[tailspin2019]

Somewhat related, I recently bought a Brita water filter jug which has a little led on the lid which glows red when the disposable filter cartridge has “expired” and needs replacing.

Before I even started to use the thing I knew what to expect. Sure enough it starts to glow red after a ridiculously short period of time of using a brand new filter cartridge.

I’ve been ignoring it for a few weeks now and checking for any difference in taste of the filtered water but haven’t detected anything yet. I’d recently been wondering about how to verify the filter’s effectiveness somehow as I’m sure this indicator is less than useless and essentially setup to “lie” for profit.

There should be laws against this sort of thing. Any indicator that tells you when a consumable needs to be replaced should have to meet some level of accuracy in order to be legal.

[ska]

> Any indicator that tells you when a consumable needs

I'm not a fan of the blinking reminders either, but it's not a monitor it's just a flashing version of the "remind me in the months" wheel or whatever.

The problem they face is a hard one. There are really two timelines you care about, one is how long it stays effective, the second is how long it is safe.

The first one especially is highly affected by both usage patterns and the water quality you are starting with. With an inline system I'd sort of hope to have reasonable monitoring, but Brita filters are fundamentally passive devices, to do this "properly" your going to 10x-100x your costs, maybe worse.

A less cynical (than pure profit motive) take on the timing would be that the lifteimes are all based on some sort of average case for usage and (bad?) test case for hardness and water quality. I suspect they have to be careful in what they say about how best to adjust this without opening themselves up to liability, so they don't.

[lancesells]

Instead of a timer you could have a counter. The Brita filter looks to last 40 gallons. My Brita pitcher holds 10 cups. 10 cups equals 0.625 gallons. Which means my filter lasts for ~64 fills of the pitcher.

So using a counter until 64 would tell me to refill. All you need is a plus sign and some way to reset.

Now that I've done the math I might start writing this on a pad next to my refrigerator because I never have any idea when to switch the filter. Paper is preferable to electronics in my life.

[bewaretheirs]

At one point Brita distributed a spring-driven mechanical ratchet counter that would sit on top of the filter cartridge; it had some sort of diaphragm arrangement that would sense the water level and "tick" once per refill cycle and tell you when it was time to swap in a new filter.

[ska]

I wonder why they go rid of it. Was this shipped with every filter or was it a think you reset and put on again? Do you recall if it could tell the difference between a partial fill and full fill?

What you really want is to measure the volume through the filter, but I can't think of a way to do that cheaply and mechanical only.

[bewaretheirs]

It was reusable. You would turn it back to the start to reset it when you'd pull it off the top of the old filter and stick it on top of the new one.

I don't recall whether it came with the pitcher or as a bonus item included in a filter-multipack. It just counted one "tick" on a ratchet per fill/empty cycle, no attempt to measure volume or fractional fills.

[lozenge]

They probably consider the electronic version more "modern". Even though it contains a non replaceable, non rechargeable battery.

[ska]

That definitely works better than a timer, but still has to be adjusted for the water quality in your house.

But it also assumes you go fill-to-empty. In my limited experience they are often refilled from partially empty, whenever convenient. If you are doing this on paper, maybe you should count output instead of input? More work though.

[lancesells]

Didn't think of water quality. I'll have to see if I can test it. I live in Brooklyn in a superfund site so it'll be interesting to see.

[ocean2]

One may attempt to sterilize the used filter. For example by using a microwave. This could prolong the lifetime of the filter cartridge.

[ska]

That could help on the biofilm/mold front, but won't do anything about particulates in the filter.

[tailspin2019]

Yes in fairness you make some good points.

But given what we see the printer industry blatantly doing - I’m still cynical!

[ComodoHacker]

Ironically, the printer industry is getting off with less scrutiny from regulators because safety isn't involved.

[nebula8804]

So Brita filters are just activated Carbon that improve the taste and filter some of the worst pollutants but nothing else.

One way to test is using a TDS meter to see if over time the amount of dissolved solids increase. This is not a bulletproof test but it may give some indication of when the filter is saturated. Again, the Brite/PUR filters do not do much to begin with.

