CO-Z 4L Brushed Stainless Steel Countertop Distiller Machine, Home Distilled Water Maker with Glass Pot, Purifier to Make Clean Water

If you own an Aerogarden or several and live in an area with hard tapwater you quickly discover the importance of having at hand an ongoing supply of distilled water. Under present circumstances as well as from an economic standpoint, a home distiller is a good investment. There are many available and what I found is that, compared to this CO-Z unit, you can spend twice as much for one made of plastic which takes half as long again to distill an equivalent four liters. You also can spend well over twice as much and get one made of stainless steel and glass which does the same thing in the same amount of time. At this very reasonable price and given its features and build quality, my opinion is this CO-Z model is the best overall value.You'll see, above, a one-star review or two warning that the glass carafe is brittle and prone to breakage because the lid is too hard to remove. You can take that at face value or, firstly, consider that (spoiler alert): Glass is brittle and prone to breakage. Secondly, read the manual and note the warning against attempting to remove the NON-REMOVABLE lid.Other reviewers complain about having to scrub mineral deposits from the reservoir upon completion of distillation. Consider that the purpose of distillation is, in this application, to remove minerals from the water and they have to go somewhere. The unit has an auto shut-off which evidently works by sensing excess heat, such as would be expected when the reservoir has boiled dry. You can easily minimize after-use maintenance by not relying on this temperature sensor and instead using aheavy duty appliance timer with a countdown function. I set mine to three hours and forty-five minutes and have no problems with baked-on deposits. In addition, scrubbing or the use of specialized cleaners is, in most cases, unnecessary. A half cup of white vinegar allowed to sit for a brief period, followed by light wiping and rinsing of the interior of the unit will easily remove the mineral residue. A3M Dobie cleaning pad (the one with a thin plastic mesh for light scrubbing on one side and sponge on the other) is ideal for this.[NOTE: I noticed the particular timer linked in the preceding paragraph is no longer available. It was rated at 1800W/15amps. The distiller is stated to operate at 750W, which is (according to online calculators) about 6 amps. I am NOT an electrician or electrical engineer but know enough to know that you need a timer that can handle the load, for safety's sake. It appears to my untrained eye that there isa newer version of this timer with the same 1800W/15amp capacity.]Incidentally, the unit is much larger than it appears in the photos, about the size of a medium-sized coffee urn. Not having extra counter space in my small kitchen, I keep it and the jugs of distilled water on this very sturdy and inexpensive cart (see photo).One final tip: I strongly recommend placing a small plastic funnel in the spout of the carafe during the distilling process, and not relying on the strange metal cap provided (see photo). This will ensure the distilled water reliably dripping into the carafe during operation.Overall, I am entirely pleased with the value, quality and performance of the CO-Z Water Distiller.ONE YEAR UPDATE: This distiller continues to give excellent results. I have five small hydroponic units and distill from six to nine gallons of water per week, usually over a two to three day period. Cleaning is done after all distillation is completed, using only white vinegar and the soft scrubber pad mentioned in the review, above. If there is especially heavy mineral buildup in the tank but I still have a few gallons to go before completely finishing, I will use aScotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scour Pad (the blue ones, NOT the green--which are very abrasive) to remove it.I noticed one or two reviewers reported rust and corrosion. I suspect that is the direct result of improper maintenance and storage...leaving the distiller assembled and wet between uses or overnight when it is not being operated. After cleaning I set the components on wooden trivets (see photo), the distiller head upright and the tank inverted, to air dry thoroughly. The unit looks as good as new with no signs of corrosion. [I assembled these trivets from scrap wood but any similar object of sufficient diameter with an open design will serve the purpose.]One other small tip: Using afunnel with a wide spout makes transferring water into storage jugs much faster and easier.TWO YEAR UPDATE: As seen in the accompanying photo, proper care and maintenance ensure reliable, long-term operation. After two years of regular use, using the tips and procedures outlined above, there is absolutely no corrosion or degradation of performance.Incidentally, I've never used any of the activated charcoal filter packets and see no reason to do so in my application.

