Product Description

Elegant, modern 3-quart pitcher Space-efficient shape fits nicely in refrigerator Soft grip, contoured handle Flip-top lid for easy refilling Uses a BRITA pitcher filter Reduces chlorine taste and odor Removes sediment and other harmful substances. Includes pitcher and one filter. Tested and certified by NSF International

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #684 in Home Improvement
• Brand: Brita
• Model: 42378
• Released on: 2006-02-08
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 2.73 pounds

Features

• Contains 1 pitcher and 1 filter
• Capacity: 10 - 8 Ounce Glasses
• Flip-top for easy refilling
• Easy grip handle
• Certified to Reduce chlorine,sediment 98% lead and more

Amazon.com Review
Eliminate 99% of the lead and reduce chlorine, mercury, and sediment in drinking water with Brita's Magnum II Filtration Pitcher. Larger than the standard Brita pitcher, it holds up to 80 ounces of clean, filtered water. Just pop the filter cylinder in the white plastic water reservoir, fill with cold tap water, and in just minutes the pitcher's brimming with healthy, great tasting water. Each filter--one comes with the pitcher and you can order others--lasts for 40 gallons of water. As an added feature, a filter replacement indicator relays when it's time for a new one. The sleek, clear plastic pitcher sports an easy-grip handle, while the white plastic lid features two openings: one for filling the pitcher and one for pouring. --Marianne Painter

From the Manufacturer
Perfect for the more active individual or family, this larger pitcher has an elegant design and looks great on the dinner table. Keep cleaner, great-tasting water at your fingertips on the counter or dinner table. Refrigerate first for chilled, refreshing Brita filtered water.

Customer Reviews

Excellent, fresh-tasting water but a few "gotchas"
First off, I have to say Brita's filters make tap water taste really great. We had this with us in Germany, where the water is really disgusting right from the tap. That water was completely undrinkable but the Brita pitcher made liters and liters of fresh-tasting water that rivaled the expensive bottled French stuff. We felt it was well worth the real estate it took up in our typically shoebox sized Euro-fridge. And the pitcher is easy on the eyes, with nice, sleek styling.

There are a few "gotcha's" with this pitcher. For one thing, the small cover on the spout is fragile. If you drop the lid (easy to do if wet) it will break. This is minor as the pitcher will work fine without it. The end-of-filter life is a timer, not a sensor of filter quality. If you go through gallons of water, the filter will expire before the indicator tells you. You can tell this by the bad taste. You have to watch that the filter does not dry out, so you should not leave the pitcher dry when you empty it out. This takes some discipline from the kids (and dare I say, adults) to fill it up immediately.

The Brita does filter relatively quickly. However, if you need more than 3/4 of a gallon at a time of water, or you go through a lot of water (we do), you may want a sink filter or an in-line filter instead. But for cold, delicious water at a reasonable cost, you can't beat this pitcher. We ended up buying a sink filter instead and retired our pitcher, but it really did well by us for quite a while.

Surprisingly disappointing design
After 8 years with my Brita Classic pitcher, I decided to get a newer, larger model with the built-in "smart timer" feature. After using it for about 3 weeks now, I am very disappointed in the overall design, especially considering how perfect the original Brita was. The smart timer feature is handy -- it's a small digital indicator on the top of the cap that tells you when it's time for a refill; this should work better (& cleaner) than the previous "analog" mechanism used with some Brita filters. But, that's about it as far as the good goes.

If you fill up the basin nearly all the way, water sometimes leaks out the back of the unit from the top of the handle (and gets onto your refrigerator shelf). Much more annoying, though, is the little flap that rests over the spout. Presumably, this is there to keep refrigerator odors from entering the unit and affecting the taste of the water. However, most of the time when you pour, the flap doesn't properly open up (it sort of sticks shut); this causes the water to pour sloppily or even to suddenly gush out if the flap happens to come un-stuck in mid-pour (more spills). Finally, if you tilt the unit enough to pour out the last drop of water, occasionally the Brita filter itself dislodges from its slot and thumps into the cover of the unit so that you need to re-seat it.

Given the great success I had with the previous unit, I was very disappointed with the overall design of this more recent version.

Love the filter, buy the Brita 2-Gallon UltraMax instead
If you can spare a little more room in your fridge I HIGHLY recommend buying the 2-Gallon UltraMax instead. It is also by Brita but the lies flat on the shelf and has a easy to use tap. MUCH MUCH better for kids and anyone else who has trouble gracefully lifting 3 quarts of liquid with one hand (read: most everyone). With this design you simply open the door and fill using the tap. With the pitcher models, the tilt and weight tend to be awkward and I think spill or overpour about 30% of the time -- especially in the middle of the night. The Ultra Max hold about 2 1/2 times the water (less refilling) and costs only $3 more.