UV MINIRACK CHALLENGE! Viqua vs HUM Water Care – Which One is Best for Your Family?

So you’ve made the wise choice to invest in an Ultraviolet Disinfection System to make sure your well or lake water is safe for your family at your home or cottage? Great decision!

You’ve also decided that a Minirack is the best way to go as you are looking for an all-in-one, easy to install system — great choice again!

Perhaps you’ve even done some research on sizing — excellent! If not, check out this video on how to calculate flow rate before reading on. 

Next up, the grand debate… Which brand of UV system should you go with?

As a Certified Water Specialist (CWS) and Certified Installer (CI) for over 20 years, I’ve installed and tested all of them and am going to share my recommendations with you here today!

 

COMPARISON CHALLENGE: VIQUA vs HUM WATER CARE UV SYSTEM

Considering brand quality, performance, and cost in our comparison challenge, I can easily narrow down my recommended selections to two preferred brands right off the hop.  So let’s go ahead and do a comparison challenge between Viqua and HUM Water Care Ultraviolet Disinfection Systems to see which one is the best choice for your family!

SIMILARITIES: VIQUA vs HUM WATER CARE

1. We are a dealer for both of these companies and offer both systems in our Midland store as well as our e-commerce site.
2. Both Viqua and HUM Water Care are Made in North America — Canada, actually.
3. Both come 90% assembled right out of the box, especially with the filter housings installed on the manifold and pre-plumbed.
4. Both come in several sizes of flow rates and pre filters, although the UV Dynamics product range is much broader.
5. Both are non-proprietary products so you can get the replacement lamps and filters from us, but they’re also readily available from just about any other water treatment supply company in North America.
6. Both have a 10-year warranty on the stainless steel chamber, 3 years on the controller, and a 1-year warranty on the lamps.

 

DIFFERENCES: VIQUA vs HUM WATER CARE UV SYSTEM

1. 

   CAPACITY: When it comes to capacity between these two models, the UV Dynamics system is rated at 10 gpm while the Viqua one is rated as 12 gpm. Winner round one: Viqua! It’s good to note, however, that most applications typically only require the 8-10 gallons per minute flow rate.

2. EASE OF INSTALLATION: The big difference is that the Viqua one is not reversible. If your water flows left to right the installation is far neater and easier than if your water flows right to left. The UV Dynamics system is reversible, so either way works. Winner round two: UV Dynamics!
3. COMPLETENESS: Viqua’s system comes with the filters in the box, while the UV Dynamics minirack system does not. You need to order them separately. Winner round three: Viqua!
4. PRODUCT RANGE: The product range for Viqua is from 1 gpm up to 22 gpm in 6 increments, while the UV Dynamics starts at 6 and goes to 20 gpm and there are 6 increments but far more diversity in pre-filter configurations. Round four: a draw!
5. EASE OF MAINTENANCE: Both units are quite easy to maintain but the Viqua’s 3-piece filter housings are easier to use (although it uses the larger 20” High Flow carbon filter which is very heavy when changing the filters). It’s also a little easier and more intuitive to reset the lamp timer on the Viqua unit. Winner round five: Viqua!
6. FEATURES: With regard to features, the Viqua system comes out ahead. The controller gives you far more information as to when the lamp will need replacement and even more info if you go with the top of the line model, including showing the replacement lamp model numbers and more info. The UV Dynamics system gives you the same info but in a far more analog way. Winner round six: Viqua!
7. LONGEVITY: My rating on longevity of both of these units comes from my experience in maintaining these for our customers. Those extra features on the Viqua unit make the controller less reliable, which means it needs to be replaced more often. Winner round seven, UV Dynamics!
8. INVESTMENT: Those extra features with the Viqua unit come at a cost, so investment is the big difference! Currently, this Viqua unit is $365 more initially but it will also cost you an extra $3,000 to operate over its life of 20 years! Wow – big difference! Why? Because the replacement filters, lamps, and controllers are far more expensive and that really adds up over the life of the unit. Winner round eight, UV Dynamics!

 

There you have it! In our comparison challenge, the Viqua unit won 4 rounds compared to the UV Dynamics unit by HUM Water Care which won 3, though not all rounds are weighted equally.

The bottom line? Whichever you choose, both units will accomplish the same goal so there really is no “wrong” answer here. 

VIQUA: If you prefer the big name brand and the extra features of the Viqua system and can live with the extra $3500 investment over the life of the system then Viqua is your best choice.

HUM WATER CARE: If you prefer a lower initial investment and much lower annual costs and don’t mind the fewer bells and whistles, then the HUM Water Care UV Dynamics unit is the better choice for you.

Wondering which unit is in MY house? I chose UV Dynamics by HUM Water Care.

Which one will you choose?

 

To continue, click this link to check out videos from Gary the Water Guy on how to maintain and install both of these systems and I’ll see you there!