Few companies in the water products market are branded more simply or elegantly than “Big Blue.” As the name adequately conveys, these products are generally bathed in a striking blue color that gives away their identity straight away. Ostentatious while still remaining functional, these products have gained a ridiculous amount of popularity among consumers. Big Blue is responsible for a wide variety of different products, mostly having to do with water filtration. Anything from simple sediment filters all the way to whole house water filter systems that take care of water purification over every square inch of the house.
I do not own a Big Blue water filter, myself, but I have read so many conflicting reviews of their products online that it left my head spinning. While the wide availability of reviews and information on the internet is generally a great thing, it can sometimes confuse us more when doing research. For this reason, I wanted to put together some data that I have collected and maybe even make since of some of it for the benefit of any of you who might be in the market for one of these products!
First on the list of topics to cover is general build quality. Most of the reviews I read on Amazon.com and elsewhere seem to suggest that Big Blue builds their water purification equipment pretty well, featuring a sufficiently rugged construction to house all the advanced features that these filters are sporting. There’s not much else to say here since the opinions that I read were almost unanimously positive.
Next on the list is maintenance. This is where some of the reviews turned negative. One person felt that the design of the “Big Blue Non-Electric Whole House Water Filter with Ball Valve” was straight out of the 1950′s, going on to complain that it was something out of a “nightmare.” The big issue with this product seems to be that the filter element is nearly impossible to replace without having more limbs than is genetically possible for a human being. Imagine trying to hold the filter in place while trying to fit the gasket around the element and screwed into place and you’ll have a pretty good idea of why this person was so frustrated. While I’m no expert on these things, I imagine water filter companies would do well to come up with a single-piece design that dispenses entirely with the need for a separate element and gasket (basically, the opposite of Fluval filters with their extremely modular design, although it makes sense in the context of aquarium filters). Some of the reverse osmosis water filters that I’ve seen on the market (including the one that I use in my own home) actually do employ this design to great effect.
An Example Installation of the Big Blue Whole House Water Filter (courtesy of waterfilters.net)
The last potential sticking point is one that is perhaps most important in our agitated economic climate: Price. The real question here is whether people are getting enough bang for their buck not only in terms of water cleaning features, but also time-saving features. If the above anecdote has any truth to it, I would hope that the price was low enough to match the time consuming nature of the filter replacement. Depending on the particular product you are looking for (whole house, countertop, under sink, or otherwise), you could be looking at anywhere from $50 to $1000. It all depends on how sophisticated you want to get with your water filtration. I personally use a whole house water filter that is mounted in my basement and feeds up to all the water sources, including a water dispenser, in the house.
So where can you purchase Big Blue Water Filters online? There are a number of products available on Amazon.com which I’ll list here (this list will be updated if I find better prices):
