[HJBeck]

Reading all these comments makes one wonder if there is a problem with the product. Wouldn’t be surprised if they end up with a class action case against them. I’ve had a GE unit (same one) for 25 years, never had a leak in it, unless I screwed up the o-ring during reinstallation of a filter.

[Cbutton21]

About a month ago one of my reverse osmosis canisters failed under the kitchen sink. Luckily we were home as the emergency cutoff also failed to cut off the water. Flooded a good bit of the kitchen. The blue canister had cracked, the other two clear ones were fine. I asked about it, and the Nova guy told me that they had gotten a 'bad' batch of the blue ones and that this was not an isolated incident.
They charged me $50 to replace the canister and emergency cutoff.

[HomerSimpson]

We had Culligan install a filter and softener 7 yrs. ago. Never had the first leak or problem.

[MacScuba]

Bob can install a pressure reducing valve. Set it to 55 psi. Your ice maker will thank you too.

[RoboVil]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

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).

I had a three cannister (blue) Nova whole house water filtration system installed in my garage last year. They put two pressure gauges on the system - one prior to the start of the water going into the filters and one at the end. The installer never indicated what I should be looking for with these gauges though they pretty much show equal pressure.

On another topic, can you purchase filters separately from Nova or do you have to have Nova replace the filters? I presume each filter is different and remove different impurities.

[Normal]

Originally Posted by RoboVil

I had a three cannister (blue) Nova whole house water filtration system installed in my garage last year. They put two pressure gauges on the system - one prior to the start of the water going into the filters and one at the end. The installer never indicated what I should be looking for with these gauges though they pretty much show equal pressure.

On another topic, can you purchase filters separately from Nova or do you have to have Nova replace the filters? I presume each filter is different and remove different impurities.

There are 3 stages: 20 micron, 10 micron and 5? You can buy filters through their warehouse. They will change them for you for about 40 to 50 dollars extra.

[retiredguy123]

Some posters have said that their water pressure is "always" 60 psi or 80 psi. However, there is no way to know that unless you have a pressure gauge that you monitor 24/7. You can buy a pressure gauge that has an extra needle that goes up when the pressure increases, but it doesn't go down when it decreases. So, you can see how high the water pressure has actually increased to during a certain time period. You can buy these pressure gauges from Amazon for about 10 dollars that will screw onto any outside hose bib.

[Rocksnap]

Originally Posted by Mrprez

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

Serious question. Why would you replace the Nova canisters knowing that they will need replacing again in several years.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

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.

This is a good point I forgot about. If the water pressure in you home for whatever reason reached a point where your fixtures including the Nova filter were impacted you would probably see some discharge from the water heater tank pressure relief valve if you have a tank system.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Bay Kid

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

I was reluctant to post my experience since I agree, Nova is a very reputable company and anything can happen with a product. But I felt it was important to post because I've seen a canister spring a small leak and it's just spraying water around in your garage but I had a neighbor who dropped one of his canisters during a filter change and while he was away the bottom of the canister broke off about 3 AM. The Villages neighborhood watch saw the water pouring out from his garage and called my neighbor and had a neighbor shut off the water since he was away. Fortunately, these filters are in the garage so if you get a major leak it shouldn't do much damage but I agree, if you have the Nova filter, check the filter canisters at least once a year and start planning on what course of action you will take if yours are having a problem. The only concern I have is if Nova is saying it's the homes water pressure causing the problem then won't the problem still exist with a new Nova system or did they change it?

[jrref]

Originally Posted by capecoralbill

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.

Just fyi, if you tap the wrench lightly with a rubber mallot, the canisters will loosen up and you can unscrew them but remember when they are full of water they are very heavy and will surprise you when they release from the manifold so be very careful.

[jrref]

In doing more research on the filter canister/housings, the "Big Blue" housings have a peak pressure rating of 100psi. Most residental water devices have a max rating of 125psi and some even 150psi so my guess is this 100 psi rating is a peak rating vs a failure rating. In reading the Express Water user guide they say the operating pressure range for their system is 20-80psi. They also say if you have water pressures over 80 psi then you need a pressure regulator before the filter system.

So, as discussed, one thing you can do is install a pressure regulator but even if you do that, if you have a tank hot water system and your expansion tank fails, you can possibly exceed 80 psi and never know it because most don't ever check their expansion tanks and they typically last about 5 years or so.

The last though on the subject I had was quality control. Since most or all these housings come from China, how does one know if the housing is meeting any spec or how good the quality control is?

Update: Forgot to mention the pressure gauges on the Nova filter, in my experience are not very good. For some reason over time they freeze up and when glancing at them you may not be seeing the actual pressure so be aware of that. Fortunately, you can buy replacement gauges on Amazon that last and are reasonably priced. Maybe Nova has improved their gauges since I got my system but with any filter system just be aware now that we need to monitor the water pressure in our homes.

[Mrprez]

Originally Posted by Rocksnap

Serious question. Why would you replace the Nova canisters knowing that they will need replacing again in several years.

They are not the same canisters that’s why.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Mrprez

They are not the same canisters that’s why.

Can you explain? Is Nova replacing the cannisters with a new version of the cannister? If they are that's a good thing and should be mentioned.

I can tell you, before all this happened, I did try to replace one of my filter cannisters with one of the Big Blue ones and it wouldn't seal properly in the Nova manifold. My guess is the Nova manifold is different and will only support a specific type of cannister/housing.

[Nova Filtration]

We truly value your trust in our water filtration systems and take product concerns very seriously. We would always want to clarify the cause of any isolated canister leaking and ensure you the customer has the right guidance to keep your system running safely.

Canister leaks are not the result of faulty product but rather excessive incoming water pressure or in instances hot water expansion tanks. All filter canisters are designed and tested to withstand normal residential water pressure upto 90PSI; however, if water pressure exceeds recommended levels, it can place undue stress on the housing.

Our recommendations: We strongly advise installing a pressure regulator if your homes water pressure is higher than the recommended range (typically 40-80 PSI). This not only protects your filtration system but also helps extend the life of other plumbing fixtures in your home.

Please rest assured that our products are manufactured with high quality materials and undergo rigorous quality checks. When installed with the proper pressure regulation, they provide safe, long-lasting performance.

If you have experienced an issue, our customer support team is here to help troubleshoot and provide replacement guidance. All of our systems are under a one year warranty with an available five year warranty.

Thank you for being one of our valued 25,000+ customers and allowing us to provide you with properly filtered purified, safe water for your home.

Bob, Brad & Shane