Ro/Di question

[brc0488]

ok so i finally set up my unit but my question is do you always have to have the waste water valve open...It just seems to me that having it open all the time is not practicle b/c it wastes so much water? Thanks

[timrandlerv10]

do you want to keep the 'waste water'?

[AZDesertRat]

Describe your system. Does it have an autoshutoff valve? Do you have it plumbed in permanent or portable?
If you are asking does it have to waste continously when you are making water the answer is yes. If you have an autoshutoff valve and level control or pressure tank the waste flow stops automatically when you quit making good water.

[brc0488]

the system isn't set up to a sink its just plumbed above a utility sink.. the unit does have a ASV but its not hooked up to a float valve (thats the only way it will work right) but it just seems like it's such a waste of water. I also have a ball valve on my waste water line that controlls the flow of the waste water. But when "clolsed" all the way it just restricts the flow into a jet of water

[xenon]

you will roughly create 4gallons of waste water for every gallon of rodi water. When the system is turned off, there is no water being wasted.

[brc0488]

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y177/brc0488/rounit.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>
heres a pic of the exact unit....it seems like a heck more then 4 gallons is going to be wasted to produce one gallon of clean water...the output for clean water like drips when the waste water valve is open all the way.... when closed a little it speeds up...?

[Fishbulb2]

Close it. I think this is a unit with a flush valve and flow restrictor together. When you open the vavle, it is flushing the membrane. Do this for a few minutes after you are done making water. With the vavle fully closed, you should have about a 4:1 ratio and you should still be getting waste water. That is how you want to make water.
FB

[brc0488]

k so the fact that the ball valve doesnt shut all the way is correct and is not a defect?

[AZDesertRat]

Time the flow with a measuring cup and watch from both the closed waste valve and from the good line. It should be about 4 waste to 1 good with that valve in the closed position. You open it after making water to flush the membrane and close it again for normal use.

[brc0488]

but the wast valve should never be Totally off right

[AZDesertRat]

Correct it needs to flow 4 times faster than the good line always.

[brc0488]

ok so i did some testing I used two of the same glasses and then wrote down the difference when one glass got full.
when the waste valve was fully closed i got a 1:2 ratio the waste water was full and the good water glass was 1/2 full. When the waste water valve was fully open i got barely any water in the cup by the time the wate cup was full. I guesstamate the drip to be 5-6 drops a second (good water) then when the waste water valve was half way closed i got pretty much the same findings as when the valve was fully shut (1:2) what do u guys think is something wrong?

[AZDesertRat]

Your membrane will last longer if you can get the waste ratio to 4:1. Thats 4 waste to 1 product or good.

[brc0488]

yea how do i go about doing that...do ihave to much pressure or something?

[Fishbulb2]

The easiest way would probably be to get a flow restrictor in which you can adjust the ratio yourself. For example, a few of the vendors here sell catheter style flow restrictors that you cut shorter to adjust your flow rate. That is much cheaper than a fiddling with pressure (which i'm not even sure would solve your problem).
FB

[brc0488]

ok well in till i get a new flow restrictor the water that i use when the valve is shut all the way (1:2 ratio) will still be good to use right?

[AZDesertRat]

If its 2:1, 2 waste to 1 good it will work for now. Long term it would be good to increase the waste flow a little to lengthen the membrane life.

[brc0488]

k cool thanks

[Colin]

You can get an adjustable flow restrictor from www.buckeyefieldsupply.com for cheap. It's a lot easier to mess with than the capillary type flow restrictors and you can change it in the summer/winter to adjust for water temperature differences.

--Colin