# Brita UltraMax Dispenser # Brita UltraMax Dispenser: The 27 Cup Tank and the 40 Gallon Part **strong** It's the biggest tank the brand builds, and the cartridge behind it is *em*: 40 gallons, or 2 months, whichever arrives first. The tank is a container. The filter is the part you buy again, and the two of them are measured in different units. [UltraMax Dispenser Specs](#specs) [UltraMax Dispenser Scorecard](#score) [UltraMax Dispenser Fit](#who) [UltraMax Dispenser Trade-offs](#proscons) [UltraMax Dispenser Running Cost](#cost) [UltraMax Dispenser Compared](#compare) [UltraMax Dispenser FAQ](#faq) [UltraMax Dispenser: Where It Lands](#verdict) **strong** This article contains affiliate links. **strong** at *em*. **strong** retail prices move daily, so we quote ranges and send you to the live figure on the listing. **strong** *em* Every number on this page traces to manufacturer documentation or a certification record, held against the claims on the box. No free products, no paid placements, no manufacturer relationships. Scoring rules are public on our [methodology page](/methodology). [](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G84Y711W?tag=waterfilternerd-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) ## Brita UltraMax Dispenser: 27 Cups, One Cartridge The record we hold lists this as a bundle: the dispenser, a locking lid, a pour spigot and a pack of filters. **strong** It's about 14 inches long, 10 tall and 5 deep, so it wants a *em* rather than a door bin. **strong** One slot takes the Standard part at 40 gallons, the newer Plus part on a 60 day clock, and the Elite part at 120. *em* They don't all treat the same water, and the [Brita lineup](/brita-review) counts the family on one shelf. What that adds up to at your tap: the tank decides how often you walk to the sink, and the cartridge decides what's left in the glass. Pick the body by the pour. Buy the filter by the standard. - Tank: 27 cups, or a little under 2 gallons, behind a lid that lifts off in one piece for a refill. - Footprint: about 14 inches long and 10 tall, a shelf body rather than a door bin. - Cartridge: the Standard part is rated 40 gallons and the Elite part 120, and both drop into this slot. - Indicator: a sticker on the lid rather than an electronic light, so the reminder is a date you write yourself. Think of it this way **strong** That's about 24 tankfuls before the cartridge is spent, so the jug is the easy half and the filter does the counting. The Brita Line by Tank Size Bars showing the tank size across the Brita line: a 27 cup dispenser, 10 cup jugs and a 6 cup body. The Brita Line by Tank Size Cups per body - 0 9 18 27 UltraMax dispenser Tahoe and Elite jugs Small 6 Cup 27 cups 10 cups 6 cups The dispenser holds about 3 of the 10 cup jugs this shelf also sells. Figure 1. The dispenser is the biggest body Brita builds, and the cartridge slot behind it is the same one the jugs use. Twenty seven cups? Open the UltraMax sheet ## Brita UltraMax Dispenser Score: 4 of 7 Seven criteria, 1 point each, no partial credit. It's scored as it ships, with the 60 day part in the box, and a different cartridge moves one line and leaves the other six where they sit. The 3 zeros are the ones this index keeps returning. The tank is the least interesting half of this page. The same three lines sit at zero on the Tahoe review, and the reason is the cartridge rather than the body. CriterionPointsEvidence Certified removal scope0 pointsThe sheet behind the standard part covers 5 substances and carries no lead entry, and this body carries no 401 entry either Certification and test transparency0 pointsA data sheet with standards, a capacity and a full reduction table, plus no certificate or listing number to key in anywhere on it Filter life and rated capacity1 point40 gallons and a 60 day clock, both published by the maker, which is more than most of the shelf will say out loud Cost per gallon1 pointAbout 13 cents on the 3 pack basis, the cheap end of the pitcher aisle Flow rate and pressure drop0 pointsNo flow rate for the pitcher, for the cartridge or for the sheet, so a 1.7 gallon fill is unpriced in time Install and footprint1 pointNo plumbing and no tools, and about a foot of fridge shelf instead of a cabinet Maintenance burden1 point6 changes a year at the household figure, the same rhythm every pitcher on this shelf runs The