Megahome Countertop Water Distiller, White, Glass Collection

[SIX YEAR UPDATE: 2/6/2016 - Our water distiller is still going strong after six plus years of use. When we wrote the original review we had no expectations of this appliance, that's been run daily distilling either one or two gallons of water, to last this long - with no repairs or replacement parts. We were pleased with the distiller back then, and now, in this era of planned obsolescence and "mean average time to failure" equipment, we are beyond amazement at this well made appliance. Perhaps we are just lucky at the longevity of our distiller, but we felt it was worth mentioning.] Original Review: Where we live the water is bad looking and bad tasting, and our home has old galvanized piping and copper with joints that are lead soldered. We've been buying bottled drinking water for the past couple of decades. The cost of bottled water keeps going up in price. Pulling out the calculator, we estimated that our family's bottled drinking water consumption, at current bottled water prices, is costing around six hundred dollars a year! The economics of the matter was quite clear; despite the initial cost and the electricity to run the appliance, a water distiller would save us money and effort over buying and hauling water from the store. Enter the distiller. We bought a water distiller and have been making a couple of gallons of distilled water a day since it arrived. The distiller works very well with little oversight or interaction needed, though it needs occasional descaling and rinsing, and you must be careful when working with the appliance when it is hot. The method for using the distiller is dirt simple: Fill the tank with water to the line, place the cooling/steam recovery tower on top of the boiler tank, put the water collection bottle under the water drain, plug the appliance in, and walk away. Then, come back later to pour the freshly distilled water into your water storage container of choice. Other reviewers have noted the problem with large amounts of scale residue left in the boiler tank after distillation, and we noticed the same thing especially with the crappy water we start with. We partially solved the problem of scale residue by buying a "pitcher style" water filter and using that as a quick "pre-filter" to remove much of the sediment, chemicals, and other impurities, and then pouring the filtered water in the distiller. We now filter the water before we add it to the distiller. (Note that "pitcher style" water filters are only rated for removing a portion of the contaminants found in the average municipal water supply, and for us is no substitute for the purity of distilled water. Using a pitcher type water filter as a "pre-filter" for your distiller adds to the final cost per gallon of distilled water when you factor in the replacement cost of filters.) We noticed that the "pre-filtered" distilled water tastes better, as the pitcher style water filter uses activated charcoal to filter water before it goes into the distiller. The "pre-filter" method has cut down on most of the baked on sediment and residue that coated the bottom and sides of the distiller, making boiler tank cleaning a much more infrequent necessity and saving us time and trouble. (Even after filtering the water with a "pitcher style" water filter like those advertised on television, the quantity of residue left in the distiller tank is amazing.) We also followed the advice of other reviewers and now use a heavy duty appliance timer to turn off the distiller after five hours of running, and that leaves about a half inch of water in the bottom of the tank so the sediment and residue remains dissolved and doesn't cook to the tank. One caution: Wait a good half hour or more after turning the distiller off (pulling the plug) before removing the top "cooling tower". A distiller is nothing more than a boiler, and it gets very hot and contains lots of high temperature steam that can burn you quickly. Wait for the machine to cool before handling. We have the distiller on a kitchen counter and we don't find the fan noise obnoxious or disturbing, but it does make a noticeable sound. The best advantage of the water distiller is we no longer have to haul gallons and gallons of drinking water home every week from the store! We have arrived in the twenty-first century; finally, we have clean drinking water on tap. ============================= Two (2) year update: Our distiller is still going strong with constant use, distilling at least one, and often two gallons of water a day and it still works as good as new. We're very pleased to the point where we are adding this update with our latest observations about this excellent appliance. Before we made the purchase two years ago through Amazon, we factored in all of the costs in a spreadsheet to see if buying a water distiller made economic sense, and at the time we determined it would take two years of use for the distiller to work out being cheaper than buying store-brand distilled water in gallon containers. If you break down the costs for the distiller unit based on the number of gallons you use per year divided by the cost of the unit, then add in the electrical cost (distiller wattage times number of hours to distill a gallon of water, times cost per watt hour charged by your electric company), you will arrive at a cost per gallon of distilled water. We determined that the distiller's cost per gallon was around seventy-one cents per gallon, after two years producing two gallons per day. Two years ago, distilled water was selling for around eighty-three cents a gallon at the grocery store, so it made sense to buy the distiller if it would last at least two years, and we are please to report that the distiller has indeed lasted two years and is still going strong. You