AQ-5300+

The kit came with zero instructions, these are not hard to find online. Some of the parts looked a little dirty, as if this may be a refurbished unit. I'm taking 1 star off for those items. Otherwise it was fairly easy to install, tastes good, and has decent flow rate. I was worried about leaks seeing reviews of what happens when folks go to exchange the filters. Luckily no leaks upon install. We probably use an average of a gallon a day, so hoping these filters last a while. I originally wanted a whole-home filter, but after doing the research and seeing how much replacement filters/parts are and the intervals to exchange them, we couldn't afford the ongoing costs. These filters seem to be pretty reasonable in price, and a good compromise over a whole-home system. I did have to buy a 1.25" diamond blade hole saw and auger to create the additional hole required through our granite countertop. This was also fairly straight forward, but a lot of cost for the tools for a 1-time job and it was very nerve racking lining up the hole as near-perfect as I could get it and trying to keep the bit from skipping around when first starting it. I probably saved a hundred dollars or more vs hiring a pro to come drill it. The faucet is nice, but a lighter colored oil rubbed bronze than most plumbing parts. It does sit a little less than plumb, and I wished there were instructions on how to take the little handle off so you can adjust where the on/off starts. As others have said, the water tube attaches to the bottom and could easily be pulled out, so be careful messing around under your sink after it's hooked up. It makes no noise when turning on/using, I do hear a tiny clunk when I turn it off. The tubes that go into the base unit have to be pushed all the way in. I thought I had the larger one in and decided to double check it and I pushed pretty hard and twisted a little and it went in about another inch. I'm glad I checked it. The smaller outgoing tube was easier to push in. I think a lot of people might be having issues with leakage not having these tubes pushed in all the way, especially the larger intake tube. Leave a little extra tubing when you install, so you can take the base unit off the wall if needed to change the reminder button-cell battery without worrying about a tube coming off. I have not done any water tests, I trust the tests others have done and posted in their reviews. I know this doesn't remove fluoride and a few other things, but it's got to be better than a ceramic berky-like filter. Aquasana should include instructions, and a shut off valve just for the tube going into the filter (so you can keep the cold water active and turn off the filter for maintenance). **Update Feb 2024-water flow completely stopped after 6 months. Emailed customer support, no response. I took a chance and ordered a replacement filter set direct from manufacturer. Kit arrived in a week and I replaced all 3 filters. Two filters were pretty dark colored. Kit also came with a new battery. Turns out the original kit had the battery installed backwards, so it never beeped when it was time to replace. New filter change, new battery installed the correct way, and I get a few beeps and turn back on the water. Checking for leaks for a couple weeks. All is good, water pressure is back to normal. I hear about the cartridges leaking after opening and changing the filters, O-ring problems, etc. I was very slow and deliberate taking everything apart and putting it back together to make sure I never cross threaded anything or damage the o-rings. When you insert the filter, there is a little play/movement possible while you try to screw the housing in around it. Hold it upside down so gravity helps keep the filter tight to the lid while you screw the cover back on. And by the way, it's been 3 months since I emailed customer support, no response besides the obligatory "thank you for emailing support, someone will be with you...", no follow up emails from support. **Update Jan 2026-Unit has been working great, no leaks. Haven't had any issues since 2024. I've changed the filters about every 6 months or whenever it starts beeping. If you set up auto-shipment direct from the manufacturer for filters, note that they charge your credit card, then ship the filters about 2 weeks later and it takes about a week to get to you.

**Update I was contacted about the issue I had and long story short they have fully refunded my money. It was quick and no hassle. I give them 5 stars for great customer service! I spent a good amount of money and what I thought was a quality filtration system. I got it all installed, followed all the directions check for leaks. Everything was great. Walked away and it came back to see how it was doing and I heard a pop and water going everywhere. It turns out on the quarter inch Hose they give you a plastic compression fit instead of a brass compression fit. For a measly couple of bucks on a very expensive product you guys cheap out, the fitting came undone, water went everywhere, causing me damage to the rest of my sink area, as well as a controller box for my faucet. I do not recommend that anybody buys this product. I would hope that somebody from the company would reach out to me and offer me fair compensation.