zeros are 3 different things: paperwork, scope and time. The transparency line is the strangest of the three: Brita prints a reduction table with percentages on it and still leaves readers without a number to look up. A sheet with standards on it isn't the same thing as a listing. Want the lead listing? The Elite pitcher ## Who the Brita UltraMax Dispenser Fits The dispenser fits a household that pours for more than one person and wants cold water without holding the fridge door open. The tank does the work of about 3 jugs. Same cartridge, different body. It also suits a kitchen where the filter lives in the fridge door and nowhere else. It doesn't fit a glass a day. A tank this size sits half full, and the calendar retires the cartridge anyway. The 6 cup jug runs the same part through a smaller body. #### This Is Not Your Dispenser If You pour for one. The big tank sits most of the way full, and 2 months retires the filter whatever you drank. - Lead is the reason you're shopping. The pack in the bundle isn't the part that carries the lead listing. - You want the reminder to think for you. This lid takes a sticker, not the electronic light the Elite body runs. - Your fridge shelf is short. About 14 inches of shelf is the price of the big tank, and a 10 cup jug takes half of it. The way I see it **strong** At 1.7 gallons, lifting the body to pour means hoisting about 17 pounds, and the spigot is why you never have to. Months a Cartridge Covers, by Tier Figure showing the filter life of the 3 cartridge tiers: the Elite part covers 6 months, and the Plus and Standard parts cover 2. Months a Cartridge Covers, by Tier Filter life, 3 parts - 0 2 4 6 Brita Elite Brita Plus Brita Standard 6 months 2 months 2 months The Standard and Plus parts share the same tag; the Elite part runs 6 months and 120 gallons. Figure 2. Only the Elite part changes the calendar. The other two run the same 2 month clock the bundle ships. Six cups enough? The Elite in a small body ## What the Brita UltraMax Dispenser Gets Right The strength is a tank that earns its shelf space. The weakness is the box it arrives with: a big body and a short interval, so the capacity outruns the filter. That's the trade. #### What You Get 27 cups in one fill, which is about 6 times what a full 10 cup jug pours before it runs dry. - A locking lid and a precision spigot, so a full tank pours without being lifted. - One slot that takes all 3 cartridge tiers, so the body outlives every filter it will ever hold. - A footprint of about 14 inches on a shelf, which is smaller than the 30 cup dispensers beside it. #### What It Costs You - A sticker on the lid instead of the electronic indicator the Elite body carries. - The pack in the box runs the same clock, so the bundle is a supply rather than a longer filter. - No flow rate anywhere, so the time a 1.7 gallon fill takes isn't a number you can shop on. - The zero on transparency is the same one the whole index carries, and the Elite pitcher misses it too. [Keep the 3 pack for this tank](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004SU18?tag=waterfilternerd-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) ## What the UltraMax Dispenser Costs per Gallon **strong** The honest comparison on this shelf is the cartridge divided by the gallons it treats. *em* - The Standard part: about $5 a cartridge on the 3 pack band, against a 40 gallon rating, which lands near 13 cents a gallon. - The bundle: the dispenser and a 6 month filter pack sit in the $50 to $60 band, so the tank is most of the money. - The Elite part: 120 gallons on a 6 month clock, about 2 changes a year, which lands near 15 cents a gallon. - By the glass: 40 gallons is about 640 eight ounce glasses, so the short part pours a glass for about a penny and a half. A gallon a day is about 365 gallons a year. **strong** Pour half as much and the calendar wins instead. *em* the tank and the filter are sold as one bundle, and only one of them is the thing you replace. **strong** Put another way **strong** Three cartridges in the box with a 2 month tag each is 6 months of the same part, and a bigger tank doesn't stretch any of them. [Price six months of cartridges](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004SU18?tag=waterfilternerd-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) About 6 cartridges a year on the 60 day clock, near 13 cents