Drinking Water Systems

Which drinking water system is right for you?

All four systems below remove bacteria and parasitic cysts — real protection, not just better taste. Where they differ is how much further they go, whether they need electricity, and how much water they use to get there.

System	Price	Install	Electricity	Water use	Min. pressure
Evans 3-Stage Ultrafiltration System	$6,900	90-minute	None	No waste	20+ PSI
Evans 5-Stage Ultrafiltration System	$7,800	2-hour	None	No waste	20+ PSI
Purikor 5-Stage Reverse Osmosis System	$9,600	2-hour	1 outlet	Wastes water	15+ PSI
Purikor 6-Stage Reverse Osmosis + UV System	$11,500	2.5-hour	2 outlets	Wastes water	15+ PSI

What each system removes

All four physically block bacteria and parasitic cysts the same way — a membrane too fine for them to pass. Viruses, dissolved solids, and taste are where the two technologies genuinely diverge.

Removes	Evans 3-Stage	Evans 5-Stage	Purikor 5-Stage	Purikor 6-Stage
Bacteria & cysts	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Viruses	Partial	Partial	Yes	Yes
Dissolved solids	—	—	Yes	Yes
Microplastics	Partial	Partial	Yes	Yes
Taste polish	—	Yes	Yes	Yes
Final-stage UV	—	—	—	Yes

“Partial” means physically reduced by size but not a guaranteed barrier — see our UF vs. RO article for what that means in practice. “Final-stage UV” isn't about the membrane — both Purikor systems already remove bacteria, cysts, and viruses there. It's about the short stretch after: purified water sitting in a tank and passing through a post-filter on its way to your faucet. The 6-Stage's UV lamp treats that stretch too; the 5-Stage doesn't.

How to choose

No outlet under your sink?

Go with an Evans UF system (3-Stage or 5-Stage). Both run purely on water pressure — no pump, no electricity, and they keep working through a power outage. The Purikor 5-Stage needs one outlet for its pump, and the 6-Stage RO + UV needs two — a second one for the UV lamp.

Want dissolved solids removed?

Ultrafiltration removes bacteria and cysts but can't touch dissolved solids like heavy metals and fluoride. For that, you need reverse osmosis — the Purikor 5-Stage or 6-Stage.

Want the strongest protection available?

Both Purikor systems remove bacteria, cysts and viruses at the membrane. The 6-Stage adds a UV lamp after the storage tank and post-filter, covering the short stretch downstream of the membrane that filtration can't reach.