$40 is an absurd price for a water filter

[zahc]

I have a kitchenaide refrigerator that uses a filter that costs $40, and supposedly needs replaced every 6 months.

I think I'm going to take the current filter out, cut it open and dump out the carbon and filter media, and turn it into a blank that just routes the tap water through.

And then it will split open and flood my house, all because I tried to save $40.

[Nick1911]

That depends.  

What's it made of?  What fittings does it have on the ends?  
...
What kind of price can Jim147 offer them for, with access to wholesale direct factory parts?

NB: I agree that the price is insane.  They have a captive market, probably be designing something proprietary, so they can get away with it. 

[zahc]

I haven't found them cheaper than $40 anywhere. The fittings are as proprietary as it gets.

[Nick1911]

I haven't found them cheaper than $40 anywhere. The fittings are as proprietary as it gets.

Well.  If it's stainless steel or aluminum, I'd seal with TIG.  If it's copper or brass - plumbing solder.  If it's plastic, probably try to replicate the fitting out of aluminum on the lathe and mill.  You might be able to seal up a thermoplastic with some form of heat sealer, but I doubt the reliablilty against 50-70 psi chlorinated water.  Too much risk.

[zxcvbob]

Can you drill holes into the media thru the inlet and outlet?  Or if they are in-line, drill straight thru from one to the other?

[zahc]

No, no. They are too clever for that. It has two non-coaxial, non-inline, plastic molted probes that fit into the socket.

[Nick1911]

Ewww.

Okay, I'd probably just mod the refrigerator to bypass that.  Internally, it's GOT to be using lines that can be spliced.

[zxcvbob]

How about $44 for two of em?  http://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-4396710P-KitchenAid-Cyst-Reducing-Refrigerator/dp/B001AAEG8G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1328153460&sr=8-2

[Brad Johnson]

Amazon to the rescue yet again.

Also, if you'll put a charcoal pre-filter filter in the fridge supply line you can stretch the in-fridge filter replacement to almost a year.  Using RO filtered water for the supply will make the in-fridge filters last almost indefinitely.

Brad

[Marnoot]

If it's anything like my fridge, you can just take it out and leave it out. Mine just bypasses the filter-housing if the filter is missing. Might be worth checking.