a gallon. ## The UltraMax Dispenser vs the Field **strong** Standards and rated life come off the certification trail rather than the copy on a listing. Bands rather than live figures, and the points column carries each part's own page score, so *em*. PartClassCertifiedRated lifeUpfront bandPoints **strong**Dispenser**strong****strong****strong****strong** Brita Tahoe 10 Cup (B0BSHJJJGX)Pitcher42 alone40 gallons$50 to $604/7 Brita Small 6 Cup (B09W4PLVQP)Pitcherstandard 42a 40 gallon partunder $204/7 Brita Everyday Elite Pitcher (B0B3BM3Z94)Pitcher42, 53, 401120 gal$40 to $505/7 PUR Plus 30 Cup Dispenser (B07CRSK5KX)Dispenser42, 53none published$40 to $50not scored **strong** The two big bodies here run the same 40 gallon part, and the only row naming 401 is the Elite jug. The [pitcher roundup](/best-pitcher-filters) sorts the same bodies on the same lines. **strong** Fit the biggest body you can. Let the filter handle the rest. [Compare it with the 10 cup jug](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSHJJJGX?tag=waterfilternerd-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) The same 40 gallon part in a jug that takes half the shelf. ## UltraMax Dispenser Questions **strong** It's every 2 months, or every 40 gallons, whichever lands first. The bundle ships 3 cartridges, so the box is about 6 months of the same part. A gallon a day hits the gallon figure first. **strong** It's the Elite cartridge that gets you there, not the tank. The body is model OB24, and the maker's own sheet puts OB24 on the IAPMO lead list when the Elite filter is inside it. *em* **strong** 27 cups, which is 216 ounces, or a little under 2 gallons, at a time. That's a hair under 3 of the 10 cup jugs this brand also sells. **strong** It's the same cartridge in a bigger container, so the water is identical and the trips to the sink aren't. The dispenser divides a 40 gallon part into about 24 pours, where a 10 cup jug divides it into about 64. **strong** The slot fits the Standard part, the newer Plus part and the Elite part, so shop by *em* rather than the listing. The Standard and Plus parts run the same 2 month tag, and the Elite one runs 6 months at 120 gallons. ## Where the UltraMax Dispenser Lands **strong** That isn't a flaw so much as the trade: fewer trips to the sink, and the same 2 month tag, so the body is the upgrade and *em*. The pick is the [Elite part](/brita-everyday-elite-review) for anyone who wants the lead listing, because the body is already on the maker's own list once that cartridge is inside it. *em* For a fridge that pours for a crowd this is the right body and the wrong box. Pair it with the Elite part and the same tank covers 6 months at 120 gallons. The [water filter index](/best-water-filters) holds every body on this shelf. **strong** [Choose the biggest Brita body](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G84Y711W?tag=waterfilternerd-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) ### The Tank Is Bigger Than the Filter The big tank pours nearly 2 gallons at a time, and the part behind it is rated for 40. *em* [Check the UltraMax price band](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G84Y711W?tag=waterfilternerd-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) ## Standards the UltraMax Dispenser Names **strong** The aesthetic effects standard, covering chlorine, taste, odor and particulate class. The standard part in this bundle names it, which makes it *em*. **strong** The health effects standard, certified per listing, covering lead, mercury, cadmium and named compounds. The body here reaches it *em*, not through the tank. **strong** The certifying body on the Elite sheet. It lists the pitcher bodies covered for lead, and this dispenser's code, OB24, is one of the 9 it names. **strong** OB24 is the dispenser body, OB03 is the Standard cartridge and OB06 is the Elite one. Shop the code on the carton, because the tank names change faster than the codes do. ## More on the UltraMax Dispenser - Best Pitcher Water Filters: the class page this review links up to, 18 bodies scored on the same 7 lines. - Brita Water Filters Review: the brand page, 9 records and the 2 cartridge families behind this tank. - Best Water Filters: the hub above all of this, 136 records on one scorecard. - The Nerd Stamp Methodology: how the 1 to 7 rating is built and what each line asks for.