8 Best Water Distillers – Your Guide to Clean Water in 2021

Although pricey, this distiller is one of the all-around best on the market in terms of purity and capacity. Its quality is evident as it is the only water distiller currently listed by Underwriters Laboratory – the UL insignia that is omnipresent on all other household appliances and signifies safety.

Water in this distiller never touches plastic thanks to the fully food-grade stainless steel interior and the glass nozzle insert. The latter ensures that once the steam is recondensing into pure water, your water touches only glass from the nozzle to the glass carafe for the highest water quality. Although the distillation speed of one gallon every 5-6 hours may not seem fast, this is also designed with purity in mind – a faster boiling speed would increase the likelihood of volatile organic compounds being left in your water.

The distiller has a 4-liter reservoir, which is standard for household distillers of this class so that the distiller itself does not use up too much valuable kitchen space. However, that can be limiting if you need a large volume of water or will not be home throughout the day, since producing at full capacity requires manually refilling the reservoir 4 times each day.

What makes it stand out?

• Stainless steel interior, glass nozzle insert, and glass carafe for quality
• Water never touches plastic
• Slow boil for removing volatile organic compounds

Which disadvantages must you keep in mind?

• On the pricey side
• Manual 4-liter cycle limits production

This water distiller produces highly purified water with a significant amount of design intention focused on keeping your water clean. The interior is comprised completely of food-grade stainless steel, but this distiller goes even one step further – it features a glass nozzle insert so that your water never even touches the stainless steel, but only glass throughout the distillation process. It also includes activated carbon filter pods, which aid in the process of removing volatile organic compounds. In addition, the distiller uses a smaller heating unit that boils water slowly so that there is less chance of the steam mixing with volatile organic carbons that are boiled off earlier in the heating process. Finally, the carafe that the water is output into is also glass for purity.

The distiller itself has a reservoir capacity of 4 liters and is capable of up to 4 cycles per day. This is not as much water as comparable units and full output means that you’ll need to be changing out the water every 6 hours – which for many people includes the middle of the night.

The main downside to this distiller is price – it is expensive upfront and replacing the activated carbon pods every several months can add up. However, the smaller capacity and smaller heating unit mean that this distiller uses less energy than comparable models, which can save money on your energy bill in the long run.

Why are we impressed?

• Extremely pure water thanks to glass nozzle insert and slow boil
• Carbon filters improve water taste

What negatives must you be aware of?

• Requires 4 manual cycles per day for full output
• Expensive

This distiller is great for home use, both because of its capacity and its included safety features. The distiller is rated to distill 4 liters in four hours, for a total potential capacity of more than 20 liters – however, 16 liters per day is a more realistic estimate since the 4-liter reservoir needs to be manually refilled and the cycle manually started.

The interior is fully food-grade stainless steel, ensuring that your water never comes in contact with plastic during the distillation process. Even better, the nozzle includes a glass insert so that from the point of condensation on to the carafe, your water only contacts glass to ensure purity. The distiller also includes activated charcoal sachets in the interior, which serve to filter out volatile organic compounds better than boiling alone and also improve the taste of the distilled water.

A big advantage to this distiller is the integrated temperature safety switch. At temperatures higher than 300ºF, the unit will automatically switch off to prevent overheating. This safety feature provides comfort in knowing that your home is safe if you turn the distiller on and then leave the house for the day.

Why is it special?

• Stainless steel interior and glass nozzle insert
• Integrated temperature safety switch

What are the flaws?

• Activated charcoal sachets need to be replaced every few months

This water distiller is inexpensive and perfect for those looking for distilled water on a budget. The design is extremely comparable to other manual distillers, with a 4-liter reservoir and a food-grade stainless steel interior. However, the price is brought down significantly since the distiller lacks a glass insert in the nozzle and does not use carbon filters in the distillation process. It also uses a plastic carafe, although this can be a red flag for those who are truly serious about water purity. However, in that case, the plastic container can easily be exchanged for a glass carafe after-market.

The total capacity of this distiller is also on par with other distillers, at 24 liters per day with a more realistic output of around 16 liters per day. However, users note that this distiller is unusually loud for a water distiller when turned on.

One of the features of this distiller that even more expensive distillers lack is the temperature safety switch. Above 320℉, the distiller will automatically shut down in order to prevent overheating. This provides reassurance when setting the distiller to run and then leaving your home for the day or heading to sleep for the night.

What are our favorite features?

• Inexpensive
• Temperature safety switch

What could be better?

