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

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).

Long overdue I should have got this a long time ago I got it yesterday, 1.6L!! I admit since I have plugged it in I have kept it busy for my humidifier. My thing is I am using pre-filter water dual under the sink unit. As recommended from a review here I do not use the charcoal. Also with that advice that was given I leave a little bit in the bottom. The blue water jug has a line mark at the top, the bottom of that mark means from there to the top of it is what you have left. So I leave it about in the middle so there's some water left in there. Just a little sprinkle of that stuff in the hot water and it cleans out in a minute. Can't say it gets too hot or anything anywhere except for the canister itself of course will get warm. So with that said, hopefully I don't have to update this in a negative manner. 😁I must add it sure beats the few blocks I have to go to get it at the store when I'm getting eight or so gallons at a time multiple times a week with no car. I just hope I can keep ahead.UPDATE: Well, for 3 days now since I received it. I have pretty much ran it straight for like 70 hours. See, I'm on the tail end of week 8 and I have to keep the T/RH low. Make it in the kitchen, blow it out the back window!NOTE: For the 1.6 liter the line at the top indicates your .6 mark. The bottom of that mark is your 1.5 Gallon. That mark line is the left over muck in the machine to clean with. Nice and hot!UPDATE: I used it for 7 days straight. It is still running strong! Now I just need it once a day. I got to say, I'm getting another one!!Key note is to make sure the whole seal and inside top are clean at least once a week. I use a little air blower to get in the crevices underneath and the fan components. 👍😁🤠🥳

Update: Bought Dec 1, 2024. It arrived Dec 9th and it died on Feb 3, 2025. So it didn't even last 2 months. We used it 1x a day a couple of times a week. Sometimes it went unused for an entire week and then maybe it would be run in the AM and then PM if we were low on distilled water. Updating to reflect 1 star. It finished running today and when I went to clean it out I realized the light was off on the back. After some testing it must have had a power surge. It burned out the surge protector as it's dead as well. It was the only thing plugged into it.We bought the CO-Z 6L to replace the DC House 4L distiller. We've used the CO-Z 3 times so far and LOVE it. For reference, this is our 3rd distiller. The DC House is about 20 months old. We've had issues with it for about a year. I I left a review on it's page you can read more about, but it was losing steam from the seal and we'd have to regularly add food grade silicone to help seal it, etc. In the last week it started doing the burning smell that our original distiller did right before it finally died.Yes the C0-Z is a 6L so it is supposed to be larger. However, it's also way heavier. The lid seems to lock on really tightly. It was very hard to get it off at first and I had to look at the instruction manual just to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. I LOVE this because a loose seal with the lid is the main issue we'd had with the DC House. The 2 extra liters of water make a HUGE difference. I don't think I realized just how much. We have multiple humidifiers in bedrooms that take 2 gallons each. We have a high end espresso machine that we only use distilled water in and I have a lot of carnivorous plants. So we had to run the distiller 3 times a day before.With this one I can easily run it less often and it seems to take the exact same amount of time as the 4L. I have tried to time it with starting them both at the same time, but keep missing when they finish. I just know they are both done at the same time when I go to check.Besides the great seal on the lid, this unit also has a power switch on the back and the reset switch on the front. I like that you can power it off to prevent the reset switch from being hit accidentally. That's not happened to us, but if my kids were younger or we had more pets in the area the distiller is setup, it is a very handy safety tool.