should be aware that your distiller might require special maintenance (beyond regularly descaling the interior boiler compartment with white vinegar), as described below: The upper section, the removable top of the unit which is the steam recovery area, has a small fan to draw outside air through a series of fins attached to a long curved water tube that captures the steam and then cools and condenses it back into water to drip into the glass collection container. The closely spaced cooling fins can collect dust when air is pulled through the upper unit by the fan. To remove the dust build up, there are three (3) screws that can be unscrewed to remove the outer plastic cover of the upper unit, giving access to the interior fan and water cooling section with the attached fins. It is quite simple and easy to clean the upper section: Remove the three screws (gently pry back the rubber sealing ring to expose the screw heads), and take the two sections apart. Then rinse the solid plastic cover to remove any accumulated dust. Be careful with the section containing the water cooling fins and the electric fan - we used a small dusting brush with soft bristles to successfully remove all of the built up dust that had worked its way into the upper system and into the fins surrounding the cooling tube. Once all of the dust was removed we screwed the unit back together and put the distiller back to work. Our distiller sits on a section of kitchen counter close to an outside window, and we were surprised to find that after a couple of years use there was a substantial amount of dust build up inside the upper cooling tower. Possibly our unit is pulling dust from the outside that's being captured in the cooling fins, but this is something you might want to monitor to ensure there's no dust build up in your machine. Dust build up along the cooling fins will reduce the efficiency of the water recovery tower. We recommend this appliance to anyone looking to save their back and their wallet by processing their own pure water at home.

I live in the country where the well water is the only choice unless you want to make that regular investment into bottled water. I did use the Poland Spring water for few years but things went down hill once Nestle started their big water acquisition. Price that was already not so cheap got jacked up yet again and the service and attitude of the costumer service went beyond offensive. That's when I decided to check out the alternatives and got myself and under the counter 2 stage water filter. Our water is not that bad and the filter improved it significantly. Well, it was not perfect but it was perfectly acceptable. We went 2+ years doing fine with filtered water but the taste felt like it could still use some improvement. That's when I decided to give distilled water a try. While I knew it will taste flat and all, I figured I could improve that. Ordered my unit about two months ago and I love my water since then. Unit is pretty simple and will give you about a gallon of distilled water in a glass jar after 5.5 to 6 hours and it does that without any problems that I can tell. Noise is not a problem which is not much anyway. I jsut didn't care for the quality of glass collecting jug. The glass is the worst quality with multiple bubbles build into, which compromises the integrity of the jug. They have a lame story attached to the jug saying "it is hand made and the imperfections are normal and expected, etc". They probably buy rejects from a glass manufacturer who is really bad at making glass.. I setup myself a water station in the basement and I don't even know that it is running. I set it up with a gallon filtered water (I guess I would work perfectly fine with tap water as well but I like additional assurance on the VOC stuff) and next day in the morning I have a gallon of distilled water. Now, there are few tricks to the process to produce your own designer water! 1. As it was hinted in some of the other reviews, you don't want to run out of water in the reservoir. So, that was easily taken care of connecting the unit to a timer and let it stop after 5.5 hours. Once you fill it to the max. fill line you will end up with a glass of water left in the reservoir by the time system stops and that prevents the foul taste in the final product. 2. Once you got your distilled water and taste it, you won't like it cause it has no personality. Reason being all the minerals that gives your water it's distinct personality has been left behind along the effort of removing the not so wanted ones. No problem. Just add 8 to 10 drops of ConcenTrace Trace Minerals into your water. Mineral aspect is now addressed. However, we still have the issue PH. Distilled water is very hungry, so as it drips into the glass jar it will attract and bind with lots of CO2, creating the end result of a very acidic how PH water in the range of 5.5 to 6. Both for benefit and taste purposes you want your water to alkaline with a PH rating of 7.4 to 7.6. This can be easily achieved by the good old arm and hammer baking soda. You have to go easy on the baking soda cause it is very potent. I use a 1/8 measuring spoon and add about 1/5 of it. If you like to confirm your work you simply use a PH tested sold in pet stores for water PH tester that handles the range of 5.5 to 7.8. That's all, you just made a gallon of excellent tasting water. The only down side the whole process is that I have to make another fresh gallon every other day. I wish there would be a resonably priced unit that would produce 5 gallons at a time. So, if you can live with the not so much up to the standards glass container quality (I can) it is a pretty good deal. Your gallon of water will cost you somewhere in th vicinity of 30 to 40 cents in electricity and a negligable amount for the minerals and the baking soda.

