CO-Z Distilled Water Maker, 1 Gallon Water Distiller, 4L Home Countertop Water Distiller Machine, Table Desktop Water Distill Distilling Purifier Purification Filter, Home Pure Clean Water Device

I just received this CO-Z water distiller today. First impressions are listed below, in no particular order: (NOTE: I had ordered a similar distiller at half the price but got concerned when I saw that we'd entered the shipping time window and it hadn't even shipped yet, while showing "Currently Unavailable" on the product page. So I jumped on this one partly because of the "UL Listed" claim in the product description (more about that later), partly because of the high ratings, and partly because I wanted to get one of these distillers a.s.a.p. for new humidifiers that require distilled water. As it turns out that other product DID end up shipping and is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. That will give me a great opportunity to compare the two products. After that, I'll either send one back or keep both since they are getting harder and harder to find and they don't seem to be built to last.) 1. The product arrived in the original box with no second outer box. But it was intact and had all the necessary parts and was clearly brand new so no harm/no foul. 2. It was easy to put together and within an hour I had started making my first gallon of distilled water. A few caveats: A. I watched this video to show how to remove the nozzle that holds the small charcoal filter packet and it helped a lot (it's for a different brand but the process is the same): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bLG8YUUlQw B. I purchased a simple 12 hour countdown timer to be able to time each distillation "run" and also to provide a sort of "on/off" switch, which this product lacks. Here's a link to that timer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MVDTEXS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 C. I used the hottest water I could get from my tap to fill the reservoir. 3. I did not notice any smells coming from the product, even though the instruction manual stated it was possible. 4. This product is what I would consider to be noisy, because of the fan. The best comparison I can give is that it sounds like the exhaust fan in my kitchen. I would not want to be in the same room as this distiller if I were trying to sleep. 5. It took about 20 minutes or so before I began to see the first water coming out of the nozzle. After that it trickled through at a pretty steady rate. I ran it for 3.5 hours to help make sure there was still some water in the bottom and that the minerals couldn't bake on but it left too much water, so now I'm running it for 4 hours. (It's going to be a trial and error process since you can't see into the tank to check on the remaining water level. The main problem with just letting it run until it turns itself off is that the minerals tend to really get burnt onto the bottom heating plate and I'm trying to avoid that.) 6. Even though there's no way to directly clean the 1 gallon plastic pitcher I think I prefer it to the glass pitchers given all of the negative reviews of the glass pitchers. It should be a simple matter to just put in some hot water, soap, and vinegar and swish it around to clean it adequately. And the only thing going into the pitcher is clean, distilled water. So it should be fine. 7. As stated above I bought this solely to be able to make distilled water to use in room humidifiers, so down the road I don't think I'll use the charcoal filter. I bought some evaporative humidifiers (I was tired of all the white dust from the ultrasonic humidifiers), along with this distiller, to keep the wicks from getting encrusted with straight tap water mineral deposits, hopefully extending their life. (Evaporative humidifier filters are ridiculously expensive and the product won't work without a wick/filter.) The normal TDS of my tap water is around 150. The TDS from the distilled water using this device is 0.00. That should help out. 8. I do not see a UL sticker anywhere on this product. The only thing that's visible is some CE sticker slapped on the bottom. I'm not pleased about that because it's one of the reasons I paid more for this unit vs the cheaper one(s). 9. This product does not have a handle on the top to make lifting it off easier. (The one that's arriving tomorrow, and cost half of what this cost, does.) 10. This distiller, and all the ones like it, blasts warm air into the air after it's been running for a while. This is okay in the winter; I'm not sure how okay it will be in the summer. I measured the heat coming out at 100 degrees F. (I might have to relocate it down in the basement where it's at least 10 degrees cooler in the summer.) 11. As others have pointed out the metal jug "cap" is only there to collect water. It doesn't screw on like the solid white plastic cap so you can't pour with it. I understand that they don't want to make it a screw on because you are able to turn it freely and position it wherever is most convenient. But still, how hard would it have been to make a third cap that has a spout and screws on so you can easily transfer the water to another container without having to use a funnel? 12. Obviously this is a Day One review and I can't attest to the longevity of this product. But I will provide updates over time to show how things are going down the road. For what it is, this appears to be a nice example of this kind of distiller. If I wanted something to use in a real emergency situation I would go with a stainless steel pot/copper tubing setup that can be put on a variety of heat sources and processes something along the line of a gallon/hour, vs a quart/hour. That type of distiller could also safely distill sea water. But again...for what it is...this thing seems to get the job done. (And since I don't use the humidifiers in the summer that often the excess heat might be a moot point.) UPDATE!!! Day 2 -- From first to worst!!! (I'm changing the 5 star rating to a 1 star rating.) The first batch of distilled water went fine. The second one was a disaster. There was water all over the table, soaking some tax papers I had there. It was not a leak like some people have described between the top and the bottom -- it was a leak from the "spout". Water would periodically seep over the side of the spout, rather than dripping directly into the blue container. Over the course of the 4 hour "run" it made a real mess that I didn't realize until the 4 hours had passed. It's either a design flaw or else it's defective. Either way, it made using the distiller impossible. The only thing that seemed to work was to remove the charcoal filter, which, obviously was brand new and not a matter of it being old and needing to be replaced. I was able to make some gallons without the charcoal filter but that's unacceptable for what this cost. I'm extremely disappointed with this distiller, especially for the premium price (for the lower tier of distillers) that I paid. (By contrast, the second distiller I purchased cost 1/2 of this one, but is now, unfortunately, unavailable.) (NOTE: I did receive the other, less expensive distiller -- which was a trip in itself because I ordered a Maphorn and received a Vevor, which is completely different -- and it didn't have the leaking problem of the CO-Z. AND it has a dedicated on/off switch, something the Maphorn didn't have but the Vevor did, so I was glad I got the Vevor instead, even though I don't think Amazon should have pulled a bait and switch. The only issue I have with the Vevor is that the blue container bottle stinks like petroleum distillate, even after several washings with vinegar and baking soda. I will be returning the CO-Z and keeping the Vevor.)

