The AquaTru Caraf is a newer model from AquaTru that lives up to the standards of the first one. The machine is compact, uses a glass caraf instead of a storage tank + pump, and includes a float sensor so that the caraf never overflows.
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Check Price & Buy on AmazonFollowing the very popular AquaTru Classic, the team at Ideal Living has released the AquaTru Caraf. It is a smaller machine with a different layout than the original. Personally, I prefer the glass caraf fresh water tank vs an internal tank because it takes up less room, uses fewer pumps, and you can fill water bottles or cooking pots as fast as you can dump the water from the caraf.
The caraf has a special lid on it that includes a magnetic float, allowing the machine to know when the caraf is full, and to turn off, preventing water overflowing and spilling on the counter. It is also one of the smallest machines on the market, using a compact pump and smaller filter housings. These smaller filters mean lower shorter life, but there is always a design trade off when it comes to size in these countertop machines.
The company sells two versions of this machine, one with and one without the Alkaline (i.e. remineralizing) filters. The final stage of the Alkaline machine will add beneficial minerals back to the water that have been removed by the RO. This is a customer to customer preference, but I think remineralized water tastes better personally. The only difference in these machines is the filters that the machine ships with, otherwise they are identical.
The replacement filters like all countertop RO machines are only available from the manufacturer on their website and from retailers like Amazon. AquaTru has been around for a long time relative to other manufactures, and seems to do a great job making the replacement filters available to customers.
My only gripe with this machine is the size of the fresh water tank, as it will need to be refilled more often than a larger one for a household of multiple people. However this machine is a lot smaller than others in the category. I would also like to see a UV sterilizing light at the final stage, but that is not essential when using tap water as a source.
The machine has been tested against NSF standards by the IAPMO Laboratory, a US based lab that is certified by the NSF to carry out independent testing for this type of product. The standards it has been tested against are NSF 42, 53, 58, and 401.
One final note about the AquaTru Caraf that made me happy: This was the only filter I’ve ever taken out of the box and not been overwhelmed with styrofoam. They use recyclable cardboard dunnage to protect the machine in transit. I appreciate little things like using less plastic and styrofoam if possible.
