The Biggest PROBLEM with BOTH Pelican AND Aquasana
The Biggest problem with BOTH Pelican and Aquasana
By far the biggest problem that these types of devices have is that you need to purchase multiple systems to treat different water issues.
For instance, the Aquasana Rhino is a standalone whole house filter but you will need to upgrade / add on the salt free softener in order to treat soft water and then a further UV filter to effectively treat bacteria and viruses.
Thankfully, these upgrades are easy to configure pre-purchase so will arrive as one single device but you need to ensure that you have all the different elements pre-configured nonetheless.
Pelican vs Aquasana Whole House Water Filters
Aqusana OptimH20 | Aqusana Rhino | Pelican |
Chlorine removal: 97% | Chlorine removal: 97% | Chlorine removal: 97% |
Does it treat hard water? Yes it "conditions" water without needing salt. | Does it treat hard water? Yes it "conditions" water without needing salt. | Does it treat hard water? Yes, it includes a traditional softener that uses salt. |
Does it need electricity? No | Does it need electricity? No | Does it need electricity? No |
Does it create waste water? No | Does it create waste water? No | Does it create waste water? No |
Does it filter heavy metals like lead? Yes | Does it filter heavy metals like lead? Yes | Does it filter heavy metals like lead? Not clear. |
FILTER CAPACITY? (How long before you need to change the filter) Up to 100,000 gallons. | FILTER CAPACITY? (How long before you need to change the filter) Up to 1 million gallons. | FILTER CAPACITY? (How long before you need to change the filter) Up to 1 million gallons. |
Flow rate: Up to 8.0 | Flow rate: Up to 7.0 | Flow rate: Up to 10.0 |
What does it remove? - 98% of PFOA/PFOS, - 99% of lead and cysts. - Heavy metals. - Chlorine and chloramines. - Viruses. - Bacteria. - VOC's. - Industrial solvents. - Pesticides. - Pharmaceuticals. - Much more. | What does it remove? - Bacteria. - Viruses. - Chlorine. - Cysts. - Heavy metals (lead and mercury). - VOC's. - Industrial solvents. - Much more. | What does it remove? - Chlorine. - Chloramines. - Sediment and/or particulate odors, tastes and matter. - Many other contaminants. |
$$$$$ | $$$ | $$$$ |
Up to 50% OFF using promo code: AQGEEK50 | Up to 50% OFF using promo code: AQGEEK50 | |
Whole House Water Filter & Salt Free Softener / Conditioners BY Aquasana
There are a limited number of whole house Aquasana water filter models.
By far the most popular model is the Aquasana Rhino. However, this model has lots of different variations that have different capacities. For instance, you can get Aquasana Rhino with 500,000, 600,000 and 1,000,000 million gallon capacity.
There is now a newer Aquasana whole house filter model called the OptimH20 whole house filter that also filters lead. So in very simple terms, there are 2 versions of the whole house filter from Aquasana. They are:
Aquasana Gallon Rhino
The Gallon Rhino is the landmark range of whole house filters from Aquasana. They come in a range of volume capacities. These include 500K, 600K or 1 million gallons of water.
These models are very effective at treating highly contaminated water that is also hard. This is so long as you choose the upgrades for the UV filter and salt free water softener options when you buy.
Getting the full package means that it can treat a number of common water issues. This includes (among other things) treating chlorine in water by up to 97%.
The Aquasana Rhino with a salt free softener is not as powerful as a regular water softener but it doesn’t use salt.
Also, traditional water softeners typically don’t filter your water, just provide you with soft water that is NOT filtered. While the Aquasana gently softens AND filters at the same time.
This is enhanced if you add on the UV ultraviolet filter. Doing this will mean it can treat 99.99% of viruses and bacteria in your water.
Aquasana Gallon Rhino Features:
- Treats and conditions water without needing salt.
- Brass accessories for 0.75-foot pipes.
- Submicron post filter.
- You can add on a professional installation kit to install it yourself.
- Shut-off valves.
- 20-inch pre-filter.
- Filtration tank.
Aquasana Gallon Rhino Cons
Not good for extremely hard water. You should get a regular water softener and filter combo if hard water is your main concern.
This is not an ideal option if you need to filter heavy metals like lead. If heavy metals is a concern for your home then you should get the Aquasana OptimH20.
Aquasana Gallon Rhino Pros
Very high capacity machines that can treat up to one million 1,000,000 gallons before you need to change the filters.
The filters can remove 97% of chlorine, reduce hard water, 99.9% of bacteria and viruses (with the UV filter upgrade).
Water cartridge filters are easy to replace.
Unlike regular water softeners you don’t have to worry about wastewater.