This video shows how the Brita filters perform compared to others. THey use a TDS meter. I do want to also point out that TDS is not the only metric for how good water is filtered but thats another conversation.

[1]:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja0ioX6GSz0

[darkteflon]

We use Brita at home. Fwiw, it seems to be pretty successful at filtering chlorine - I did a little before/after experiment with a chlorine test kit purchased off Amazon.

[nebula8804]

Yes Chlorine can affect taste so it is one of the things it does filter although I have had friends tell me that it does not do a good enough job and they still taste it. I guess it depends on the person.

[hammock]

I recommend Zerowater which have a 5 stage filter that includes ion exchange.

[nebula8804]

I also recommend Zerowater although it seems like their filters empty out faster than expected(as per their chart explaining how long the filter would last per initial TDS reading). Wish there was an ecosystem of third party filters like Brita has to help put downward pressure on the price. I also hate the fact that they don't really have a recycling program anymore. These filters are huge and I feel guilty just tossing them.

[shuntress]

Regulation regarding the truthfulness/accuracy of indicators probably wouldn't hurt.

But, the better solution is effective Right To Repair laws that coerce a minimum level of standards and open design.

For example, if Brita were required to publish the parameters of that part, you would be able to more easily make an informed decision regarding replacing that part (either by repairing it, cleaning it, refurbishing it, or replacing it with one from another maker) without the tedious guesswork and reverse engineering.

[lazide]

Good luck with that! Even the EU hasn’t broached that subject.

Most of those folks make their money on consumables anyway, so then the manufacturers would Jack up the price on the main product and blame the legislators.

[shuntress]

I'm OK with sleazy companies pricing themselves out of the market if that's what it takes to prevent rent-seeking "ecosystems" imposing vendor-lock-in by making their "too cheap to be true" loss-leader products require esoteric consumables.

[lazide]

Sure, but clearly it isn’t on legislators priority list.

[shuntress]

Plenty of states have active Right to Repair legislation happening right now. It's definitely on some people's priority list and good legislators make time for important issues.

[lazide]

Do any of them require releasing the information that was listed earlier?

[dharma1]

Those filters (usually coconut shell carbon) can start having bacterial biofilm grow on them over time, and generally get saturated with gunk, that’s why you’re meant to change them frequently. I guess when they do depends on a lot of factors and the recommendation is an average length - ideally would have some better sensors on when to change them but gets more costly

[lazide]

And (defensibly, somewhat) they’ll of course set the indicator to be for the worst case possible, even if not probable, so they 1) get more money, and 2) won’t lose money in lawsuits from someone saying ‘It still said it was fine!’ who gets sick, even if there were other really obvious signs something was wrong.

So for a filter, either 24/7 use or one time use then letting it sit (whichever is worse).

[alistairSH]

And yet water filters for use when camping last WAY longer and don't cost that much more. A simple Katydid BeFree lasts 1000L. I'm betting the Brita indicator came on WAY before that.

[bikezen]

Can't say I've experienced the same thing, ours lasts pretty long and with our water you can start to taste the filter needing to be replaced shortly before the light goes red.

iirc Brita advertises the tracker monitors how long the pitcher is being tilted for, so there's some verbiage about avoiding doing certain things with it etc in the installation guide/manual.

[bombcar]

My fridge has something similar but at least it tells you what it does - it simply counts down 3 months.

So I just reset it and tell it there is a new one and it stops beeping at me.

[root_axis]

Just FYI, those brita jug indicators are based on a counter that increments every time the lid pops open from a pour, after a certain threshold the light changes color.

[bonestamp2]

It depends on the model. Mine has the light on the dispenser (at the bottom) and the lid (at the top) has nothing connecting it to the light. I know there's nothing connecting them because it came unassembled and I put it together. I believe it is simply a timer on my model.