[+] THE REVIEW: I like this distiller and would recommend buying it. The only flaw is the plastic cap on the pitcher. They were smart enough to make a glass insert in the spout so the hot water would not pick up chemicals from the plastic and then they went ahead and made a plastic cap for the pitcher. All during the distillation process, the water collecting in the pitcher is hot enough that steam rises up and collects on the plastic cap and then falls back down into the pitcher. The fix was simple. I went to a glass company and for about $5 I had them cut a 6"x6"x1/8" plate. I use that to cover the top of the pitcher while I am using the distiller. I still like this pitcher better (even with the flaw) because it has a wide mouth for easy cleaning if needed. Buying the glass didn't break the bank and it was an easy fix. It makes a gallon in about 5 1/2 hours. I use a timer to shut the distiller off at 5 hours 20 minutes which leaves about 8 oz of water in the chamber. This 8 oz contains condensed impurities. Better to throw it out than to boil it further. It also makes cleaning easier. I had a distiller a while back, and the noise from the fan is a little quieter than the other one (but not by much). I am able to distill water down to less than 0.2 ppm. I use a PWT (pure water tester) instead of a traditional TDS meter. The difference is that it is more precise in the lower ranges (0.0 - 99.9). Traditional TDS meters do not read in the tenths. Just a note that the end result does fluctuate up to 0.4 ppm, which I am assuming has to do with other variables (i.e., water, how clean the chamber is before use, etc.) Also, I filter my water with a zerowater pitcher before distilling (I do not use tap water in the distiller). I am going to try a few experiments to see if I can distill down to 0.0 ppm. I'll let you know if I succeed. [update] I did get it down to 0.0 ppm once, but for the most part I could only get down to 0.2 on a consistent bases. It was all just to see if I could do it because the difference of 0.2 ppm is so negligible that it is irrelevant. I'm guessing that the distillation of 0.0 ppm happened because all the variables happened to be perfectly aligned. [+] A NOTE ABOUT DISTILLED WATER & MINERALS: There is no down-side to adding liquid minerals to the distilled water. I add vitamin-c, magnesium and calcium to mine. I am not a doctor; however, this notion that drinking distilled water leaches minerals from the body has just got to stop. You do not (repeat - do not) get enough minerals from regular water to supply nutrition to the body. If you were fasting and you drank distilled water, then your body would start to deplete itself of minerals since nothing is being consumed. Guess what, the same thing would happen if you fasted and drank regular water. Water just does not hold enough minerals to make a difference on a grand scale. As far as trace minerals, you could add liquid minerals or better yet you should get them from consuming sea salt in your diet. Trace minerals are minerals the body utilizes in very, very small amounts. As a side note, most bottled water and tap water do not contain trace minerals. I hope that clears things up. I'm not a doctor - only someone with common sense. [+] DRINKING DISTILLED WATER FOR HYDRATION: Drinking sea water actually dehydrates a person, which is the opposite of what one might think. How can drinking any water make a person become more dehydrated? The answer lies in how water acts across a porous membrane when each side of the membrane has a different saturation of salt. When the levels are different, that forms what's called a gradient. Water always flows toward the "higher" saturated end of the gradient. So, in the example of being out to sea and drinking sea water that has a high content of salt, the water actually flows out of the body into the GI tract because the GI tract is filled with a high saturation of salt in the sea water. This is why drinking salty sea water dehydrates a person. Now let's reverse that. If you drink distilled water, there is no saturation of salt. Therefore, the water (in this case the distilled water) flows from the GI tract into your body, which has a higher saturation of salt, that being saline solution in the blood stream. In reality, you can hydrate yourself faster with distilled water because of this gradient effect. The water molecules enter into your body faster and supply the much needed water for your body to function. Again, minerals in water are insignificant as a dietary source. I hope this helps! [+] USING DISTILLED WATER TO ADD YOUR OWN MINERALS: (added June 2018) Distilled water is the best water to use if you want to add your own minerals, and here's why. Water cannot hold an unlimited about of minerals. At some point the water becomes saturated and the minerals just fall and collect on the bottom. You can try this by adding a small amount of minerals to water to see it absorb until the water is clear. Then, as you add more and more minerals the water stays cloudy, and if you let the water sit for a moment the minerals drop and collect on the bottom. So, knowing this, it is clear to see (no pun intended) that to absorb the most minerals of your choosing it is better to start out with water that lacks all minerals, hence, distilled water. I add powdered calcium, magnesium and Vitamin C to my distilled water. If I were to add these to regular tap water (i.e., tap water that already contains "other" possibly not-so-good