You probably figure that a reverse osmosis system that only costs a few hundred dollars certainly couldn’t be nearly as good as one that costs two thousand dollars, right? The answer may surprise you!
Is The Kinetico k5 Reverse Osmosis Worth It? The Kinetico K5 RO takes water with dissolved solids in it and filters out up to 98% of them just like other RO’s that are nearly 1/10 of the price. The filters cost over $100 where others are $50. The K5 performs very much the same as most other RO’s and is very expensive to repair.
If you’ve been looking into getting a reverse osmosis drinking water system for you and your family, you have probably noticed the huge differences in the prices of systems available.
The Kinetico K5 RO can cost you as much as $3000.00 in some areas, (source) whereas a similar functioning RO can be as little as $300.00 to $500.00. Like these highly rated and reasonably priced systems.
iSpring Water Systems RCC7AK 6-Stage reverse osmosis system for just over $200, or the iSpring RCC1UP-AK 7 Stage reverse osmosis drinking water system with UV Sterilizer for under $400.
Why is the Kinetico K5 reverse osmosis so expensive?
Good question, I really don’t see any reason why they are so expensive.
They work just like any other reverse osmosis drinking water system. Water with lots of dissolved solids goes in, and water with much less dissolved solids comes out.
And oddly enough, I often find that the water that comes out of a Kinetico reverse osmosis drinking water system is not as pure as the water that comes out of a reverse osmosis system that only costs a few hundred bucks.
Kinetico promotes there products as being state of the art, worry-free, and premium quality. In order to present their products as being better, they use flashy looking encasements and very complicated technology.
I believe that the reason that Kinetico reverse osmosis systems are so expensive is just to keep up with the fact that their water treatment systems are also very expensive.
There is very little actual technology to the K5 reverse osmosis drinking water station that I think justifies a high price tag. Your water goes through a pre-filter, reverse osmosis membrane and then a post filter, just like any other reverse osmosis drinking water system on the market.
So what makes the Kinetico K5 different?
If you take off the pretty cover and expose the core of the system itself, it looks virtually identical to most other reverse osmosis systems (because it is). The most noticeable visual difference is its little blue filter life indicator that is sticking up on the top front of the system.
This blue indicator is there to warn you (if you ever remember to look at it) when your filters will soon be in need of changing. It is designed to shut down your systems water production after 500 gallons of water has been processed.
This is nothing more than a spring-loaded plastic stick that sits on the top of the systems post filter. As the water flows through the system, the amount of water that is used is monitored by slowly turning a machine screw looking pin at the top of the filter.
Once the screw has turned far enough, the pin drops out of the filter top and into the filter itself. When this happens, the water flow from the system drops down to just a trickle, indicating to the homeowner that it is time for a very expensive filter change.
How much does it cost to change the filters on a Kinetico K5 reverse osmosis system?
I hope you’re sitting down!
Kinetico reverse osmosis drinking water systems are a Proprietary Filter System. In simple terms, you can only get replacement filters, membranes, parts, etc. from a Kinetico Authorized Dealer.
This also means that you will have to pay whatever price your local Authorized Dealer wants to charge for the filters.
I did a little snooping around and found out that the most commonly used set of filters used for a Kinetico reverse osmosis system is a set of 2 filters (pre-filter and post-filter only). After some deep investigative work, I found out that this set of filters cost the dealer about $40 for the set.
So you would think they would mark them up a reasonable amount and sell them for maybe 80 or at most about 100 dollars, right! As you may have already guessed, that is far from the prices that I found.
One dealer was charging $140.00 and another was $150.00. So I went online to see if I could do better.
Well, it got even worse! I’m not going to mention what huge website that I found them on, but I found them for $190.00 and not even with free shipping. OUCH!!!
And if changing your Kinetico filters yourself is not quite something you are comfortable in doing, be prepared to fork out $250.00 – $400.00 for your local Kinetico dealer to do it for you.
The worst part is that you have to go through this after every 500 gallons of water used by your Kinetico reverse osmosis system.
You can buy a whole new reverse osmosis for that much, and a good one at that. Check out this iSpring Water Systems RCC7AK 6-Stage reverse osmosis system that I found on Amazon for just over $200.
And if you’re looking for a reverse osmosis system with all the extras, check out the extremely well-rated iSpring RCC1UP-AK.
Why does the K5 reverse osmosis shut down after 500 gallons?
Kinetico says that the system shuts down filtered water production to make sure the filters are not used longer than they are supposed to be. I’m pretty sure that they are very sincere when they say this, but the reason that they say it is what I question.
It may not be for the consumers’ benefit, but more for Kinetico’s benefit.