Produces delicious filtered drinking water that comes straight out of your faucet.
Energy and cost saving because the unit does not require electricity.
You do not need to worry about drainage and water run off because it does not create any wastewater.
Treats and descales hard water without using any salt. This means that you don’t get the slippery feeling you get with regular soft water created by water softeners.
Aquasana OptimH20 Whole House Filter
In very simple terms, the OptimH20 gives you everything the Rhino provides but ALSO treats heavy metals like lead by 99%.
Aside from lead it the OptimH2O is certified
to reduce over 99% of cysts.
Like the Rhino it is easy to install and can come with an installation kit.
It doesn’t waste any water. This is because it doesn’t create any back-flushing.
Further more it treats PFOS (Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) and PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid), chloramines, chlorine and a lot more.
Its 20″ pre filter cartridges last for 3-6 months.
Comes with a 90 day guarantee and 5 year warranty.
This is by far the most powerful whole house water filter available from Aquasana today.
By far the biggest issue is the price.
The Aquasana OptimH20 is currently the most expensive Aquasana product.
However, I have a coupon that can help with this:
Pelican Whole House Water Filter & Water Descaler
This a combination of two popular and highly functional Pelican products. This includes the salt-free Pelican NaturSoft water salt free softener/descaler and carbon series all-in-one water filter.
This means that the PSE1800 will both filter and “soften” water in a home with 1-3 bathrooms. The result is clean drinking water that doesn’t produce white limescale that ruins your appliances and pipes.
This quality water will come through every faucet in your home. It does all of this without using salt.
Like Aquasana, the Pelican Combo Series doesn’t need much on-going maintenance. Also, it doesn’t use electricity or produce waste water.
The PSE 1800 makes use of a sediment pre-filter. This is done with a special bacteria filter cartridge, which prevents harmful bacterial growth.
Pelican Combo PSE1800 Cons
By far the biggest issue is that the customer reviews are very mixed. Especially when compared to the overwhelmingly positive reviews from Aquasana customers.
Pelican prices are generally more expensive than Aquasana and they rarely do special offers or coupons.
One of the biggest downsides is that it is not suitable for homes with extremely hard water. This is because it is only certified a salt-free water conditioner that “re-conditions” water instead of actually softening it. This might not seem too bad but water softeners come with a 100% guarantee of treating hard water.
Pelican Combo PSE1800 Pros
Special bacteria filters that inhibit bacterial growth.
NSF / ANSI Standard 61.
Performance certifications and third party accreditations.
“Re-conditions” water so that it reduces limescale and prevents hard water damage from your pipes and appliances.
Comes ready to install.
Certified performance to NSF standards.
Lifetime warranty.
Aqusana OptimH20 | Aqusana Rhino | Pelican |
Chlorine removal: 97% | Chlorine removal: 97% | Chlorine removal: 97% |
Does it treat hard water? Yes it "conditions" water without needing salt. | Does it treat hard water? Yes it "conditions" water without needing salt. | Does it treat hard water? Yes, it includes a traditional softener that uses salt. |
Does it need electricity? No | Does it need electricity? No | Does it need electricity? No |
Does it create waste water? No | Does it create waste water? No | Does it create waste water? No |
Does it filter heavy metals like lead? Yes | Does it filter heavy metals like lead? Yes | Does it filter heavy metals like lead? Not clear. |
FILTER CAPACITY? (How long before you need to change the filter) Up to 100,000 gallons. | FILTER CAPACITY? (How long before you need to change the filter) Up to 1 million gallons. | FILTER CAPACITY? (How long before you need to change the filter) Up to 1 million gallons. |
Flow rate: Up to 8.0 | Flow rate: Up to 7.0 | Flow rate: Up to 10.0 |
What does it remove? - 98% of PFOA/PFOS, - 99% of lead and cysts. - Heavy metals. - Chlorine and chloramines. - Viruses. - Bacteria. - VOC's. - Industrial solvents. - Pesticides. - Pharmaceuticals. - Much more. | What does it remove? - Bacteria. - Viruses. - Chlorine. - Cysts. - Heavy metals (lead and mercury). - VOC's. - Industrial solvents. - Much more. | What does it remove? - Chlorine. - Chloramines. - Sediment and/or particulate odors, tastes and matter. - Many other contaminants. |
$$$$$ | $$$ | $$$$ |
Up to 50% OFF using promo code: AQGEEK50 | Up to 50% OFF using promo code: AQGEEK50 | |
Pelican vs Aquasana: Which Is The Winner?
Overall I would say Aquasana because of the better prices and overwhelming positive customer reviews.
However, both brands provide extremely good quality high capacity whole water systems that are worth the investment.