stuff), then the water has less ability to absorb minerals because the water is already partially saturated with this other stuff. If your a person that does add certain vitamins and minerals to your water like I do, then distilled water is really the far superior water for this purpose. If interested, I add 1/4 teaspoon (1058mg) of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), 1/4 teaspoon (831mg) of Magnesium Citrate, and 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon (394-789mg) of Calcium Citrate depending on how much other calcium sources I have during the day. Here are the products I use to supplement with powder: BulkSupplements Pure Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Powder (250 grams) BulkSupplements Pure Magnesium Citrate Powder (250 grams) BulkSupplements Pure Calcium Citrate Powder (250 grams) [+] ANSWER TO Just a Guy's Question: 2017 Just a Guy wanted to know a little bit more about the timer I used. Here is my response: => "Just a guy - You asked, "can you point us to the timer you use?" The timer I used is currently unavailable. It is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018G86I08/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I found a similar timer that looks identical to mine. It is: https://www.amazon.com/Programmable-Digital-Switch-3-prong-Appliances/dp/B0191ZGELS/ref=pd_sim_60_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0191ZGELS&pd_rd_r=Y9TJG6A11AZ4TJ76Q5E7&pd_rd_w=QUjP4&pd_rd_wg=EtPOH&psc=1&refRID=Y9TJG6A11AZ4TJ76Q5E7" Here's a link for your reference: 7-day Programmable Plug-in Digital Light Timer Switch with 3-prong Outlet, 15A/1800W (1 Pack) [+] ANSWER TO Janica's Question: 2018 Janica wanted to know a little more details about the glass top I used. Here is my response to her: => "Hi Janica, in reference to the glass top I bought. I measured the diameter of the container opening using a foot ruler, and I left enough room for a little overhang because I didn't want to have to futz with positioning it. Then I went down to my local glass company and asked them if they could cut the glass in the thinnest glass possible. He recommended 1/8". He also rounded the edges at no extra charge so the edges were smooth to the touch. It took all of 10 minutes and about $5. The glass balanced perfectly blocking out anything that otherwise would fall into the freshly distilled water. I did not bring the distiller with me. I only brought the measurements and explained my situation. Then I crossed my fingers. But I thought, what the heck, if it doesn't work it's only five bucks. In this case, it worked as expected." [+] COMMENT ADDED BY healthierme: (updated 7/12/2018) healthierme posted a comment about distillers boiling dry. Here is my response to her comment: => "Hi healthierme, I never knew there was a distiller that had an auto shut off feature to prevent boiling dry - and here I thought I created something new, haha. You will find that once you use the timer a few times to get the precise length of time down, it works like a charm. It is little more crude than having it built in, but nonetheless, works flawlessly every time. One advantage that even the Waterwise doesn't have over using an external timer is that you can set both the start time and end time. For example, you can set up your distiller the night before and then let it start and finish distilling while you are at work. Set it and forget it! Thanks for the post!"

We've had this little puppy for just over six weeks now, and my wife and I have used it daily since its arrival. We really love this distiller, and feel it's perfect for our needs. We simply set it up on our kitchen counter and let it run until the automatic shut-off pops (which works every time, and shuts off the instant the last drop of water has been distilled / evaporated). We purchased the unit to supplement an under-sink filter we installed that removes chlorine and other contaminants, yet leaves dissolved solids in the water. Only a distiller or Reverse Osmosis unit can do a good job of eliminating the solids (something that became important to me after I had a kidney stone, which is an adventure I do not want to repeat). After doing a great deal of research (that is, looking at other models' specifications and reading numerous online reviews) we settled on this model of counter-top distiller, and we couldn't be happier. It makes great tasting water, and in our case we don't even use the optional charcoal filter. Admittedly the use of pre-filtered water may be the reason we don't need to use the charcoal to (as some say) "polish the water" and improve the taste. In any event, the distilled water we get from the unit tastes great. We went with an under-sink filter (purchased separately) and distiller combination in place of a Reverse Osmosis (R/O) unit we had been using in our old home for the past 10 years as a better option for the apartment we recently moved into. On the whole we felt it would be too much of a production to hook up the R/O unit in the apartment, and we kinda missed distilled water anyway (which we used to drink over a decade ago when we had a bulkier, less "modern" unit). We're using a filter because (in our view) there are some contaminants that filters (good ones) are a little better at removing (oddly enough). The last distiller we had was a monster in size, and was a nightmare to clean due to its exposed heating coils (the coils sat in the water at the bottom of the tank). I love the