are are a very reputable company providing a good service, the owners are Villagers and they have always treated me well. Hopefully they can find out what the problem is for those having an issue. The decision to replace my system with the Express Water filter was based on my personal situation and for transparancy, I didn't reach out to Nova to replace my canisters. But I know Nova will replace any canisters or fix any other problems when requested and they always support the products they sell.

Have you placed a water pressure gauge on your house? These are available with a manually reset pointer for the highest that the gauge measured, and can easily be installed at any hose bib. As I recall our water pressure is around 60 PSI (Brownwood area).

Yes and I have the one you described that shows the maximum pressure so in my case, I know the water pressure never exceeded 80 psi. Typically our water pressure varies from 65-70psi here in Osceola Hills. I can understand Nova's position because the filter canisters have a maximum working pressure and if you exceed that, they can start to crack and eventually fail. I also know that Nova has installed thousands of filters over the years and if there were a problem there would be a ton of reports by now you would think?

I don't think it is the homeowner's problem. If the canisters are failing, it is Nova's problem. They should fix it, or at least tell the homeowner what they are doing wrong, and how to prevent the canisters from failing.

I also had Nova whole house filter installed in 2021 and change my filters regularly, with Nova. I’ve had leaks before but last week I came out to a huge puddle of water and clearly a canister leaking. He said they were bulging and need replacing. He said it would be almost the same price to just install a new system. I went on facebook and started asking around. This seems to be a common issue. So they came out and didn’t fix the canisters because I said I would just get the new system installed and they couldn’t schedule me until the end of this month. I ended up just getting a new system with Pagusus. The kicker is, Nova sent me a bill for almost 300 for coming out to fix a leak and not replace anything. I also wanted to like them but they made it really difficult. When I told the lady on the phone about not understanding why it would need replacing after 4 years and that I was going to price around for systems and she just said, I understand, so can you pay us now for coming out. Pagusus showed me their water and my water and all I can say is, my water from Nova was full of sediment and chlorine and other things.

Sorry to hear about your experience with Nova. I’m sure the Pegasus will work fine but that Pegasus analysis is a scam. Unless you had something dramatically wrong with your Nova system there is no way you should have had any sediment and or chlorine in your water especially since you were changing your filters regularly. Just curious when Nova came out to look at your leak did they do anything to fix it? Did they charge you $300 just to come out and look at the problem and left it leaking? I thought they were charging $65 for a new canister?

Nova is Chinese Junk
 

Nova water system components are not made well. Of course like a lot of stuff you may buy from an outlet store, the canisters are mass produced in China. Just a pile of Chinese junk.

If your system doesn’t leek yet, it will. IMHO, it is best to make a plan to eventually swap out components or start pricing what may be your next option. Anything is an upgrade!

Happened to us this year. System was 5 years old. Replaced it with new system from Nova.

Last year I called Nova because one of my cannisters was leaking. They came and wrapped teflon tape on the threads at no cost. It happened again. Again, they came, this time using a much wider tape. It happened again. This time, though, I saw the water pressure on the gauges at the top reading 90 psi, then surging to 100. I called South Sumter, our water provider, who assured me their water pressure was okay. I ended up having a plumber install a pressure regulator below the filter to insure against excessive pressure. When they changed my filters last month there was indications of stress in the filter housing that had been leaking.

One other thing to note. I called Mike Scott Plumbing to install the pressure regulator. They flat refused to do it. I ended up talking to the guy who schedules the repairmen, and he said no. Ross Plumbing did the job for about $400.00.

I live in the Lake Sumter area and the water pressure is always around 75 - 80 psi

A pressure regulator will only control the pressure in one direction. So, if you have a pressure regulator installed on the incoming side of your house, it will control the pressure entering your house, but it will not control the pressure that can build up inside your house as a result of a defective expansion tank on your water heater. That is why your water heater has a pressure relief valve on it to relieve the pressure if it exceeds 150 psi. This can occur if the expansion tank is defective and you have thermal expansion as a result of using a lot of hot water and then shutting off all faucets and plumbing fixtures. I would suggest that you buy a pressure gauge from Amazon for about 10 dollars, so you can easily measure your house pressure by screwing it onto an outside hose bib. You can also place a plastic cup under the relief valve discharge pipe to see if any water is being released by the relief valve. However, I am surprised that the Nova canisters are not designed to withstand an occasional increase in water pressure to 150 psi.

Very disturbing to hear this about Nova. They seem to have a good reputation. I had a Nova filter installed in my house about five years ago. Scary to think this is happening and could happen to us. Would be nice if Nova posted a statement explaining the situation. They have posted on TOTV before. It must be especially unnerving for snowbirds, part-timers, or those who travel often.

Same pressure in this area.

They are watching these post for sure, but no reply. I have NOVA filters that are 4 years old and I am worried.

4 years old too
 

I also have the Nova 3 filter system, Approximately 4 plus years old. I am not having leakage or cracks that I have observed. But every year when I go to change the filters, I attempt to do it myself however I can never loosen the filters with the wrench provided. It seems as though I'm going to rip them off of the wall or break some pipes so instead I call Nova and they come over and install the three filters I forget what they charged me for that I think it's around $200.