I bought this Aquasana water filter system for my kitchen sink. For some reason, I was sent (and charged for) 3 units. Obviously, I contacted Amazon and made arrangements to return two units for refund. In the meantime, I hired a plumber to install the unit. The plumber is a licensed, insured and an experienced plumber. He had the worst time installing the filters. Installing the unit was very basic - no problem there. However when he put in the filters they leaked. Because I had two extra units. He tried those filter (I was willing to take the hit). After trying 5 different filters (on a 3 filter unit) he was finally able to get it to stop leaking. Fast forward 7 months…I knew I had to change the filters every 6 months. As luck would have it, I had a plumber out to fix an unrelated issue and I asked ‘can you change these filters for me as long as your here’. This was not the same plumber as did the install. I had purchased new filters last month and had them ready for install. This plumber also had the same issue as the first plumber…the new filters leaked. He couldn’t tell what the issue really was, because once the filters are in the housing, you can’t see them. He said they went in easy, and shouldn’t be leaking. Finally out of frustration, I said just disconnect it and I’d contact Aquasana since it’s still under warranty. After speaking with Julie at Aquasana tech support, I was told that she could not refund my money, only send replacement parts…which is impossible since I (nor the plumber) can tell what’s leaking. I was asked to take a video of the leak and email it to them??? What? I told them no, that’s ridiculous. I’d have to call the plumber back out to hook it up again, to take a video of dripping water? Riiiight! Julie at Aquasana said I needed to contact Amazon, since that’s where I bought the unit. I told her it was at the Aquasana Store on Amazon. She said she has no authority for returns, even under warranty and to go thru Amazon. The funny thing is, Amazon doesn’t give me an option to return this unit…it does refer me to the toll free number to Aquasana (the same number where I spoke with Julie). Basically the round around. So I’m now out my money. I don’t have a water filter and I still get to hire a plumber to remove the unit (he did disconnect it from the water, but it’s still under my sink, and the small faucet for the filter has to be removed and I need to put in a soap dispenser or something to fill that hole in the counter top. Thanks Aquasana for standing by your product, which has been problematic from the start, thanks for helping us out when finances are tight. By not offering a full refund to a defective product and not giving a second thought to me paying a plumber AGAIN to come out to remove there defective machine. Beware buying from Aquasana. The product I have is defective, still under manufacturer warranty and they will not refund me. That’s just wrong.

About a dozen years ago I installed a new faucet on my sink and at the same time in a water filter. That one had a plastic "T" with a larger diameter, so apparently I had installed a larger diameter pipe set up to the sink, to fit the adaptor that came with that filter. Basically I have half inch copper coming up through the floor, shut offs under the floor, and after installing their plastic "T" I ran half inch up to a reducer just before the sink faucet. Ordered this, not really remembering what I had to do last time. So this is designed for a much smaller diameter pipe than the 1/2 inch I had. I went to the local hardware store, thinking I would get a reducer to go into this filter's "T" and then one the other way to go back up to the larger diameter up to the sink faucet. Either they don't make them, or the hardware store did not carry them. So what I ended up getting was a "shark bite" push on shut off, the one side fit the "T" and the other side slid onto the copper pipe I had to just cut the previous fitting off of. Then was able to remove another fitting, and a little connector pipe I had, and get it all together, not much wiggle room, but just enough pipe to make it work. But I also read that to replace the filters, you are supposed to shut off the water, so bonus, now I have a cold water shut off under the sink (previous was in my basement). I did have one of the little plastic pipes leak, trying to attach it to the "T" so I ended up using some of the parts (like the nut and washer) from the attachment I bought and it is holding. I also added Teflon tape to all the attachments, just to be on the safe side. So tools I needed to install mine included two adjustable wrenches, I would like to tighten it up a bit more so need to find a basin wrench, a screwdriver, dill and bit to mount the filter holder, a pipe cutter, a roll of Teflon tape, and a lot of patience. I am not a plumber, but I can do most of your basic home plumbing projects, up to sweating pipes. Not pretty, not fast, certainly not a professional. Depending on what you have under your sink, your own skills and confidence, this may or may not be a project you want to take on yourself. I imagine most real plumbers could do it much quicker than I did. But it is now in, working and not leaking. The base is a bit smaller than I would have liked. I used a hole in the sink that could be a sprayer or soap dispenser. It works but have to get the faucet lined up just right for it to cover the whole hole. My wife prefers filtered water, and she said that it tastes good. Honestly I can not tell a difference, but happy wife, happy life. We have city water, but about every other year get a notice that they found something in the water that is not supposed to be there, so while maybe unnecessary, it just adds a level of protection for our drinking and sometimes cooking water. Flow is slow, but no slower than our last filter. It is slower than our faucet, but put a pot under it, give it a minute and it does fill up. Our water pressure is not super high, so we are used to just giving our pots and water bottles a few minutes to fill up. All in all, apart from the install, I am happy (so now that it is installed, I am happy). Just look at what you have below your sink and be prepared to make a trip the local hardware store if not going to screw right onto your piping.