By making their reverse osmosis filters only available through their “Authorized Dealers” Kinetico would naturally want you to have your filters changed by one of their dealers on a regular (normally yearly) schedule.
But if you plan on changing them yourself, at least Kinetico knows that you will have to change them often and that the dealer will make money.
I also think that the required 500-gallon filter change also protects Kinetico for their warranty on the k5.
The Kinetico K5 10 year warranty, great or just a sales pitch?
Kinetico boasts about having a 10-year warranty on its K5 drinking water station, but does it justify the high price tag? They will say that it does.
What they don’t always mention is that the 10-year warranty is only valid when you also have a Kinetico water softener treating the water before it gets to the reverse osmosis system.
Now, this warranty does state that it covers not only all parts of the system including the storage tank and the faucet, but it also includes the reverse osmosis membrane.
What it does not say is that your local “Authorized Dealer” will need to come out to perform any repairs or membrane change in order for the system to be covered.
And most Kinetico dealers will charge you for any parts that need to be replaced, even though they should be covered under the Kinetico warranty.
Even if the dealer does cover the parts under the warranty, the price of a Kinetico service call can be pretty steep.
As far as them warrantying the K5 membrane for 10 years, it kinda doesn’t surprise me that the membrane should last 10 years under normal operation.
Since Kinetico reverse osmosis systems make you change their expensive filters every 500 gallons whether it is really necessary or not, the membrane of the system stays extra well protected from any sediment that may harm the membrane.
Also since they have been making a nice profit on all those filters that they have been forcing you to use, why not warranty a reverse osmosis membrane that probably costs them less than a dealer pays for one set of filters.
Besides that, the cost of the service call will be far more than the price of the membrane.
And what is the warranty if you already have a water softener other than a Kinetico, or don’t even need a water softener at all.
I have to admit that the warranty on a Kinetico K5 drinking water station with a non-Kinetico water softener proceeding it is quite impressive. They still offer a 10-year warranty on all parts including the storage tank and the faucet. But only 4 years on the reverse osmosis membrane.
Considering that they don’t really have to warranty the membrane for very long at all, I’d say that 4 years is not a bad deal. Source
Basically, I think that all they really want to know is that there is soft, iron-free water going into your reverse osmosis system, which makes perfect sense.
Kinetico is always trying to add a new gizmo or fancy new bell or whistle to their reverse osmosis systems to make them appeal more to the higher-income consumer.
In doing so, they often take what may have been a great idea, to begin with, but in the pursuit of making it seem to be more than it needs to be, it ends up being nothing more than one more thing that can go wrong.
Kinetico makes a fine product. Their water softeners can often last many years without any service required other than the homeowner taking proper care of their system.
See my article on “Do Water Softeners Need Regular Maintenance?”
And their reverse osmosis drinking water systems work fine, I just don’t see what makes them worth the high price tag.
If you are looking into purchasing a reverse osmosis drinking water system for your home? Check out my Recommended Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Systems.
Thank you for this information. I had the Kinetico installed and the salesman said to me it would cost $100 for filters, well he was full of it, the reverse osmosis membrane needs to be changed and the price in Canada $225😭😭😭😡🤬🤯. And the change interval he said was also not true.
What system do you recommend?
Hello Jeff, and thank you for the question.
I have selected these highly recommended reverse osmosis systems that have the most popular features available. They all have many great reviews and are an excellent value. Decide on which one has the features that you want, and I think that you will be very happy with your choice.
I hope this helps you find the system that is right for you!
Paul
I had a Kinetico K5 base system installed for $1350 in Texas and for $1800 (with one additional module) in Idaho, including sales tax in both cases. For a relative’s place in Los Angeles, I got a quote for $3,000 from the LA dealer, which I kindly refused. Just letting you know that Kinetico lets each of their dealers set their own prices.
What do you think about the membrane flush to reduce the risk of contaminants or tds creep? Or the WOW tank? Would it merit the higher price tag? Kinetico seems to have an industry standard RO with the K2 is it any better than any other brand? Thoughts? Thank you!!
Hello Kelly and thank you for the question.
The Kinetico K5 flushes the membrane to maintain the performance of the system and it works very well in my opinion. Flushing the membrane helps to extend the life of the membrane which I believe is a big reason why Kinetico warranties the K5 membrane for 10 years providing that you have a Kinetico water softener before the K5 system.
Since TDS creek is usually just a brief fluctuation of TDS, I am not overly concerned about it. TDS creep is just part of how a reverse osmosis system can work.