fact this unit is as small as it is (it couldn't be any smaller and still hold one gallon of water), and that it is so easy to clean compared with the exposed coil type we used to have. We clean the unit's stainless steel chamber after each use by pouring in a small amount of vinegar and letting it soak for an hour or so. A quick brushing with a dish brush followed by a rinse, and it's ready to go again. You don't have to clean the unit after each use if you want to immediately make another gallon -- we just choose to do it that way to avoid any significant build-ups of solids. As for the noise of the fan, we don't find it too loud at all. To us it's no louder than our dishwasher, and we hardly notice it. If it was an issue we'd simply run it in our laundry room by setting it on top of our dryer (which is where we store it if we're not using it to avoid taking up kitchen cabinet space). The glass collection container is great (you really don't want to place distilled water, which is also called "hungry water" because it has no dissolved solids in it and will rapidly leach chemicals from plastic containers as a result) in anything other than glass or stainless steel. If you do store distilled water in plastic you'll find the water quickly tastes like the plastic it has been stored in -- which means you're drinking the chemicals leached from the plastic, a known health hazard. So as you can tell, we're delighted with the unit, and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants an easy, fool-proof way to make high-quality distilled water right at home. If you've ever had kidney stones, then distilled water (in my view) is definitely the way to go. Some evidence has shown the tap water can add to the mineral composition of kidney stones and/or increase the risk of susceptible individuals developing kidney stones. Many practitioners recommend distilled water (which is water in its purest form with no dissolved solids) as both a treatment and a preventive measure. In my view, you really can't go wrong with this little device. It's quick, easy, and simple to set up and use -- and at this point we'd rather not drink anything else. We're so hooked on the great, clean taste of the water that we take it with us (in stainless steel bottles we also bought on Amazon.com) wherever we go -- even to restaurants, which generally serve city (tap) water with all its usual contaminants. If you do purchase one of these units, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Was not as difficult to set up as the first reading of the instructions led me to believe that it would be. However, did not realize it would be as large and bulky to move around. If I had, I would have looked for a smaller model. Live alone and with only one plant, that also needs the distilled water, as here the water is overly too hard. So, to simplify this for me and the plant, I only make 1/2 to 2/3 a glass container at one time, and unplug from the wall before the distiller has a chance to boil dry and cake in that ugly residue. The process is easy and simple enough once have run through it completely. Did throw out the first run. Use two filters at once as recommended to improve the flavor. So far, have not really got use to the flavor completely as compared to the bottled spring water was buying. But it sure is nice to not have all those plastic bottles to tend to anymore. Was buying 4 gallons of distilled water monthly for the plant, so that also is nice to not have to contend with the disposable of all those bottles. Not to mention the cost and hauling all those bottles in. So for the convenience of no more plastic bottles and the health issue of using glass over plastic, the cost has been justified for me. Would look for a smaller model the next time as do not need this large of one, but that not being available, would buy this one again. EDIT OCT 24, 2017: after using this daily for a number of weeks now, have a few observations to make that would improve this item. 1. the nozzle containing the charcoal filters could definitely stand a complete engineering REdesign - easily bumps off when removing the large glass container full of water. Hard to remove the charcoal from the little compartment. Hard to put back on to distiller. This is such a vital small part of the distiller that needs a great amount of design improvement. 2. the connection cord between the top fan lid and the large storage container also needs a new redesign that makes it easier to remove the top lid for filling and cleaning. Cord is tooooooooo short and it is tooooooo hard to remove from the socket. IF THE THING IS NOT PLUGGED INTO THE CONTAINER ALLLLLLLLLLLL THE WAY AND TIGHTLY, THE MACHINE DOES NOT COME ON. NOT A BAD FEATURE, BUT MANY MAY THINK THEY HAVE A DEFECTIVE DISTILLER WITHOUT JUGGLING THE CORD INTO THE SOCKET STRONGLY AND FIRMLY. CAN SEE WHERE SEVERAL PEOPLE MAY HAVE EVEN RETURNED THIS ITEM THINKING IT WAS DEFECTIVE BECAUSE IT DID NOT COME ON. THIS IS ANOTHER PLACE WHERE A SUPERIOR DESIGN WOULD GO A LONG WAY. 3. THE WHOLE THING IS TOO HEAVY AND BULKY TO USE WHEN REMOVING THE LID TO CLEAN AND OR ADD WATER FOR A NEW BATCH. 