Kenmore Deluxe Water Purifier with Electric Monitor 34481

Pros: Water is clean as can be, mineral free; no installation required; regular maintenance is simple
Cons: Water tastes odd, flat; unit is expensive to operate; making water takes too long

For some time, I had been filtering water which is normally considered to be of the best tasting tap water in the country, mostly because I was afraid of contaminants. When our first child came along, on the advice of our pediatrician, we boiled the ...

Pros: Produces delivered water quality! Inexpensive.
Cons: May be a bit noisy for some. Need to clean and buy filters as needed

I recently purchased this system for my home after deciding on a steam distillation system. I searched the web and this was the most economical unit I could find. Note: if you go to the waterwise website you'll see this unit selling for 380.00 dollars. ...

Pros: It makes great tasting water and will save us money.
Cons: It's a little large on the counter.

We bought a Kenmore water distiller in July 2001 because we were using a lot of purified water. We have a water softener and if you use that water on plants, the salt in it will kill them. Plus I just didn't like the taste of our softened water. So we...

Pros: Removes all contaminates from tap water.
Cons: Distilled water has no taste, uses a fair amount of power.

We are on our second distiller in 6 years. It has been mentioned in other reviews that the life is approx. 3 years. We live in an area with very hard water and sometimes get government warnings about boiling water to kill bacteria when heavy rain or ...

Pros: convenient
Cons: noisy

I got the distiller because I was sick of lugging 5 gal. bottles to the machine at the store to fill. And, to top it off, the machine was usually broken, and I'd lose money in it each week. One day I got fed up and walked into the store and grabbed the ...

Pros: Attractive, elegant design. Fits neatly between a countertop and cabinet above it.
Cons: The distiller should be engineered to last longer than 3 years.

Our family has used distillers for the last 15 years. We make at least 1 batch of water a day... more in the winter to go in the ultrasonic humidifier.
Most of that time, we used a predecessor of this model, and it worked flawlessly. It's only disadvantage is that it was slow. When we bought this model, we were impressed with the speed at which we could distill water. The packaging was elegant, and we moved the distilling operation from the washroom to the kitchen.
Our distiller is now about 3 years old. It recently started turning itself on by itself. Up until now, we've always kept the distiller plugged in. If the machine turns itself on by itself, and no one is home to stop it, this machine could pose a fire hazard. We are now forced to replace the machine with a new one.
Frankly, after the experience we had with our prior distiller, I don't believe 3 years is an acceptable lifespan for one of these machines.

Pros: great for cleaning water
Cons: lid will not seal

I purchased a second distiller and received it yesterday. The lid will not seal. When the water heats up the lid pops up. I put the lid from the first distiller on new pot and it locked into place just fine. I am running it now to see if the seal holds. There is a little ball where the lid locks down into an indention for the ball to fit into. The old lid works but the new lid will not lock down and stainless shows around the rim. I tried pressing it down to seal but it will not lock into place and the lid will eventually raise up once the water heats up. Very disappointing. They are the exact same model with what should be the exact lid, but the second lid does not work. Both pots work on both distillers with the first lid. What would keep the lid from working? I really use these distillers and think they are wonderful when all the parts work...

Pros: makes GREAT water in a short time
Cons: doesn't last

I have used Sears distillers for over 15 years. The old models were basic but functional - except that the power connection would fail every 10-12 months due to bad design. This new electronic model is worthless. I had to replace the first one after 3 months because it quit heating. Now, after 18 months, the replacement is doing the same thing. Apparently Sears knows this, because none of the stores within 150 miles carry distillers any more.

Pros: Cost
Cons: Bad gasket causing leaks, distiller simply did not last either.

I purchased the Kenmore Deluxe water distiller in May 2002 from our local Sears store. Our home already had a whole-house carbon filtration system and a water softening system in place, but we wanted to have pure distilled water for drinking. After about 8 months, the distiller started leaking, slowly at first, but eventually quite a bit. I eventually noticed that the rubber gasket around the kettle lid was split. I called Sears and ordered a new gasket as it was still under warranty. Like clockwork, about 8 months after the first incident, the gasket split again. This time I had to purchase the gasket. With shipping and handling it was around $16. Not too bad, but I was really expecting better quality from a Sears product. In the winter of 2003, the distiller started leaking again, only this time from somewhere at the bottom. It has turned out to be very disappointing. I have purchased several Sears products (washer, dryer, tiller, lawn tractor, etc), but I will not buy another of their distillers. I'm going to purchase another distiller now, but it will not come from Sears.

Pros: great water
Cons: slow, could have made a bigger container, and the seal is made badly!

worked great till the seal(rubber )broke after 3 months. Seal looks like it was superglued together! With all the heat , I would imagine this shouldn't last long. I re-superglued itbut it breaks by the next use> this is a problem that could have been fixed by making it a seal that isn't GLUED together in the first place!

Pros: Works great!
Cons: Needs a larger boiling chamber to produce more distilled water at a time.

I've used this distiller since 2003. It works great, but I have to buy a new gasket every few years.

I throw out the first two cups that contains the more volatile chemicals, let it run to completion, pour the distilled water through a carbon filter, and then sometimes add sea salt.

I clean the boiling chamber with white vinegar!

Pros: convenient
Cons: is it safe?

I purchased one of these units at a garage sale and seems
to work well however I noticed the heating tank looks
to made from aluminum, has anyone had their water tested?
does the aluminum get into the drinking water?