As a water distiller I give it 5 stars; I dont use the charcoal filter because to me it defeats the purpose of distilling water. With TDS meter I see 000 which it should be.I bought this to replace another brand which didnt even last 2 months, and this one, although they pretty much look the same, has better attention to detail for where the controls are.The included glass pitcher at first seemed a bit strange, but now I appreciate the silicon ring on the bottom to prevent breakage, along with the seal for the pitcher lid, which is stainless steel.The only negative is that you have to line up the pitcher with the distiller perfectly, otherwise water will spill everywhere when it comes out of the distiller. This also holds true if someone accidentally bumps the pitcher while it is distilling. In short, the pitcher cap for distilling is a bit too precise.