Pentair Pentek EP-20BB Big Blue Carbon Water Filter, 20-Inch, Whole House Carbon Block Replacement Cartridge with Bonded Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) Filter, 20" x 4.5", 5

I get municipal drinking water with 1-2ppm of of chlorine (as much as a public pool) and 22 grains of hardness (more than 2x what's considered "extremely hard"). When I had a water softener installed in my house, I also had a Pentek 20" Big Blue Housing installed before softener. I wanted the carbon filter for a few reasons:1) Keep chlorine out of the shower and bath, out of my family's lungs and off of our skin2) Keep chlorine out of the washing machine where it bleaches our clothing3) Protect the resin in the water softener, which should double it's life4) Protect the plumbing (PEX pipes, rubber in fixtures, etc...) from chlorine5) Remove the small amount of sediment that is in the city water which collects in valves and fixturesI previously used the Pentek RFC20-BB Radial-Flow Granular Activated Carbon Cartridge. In comparison, this filter is less expensive, has a finer sediment filter (5 micron vs. 25 micron) and it's rated for up to 180F. Also, carbon block filters don't have the same channeling issues as GAC filters, which become less effective at higher flow rates.However, compared to the RFC20-BB this filter can't handle as much water (only 40,000 Gal. vs. 70,000 Gal.) and has a bigger pressure drop (5.5 psi @ 5 gpm vs. 0.9 psi @ 4 gpm). Neither of those were a big concern for me. We use less than 1,000 gal/week so the capacity easily exceeds the 6 month replacement cycle. As for water pressure, I get a solid 60+ psi coming into my house and even a 10 psi drop is not noticeable. If you already have pressure issues, get RFC20 instead.

Great filters but not packaged for mailing!!! Arrived broken and unable to use filter! Blue plastic rings at the top of the filter broken. Ordered replacement adding a note about wrong packaging, came damaged again using same type of thin paper, not padded envelope, not a box as Amazon was shipping previous order a year ago.

Used this product in a Culligan HF-150A whole house housing - but used it undersink. The whole house filter cartridges are cheaper and filter much faster than the "under sink" marketed products. This filter worked great, fit in the housing, and makes the water taste almost as good as our rainwater system with a 4 stage + UV filtration system at a different house but for a lot less. We don't do a separate sediment step, just this one. I'll update review if filter doesn't do well in the future.Update 1/10/2013 - still have it installed under our sink, hasn't leaked since the day we installed it, and the water has tasted perfectly filtered since then. We have it hooked to the cold side of the kitchen sink so ALL cold water passes through the filter. You can imagine how many gallons have been filtered through it by now and it still is like new. No way an undersink one would've lasted this long. Also, the undersink ones can't pass water very quickly. Since this is a whole-house filter, it easily keeps up with the pressure. You can't even tell a difference from before and after it was installed, and if someone didn't tell you it was there you wouldn't even know.I will probably watch and buy several of these as replacements when they drop in price.

Great filter cartridges.

The filter seems to be same build quality as original cartridge. The only issue I encountered while replacing my Omni carbon filter was that the diameter of this cartridge is slightly larger, so it didn't want to make it to the very bottom of the tapered enclosure. I ended up cutting the plastic flange off which should not impair the function of the filter. Now it fits OK. This cartridge costs just a fraction of the original and works just as well (I mostly count on the chlorine removal, otherwise my Chicago water is pretty good)

Bought for my niece ty

THESE ARE GOOD FILTERS AT A GOOD PRICE. I BOUGHT MINE AT AMAZON.COM FOR ABOUT $20.00 EACH. MY WATER IS CLEAR AND ODOR FREE. WHEN THEY SAY CARBON BLOCK THEY MEAN CARBON BLOCK - THE FILTER IS ONE SOLID PIECE OF CARBON. ONE BORKE IN SHIPMENT. I STILL USED IT. I PUT THE 2 PIECES BACK TOGHETER. WHEN THE FILTER HOUSING SCREWS ON IT TIGHTENED UP ON THE 2 PIECES AND HELD THEN IN PLACE QUITE WELL. [ABOUT 3." BROKE OFF ONE END.] THERE IS A FINE MESH ARROUND THE OUTSIDE WHICH TAKES OUT THE PARTICALE AND MAKES THE CARBON LAST LONGER. THE CARBON TAKES OUT THE TASTE AND ODORS. I HAVE WELL WATER WHICH IS PRETTY CLEAN TO START WITH BUT I WANTED THE ADDED INSURANCE OF THE CARBON FILTER. I HAVE IT IN A WHOLE HOUSE FILTER HOUSING IN THE BASEMENT. I PLAN ON CHANGING IT ONCE A YEAR OR WHEN THE PRESSURE DROP ACROSS THE FILTER INCREASES ABOUT 6 TO 8 PSI. I HAVE A PRESSURE GAGE BEFORE AND AFTER THE FILTER SO I CAN SEE WHEN THE PRESSURE DROP STARTS TO INCREASE. I CHECK THE PRESURE WITH ONE FAUCET [THE KITCHEN FAUCET] WIDE OPEN.

good filter