JANUARY 29, 2025 UPDATE:This distiller has now seen 29 months of constant use. During winter, it makes two full 1.6-gallon jugs of distilled water daily. In addition to my CPAP machine's humidifier, we have three ultrasonic humidifiers that we use exclusively with distilled water, so needless to say, this distiller is kept VERY busy. At this point, we've probably saved at least $2000, and quite possibly much more than that, by not having to buy jugs of distilled water. It's paid for itself many times over.OCTOBER 13, 2024 UPDATE:This distiller is still humming along, 26 months post-purchase. It runs almost daily, sometimes multiple times per day. It has saved me a tremendous amoung of money, both at the cash register - for jugs of distilled water - and by preventing mineral crusting damage on my ultrasonic humifidiers.Note that I have replaced the stock power cord with a 2-foot 14AWG power cord (NEMA 5-15P to IEC-320-C13) after observing that the original cord would get VERY warm at the ends. Since replacing the cord, the ends no longer get warm. Something to consider.ORIGINAL REVIEW:Five months in, this distiller is still working great. We use the water in both my CPAP machine and an ultrasonic humidifier, and it has no problems keeping up with the demand.Some observations and tips:I have the 1.6-gallon unit and it takes 6 hours from power on to completion when cold water is used. If I start with hot tap water, that time is reduced by about an hour. I don't usually make the full 1.6 gallons, however, since it requires allowing the unit to boil dry (I address this below).The user manual may lead some people to think that the button on the front is a START button that must be pushed to begin the distillation process, but this is not the case. That button is a RESET button, which must be pressed if the unit trips. The user manual assumes that you will allow the unit to run dry each time, thus causing the unit to overheat and trip. And because they assume that you will allow the unit to trip, they also assume that you will be starting each cycle needing to reset that tripped condition.Continuing in that vein, it is my recommendation that you do not allow the unit to run dry. Why not? Because as the water boils out, the mineral content in the boiler is getting more and more concentrated, to the point that what remains is a sort of mineral-rich slurry. This slurry will start to cement itself to the bottom of the boiler in any case, but it is a much worse problem if the unit is allowed to boil dry, making cleaning an even more unpleasant task. Rather than allowing the unit to boil dry, consider buying a digital timer (or even a smart plug), figure out how long it takes to distill 1 to 1.2 gallons, and then use that timer to stop the unit before it can boil dry. Or, if you know you will be at home when the unit has finished creating the amount of distiller water that you want, set a timer on your smart phone and then simply turn the unit off (using the rocker switch on the back of the unit) when the alarm sounds.Be careful with the AC power sockets on the rear of the unit; they are not as sturdy as you might think. There is a fair amount of flex to them and if you don't handle them gently, you might break a socket. When unplugging the cords from the unit, don't try to pull the plugs straight out. Instead, simply wiggle the plugs slightly as you gently pull, and work them free that way.Be sure not to get water in the power sockets or switches when filling the boiler. Always check to make sure that everything is dry before plugging the unit back in. When I fill the boiler, I set it in my bathtub with the reset button (front) and power sockets (rear) oriented so that they are not facing the faucet. This way, if any water splashes the electrical bits, it is minimal, and I can just wipe it away quickly with a dry cloth.The stainless steel spout on the upper housing is a bit loose-fitting (or at least it was on my unit). It is a friction fit and doesn't like to stay in place. You can position it as required, only to have it come loose just by bumping it slightly. It will also come loose if you lift the upper housing that holds the coil and fan. This happens because the tab that holds it in place merely rests on a shallow plastic ridge, and it is held there under minimal tension. The tab, when disturbed, has a tendency to bypass the plastic ridge because of the loose fit, and once that happens you have to remove the entire upper housing and reseat the spout. Very annoying. The solution to improve the fit is to bend the curved stainless steel tab on the spout slightly so that it is a wee bit straighter than its curved, from-the-factory shape. This will elongate it just enough to increase the tension and give it a tighter fit.The cleaning powder that comes with the unit is surprisingly effective. Put an inch or two of water in the unit, add a couple of tablespoons of powder to the water, and let it boil for maybe 15 to 20 minutes with the upper housing removed (and unplugged). Before the cleaning solution has a chance to boil out, power the unit off and use a wooden spoon, a heat-friendly plastic scraper, or a wok brush to further loosen the crud, taking care not to splash yourself with hot water. Then unplug the unit, rinse it out, and then repeat the process as needed. Doing this once a month or so should be sufficient.People have wondered about the tube that is included with the distiller. As far as I can tell, you would use this if you wanted to distill water into containers other than the polycarbonate jug included with the unit. The puzzling thing, though, is that unless you are distilling water into a very short container, you would probably need to elevate the distiller to have the container clear the stainless steel spout. Strange.You will likely grow annoyed with the carbon filter packets. They're fiddly and they break open, and honestly, depending on your water source, they may not even be necessary. Here's what one site has to say about them:"There are a couple of contaminants that can convert to gas with water, namely benzene and VOCs. Most distillers use a small activated carbon filter at the spout, which removes these contaminants as water drips down into the holding container."So, if you are fairly confident that your water is free of these things, and you're mostly distilling to get rid of minerals that would otherwise leave deposits on expensive equipment, you could probably forego the carbon filters. That's my situation, so I doubt I will be ordering more.Overall, I am happy with my purchase, and I feel confident that I can recommend it to others. It is a cost-effective way to not have to be dependent on supermarket stock, which I think is even more important now, given that inexpensive "store brand" distilled water isn't always an option (one national brand is selling for $3/gal).