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Pelican PC1000 Review
Our Review
- Uses proven GAC and KDF-55 filter media -5
- Durable/Good-Looking Stainless-Steel Tanks - 4
- Suitable for Medium and Large Size Home Use - 4.5
- Included 5-Micron Pre Filter - 4.5
Pros
- Combines proven GAC and KDF-55 filter media
- Removes chlorine taste, odor, and appearance
- Large home compatible
- Made by a reputable water filtration company
Cons
- Not recommended for use with poor quality well water
- Initial installation costs can be high
- Backwashing (cleaning) produces some wastewater
- No programmable controls
Overall Rating – 4.5
As your search for a new whole house water filter continues, here is a system that is worth checking out if you have city-supplied water coming into your home.
The Pelican PC1000 is a well-reviewed whole home filter that is made by a manufacturer (Pelican Water Pentair) with many years of experience in the water filtration business.
This water filtration system provides a convenient way to treat 100% of the water that’s coming into your home and that includes removing the majority of the chlorine that was used in the treatment of that water.
It’s also a whole house filter that after we took a closer look at, we decided to add to our list of the best whole house water filters.
Below are all the good and bad aspects of this water filter that you should consider before selecting it as your point of entry water filtration system of choice.
Pelican PC1000 Whole House Filter Features
Here is what I like best about the Pelican PC1000 Whole House Filter (filters such as this one are also called media, whole home, and point of entry water filters):
Uses proven GAC and KDF-55 filter media
This media filter uses not one but two proven forms of water filtration to enhance all of the water that comes into your home.
The first is a high-grade blend of activated carbon mesh that’s made from coconut shells. These will effectively remove chlorine, chloramines, and many common industrial solvents that are found in municipal water supplies.
That is backed up by KDF-55 copper and zinc oxidation media which aids in the removal of chlorine from your water while at the same time helping to extend the life of the system’s GAC filtration media.
This also results in up to 97% of the chlorine that passes through this system being removed.
That’s very important for you if you are on a city water supply because chances are that water has been treated with chlorine before entering your home.
Durable/Good-Looking Stainless-Steel Tank
It’s no secret that water filtration systems such as this one are often installed in garages and basements where foot traffic and other activity can be high at times.
That’s why it’s preferred to have a whole home water filter that’s made out of very durable material such as the stainless-steel tank that the Pelican PC1000 has.
Its stainless-steel tank also looks good no matter where you place it around your home.
Suitable for Medium and Large Size Home Use
If you have a bigger size home, you have a right to be concerned about maintaining adequate water flow to your home after it passes through a whole home filter.
Fortunately, that’s not a problem for the Pelican PC1000 because it’s made to handle the water filtration needs of medium to large size homes.
It can treat the water of homes with up to 6 bathrooms and still keep the water flowing to showerheads and other bathroom fixtures at a generous 12 gallon per minute flow rate.
Included 5-Micron Pre Filter
One of the biggest concerns with any whole home water filtration system is that large contaminants in the incoming water can wreak havoc on the filtration media inside of it.
That’s because large size contaminants will clog up the pores in filtration media very quickly and significantly reduce that filter media’s efficiency and cause the need for the system to be cleaned (using a backwash cycle) more often than it should.
This is not something that you have to worry about with the Pelican PC1000 because it has an included 5-micron pre-filter that will keep large size impurities such as sand, rust, dirt, and more from ever reaching its GAC and KDF-55 filter media.
Treats Over 1-Million Gallons of Water
One of the better features of this point of entry water filtration system is that once it has been installed you won’t have to worry about having properly treated water in your home well into the feature.
Pentair claims that it can effectively treat up to 1,301,770 gallons of water or can last 5-years before its GAC carbon and other filter media need to be replaced
Pros/Cons
These are the main advantages and drawbacks of owning the Pelican PC1000:
Pros:
- Combines proven GAC and KDF-55 filter media
- Removes chlorine taste, odor, and appearance
- Large home compatible
- Made by a reputable water filtration company
- Durable and good-looking stainless-steel tank
- Single-tank media style filter (very low maintenance)
- Comes with a 5-micron sediment prefilter
- Generous 12 GPM flow rate
- Treats over 1-million gallons of water
- 5-year warranty
- Free Shipping
- Money-Back Guarantee
- DIY installation is possible
Cons:
- Not recommended for use with poor quality well water
- Initial installation costs can be high
- Backwashing (cleaning) produces some wastewater
- No programmable controls
Installation
One of the nice aspects of media-style whole house filters such as the Pelican PC1000 is that they do not require a lot of plumbing to hook them up. That means a do-it-yourself installation with them is very possible.
It helps that Pentair has seen fit to supply almost everything that you need to do the installation except plumbing pipe for the connections to the main water line.
This includes the system bypass valve (pictured above) which attaches to the top of the filter tank.
There is even an included mounting bracket (see above) that can be used to hold the media tank firmly in place if it’s being put near a wall.
So, you definitely have a whole house filter system here that can be installed by you even if you have just basic plumbing knowledge, or won’t cost you much to have a plumbing professional install it for you.
Maintenance
Maintaining a Pelican PC1000 whole house water filtration system is fairly easy too. That’s because just about all this system requires is periodic backwashing.
Backwashing is a cleanup cycle that needs to be undertaken about once a month to keep the filter system working at peak efficiency when it comes to removing chlorine and other contaminants.
This cleaning cycle also needs to be undertaken if you notice a pressure drop in the water coming from your taps and showerheads.
The only other periodic maintenance that is required for these is changing out the filter media every so often. Pentair recommends that this be done around every 5-years.
You should also check the system for leaks every time that you go to backwash it and inspect its tank and other components for any abnormalities over time.
When you look at overall maintenance, few whole home water filters are easier to maintain than the Pelican PC1000.
How Does It Stack Up Against Competitors?
Do I feel that the Pelican PC1000 is the best whole house filter on the market? No. That’s backed up by the fact that it did not take the number one spot on our website’s list of the best whole house filters.
With that being said, you will also notice if you look at that list that the Pelican PC1000 does firmly have a place on it. That’s because it will outperform many of the point of entry water filters that are available in the marketplace.
People choose it over its competition when chlorine removal is their biggest concern and they are looking for a whole house filter that is easy to maintain and can be set up by anyone with even a minor familiarity with home plumbing.
A Few Last Thoughts on the Pelican PC1000
I had some reservations about the Pelican PC1000 water treatment system and some of those have carried over to the Pelican PSE2000. That includes traits such as having no programmable controls and the fact that it has a high initial cost.
I am also surprised that Pelican does not offer this in a package that includes a more traditional salt-based water softener that removes hard water minerals almost completely as opposed to just having a water conditioner.
Even with these considerations, I would still have no problem recommending the Pelican PSE2000 water filtration system to you if you have incoming city water that has been disinfected by using chlorination.
That’s because its combined GAC and KDF-55 filter media will remove a significant amount of the chlorine that passes through the system and make your tap water safer for you and your family to drink.
Having an added water conditioner that prevents limescale is also a nice bonus and the fact that this type of POE water filter is so easy to maintain is also a big selling point.
It’s definitely a whole house filter system that is worth at least checking out if you are shopping for a new one.