4 I NEVER LET IT BOIL DRY AND ALWAYS TIME IT SO I CAN TURN IT OFF BEFORE THE AUTOMATIC TURN OFF WHICH ONLY COMES AFTER THE WATER IS BOILED OFF AND LEAVES A BAD RESIDUE IN THE BOTTOM WHICH IS VERY HARD TO CLEAN OUT AT THIS STAGE. INSTEAD I ONLY RUN IT DURING THE DAY AND TURN IT OFF AT 4.5 HOURS WITH ABOUT TWO INCHES OF WATER STILL LEFT IN IT. THEN I CAN POUR THAT WATER OUT AND TAKE SOME PAPER TOWELS AND THOROUGHLY WIPE OUT ANY RESIDUE WITHOUT HAVING TO CLEAN IT WITH CHEMICALS EACH TIME. KEEPS THE WATER TASTING BETTER. CLEANING WITH THOSE CHEMICALS TAKES A THOROUGH RINSING AND RE RINSING AS ANY RESIDUE FROM THE CLEANING LEAVES A VERY FOUL TASTE. HAD BOUGHT THE CRYSTALS WHICH CAME WITH IT ORIGINALLY ONLY TO FIND OUT LATER THAT I PREFER TO CLEAN WITH VINEGAR WHICH DOES A VERY GOOD JOB, IS EASIER TO RINSE OUT. AND LEAVES NO FOUL TASTE BEHIND. 5. I ALWAYS USE TWO CHARCOAL FILTERS AND CHANGE OUT AS PRESCRIBED. THIS IMPROVES THE TASTE OF THE WATER IMMENSELY. AND ALSO REMOVES THE VOC'S. 6. AT FIRST, HAD A SHORT TIME OF ADJUSTMENT TO THE NON TASTE OF THIS WATER COMPARED TO THE SPRING WATER HAD BEEN DRINKING. UNTIL FOUND THAT ONE OR TWO DROPS OF LEMON INTO THE GLASS OF WATER, MADE IT SO MUCH MORE DRINKABLE. NOW I ONLY HAD THE LEMON EVERY NOW AND THEN. 7. AM HAPPY WITH THE CLEANER WATER TO DRINK AND TO NOT HAVE ALL THOSE PLASTIC BOTTLES TO DISPENSE WITH EVERY MONTH. SO IF COULD NOT FIND A SMALLER, SIMILAR UNIT, WOULD STILL BUY THIS ONE AGAIN WITH ALL THE RE DESIGNS IT DOES NEED.

I recently wrote another Amazon product review for the Baby Brezza Temperature Controlled Water Kettle, which I use to keep water at body temperature for nasal irrigation. Shortly after I started using that product, I realized that I was growing tired of worrying about the possibility, albeit a remote one, of getting an infection of the amoeba "Naegleria fowleri" from my well water, and was also tired of always running out of gallon jugs of distilled water from the store just when I needed it. Besides occasional nasal irrigation, I also have some backup sump batteries that need topping off with distilled water in the colder and dryer months, and I also run some chemical processes in my home laboratory that require distilled water for best results. I started looking for a small distiller intended for home use, and Google searches led me to this MegaHome unit. It had mostly good reviews so I bought one from Amazon. The product comes with the boiler/condenser unit, a glass pitcher of about 1 gallon capacity, a box of six activated charcoal packets, and a jar of citric acid pellets. The product arrives in a box that at first seems to have only the boiler/condenser inside, but on closer inspection it reveals a sort of Russian doll scheme where the glass pitcher, with handle removed, is inside the boiler tank, the handle parts, citric acid and charcoal filters are inside the pitcher. You need to assemble the handle to the pitcher, which involves wrapping two stainless steel straps around the pitcher (they fit into recessed grooves in the glass), then screwing the handle onto nuts that are welded to the straps. A plastic cover snaps onto the handle to cover the mounting hardware. You also need to assemble the condenser which is comprised of a small glass funnel and a plastic housing for the funnel, and this snaps onto the discharge end of the condenser. One packet of activated charcoal fits wadded up inside the glass funnel, and it removes any residual chemicals that might have been distilled along with the water; in practice this makes distilled drinking water taste better. The assembly snaps off to change the packet. The boiler/condenser is in two parts. The boiler rests on the counter top, shelf, or other suitable flat surface. It consists of a stainless steel tank that holds a bit more than one gallon, with an electric heating underneath. An integrated circuit breaker/thermostat on the side of the boiler turns off the heater when all the water in the tank is boiled off, and also protects against overloads or other faults. It does not work as an on/off switch. The condenser rests on top of the boiler, and stays in place because a lip along the edge keeps it centered on the boiler. A gasket seals the two together, although it is only gravity at work and no hardware is used to latch it in place. The condenser consists of a stainless steel dome that collects the steam created from the boiling water below, and the steam exits the dome through a hole that leads to a double coil of stainless steel tubing that wraps around inside the condenser. An electric motor with a fan is mounted in the middle of the coils of tubing, and draws in cool air through side vents, past the coils (cooling the steam inside and condensing it back to water), and exhausts through vents in the top. An electrical cord runs down from the condenser and plugs into a socket near the base of the boiler, right next to where the power cord comes in. This makes it easy to unplug and detach the condenser from the boiler for cleaning. The citric acid is used to clean the stainless steel when it gets funky from minerals and other impurities bake onto the surfaces after some use. You just make a batch with some citric acid in it, then drain and wipe clean. In practice, you lift the condenser from the boiler and lay it down next to the boiler. Then fill the boiler tank to the 'FULL' line, replace the condenser on top, and plug it into the electrical outlet. The electric heater starts and the fan also starts. It takes at least half an hour for the water in the tank to reach a good boil, but the insulated boiler keeps the outside from getting more than just a bit warm to the touch. Once the water is boiling, you will notice that the air exiting the top of the condenser is now pretty warm, since it is removing heat from the steam. Distilled