[root_axis]

The models do vary, but according to brita all the models with lights are based off of the lid opening.

https://www.brita.com/support/faqs/replacement-filters/

Brita® pitchers and dispensers have three different styles of filter indicators—Pitchers WITH Max Fill Line, Pitchers WITHOUT Max Fill Line, and sticker filter indicators.

Pitchers WITH Max Fill Line

The filter indicator lets you know when it’s time to replace your filter. It activates when the lid is opened for 5–8 seconds (based on size of reservoir) and measures water use by counting the number of times the reservoir is filled.*

Pitchers WITHOUT Max Fill Line

The filter change indicator lets you know when it’s time to replace your filter. It is activated each time you pour, and measures water use based on 8 fl. oz. pour

[bonestamp2]

Fair enough. I guess I just don't understand how that would possibly work for the model I've got. The lid is at the top, and the electronics are at the bottom, and outside of the water. There is a clear container of water separating the lid and the electronics. The lid is a thin piece of plastic, there's really nothing to it. I'm still convinced it's just a timer for this model, or at best it measures the water coming out of the spigot:

https://www.amzn.com/dp/B081KN2V33

[jsmith45]

That is a Brita Stream product.

For the pitcher equivalent they document that the indicator is simply a count of the number of pours, where they assume each one is exactly 8 oz, and that the filter lasts for exactly 40 gallons. (i.e. turns red after exactly 640 pours).

For that one, they don't actually document how it works. They do seems to indicate they that they are trying to approximate water used though, since they say it turns red "once you reach 40 gallon[s]". It might be a count of activations of the spigot handle or based on timing how long the spigot handle has been open since last reset (e.g. they previously calculated the flow per second, and use that to count up seconds that up until they reach 40 gallons).

[chucksta]

I'm fairly certain its disclosed somewhere that light is just on a timer, there is no realistic way to monitor something like that otherwise.

Depends on your tank, see "how do I read and reset" https://www.brita.com/support/faqs/replacement-filters/

[zikduruqe]

My refrigerator recommends changing the filter every 6 months. Last filter change, I wrote the date on it with a Sharpie. Sure as shit, 6 months later, the light goes off to remind me to change the cartridge.

[pndy]

I'd say the unfiltered water quality still might matter in your case. I had to swap to the "stronger" orange marked Maxtra cartridges for harder water because the standard ones weren't actually helping. And I can tell the difference because our kettle gets less limescale now - that's also still the marker for me when filter is about to wear off. For our family one cartridge lasts for about a month now.

I'm using these jugs for 10 years already and the quality of these dropped significantly. The older Elemaris line (with "probes") had more durable plastic while the newer Style (with silicone lid handle) already broke twice during washing. At leas the rounded sensor is more waterproof than the "probe" - that one I had to replace twice and luckily the local distributor send these for free.

[lettergram]

You can use a TDSmeter to see how many particulates are in the water. Brita (as do many charcoal based filter) adds some particulates though. If your water naturally has a lot of stuff in it though, Brita will reduce it overall

[jp_nc]

Have had good luck with ZeroWater which comes with a TDS meter on the pitcher. Unlike Brita indicators which are time-based, this allows you to just measure the solids have actually been removed (if it's too high, it's time to replace it)

[nebula8804]

Zerowater is great but man their expensive filters do not seem to come near the advertised amount. The expense and lack of good third party alternatives for their filters just adds salt to the wound(since it didn't get filtered out HA!).

[sgc]

What is the appeal of these compared to just getting a 10 inch under the counter filter set? I have a double filter set, with two different multistage filters. The water is extremely well filtered and it's relatively cheap to change the filters a couple times a year as per manufacturer recommendations. It took me 35 minutes to install, but it's been running fine for years.

[nebula8804]

You make a good point. I'd imagine the large upfront cost + the effort required to install.

[sgc]

It is not expensive - even when compared to pitchers -, and I guess perceived difficulty, since it is not hard to install.

[lozenge]

Save a cup from the end of the first filter and taste test against the first cup from the new filter?

[tailspin2019]

Can't believe I didn't think of this - but this is a great idea :)

[ogn3rd]

get a cheap TDS meter.