Our Hydronix ICF-10Q Quick Connect Inline Coconut Filter is an inline water filter for refrigerator lines with quarter inch quick connect fittings. It goes on the water line that feeds your refrigerator or ice maker, and the water at the door and the ice in the bin come out filtered. We also stock cartridges for a line built for female pipe thread fittings in our inline water filters collection.
An inline cartridge filters the line that feeds the door and the ice maker
An inline water filter is a sealed cartridge that installs directly on the water line. Water enters one end and leaves the other end filtered. At the end of its rated life, you replace the whole cartridge, because it is one sealed unit. Most inline filters go on the supply line to a refrigerator or an ice maker, or on the line to a drinking water faucet.
The Hydronix ICF-10Q and the ICF-10 filter water for refrigerators and automatic ice makers, and both cartridges also serve reverse osmosis systems. Pentair builds its inline filters, the Pentek IC-101L among them, for refrigerator and ice maker lines, where they reduce chlorine taste and odor.
When your inline cartridge feeds a filtered water faucet, run the tap for at least 10 seconds before you use the water for drinking or cooking. That first draw matters most on a day when nobody has used the tap yet.
The fitting on your line picks the cartridge
Check the fitting type and the tubing size on the product page against the line in your home before you order. If the tube pushes straight into each end of your old cartridge, it has quick connect fittings. If threaded fittings screw into each end, it has female pipe thread fittings.
| Cartridge | Fitting | Micron rating | Rated life |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydronix ICF-10Q | Quarter inch quick connect | 5 micron | 1 year or 2,000 gallons |
| Hydronix ICF-10 | Quarter inch female pipe thread | 5 micron | 1 year or 2,000 gallons |
| Omnipure SCL12 | Quarter inch female pipe thread | 10 micron | 6 months or 2,000 gallons |
| Pentek IC-101L | Quarter inch female pipe thread | 0.5 micron | 2,500 gallons, and at least every 12 months |
A quick connect line takes the ICF-10Q. The table has three cartridges for a line built for female pipe thread fittings, and they differ in micron rating and rated life.
When you replace a cartridge, the part number printed on the old one is the surest guide to the new one. If that label has worn off, measure the old cartridge. Then compare its length and the width across it with the sizes below.
Hydronix ICF-10Q and ICF-10
Both Hydronix cartridges measure 2 by 10 inches and use granular coconut shell carbon. Their spring design reduces water channeling. Each one has a maximum flow of 0.5 gallons per minute and a maximum pressure of 125 psi. Both work in water from 35 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Our Hydronix ICF-10 Inline Coconut Filter is the ICF-10Q with quarter inch female pipe thread fittings.
Omnipure SCL12
Our Omnipure SCL12 Water Filter uses a coconut shell carbon block with a scale inhibitor, and it has quarter inch female pipe thread fittings. It measures 2.5 by 12 inches. The SCL12 is 2 inches longer than either Hydronix cartridge. It is half an inch wider across than each of the other three cartridges.
Pentek IC-101L
Our Pentek IC-101L Inline Water Filter, part number 155656-06, has quarter inch female pipe thread fittings and measures 2 by 10.5 inches. The IC-101L is half an inch longer than either Hydronix cartridge. Inside its polypropylene body and cap, it uses coconut shell granular activated carbon, and it includes a polypropylene pre-filter and post-filter. Its flow rate is 0.75 gallons per minute. It works at 30 to 125 psi, in water from 40 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
A lower micron rating catches smaller particles
A micron is one millionth of a meter. A micron rating describes the size of the particles a filter catches, and a lower rating targets smaller particles. The smallest particles the eye can see measure roughly 40 to 100 microns. All four ratings in the table fall far below that 40 micron mark.
A fine filter can clog sooner in water with a lot of sediment, and that can reduce the flow.
Each cartridge is rated for six months to a year
At one steady daily draw, each cartridge reaches its gallon limit on the day it reaches its time limit. A Hydronix cartridge reaches 2,000 gallons in one year at about 5.5 gallons a day. On the IC-101L, about 6.8 gallons a day adds up to 2,500 gallons in 12 months. The SCL12 needs about 11 gallons a day to reach 2,000 gallons in 6 months. When your line draws more than that each day, the cartridge reaches its gallon limit before its time limit.
Replace the IC-101L at least every 12 months, or sooner when the taste and the odor return to the water.
The SCL12 and the IC-101L are certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 42
Chlorine reduction comes from activated carbon, and all four cartridges use coconut shell carbon. NSF tested and certified the SCL12 under NSF/ANSI Standard 42 for chlorine reduction and for taste and odor reduction. The IC-101L has NSF/ANSI Standard 42 certification for the reduction of chlorine taste and odor. Both Hydronix cartridges are component certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 42.
Use these cartridges on water that is microbiologically safe. Water that is unsafe or of unknown quality needs adequate disinfection before or after the cartridge.
The change takes three steps
- Shut off the water supply to the line.
- Disconnect the line from the old cartridge.
- Seat the new cartridge with the flow arrow on its body pointing the way the water runs.
On the ICF-10Q, push a scratch free tube end into each quick connect fitting until it bottoms out. On a cartridge with female pipe thread fittings, wrap the threaded fittings with Teflon tape before you install them. Then tighten each threaded fitting firm.
The IC-101L has a supply side and an appliance side. When you seat it, connect its supply side to the line from your water supply.
Flush the new cartridge and check each fitting
- Turn the water supply back on.
- Run water through the new cartridge before you use the water.
- Check each fitting for a leak.
- If a fitting leaks, check that the tubing and the fitting are tight.
On the IC-101L, let the water run for 5 minutes. Wait an hour. Then flush it for another 5 minutes to clear out the carbon fines.
Even after that flush, the carbon can resettle, and the first trays of ice may come out discolored. If that happens, discard the ice from the first few trays.
The IC-101L is for cold water use only. Protect it from freezing, because a frozen cartridge can crack and leak.
A refrigerator with its own cartridge takes that cartridge
We stock built-in refrigerator cartridges in our refrigerator water filters by brand collection. Order by the part number printed on the cartridge your refrigerator uses now.
Order the cartridge that matches your fitting
Subscribe and Save ships the next cartridge on the interval you choose, and it arrives when the old one is due. You can adjust the interval, pause a shipment, skip a delivery or cancel. Call us at 855-789-3278 when you want help matching a cartridge to your line.
Order the Hydronix ICF-10Q Quick Connect Inline Coconut Filter for a quick connect line, or order from our inline water filters collection for a line built for female pipe thread fittings.