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Home
> Filter Cartridges/Housings
Water
Filter Cartridge Types
There
are two basic types of water filter cartridges commonly
available; sediment and taste & odor cartridges. Sediment
cartridges are used to remove - as the name implies - sediment,
fine particles, sand and silt. Taste & odor cartridges
are generally made up of granular activated carbon and are
used to treat chlorine and THMs (trihalomethanes), endrin,
lead, pesticides/herbicides, radon and toluene. They also
improve - again, as the name implies - taste and odor.
Flow
Rates
The
flow rate of a filter cartridge is important. Flow rates
are determined by the filter cartridge's media size - usually
expressed in microns - and by the surface area. The longer
and wider the filter cartridge, the more surface area it
has. Surface area on pleated cartridges are the highest
because of the nature of the pleat. More media is exposed
to the water in a smaller space. Activated carbon cartridges
are generally not designed to provide particle or sediment
reduction, so their micron rating is not normally stated.
There are exceptions for carbon/sediment dual purpose filters
though. Carbon filter flow rates are normally listed, but
it is important to remember that the longer the contact
time with the activated carbon, the more efficient the filter
is.
POE
vs. POU
POE
(Point Of Entry) describes a water treatment filter or system
that is designed for higher flow rates to perform under
"whole-house" conditions. These filters are normally
installed where the water main line comes into the home
or building. By function, they contain much more filter
media or surface area than standard POU (Point Of Use) filters
and filter the entire water system. POU filters are smaller
because of the lesser flow rate demand for common drinking
water faucets and treat only that point of the water system.
Shower head filters are a good example of POU water treatment.
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| This
is a typical GAC carbon filter cartridge. |
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BigBlue™
Filter
canisters are commonly used for POE water filtering applications.
Their large size and diameter allow for the larger 4" x
20" filter cartridges which can provide constant flow rates
of up to 12 gallons-per-minute. For filtering an entire household
water system or a high flow rate application, the BigBlue filter
housings are the right choice. BigBlue filter canisters are
also available in 10-inch lengths. |
More
information on BigBlue filter housings including pipe connection
size and filter flow rates and pricing can be found online
at Water Value |
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Standard
Filter Housings Standard
filter canisters which accept 9-3/4 inch filter cartridges for
sediment removal and taste & odor carbon cartridges are
commonly used at point-of-use locations where flow rates are
between 1 and 3 gallons-per-minute such as kitchen sinks and
ice-makers. These standard size filter cartridges can be used
for sediment/turbidity removal and, when containing an activated
carbon filter, chlorine removal. |
Pick
up and connect a filter housing to your kitchen sink's cold
water supply for convenient access to great tasting, healthy
drinking water right from the tap. These filter housings are
available online
at Water Value |
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Sediment
Filter Cartridges Sediment
filters are designed to remove sand, silt and turbidity from
your water. Sediment filters are generally either pleated, string
wound, or melt-blown. Pleated sediment filters by nature have
a larger surface area to trap particles on. Some of the materials
used in manufacturing pleated filters allow the pleates to be
cleaned so that the filter cartridge may be re-used. String
wound sediment filters are less expensive to manufacture and
can remove very fine particles such as sand, silt, scale and
rust. Melt-blown filters feature a graded density which allows
the filter material to hold more dirt. |
Sediment
filter cartridges for standard size filter housings can
be found at Water Value.
Sediment
filter cartridges for BigBlue housings can be found in
our wide body filter section. |
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Activated
Carbon Filter Cartridges Activated
carbon can improve your water's taste and clarity a great deal.
If your water has a sulfur smell from gases in your private
well, or you have a chlorine treated municipal water supply,
activated carbon can take care of those problems. Granular activated
carbon is the media used in those water pitcher filters "as
seen on TV". The carbon filter cartridges that we have
available can handle a much larger volume of water than the
pitcher filter replacements, plus they cost a lot less. |
Activated
carbon filter cartridges for all size filter housings
can be found at Water Value.
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Installation
And Accessories Filter
cartridge housings can be mounted or installed in-line at the
point-of-entry (POE) or conveniently under a kitchen sink. Different
size housings require different size mounting brackets. It is
also handy to have a spanner wrench which will fit over your
filter housings canister for easy removal and replacement when
replacing filter cartridges. |
Filter
housing accessories for mounting and servicing your filters
are available online at Water Value.
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