I have to say this is a very good water filtration system. Easy to install, the water tastes amazing, and the filters last right at about six months for heavy usage so right on the money for that 600 gallons estimate.

We got this max flow model in 2023. We have been very happy with it and the ease of swapping the filters. We are on our sixth set of replacement filters and the unit failed a few months shy of 3 years of use in a household of 7 and two dogs and we had it hooked up to the ice maker too. Overall really happy with it. Should have put a leak detector under it in a pan so we aren’t having to clean up from that but we ordered an exact replacement today, no question.

This Max Flow version of the 3-stage water filter is a huge improvement over the prior version. The regular/low flow version was barely more than a trickle and took FOREVER to fill water bottles. Not this version. The Max Flow has a high flow rate for a small spout and fills my water bottles up quickly. Apart from that, we just have to trust that the filter takes out the contaminants it said it does--the list is comprehensive and among the best filtration available for an under-sink model (according to the NY Times Wirecutter site). I did not use the included spout, but with an adapter was able to attach it to a Hansgrohe spout that matched my faucet.

I've used the Aquasana 5300+ for 2 years now. To start, the pros: I liked the NSF certification and the fact that the filters seem to handle the widest range of contaminants. I live in San Francisco, where our water quality is already exceptionally good. I bought a filter to ensure that contaminants along the water delivery route (e.g. our building pipes) aren't coming in since we now have a baby. Despite reading all the reviews of leaks happening once you replace your filters for the first time, I naively figured it was likely something I could figure out and ensure wouldn't happen. Fast forward to today, every time I've replaced the filters, there have been leaks. I've done the research, watched many YouTube videos, browsed Google/Reddit suggestions, and have tried all the suggestions that worked for others. Don't overtighten, loosen a tiny bit after hand tightening, overtighten anyway, use a ton of teflon tape on the sump screw threads, replace the sump o-rings because they wear out or compress. No matter what I do, this thing leaks in one or two of the three filter canisters or sump heads one way or another. These are NOT big leaks - most often they only drip every few minutes. But that's completely unacceptable. I don't mess with water damage, potential mold growth or damage that may go unnoticed. I can't keep looking over my shoulder wondering. The time I've spent each time I've replaced these filters has not been proportional to the benefit/value I get from this system and that's why I've rated it as such. I initially bought this system because hey, save plastic, only replace the filter material itself, not the entire sump/body. Great idea, poor execution. Based on what I've learned, the filter replacements should include replacement orings (both the large one as well as 4 small ones per filter). The fact Aquasana does not provide these is deal breaking in my opinion because I expect to use an under sink water filtration system for years, ideally 5+. I take good care of the products I buy and the canisters look like they're built to last at least that long. So far I've identified or read about a few main/recurring issues: - the orings wear out and you have to replace them at your own cost, they don't come w/ the filter replacements (but a new battery does because they want to beep at you to buy more) - the manufacturing tolerances for the filter heights are too wide and can cause the filter to block the flow of water. Supposedly Aquasana tells you to put a quarter at the bottom of the canister to solve this. First of all, I want my water clean, why is the official guidance to add a dirty metal coin? - the prefilter sometimes blocks the flow of water if you turn it until it clicks into place. You may have to loosen the prefilter canister *just a bit* to have water flow through. - all of this tinkering also wears on the orings in a short amount of time, so while you're troubleshooting the system, you might actually be making them worse. - I've also read that the main plastic housing under the Aquasana cover can crack, though I don't think mine has