water begins to drip out of the discharge nozzle on the side (it passes through the activated charcoal inside the glass funnel on its way out), and into the glass pitcher. The discharge nozzle fits right into the pouring spout of the pitcher, so that the plastic pitcher cover can remain in place during distillation. This keeps dust, bugs, cats, etc; out of your pure distilled water. When all the water is boiled off, the temperature inside the boiler rises sharply and this causes the thermostat to pop and turn the electric heater and fan off. Now you have a full gallon of distilled water in the pitcher ready for use. I pour it directly into an empty plastic jug that 'store-bought' distilled water came in. You can then leave the distiller alone, or you can immediately refill the tank, reset the thermostat, and make another batch right away. The distiller works at a rate of about one gallon per every six hours, so you can distill up to four gallons in a 24 hour period. I use my distiller on well water that has a number of impurities, including iron, magnesium, calcium, 'sludge', and other trace elements. After a few batches of water, the inside of the boiler tank has a film of this stuff baked on. As confirmed by the users manual, this is OK to leave there, as it does not affect the quality of the distilled water coming out. But eventually, I want to clean it and this is where the citric acid comes in. I put in a gallon of water and some acid, bring it to a boil, then drain and rinse, then wipe the inside surfaces, rinse once again and I'm ready for more distilling. One 'trick' to reduce how fast the mineral film builds up inside the boiler is to never allow all the water to be boiled off. I try to arrange it so that I stop the process when about 1" of water remains in the boiler tank. I use a digital electrical timer to turn the power on for 5 hours and 30 minutes, and this setting seems to reliably do the trick. Unfortunately, finding a suitable timer that was easy and accurate to set, with repeatable resolution of not greater than 10 minutes and a timing length of at least 6 hours was difficult. Most timers out there, at least those readily available to consumers, have either short duration of less than an hour, or else they are difficult to set accurately and you will either have them running for too long or not long enough. Some timers such as this one: http://www.amazon.com/15079-7-Day-Plug-In-Digital-Timer/dp/B002HEO7N8/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1359170269&sr=8-16&keywords=digital+electric+timer+countdown might work, but you would need to make sure that the one you choose can be operated WITHOUT being cyclic, in other words it will not turn the distiller back on a while after turning it off at the end of a distilling batch. I chose a rather pricy one by Borg General (digital interval count down timer series 650, originally made by Diehl) that costs about $100 and is available online. This works brilliantly but needs to be mounted in something since it does not have an enclosure of its own. By the time you put it in a box, add a power switch and power cord and outlet for plugging in the distiller, you will have spent $150 on it. I am very pleased with the quality of this product, and it works well for me. The

Six and one half years from purchase, still going strong. No problems. When it wears out I will buy another one just like it in a heartbeat. ---------------------- January 2013 Update: I've now used this distiller for two years and I am totally satisfied with its performance. They started clorinating our water since I bought this unit and so I have chosen to pre-filter the water to help remove the chlorine, by using a charcoal filter on my kitchen faucet when filling the tank. I don't use the post-filter that comes with the unit, to avoid possible sulfite contamination, as stated previously. I continue to make about one gallon a day and I clean the tank every time I use it. To help soften the deposits on the tank I either pour a little of the distilled water back into the tank to soften it or, if the deposits are heavier, I put a quarter of a cup of vinegar in the pot and cover it until time to clean and use it again. The acid atmosphere created by the distilled water or vinegar softens both the deposits on the bottom and the sides. A quick rinse under the faucet has the pot clean and ready for the next use. Since I clean it every time, there is never any build up to deal with. I let the pot shut off on its own. Sometimes the pot leaves more water in the bottom than others but I have never experienced the deposits being totally dry and baked on after the distilling process. Yes, I LOVE this unit! ------------------ I started using my distiller the second week of January 2011 and I am quite pleased with it. I have an awful time finding water that does not make me sick. This is working like a charm and the water tastes pure. I am quite sulfite sensitive. I do NOT use the filter because of the possibility of sulfite contamination from the charcoal filtering material. The water turns out just fine without it. This distiller has made my life a whole lot easier. I think it is a bargain at the price. I make a gallon a day for my own comsumption and that works well for me. I run mine in the dining room and it can be heard in the next room but the noise level doesn't bother me. I would compare it to the sound level of a portable white noise machine or an oscillating fan running on high.