Using these filter / softener combination whole house filters means all the water in your home will be treated.
This includes the water that comes out of your shower, bathroom faucet and even toilet. This means you won’t have hard limescale stains and deposits in your bathroom and kitchen.
Having filtered water coming out of the shower can also be great for reducing the amount of residue that gets into your hair and skin.
Just make sure you have enough space in your home for which ever machine you want.
Whole house water filters take up a lot of space.
This article has compared Pelican vs Aquasana. After comparing the top models from both brands, my favourite is the Aquasana OpimH20.
This is because it is the most powerful in terms of what it can filter.
I can’t think of another whole house filter / softener combination that treats heavy metals.
The OptimH20 with all the upgrades (including salt free softener, UV filter etc) will treat everything. Lead, cysts, viruses, bacteria, hard water, chlorine, chloramines and so much more.
The main issue with this model is the price but Aquasana are currently running a promotion across their site.
Aqusana OptimH20 | Aqusana Rhino | Pelican |
Chlorine removal: 97% | Chlorine removal: 97% | Chlorine removal: 97% |
Does it treat hard water? Yes it "conditions" water without needing salt. | Does it treat hard water? Yes it "conditions" water without needing salt. | Does it treat hard water? Yes, it includes a traditional softener that uses salt. |
Does it need electricity? No | Does it need electricity? No | Does it need electricity? No |
Does it create waste water? No | Does it create waste water? No | Does it create waste water? No |
Does it filter heavy metals like lead? Yes | Does it filter heavy metals like lead? Yes | Does it filter heavy metals like lead? Not clear. |
FILTER CAPACITY? (How long before you need to change the filter) Up to 100,000 gallons. | FILTER CAPACITY? (How long before you need to change the filter) Up to 1 million gallons. | FILTER CAPACITY? (How long before you need to change the filter) Up to 1 million gallons. |
Flow rate: Up to 8.0 | Flow rate: Up to 7.0 | Flow rate: Up to 10.0 |
What does it remove? - 98% of PFOA/PFOS, - 99% of lead and cysts. - Heavy metals. - Chlorine and chloramines. - Viruses. - Bacteria. - VOC's. - Industrial solvents. - Pesticides. - Pharmaceuticals. - Much more. | What does it remove? - Bacteria. - Viruses. - Chlorine. - Cysts. - Heavy metals (lead and mercury). - VOC's. - Industrial solvents. - Much more. | What does it remove? - Chlorine. - Chloramines. - Sediment and/or particulate odors, tastes and matter. - Many other contaminants. |
$$$$$ | $$$ | $$$$ |
Up to 50% OFF using promo code: AQGEEK50 | Up to 50% OFF using promo code: AQGEEK50 | |
I just ordered a system from Pelican, and the ordering process was almost laughable. The order taker would not return phone calls, said the product shipped on multiple occasions when it had not. When escalated to head of Sales, he blamed it on a switch of shipping carriers. They’re not quite as bad as Spectrum Internet, but they’ve earned a close second in my book.
Hi Jon
It’s very interesting to hear you say this because my experience with this company hasn’t been the best either.
I hope the eventual product works much better than the ordering process.
Thanks for sharing your experience and let me know if there is any way that I can help.
Stay hydrated,
Luke
Which company do you recommend for a whole house filtration: Pelican or Aquasana?
Hi John
They are both very good systems but I would personally go with Aquasana because it’s a lot more affordable and has much better customer reviews.
Check for yourself.
Search for Aquasana and Pelican whole house filters on Amazon and see which one sells more and has the most positive reviews, it’ll most likely be Aquasana.
Stay hydrated,
Luke
A plumber is pitching me on the Hydroflow to remove and prevent limescale build-up, instead of a system like the Pelican. There’s much on the internet that it’s snake oil. What do you think?
Hi Eric
The first question is do you have very hard water? Use a water test kit to find out because if your water is very hard e.g. Up to 13 GPM then you will definitely need a salt based water softener.
I’ve had a look at HydroFLOW and it’s hard to say since I’ve not used it personally. However, I recently tried magnetic electronic descalers and was not impressed. They hardly made any difference.
I don’t know if HydroFLOW is any better but it costs about the same as a regular water softener and softeners are guaranteed to work.
If you’re determined to go down the “salt-free” route then I usually recommend products like Aquasana because they usually include powerful filters so the water will be treated and improved in some way. Whereas magnetic and electronic descalers don’t change, filter or soften the water in any way – they only “prevent the white stuff from sticking to your pipes”.
Useful Read: Water Softener Alternatives and The PROBLEMS with Softeners.
Stay hydrated,
Luke