I purchased and installed this filter specifically for my fridge: Because my fridge has a very proprietary GE filter that is supposed to last 6 months at a time but keeps getting clogged with sediment after only 3 weeks of use (and I can't afford replacing filters at $55 a piece every 3 weeks), I installed this Culligan filter to help pre-filter the water before it gets to my fridge's more expensive filter. It did do the trick and didn't seem to drop the water pressure at all. Since it's only supplying water to my fridge, I expect the Culligan filter inserts to last much, much longer than the six months it's rated for when used for a whole house. This was a pain to install because of the way it was designed, but it was well worth it at the price. It would have been a bit easier to install if the manufacturer had used something smaller than 1-inch threaded openings for the inlet and outlet -- it took me a couple of hours at my local big orange DIY store to find the right combination of fittings that would go from my 3/4 or 1/2 inch copper pipes in my house to the inlet and then from the outlet to the right fittings to fit my fridge water/icemaker water supply hose. I did find the right parts in the end as can be seen in the photo(s). Another problem with the 1-inch threaded fitting is that because it's such a large fitting, the threads are comparably large and coarse, so it takes a lot of teflon tape and a large amount of force to make the fittings between components water-tight. After installation, I did have an extremely slow leak (a drop every half hour) at one of the threaded points; fortunately for me, a bit more elbow grease to further tighten up the fittings stopped the leak. I'll have to keep an eye on my connections over the next few days after installation to ensure a zero leak installation, and I recommend others do the same with these types of fittings. I was hesitant to use too much force to tighten the fittings because even though Culligan claims the threaded joints are enforced with metal, the connections are still plastic and can break if too much force is used. For those without the skills, I'd recommend hiring a plumber to install the filter. The clear filter cartridge housing was also really difficult to unscrew out-of-the-box and required using the included tool to open. (You can see the black plastic tool hanging next to my filter in the photos.) It's not stated in the installation instructions, but for putting the housing back on, it's recommended in the filter cartridge instructions to only hand tighten. I only hand tightened as advised in the cartridge's instructions, and there was no leak even after 24 hours of use/water running through the filter/housing. Jut make sure to follow the instructions about the O-ring and silicone grease. The installation instructions did mention using silicone grease on the included O-ring when installing the filter housing, so I purchased some from my local big orange home DIY store. Again, no leak at the O-ring for me. The silicone grease I used was for use on potable water connections, and it took only a tiny bit to completely cover the O-ring with my fingers. Replacement O-rings themselves are available here on Amazon, and I purchased some extras because one of the other reviewers warned that his/her O-ring had gotten damaged during installation. Prime shipping got the extra O-rings to me in just a day or two, but I ended up not using them for my installation and will save them next to the filter for future use. The filter's Filter-Off-Bypass valve does work, but it's a pain in the behind to turn by hand without a tool. The valve takes a bit of strength to turn even with the included tool. I suspect that the tool itself will break eventually because it seems to be a bit flimsy for what it was designed to do: for example, instead of being made out of a solid piece of plastic, it's a semi-hollow frame, and I was really afraid it would snap off at the thinnest point every time I used it to turn the filter's valve from setting to setting. I did check that one of my local big box stores do carry universal filter housing tools of a similar design, so I think I should at least be able to open up the filter housing to replace the filter if the original tool breaks in half -- not sure yet where I'll be able to find a similar tool to change the settings on the valve, however, as the valve handle is a very unique shape. I do think that this filter along with similar looking filters from some of the other big-brands are all made by some third company that these more well-known companies purchase from and slaps their brands on. E.g., GE and Dupont both make whole-house filters at around the same price point as this Culligan filter but with their own brands -- the big difference between the others and this Culligan is that this one has the Filter-Off-Bypass valve, although Culligan also has a version without the valve like the other brands. One big plus of all this is that the filter cartridges seem to all be of the same sizes, so I won't have to worry as much about finding replacement cartridges in the distant future (decades from now) if Culligan decides to stop selling these filters. Overall, I do recommend this filter. I ended up spending almost $50 in parts and supplies to make a proper all-copper-and-brass, soldered connection to my water supply line, but the filter and filter cartridge themselves together cost less than $100. At that price, it was well worth it to get cleaner water -- and to save me lots more in the cost of replacing more expensive filters for my fridge.
