Eureka Forbes Aquasure Storage Water Purifier Review

One problem of living in a third world country like India is the lack of safe drinking water. My family is fortunate to have access to tap water (many are not), which we use for drinking and cooking purposes. However, the tap water is always murky and need to be boiled and filtered prior to its use.

So 6 months back, I bought a water purifier. After checking out a few prospective products, I zeroed in on the Aquaguard Aquasure storage water purifier from Eureka Forbes.

Aquasure storage water purifier from Eureka Forbes

Eureka Forbes is a world leader in water purifiers, vacuum cleaners, and air purifiers.

This review of Eureka Forbes Aquasure storage water purifier lists all its details as well as my experiences in using the water purifier for 6 months.

Specifications

• Eureka Forbes Aquasure Storage water purifier price – Rs 1950 (Indian Rupees) ~ $40 USD
• Eureka Forbes provides a one year warranty for this product.
• Website : www.eurekaforbes.com . Ironically, I couldn’t find this product on their website. However, it is readily available in various shops across India.
• Capacity : 18 litres
• Cost of replacing the filter : Rs 390 (Indian Rupees) ~ $9 USD
• Filter unit has to be replaced after every 1800 litres of water filtered (Officially stated by the company).
• As pure as boiled water with natural taste.

5 Stage Purification Process

AquaSure storage water purifier follows a five stage purification process. It first removes all the sediments and suspended impurities from water. Next it removes organic,chemical impurities and free chlorine, and does away with bad taste and odour from water. Then it destroys bacteria that cause water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, gastroenteritis, cholera typhoid etc and viruses.

The company claims this product’s  water quality conforms to IS 10500, 1991 (Drinking water specification for bacteriological quality).

Product Description

The AquaSure Storage water purifier comprises of two containers made of high quality food grade plastic, and of course the filter mechanism. The containers are stacked one on top of the other. You pour water to be purified into the top container and the water percolates through the filters and gets collected in the bottom container as purified water.

The filter mechanism of the AquaSure water purifier consists of 4 parts as shown in the following photo  -

The filters in the Aquasure water purifier

1. Particulate filter – This is a Sediment filter bag made of rugged coarse cloth/paper which removes solid substances if any from the water.
2. Sediment Filter – This is a cylindrical paper filter that filters smaller dirt particles from the water.
3. Carbon block – Next the water passes through the carbon block which again traps impurities and also removes any adverse taste in the water.
4. Bottom cartridge – Finally, the water passes through the bottom cartridge which contains granular activated carbon and a disinfection resin which purifies water of any germs.

The container at the bottom (the purified water storage tank) has an outlet tap connected to it for easy use of the purified water. A water lever indicator has also been attached on the outside of this purified water storage tank which shows the amount of water left in the storage tank.

Maintenance of AquaSure Storage Water Purifier

Regular cleaning of all the filters and the containers is necessary for the filtration process to be 100% efficient. Fortunately, cleaning the AquaSure filter mechanism is quite simple and takes very little time. Eureka Forbes recommends cleaning both the containers (top and bottom) once every month with tap water. The sediment filter should be cleaned once every two weeks (15 days) under running water. Periodically, you should also soak the activated carbon block in water and back flush it with the bellow pump provided with the product.

Back flushing the carbon block using the bellow pump

More over, the bottom cartridge should be soaked completely under water to remove all the air bubbles (trapped in it) and it should be filled to the stem with water prior to re-fixing it to the filter chamber.

Regular cleaning of all filters and cartridges will ensure smooth flow of pure, safe water.

Caveats

If you don’t clean the water filters, the efficiency of the water filter will degrade over time. Initially I had not bothered cleaning the filter on a regular basis. After one and half months, when I opened the water purifier container for cleaning, I found a layer of very fine dirt settled at the bottom of the pure water storage container (see the photo below).

See the fine dirt layer in the water storage tank of the purifier. This is what happens if you do not clean the filters on a regular basis.

So it is imperative that you periodically clean the water filter. The good news is cleaning of the water filter and the container is quick and simple and takes only around 10 minutes.

You should not use boiled or warm water while filling the top container.

Ensure that the stored purified water is consumed within 48 hours.

Eureka Forbes recommends replacing both the cartridges after every 1800 litres. However, after 6 months of heavy use, the filter is very functional and I have yet to replace it.

End Note

Eureka Forbes (Aquaguard) Aquasure Storage water purifier is an ideal product for home use. It doesn’t need electricity to function like other water purifiers. With proper care, this product will give you pure water for drinking and cooking purposes. The purification process is quick (18 litres is filtered in 15 minutes) and the purefied water need not be further boiled prior to consuming.  While the cost of the filter unit is a bit on the higher side, you will be able to break even by saving on fuel cost in boiling water. In fact, after I bought the Aquasure storage water purifier, we do not boil water for drinking any more. I highly recommend buying this product if you are looking for a good cost-effective water purifier for home use.

Update (28-Dec-2009): Recently I had a talk with a Eureka Forbes agent who was marketing one of their products at the road side and I picked up a conversation with him. He told me that Eureka Forbes decides to sell their water purifier models taking into consideration the water quality of an area. For example, some of their models which perform very well in one area may not be good in another because the water quality is different.

The water storage purifier I reviewed above is an excellent choice if  the water where you live is relatively soft. If the water you get is hard water then this filter may not do the job.

Bottom line : Do not buy a water purifier blindly. Do prior research, ask around and then decide what water purifier model of which company you want to buy.

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