The History Of The Refrigerator Water Filters by Ray Scardigno

The earliest recorded method of water filtration dates back to 2000 B.C. where hieroglyphics depict methods of boiling water, placing hot metal instruments in water and filtering water through charcoal and sand. These early methods are thought to have been instituted to make water taste better, thus, cleaning it. Water filtration was further developed with the advent of the microscope, which made it possible to see foreign particles and contaminants in water that would have otherwise been considered to be pure and clean. Most notably, the microscope was responsible to identify cholera bacteria in drinking water during a disease outbreak in 19th century London. The outbreak was rampart in all areas except those areas where drinking water was filtered through sand. Chlorine was also discovered to be an effective, chemical disinfectant capable to rid the infectious water of cholera. It was further discovered that the chemical, chlorine, when used in combination with sand filtering, was effective in combating cholera as well the water borne diseases, typhoid and dysentery.

In an effort to achieve drinking water purity, chlorine disinfection and sand filtering became prominent methods of municipal water treatment throughout Europe, and then, the US. These primitive methods of disinfecting and filtering water to achieve purity have been studied and evaluated with the use of technology. Chlorine, despite its history of ridding water of contaminants, is a poison. It has since been found to exhibit side effects that aggravate and induce respiratory complications, such as asthma. The poisonous chemical vaporizes at a faster rate than water, making it dangerously harmful when inhaled, especially during showering. Fluoride has since been added as an additional chemical disinfecting agent, but also has side effects of dental damage and other health complications in young children. Lead and other chemical contaminants and by-products further compromise drinking water during the piping and delivery of treated water.

Business and industry have been instrumental in the disposal of waste materials into our fresh water supply sources. This inhabitation has directly contaminated the water supply and also upset the balance of water flow and creation established by nature. The US Clean Water Act, legislated in 1972, was intended to restore the physical, chemical and biological balance of water that had been disturbed by contamination. The Act specified that all natural water supplies would, at least, be safe for fishing and swimming by 1985. This specification led to the development of some form of water filtration and disinfection in every US city as well as advanced technological innovations in the filtering of water used in industry. Even so, the severity of past and continued damage has left more than 1/3 of all water supplies still polluted with contaminants.

In an effort to reduce the contaminants in drinking water and also to comply with national efforts to make drinking water safe, water-filtering systems have been developed to filter water within individual homes. Systems exist to filter incoming water for the entire house and also systems are designed to filter water, inline, at various points of water distribution within the house, such as at faucets and refrigerators or in water pitchers. The US based company, Omnipure Filter Company, credits its self with developing the first small, disposable, inline water filter in the world. The Omnipure CL Series of water filters, developed in 1970, were carbon-based, inline filtering systems designed for water coolers and ice machines. This benchmark water filtering system used granular activated carbon (GAC) to create cost effective methods of filtering water inline. Advances in the functionality, using the same basic design, have since led to the development of whole-house filters, faucet filters, countertop filters, pitcher filters, refrigerator filters and portable filters for camping.

In 1996, KX Industries developed and supplied the first refrigerator water filter for ice cube and cold water dispensing. KXI is credited with developing the initial end of tap filter for the Proctor and Gamble/PUR and the Clorox/Brita water filters. The new technology has been adopted and revised to suit a number of refrigerator models, creating a $200 million refrigerator water filter market.

Today, Filters Fast LLC, the leading online retailer of refrigerator water filters, carries filters for every major brand of refrigerators tht filter out anything from Chlorine to Lead and pesticides. They recommend that your filter be changed at least every 6 months to keep your water at it's best quality.


Ray Scardigno writes about water filters,

It's FRL on purpose, folks!

FRL is an acronym for Filter, Regulator and Lubricator, devices used to “condition” the compressed air from a compressor before it gets to your application be that through an air valve to air cylinders, powering air tools and so on.

When called in to troubleshoot a complaint from a client that their compressed air filter, regulator or lubricator wasn’t working, the first response is to ask the symptoms. Common complaints are, “the regulator is not working, and it’s leaking oil”, or “my air filter fills up too quickly”. Have you ever had these problems?

The acronym FRL is placed in this order deliberately.

These air treatment units, whether they are an assembly (combination FR + L) or a number of single components - Filter + Regulator + Lubricator - installed in a row, must always be installed with the Filter first, the Regulator next, and the lubricator last.

The filter must 'see' the air coming from the compressed air supply line first, as it’s the defense against compressed air-borne water and particulates. If you think about it, you would want the filter to remove contaminants and free water from the compressed air before that air gets to more sensitive down-stream components, including the regulator and the lubricator.

The regulator is installed after the filter to ensure that the air getting to the regulator is as clean as that type of compressed air filter will allow, thus increasing the life span and mean-time-between-failures for the regulator.

The regulator’s purpose is to regulate a lower pressure to the downstream application. Some folks are of the opinion that the regulator can be used to “dial-up” the pressure. This is true, as long as it's understood that the pressure that’s being selected is at a level below the upstream supply pressure. You cannot use a regulator to increase the pressure downstream higher than the supply pressure upstream of that regulator.

Compressors are usually cyclic, meaning that the air pressure in the lines from them varies according to where the pressure is in the compressor receiver. When the air pressure in the compressor receiver falls to the low level set point, the compressor will kick in, and bring the pressure in the receiver up to the high level set point, at which point the compressor will stop. This cycle repeats, sometimes quite quickly, depending on the compressed air demand in the shop. A regulator will dampen the pressure swings from the system as the compressor kicks on and off, ensuring that your application, if the regulator pressure is set at the correct level, will see a constant, steady pressure.

If the regulator is incorrectly installed, upstream from the filter instead of after it, not only is the regulator not protected from air-borne water and particulates, it will negatively affect the flow of air to the filter, decreasing its effectiveness.

The lubricator’s purpose is to provide a steady, metered stream of the appropriate lubricant to the downstream application, be that an air tool, or an air valve / cylinder combination.

The lubricator is installed last in the FRL series to ensure that the lubricant has ready access to the components desired to be lubricated though many modern pneumatic circuits may not need a lubricator at all, what with the high cycle type lubricants that are commonly used by air actuator manufacturer's.

If the lubricator is incorrectly installed after the filter and before the regulator, the lubricant flow will negatively affect the operation of the regulator. The regulator may be over lubricated to the point where it doesn’t work properly. This may be the cause of the “lubricator’s all gummed up and not working properly” complaint. Most compressed air regulators are relieving type, and if the lubricator is "feeding" lubricant to the regulator, lubricant will wick from the relieving port, hence the "regulator's leaking oil" complaint.

If the lubricator is installed upstream from the filter and the regulator, the lubricant stream from the lubricator will simply be intercepted by the filter, and not get downstream to the application at all. Thus the filter is “filling up too quickly” complaint.

In the absence of the lubricator, the correct installation if filter first, then regulator.

If the unit you have is a combined filter regulator, it’s internally plumbed to have the air filtered through the filter ‘half’ before the compressed air gets to the regulator.

Remember, it’s FRL on purpose!