The WOW (Water On Water) storage tank is probably the most liked feature of the K5 because it provides more water pressure than a standard “Air charged” storage tank but I personally would not pay as much as $3000 for a K5 reverse osmosis system just because of better water pressure when you can buy an air-charged reverse osmosis system for just a few hundred dollars.
And the $1,200 or more K2 RO is basically the same as most other reverse osmosis systems. It delivers water with an air-charged storage tank and the water quality is basically the same as a reverse osmosis system that only costs a few hundred dollars. The K2 filters are also much more expensive than a standard reverse osmosis system.
Just my opinion!
Paul
Hello, I actually work for a Kinetico authorized dealer and just wanted to add a few things about these systems 🙂
1) Yes, these systems are just like all the rest on the market ( with basic post- membrane-pre filters) BUT, there is two more slots on the machine itself to add more filters I.e ones that add minerals back into the water or remove arsenic from well sources.
2) Unlike other RO systems on the market, theses ones have the ability to be mounted out in someone’s garage where it will save you precious sink space under it! 🙂
3) Yes they are more over priced($1,999 here) but I feel with these systems you’re getting the best quality water you can get.
Hello Billy and thank you for the comment.
Yes, the Kinetico K5 does have the extra filter slots for customization but remineralization stages are very common on many reverse osmosis systems and the need for Arsenic removal is not very common.
If there is a need for customization, the K5 might be a great fit but if the only reason that a reverse osmosis system is needed is for dissolved solid reduction, any reverse osmosis system for just a few hundred dollars will work just fine.
The WOW (Water On Water) tank of the K5 does provide superior water pressure so that the system can easily be installed in areas other than below the sink, but does the much higher price tag of the K5 really make that ability worthwhile? That would be up to the consumer.
The K5 is certainly not a bad reverse osmosis system but whether or not the higher price tag is justified for most people is only determined by if the extra abilities of the K5 are important to the individual customer in my opinion.
Thanks again for the comment.
Paul
IS THERE ANYWHERE I CAN GET THE # 9309A AND #9306B FILTERS FOR KINETICO K5 SYSTEM BESIDES EBAY OR AMAZON, $200.00 FOR THE PAIR IS ROBBERY!! ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE TO REPLACE EVERY YEAR!
Hello Steve and thank you for the question.
Unfortunately, Kinetico is VERY careful about limiting the sale of the products by their authorized dealers only to ensure that their dealers profit which means that Kinetico profits.
The filters that you have found online are were likely purchased from a dealer and then they are being sold online for people who can’t get the filters from a local dealer.
I suggest checking out the Kinetico website dealer locator. You may have to call a few dealers, but you should be able to find one that is willing to ship the filters to you at a better price than you have found elsewhere. Some dealers sell a set of filters for as little as about 110 dollars and will ship them for about $15 for a total of $125 plus the tax.
Hope this was helpful.
Paul
We bought a a K5 four months ago for a family of three and the water pressure dropped significantly recently. The indicator is still showing as clear, yet the dealer said it indicates the filter needs to be replaced already. There is no chance the three of us drank 500 gallons of water in four months. Any other explaination?
Hello Kelly and thank you for the question.
When the K5 post filter registers 500 gallons of water filtered, the water pressure will drop to just a trickle as you have described.
If the spyglass is clear then the post-filter has shut down. Normally, you should see a light blue indicator stick inside of the spyglass. When the post-filter is new, the indicator stick will be almost to the top of the spyglass and it gradually moves down as water is used until it disappears from the spyglass and the water pressure drops to a trickle.
Many people will use their reverse osmosis water to rinse food and cook when they may not have to. This will use up the 500 gallons of water very quickly. I would check if anyone has been using reverse osmosis water for other things besides drinking.
I have found a few K5s that had a problem correctly metering water usage. The gears that move when water is being dispensed would not stop when the water stopped causing the life of the post-filter to decrease dramatically.
This problem is quite rare, but if you can’t find that the water has been used for other than drinking, it may be a possibility.
I don’t know your water characteristics, but if you were boiling food in your tap water before getting reverse osmosis, you probably should continue to use your tap water for rinsing and cooking your food rather than using your reverse osmosis water.
Hope this was helpful.
Paul
I just want to say that my local Kinetico dealer (is dealer the right term?) is charging over $125 per filter. I found them for $80 each, including shipping, on eBay and they work like a charm. I doubt I will always be able to find them this cheap but saving $90 bucks on two filters was really nice. I regret buying the system and maybe it will blow up so I can get a different one lol
We had leaking from the top of our K5 system. This happened twice with two separate systems. The dealer would not back it up but Kinetico did cover the damages after the second episode and gave me a full refund. I would only use a RO system if you have bad water. Leaks can be very expensive.