How Does the PiMag Waterfall Compare to the Turapur

One of my customers emailed me yesterday asking me to compare Nikken’s PiMag Waterfall with the Turapur countertop water filter from Laissez Faire’s Living Well. I’m always interested to see what else is out there, so I decided to go ahead and take a look.

First, she assumed that I would say that Nikken’s PiMag water filtration systems are better just because I am a Nikken distributor. I have never just said that Nikken’s products are better without comparing the data and I’m not about to now. I’m not blindly loyal to any company whether I earn my income from them or not.

Water Filtration

The most important thing for a water filter to be able to do reliably is filter water. That’s a no-brainer, right?

The website for the Turapur countertop system says that it is a two-stage filtration system and that the first stage is NSF certified. I could not find anywhere that identified what NSF standards the Turapur was certified to meet, and they don’t identify the certifying agency so I had no way to find the information.

They do state that it removes bad taste and odors so it should be safe to assume that it removes chlorine, but without more information you cannot assume anything else.

Some Companies Annoy Me

I find it annoying when I want to compare products and the company’s website contains a lot of sales copy but no data to back up their claims. To say that a water filter is NSF certified but not list the standards it meets or the lab that certified it makes the claim completely meaningless. What does your water filter remove from the water?

Laissez Faire’s Living Well also sells nutritional supplements and they have links to the actual product labels so that you can see the ingredients. That’s good. I don’t know why they don’t list the NSF certificate for their water filter.

How Does the PiMag Waterfall Compare on Water Filtration?

Nikken’s PiMag Waterfall meets three NSF standards so you know exactly what its water filtration capabilities are.

• NSF/ANSI 42 for reduction of chlorine, taste and odor, chloramines, and particulate class III.
• NSF/ANSI 53 for reduction of VOCs and mercury.
• NSF/ANSI 372 for low lead compliance.

The PiMag Waterfall was tested by WQA and Nikken displays the certificate on their website so that you can see exactly what contaminants are removed from the water in case you have a specific concern.

Water Alkalinity

More and more people are becoming aware of the importance of drinking alkaline water to counteract our acidic diets. Let’s see how the Turapur and the PiMag Waterfall compare on alkalinity.

The Turapur website says that their filter cartridge lasts about six months and adjusts the water to around 9 pH, which is very good.

The PiMag Waterfall filter cartridge lasts for three months and the pH value ranges from 9.5 pH when it is new down to 8.5 at the end of its term, for an average of 9 pH. Both systems are about the same on alkalinity.

How Much Do They Cost?

The Turapur countertop system costs $199. The replacement filter component costs $129 and lasts for about six months. That puts the first year cost (new unit plus one replacement filter after six months) at $328 and the annual cost for the second year and beyond (two replacement filters each year) at $258.

After two years following the recommended maintenance schedule for the Turapur countertop water filter you will have spent $586.

The PiMag Waterfall costs $249, so it is more expensive up front. The replacement filter for the Waterfall is only $34 and Nikken recommends that you change it every three months. Nikken also recommends you change out the mineral stones every 12 months at a cost of $21.

That makes the first year cost of the waterfall (new unit plus three replacement filters at three, six and nine months) $351. The annual maintenance cost for the PiMag Waterfall (four replacement filter cartridges and one box of mineral stones) is $157.

After two years with the PiMag Waterfall at the recommended replacement schedule you will have spent $508 for a savings of $78 compared to the Turapur. You will continue to save $101 with the Waterfall every year after.

Convenience

The Turapur connects by a hose that screws onto your kitchen faucet. That means that you have filtered water available whenever you want or need it. It is about 3.5 inches across and less than a foot tall, or as they say on their website, it is a little smaller than a half gallon milk jug.

Designer faucets are becoming more and more popular and they are not threaded to support the connector for systems like the Turapur system. They also require that you have space near your sink to dedicate to your water filter which may or may not be convenient.

The PiMag Waterfall is a stand-alone gravity water system. The benefit is that it isn’t dependent on how your faucet is designed and doesn’t have to be placed right next to your sink.

The downside is that the PiMag Waterfall does take up more space. It is about 10 inches wide, 13 inches deep and almost 17 inches tall. Because it is free-standing, you have to make sure that you add water to it every time you take filtered water out of it so that you always have water available.

Summary

In my opinion, based in what I have shared here, the PiMag Waterfall is the better water filter. While the Turapur countertop filter is more convenient because you don’t have to remember to fill it with water regularly, the convenience goes away if you have upgraded your faucet from the old standard faucet to one of the more modern designer faucets.

The ability of the two systems to make your water alkaline is pretty much the same.

The PiMag Waterfall is less expensive than the Turapur system as long as you use for at least two years and you save more each year that you continue to use it.

The most important feature of any water filter is its ability to filter water. The only meaningful claim that the Turapur makes is that it cleans up the taste and smell of the water. They don’t say anything about what it removes from the water.

The PiMag Waterfall is certified to remove the chlorine and chloramines that municipal water systems add to your water. It is also certified to reduce lead, VOCs and other contaminants that can get into a water system. Nikken carries a link on their website allowing you to view the certificate and see exactly what the PiMag Waterfall has been tested to remove.

Until I see information that shows otherwise, I’m sticking with my PiMag Waterfall.

More important than this comparison of these two particular systems, I recommend that you go through a similar process anytime that you are thinking about a significant purchase, like for a water filter.

Please share your thoughts in a comment below. I would really appreciate it if you would share this post with your followers on social media – Facebook, Twitter, and or Pinterest. Thank you.

Disclosure

I am an independent Nikken distributor and I may earn a commission if you purchase any products from Nikken through any links on this website. I do not have any relationship, financial or otherwise, with Laissez Faire’s Living Well.