I've had this in use for about four years without problems. We have extremely hard water, so I splash a little vinegar in the bottom after each use and that keeps it clean quite easily. I suppose that cuts down on the cost-effectiveness, but I still like having freshly-distilled water on hand for a humidifier, C-pap, and an ice-maker. Ice from distilled water tastes terrific. The size is decent as is the water capacity. It takes about 4 hours to do a gallon. I run that much every other day. Since the time I purchased the unit, I've become far more aware of micro plastics contaminating our food and water. So, had I to do it again, I would purchase one with a glass container. That's why I gave it four stars instead of five. (I give four stars when I find something works fine but doesn't exactly wow me.) If I could give it 4.5, I would. It functions well and I've had four years of use and counting. Not bad.

So far, my device has worked fine. I knocked one star off, because I have yet to figure out how to install the charcoal filter. The manual says a filter is preinstalled so I will have to solve that in the future. I'm not sure why a charcoal filter would be needed? Distilled water should be the purist of the pure, why would I need to charcoal filter it further? The one caveat is the cleaning. After a cycle, minerals are left heat dried to the bottom and that can't be helped since its part of the process. Getting it to come off did take some effort. I started using 50% white vinegar to water and it eventually came off. I did some research on white vinegar cleaning stainless steel. Some sites say if the steel is a lower quality, the vinegar acid can pit it and it may eventually rust. The steel seems solid to me so I have been using pure white vinegar to soak for about 30 minutes and the minerals clean off easily. Then I rinse the steel liner out with water. I figure I will take my chances since it cleans so easily using this technique. Edit 5 months later: I love this little champ and use it everyday! A great tip, I just came upon, should have thought of it months ago. When a pot of water is making and if you are out of water to drink, don't turn off the machine to get some water. Its better just to pull the water bottle out, pour it into another water bottle, and place a coffee cup or some other short glass to catch the dripping water while the large water bottle is removed. Then put the bottle back under the distiller to catch the dripping water again. Just a tip to keep from turning the machine off, mid cycle. 3rd update: 6 months after purchase. I came upon a snag today and found water all over my counter while it was distilling. I notice water was coming out of the sides where the two halves connect where the seal is. At first I thought the seal went bad and I would need a new machine, but that is not the problem. Apparently after removing the charcoal filter, it runs properly and the pressure is not coming out of the sides and is going upward through the distiller. Therefore, the charcoal filter I installed must have gotten clogged and would not allow pressure upwards. Therefore, all should take care that after time the charcoal filter does not clog. I'm not going to run the machine at night while sleeping so the machine can be checked while making water. Just a warning. I still like the machine, but would give it a 4.5 stars. Another update, approximately 2 years later: The little white champ is still running great. I thought I would update since I have the lowest wattage machine, the 750 watt. It may take longer than the most powerful model, but the advantage is that many electrical outlets may not allow you to use the largest wattage model, since you will overload the circuit. This small model insures you have enough power to most outlets to power it, therefore you will not have to hire an electrician to rewire your outlet for the higher wattage for the other upgraded higher wattage model.

Bought this for my plants. Easy to use and works great. Just have to make sure to rinse it out after each use or it will get build up. Great product though

I've been thinking of getting one of these distillers since I use a CPAP and although distilled water isn't hard to find, might save some money and convenience by making my own. This unit is a bit bigger than I thought, the photos are misleading. I read the review and most seemed to be positive. Upon unpacking and putting the unit together, I came across a package of extra charcoal filters and a 4' plastic tube. The tube isn't mentioned anywhere in the instructions and I couldn't see any place where it would go. The photo included is the tube. The unit has a fan that runs so it isn't silent, but not super noisy either. I ran one whole tank load which took about 4 hours total, and the unit shut itself off. I did turn it off and try to open the top to see how much water was left in the tank...BIG MISTAKE! There isn't a handle to lift the top by, so I ended up burning myself from the steam coming up. Should have worn oven mits. I was concerned because another reviewer mentioned that running the distiller till it completely shut off (boiled all the water in the tank till it was dry) would leave residue in the bottom, like running a coffee maker or hot water kettle a bunch of times. Anyway, after my mistake I decided to see if the unit would shut off, which it did. There was scaling on the bottom and discoloration. After it cooled off, I pour some white vinegar into it, let that sit for a for minutes, then scrubbed the bottom with a medium brush. The scaling and discoloration came right off, so that will be my procedure from now on, I only use this for my CPAP so I won't be running it constantly. All in all, seems to be a good investment, time will tell . Side note: I sent the company an email asking what the little tube was for, they wrote back telling me to give them all the info to prove I had actually bought the item from a distributor before they would even consider answer my question. Really weird reply when I wasn't complaining about the unit, just asking what a part was for.