What We Like
- Reduced water waste
- Highly effective 7-stage filtration system
- Easy tool-free filter changes
- Re-mineralizes water
- Comes as a fully assembled unit
What We Don’t Like
- Expensive
Bottom Line
In search of an efficient reverse osmosis filtration system for your home or office, the Home Master TMAFC-ERP is the best option to consider.
Introduction
While reverse osmosis filters are considered to be some of the best for purifying drinking water, there is the concern that they waste a lot of water. Therefore, efficiency is a key factor to consider when dealing with such systems.
The Home Master TMAFC-ERP is an efficient RO filter that you can consider so let’s dive into the review below to see how it performs.
HomeMaster TMAFC-ERP Review
Photo: HomeMaster
Filtration Effectiveness: Highly Efficient
As part of the water circuit, Home Master’s TMAFC-ERP is fitted with a non-electric permeate pump, which makes the RO system more efficient. To explain how it does so, you need to understand that this filtration system requires pressure to force water through the RO membrane.
After filtration, this water is kept in a pressurized tank for easy feeding to the faucet. However, once this pressure accumulates, it fights back the RO system. This reduces the amount of water passing through the membrane, resulting in a lot of brine going into the drain.
However, a permeate pump comes in between the tank and the filtration system, and it harnesses energy from the flowing wastewater to pump clean water into the tank. It’s like a turbo for the system.
As a result, this unit reduces water wastage by up to 80% and increases clean water production by up to 50%. This gives a wastewater-to-pure-water ratio of 1:1, which is very efficient and gives a faster flow rate, meaning you get more clean water for your family.
Other than that, the filter has a patented full contact system that has 7 stages of filtration. This system re-mineralizes water before going into the storage tank and after exiting the storage tank while heading to the faucet.
The process ensures the pH is restored using healthy minerals such as calcium and magnesium, and, at the same time, gives you naturally tasting mineral water.
Additionally, because the water in the tank is already re-mineralized (non-acidic), it does not attack and corrode the tank’s rubber bladder in a process known as degradation. If degradation occurs, it can affect the taste of the water, thereby lowering its quality.
Another important feature that this model has is large fittings and tubing, which helps to eliminate the problem of slow flow.
The manufacturer claims that these components nearly double the water flow, which reduces time wastage when collecting water for cooking, drinking, or washing vegetables.
Installation: Very Easy
Setting up this Home Master TMAFC-ERP is a simple process because it is tailored for DIY installation.
To make this possible, the RO membrane and filters come as a fully assembled purification unit. Therefore, you only have to install it under the sink and link it up to the storage tank, faucet, and water supply.
Begin this process by drilling a hole on your countertop for fitting the faucet. Mount it together with its fittings then install the EZ adapter on the cold-water supply line.
Next, install the drain saddle clamp. A horizontal section of the drain pipe can be used if you don’t like the sound of dripping water, which is common if the wastewater drips down a long vertical column.
Mount the permeate pump followed by the purification unit then the reserve tank. Connect the tubing to all sections and these are color-coded for easy matching. Lastly, power the system and open the water supply to pressurize it.
All these instructions are laid out in the user manual for clear guidance. That said, you should flush water through the system at least twice before use then allow the reserve tank to fill up, which should take about 2.5 hours.
Maintenance and Replacement: Convenient Modular Design
While regular RO filters employ the use of canisters to hold the filtration cartridges, this TMAFC-ERP has modular filters that have the cartridge and housing fixed as one unit.
This has several benefits, key among them being better hygiene and most importantly, being easy to replace.
Regular canister housing designs usually accumulate sediments, hardness minerals, and other particles and after a long time, they can seal shut. Once this happens, you will need tools or superhuman strength to undo them just to replace the filter inside.
However, the modular design in use here prevents all this, and therefore, after every year or every 2000 gallons, replacements will be almost effortless. Additionally, these filters have push-in fittings, which make servicing quick and easy.
Other than that, you have to replace the reverse osmosis membrane every 3-5 years, inspect the tubing and fittings for wear every year and sanitize the tank using chlorinated water at least once per year. You should also check the tank pressure regularly, which should be 7 PSI.
The detailed maintenance schedule is included in the user manual and it should be followed to the letter to maintain superior filtration performance.
Operating Conditions
If you are considering buying Home Master’s TMAFC-ERP, certain conditions must be met.
First, the inlet should feed water at a minimum pressure of 40 PSI and a maximum of 100 PSI. If this is not possible, you need to install a booster pump or pressure regulator to raise or lower the pressure respectively.
Second, the unit is not designed to filter extremely hot or extremely cold water. The water going in should be in the range of 40-100ºF and this is because the RO membrane can get easily damaged if exposed to these extreme temperatures.
Third, the water should have a maximum TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) of 2000 ppm, a pH range of 4-10, and a maximum hardness level of 10 GPG (Grains Per Gallon).
That said, it is possible to link up the filter to your refrigerator and you only need tubing, fittings, and valves.
iSpring’s ICEK is recommended if you want to make this connection. It allows you to utilize the superior filtration capabilities of the TMAFC-ERP to create crystal clear ice cubes or clean cold water from your fridge’s ice maker or water dispenser respectively.
Price: Very Costly
Home Master’s TMAFC-ERP is very expensive because it exceeds the $300 mark. However, its efficient permeate pump plus an effective 7-stage filtration system makes it worth the price.
That said, the manufacturer has a lot of RO filtration systems in its lineup and the ones that are close to this model in terms of price and performance include the Home Master TMAFC and TMAFC-ERP-L.
The TMAFC is cheaper than the model under review but lacks a permeate pump. This lowers its water production to 50 gallons/day and raises the wastewater-to-pure-water ratio to 4:1, which is not very efficient.
On the other hand, the TMAFC-ERP-L costs much more but comes as a loaded unit. It has all the features of the TMAFC-ERP but adds on a refrigerator connector kit, a high performance 75 GPG RO membrane, a premium nickel faucet and a hand fastener for quick installation.
Verdict
An efficient and effective reverse osmosis filtration system that is ideal for home or office use.
With a permeate pump, Home Master’s TMAFC-ERP offers a very efficient RO filtration system that minimizes wastage while producing more permeate.
On top of this, the 7 filtration stages make the unit effective enough to produce very clean and tasty water at a rate of 75 gallons/day. This makes it ideal for home or office use.
Specs
- Product Name: Home Master TMAFC-ERP
- Product Brand: Home Master
- Filtration: 7 stage
- Filtered Water to Waste Water Ratio: 1:1
- Production: 75 GPD
- Filter Lifespan: 2000 gallons (1 year)
- Operating Temperature Range: 40 – 100 °F
- Operating Water Pressure: 40 – 100 PSI
- Micron Rating: 0.001
- Product Dimensions: 12 x 16 x 20 inches
- Weight: 16 lbs.
- Warranty: 5-year limited (30-day money-back guarantee)
Key Features
- Built-in non-electric permeate pump.
- 7-stage filtration system with up to 98% of contaminant removal.
- Easy-to-change filter mechanism.
- Contains a water re-mineralizing stage.
- Long-lasting filters (2000 gallons or 1 year).
- 3.2-gallon reservoir tank.
- Includes a lead-free long-reach chrome faucet.