Pentair Pentek 150071 Traditional Standard Filter Housing, 3/4" NPT #10 Clear Water Filter Housing with Mounting Bracket Cap and Pressure Relief Button, 10-Inch, Blue/Clear

I am on a well and wanted to reduce the sediments getting into my plumbing. I had started noticing a film in my bathroom sinks and a discoloration in the toilets only after a couple of days after cleaning. I checked the toilet tank to see if the parts were rusting only to find partials of sediments in the bottom of the tank. So I knew what I needed to do.I had previously ordered a different brand comparable in price because it had brass threads on the inlet and outlet. It very slow leak from the top seam where the plastic was moulded. Rather than remove it I knew I could find a different one and have it delivered the next day. So I would return the other one once I got the new one.I ordered this one in hopes it was constructed a bit differently. It was very well made. I liked the fact that it has the clear canister and I can monitor the filter.Before I started I washed the housing and canister in warm soapy water. Then gave it time to dry. I used brass sharkbite fittings just in case I ever need to remove it. Make sure to use plenty of Teflon tape on the inlet and outlet. I used about 8 rounds making sure I covered the threads from the thread start to the shoulder. I ran the couplings all the way in to the shoulders with a good snug turn. A thin wall wrench is helpful due to the limited amount of space left between the fitting and the housing. I Ioaded the filter before installing and made sure not to handle the filter with my bare hands. This was to prevent any contamination. I went ahead and used a little silicone lubricant to the O-ring even though it had some from the manufacturer. When I turned the water on I noticed water seeping into the threads of the canister and gave it another snug turn. I got it to move about an inch. I went back into the house and ran water from all my faucets to flush the lines and filter. A few other reviews mentioned a plastic taste from the filter and I think running a few gallons through the system can prevent that. So far it's been installed about 3 weeks and I have checked it weekly and found no issues. My water is clear and no buildup. I liked the fact that they sent instructions for cleaning the canister with a diluted mixture of 3 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of bleach and rinse. Make sure to run some clean water into a container before turning off the water for the mixture and for rinsing. Use a silicone food grade plumbing lubricant to the O-ring when reinstalling the canister to make it easier to remove when the time comes. I had to order the bracket and it came with the bolts to attach the canister, but not for mounting. I also order the canister wrench and filters. I went with the 5 micron.

There aren't as many options for filter housings without pressure relief valves, but this one is definitely worth it. The pressure relief valves on just about any of these will eventually leak if you keep using them because they're not made well. I had to remove and plug the last one up because it wouldn't stop leaking. Then the old housing started leaking because of a hairline crack. The Pentek 150072 is much beefier than what it replaced - both the blue upper and clear lower housing are thicker and very solid. My only gripes are that you have to get the bracket separately (Pentek 150578 MC-1A Bracket for 3/4" 3G Filter Housings) and the female threads could be tighter. The first shot at installing this with CPVC fittings resulted in a very slow leak from the fitting on the outlet side even though I used plenty of PTFE thread tape with thread sealant and fully threaded the fitting into the housing. The second try was with brass fittings, PTFE thread tape with thread sealant, and fully threading the fitting into the housing resulted in no leaks. Even when the 3/4in NPT male fittings fully threaded there are still about 3/8in of the female threads exposed inside the housing. I'm not sure if they make 3/4in fittings with longer male threads (didn't seem to be any CPVC ones), but that would also help prevent leaks on the first shot.The filter housing screws smoothly onto the upper housing and compresses the o-ring nicely. It only needs to be hand tight to seal. There are nice protruding ribs on the housing that make it easy to grab and loosen by hand. A plastic wrench would have been nice but isn't really needed.All in all this is a solid housing that's a bit more expensive than other options, appears to be well made, and will hopefully last longer without leaking.

Housing is heavy duty. I am going using two Pentek housings to replace the two I have in parallel with valves on each side to isolate each individually, if there is a leak in one or when replacing filters. This enables me to continue having water supply for repair and avoid water shutdown. That is exactly what happened. There was a hairline crack/leak in the valve in head of the old housing of my 13 year old filter housing. I tried to order a similar item (Culligan) but upon arrival I found the spacing between inlet and outlet was much shorter so piping adjustments or adapters would have to be used (piping is rigid). I received the 2 Pentek housings - found them to be heavier duty construction and spacing between inlet and outlet connections is identical to the old ones, so no piping changes were required, making replacement easier.I see Pentek is recommending replacement of clear housings after 5 years, and opaque housings after 10 years.The only negative with the order is the two housings were were shipped in one box without any padding around them or air pillows between them, which allowed them to bang together in transit. The housings look OK but have some light scuff marks on the clear plastic part which may or may not be due to the poor packing. Amazon Prime delivery did place the box gently on the front step.

Everything about this filter would be 5 stars, but for one caveat. The threaded inlet has been machined with loose national pipe thread standards. In order to prevent this unit from leaking water on the inlet and outlet fittings, one must wrap the threads with many many turns of the "Mega pipe tape" available at big box stores and hardware stores. Even after doing so a small drip begins forming, which requires further tightening of the fitting into the inlet and outlet. It is a scary process, as you never know if a little more tightening will crack the unit or if the leak can be stopped. Luckily I got my leak stopped by cranking it down until it was nearly bottomed out with no place to tighten any more. Whew!

These are great. High quality and I love being able to see the condition of my filters.