Delivered Feb 21, 2017 Was hesitant to buy the Megahome Water Distiller due to some of the reviews on the taste of the water being bad I’m not finding that problem. Soaked one filter as directed haven’t used the filter long enough to determine how long it lasts. I have well water and very little scum is at the bottom of the vessel when the cycle completes. Using hot water does speed up the process 5 hours I set my kitchen timer for and there’s about 1/2" of water on the vessel bottom when the cycle is complete. Asked the company which refills are the ones that come with the Megahome and I was told the 12 pack at $14.95 that Amazon sells. Throw a little vinegar in the bottom of the empty vessel at completion and it removes anything that has accumulated. The Distiller does not have an on/off switch. There is a reset switch which the directions state is to reset the fan should it stop. I received a nice little gadget from my electric company to save electricity that plugs into an outlet and you plug your device into that. It has a toggle switch on the side of this little gadget and turns the electricity along with my Megahome on and off without having to pull the plug from the outlet which creates sparks big time. Noise? I don’t think the noise level is bad at all I have it in the laundry room adjacent to my family room and I barely notice it unless I concentrate on listening for it. The water container was shattered when delivered and a new container was received 3 days later and I was good to go. The glass is VERY THIN. Use two hands when carrying the container. I don’t move it from the table where I distill. I bring other containers to it and fill them there. No one touches it other than me $50 replacement is heart stopping. I have the white Megahome distiller instead of the stainless I was afraid finger prints would imprint on the stainless as they do on my fridge so the white one is perfect for me plus the difference in price got me a 12 pack of filters. Very pleased with my purchase so far… 3-9-2017 Delivered Feb 21, 2017 Was hesitant to buy the Megahome Water Distiller due to some of the reviews on the taste of the water being bad I’m not finding that problem. Soaked one filter as directed haven’t used the filter long enough to determine how long it lasts. I have well water and very little scum is at the bottom of the vessel when the cycle completes. Using hot water does speed up the process 5 hours I set my kitchen timer for and there’s about 1/2" of water on the vessel bottom when the cycle is complete. Asked the company which refills are the ones that come with the Megahome and I was told the 12 pack at $14.95 that Amazon sells. Throw a little vinegar in the bottom of the empty vessel at completion and it removes anything that has accumulated. The Distiller does not have an on/off switch. There is a reset switch which the directions state is to reset the fan should it stop. I received a nice little gadget from my electric company to save electricity that plugs into an outlet and you plug your device into that. It has a toggle switch on the side of this little gadget and turns the electricity along with my Megahome on and off without having to pull the plug from the outlet which creates sparks big time. Noise? I don’t think the noise level is bad at all I have it in the laundry room adjacent to my family room and I barely notice it unless I concentrate on listening for it. The water container was shattered when delivered and a new container was received 3 days later and I was good to go. The glass is VERY THIN. Use two hands when carrying the container. I don’t move it from the table where I distill. I bring other containers to it and fill them there. No one touches it other than me $50 replacement is heart stopping. I have the white Megahome distiller instead of the stainless I was afraid finger prints would imprint on the stainless as they do on my fridge so the white one is perfect for me plus the difference in price got me a 12 pack of filters. Very pleased with my purchase so far… 3-9-2017

I use it once a day to fill 2 of my air humidifiers

Easy to use, simple to clean, lets see how long it lasts

Pour deux raisons, l'eau distillé et la rendre potable