• Loud when distilling
• Plastic carafe

If you’re on a budget and want a large volume of distilled water, this distiller offers a huge capacity for the price. The distiller is capable of putting out up to 6 gallons each day. However, note that this requires refilling the distiller every few hours, since it only has a 4-liter reservoir, so 4 gallons is a more reasonable expectation of what you will actually produce. But the difference also indicates that the rate at which distilled water is produced compares very favorably to more expensive models.

Another nice feature of this distiller for home use is that it has an internal safety switch – when the temperature within the distiller chamber reaches 300ºF, the distiller will automatically shut off. This is a great feature for giving peace of mind when you turn on the distiller before going out for the day or before going to sleep.

In terms of purity, the entire interior of the distiller is food-grade stainless steel. However, the carafe is plastic and not as easy to pour from as carafes on other distillers. The faster distillation rate, while appreciated in some situation, also increases the chance that volatile organic compounds will not be completely removed from the steam chamber prior to the water boiling.

What do we love it for?

• Fast distillation
• 6 gallon per day capacity
• Automatic temperature shut-off
• Inexpensive

What were we disappointed with?

• Small reservoir capacity limits total realistic distillation volume
• Potential for volatile organic compounds to remain

Asides the basic function of providing clean and distill water that you want from your distiller, you would also want one that would last a reasonable amount of time before requiring replacement. Both features are what you get in this Waterlovers 2800MKII.

The distiller has automatic functions to save you time and energy. At the same time, the auto function of the distiller helps to keep it in check and prevent destruction. For instance, in order to prevent over calcification and burning of the residues at the reservoir bottom, the water distiller shuts down by itself though, reserving about 5 – 10ml of water in it. The water left over is important to reduce the frequency of cleaning the distiller as well as prolonging its lifespan.

Furthermore, the distiller has to prevent likely danger. The most apparent one being under the cover of the reservoir. Without this cover on the distiller, the machine would not come on.

In every 24 hours, the Waterlovers 2800MKII can distill about 5.84 gallons. This is also equivalent to 22.4 litres. The capacity of the glass jug is 0.73 gallons while that of the reservoir is 304 gallons.

The glass is a 4 mm Borosilicate type while the reservoir is made of stainless steel. The water distiller comes with a one year limited warranty.

What makes it stand out?

• Advanced safety sensors
• Energy saving feature
• Large capacity

Which disadvantages must you keep in mind?

• 1500W power output

Unlike most other water distillers, this unit from Waterwise comes with an electronic display. That may sound unnecessary at first, but it opens up a world of possibilities. Perhaps the most important is that it enables you to set the distiller on a timer so that it can, for example, turn on and begin distilling water overnight so you have fresh water when you wake up. It also gives you information about the filter lifespan, which is great for those who will otherwise forget to change the carbon filters after several months of use.

One cycle on this distiller is 4 liters, comparable with other manual distillers for home use. Yet, this distiller is oddly shaped and takes up more space than comparable distillers and users report that it is difficult to clean.

While the interior of the distiller is fully stainless steel, those who are picky about their water coming into contact with plastic may not appreciate the plastic carafe. However, the carafe is BPA-free and the advantage of plastic over glass is that it is shatterproof. This distiller has the benefit of incorporating carbon filters into the distillation process (like, for example, water filter pithcers), which are more effective at removing volatile organic carbon compounds and give the resulting water a better taste.

What stands out?

• Electronic display for timed start
• Stainless steel interior and carbon filters

What cons did we manage to find?

• More expensive compared to similar distillers
• Plastic carafe
• Bulky design

This distiller is great for those who need a large volume of distilled water, but don’t want to make the jump to an industrial-scale automatic distiller. The distiller is capable of producing 3 liters every 3.5 hours, which is much faster than comparable distillers for home use. However, it achieves this by venting volatile organic compounds more quickly from the steam chamber so that they do not mix back in with the steam prior to condensation.

This distiller is fully food-grade stainless steel, both on the interior and exterior. Some people appreciate this design as it completely eliminates plastic, even though most plastic exterior water distillers do not allow water to contact the plastic. The glass carafe invites storing distilled water, as it is about the same size as an inexpensive glass mason jar.

The main downside to this distiller is the price – it is more than twice the cost of comparable distillers. Given that the feature set does not result in purer water or highly reduced energy use, it is difficult to justify this price unless you are determined to have a fully stainless steel unit.

Why did it make our list?

• Fully stainless steel
• Fast distilled water production

What is not ideal about it?

• Pricey
• Some people prefer glass nozzle to stainless steel after condensation