yet. In the end, I cannot recommend this system because it feels like a massive waste of time monitoring the under sink system for DAYS after replacing the filters. Yes, each time, I've managed to do some random combination of things that ends up with the filter no longer leaking. But in those few days, I have to take 1/4 of the items out from under the sink, leave the cabinet door open, have rags nearby, and see how quickly water accumulates if there is a leak, where the leak is coming from at either the canister or sump top. I have to tell my wife to work around this mess and I have to close the door when my toddler is home while remembering to monitor the origin of leaks. My time and your time are valuable and I'll be looking for another system once I do some more research. I'm bummed because the NSF certification was a big selling point for this system and the flow rate has been fine when it works. I've read that Aquasana charges shipping to resolve this past the 1 year warranty (sometimes even w/in warranty), which of course is when most folks will run into issues, so I did not bother with this. $10 shipping = $10 savings when I move to another system. I don't normally take the time to write such a long review, certainly not a negative one, but I should have heeded all the other reviewers that complained about leaks and not naively assumed I'd be able to figure it out. I've rescinded recommendations to friends due to the headache when it comes to replacing filters. I don't have any issues with Aquasana as a brand, but considering this seems to be a popular model, please consider providing the necessary orings to replace with filter packs (instead of the battery, if that cuts costs), fix your manufacturing tolerances so I can expect proper functionality when I put replacement filters in AND click the canisters into place *all the way*, and stand by your product. You've effectively sold us lemons and told us to fix your issues with quarters.

I have purchased this filter numerous of times for my folks for their Water Filtration system they have always been more than pleased with this replacement. The filter always works and I have heard no complaints about installation. A great product and a great seller. 5 stars for everything!

Todo funcionó correcto hasta el momento que tuve que cambiar filtros por primera vez. Después del simple cambio tuve una fuga grande y no hay forma de arreglar mas que con reemplazo de parte. Pero al contactar a soporte de Aquasana (que tardan hasta 4 dias en responder) la respuesta final es que no envian fuera de EUA. Si no dan soporte fuera de ese país, ¿para que lo venden fuera de EUA?

I got a plumber to install the unit who ran twice to the hardware store to get parts. Though I paid for the service, I am glad and happy with the end result. I trust aquasana because I had been a customer for at least 10 to 20 years with the counter top unit. I upgraded to under counter because it leaked. Only wish is that it should be made in USA.

This was easy to install. The tee valve could have been a better quality as there were metal shavings in it. Cleaned it out and no other burrs observed so used it. The tee valve does not have a shutoff. You need to read the installation steps to find what size drill bit to use to make the hole in the counter. It would have been nice to have a legend to tell you what specific tools and sizes to use as a quick reference or for those that may be a little less technically inclined. Otherwise, its easy to install. Flavour of water is great. I always liked my jug water filter from a major brand but this is way better. Ran 20 minutes after install before use per instructions. No weird aftertaste and no odours. Added a tee to connect my fridge water and ice maker. Same great taste from fridge as well and I don’t need to use the fridge filter. Has the most certifications that I saw for an under counter filter system. Highly recommended!

I received two of these filters. The first one was defective on installation and leaked right away. The second replacement filter installed easily and worked well for about a month. We liked the taste of the water and the flow rate. Unfortunately the the filter broke in the middle of the night and flooded water all over the kitchen floor causing damage to my hardwood flooring as well as leaking through my basement ceiling. I now have a thousand dollars in damage. Do not trust this water filter!!