DIY deionizer help??

[SkolPaFisken]

I am thinking about building by own deionization chambers. I bought DI resin and plan on recharging my own resin once it expires.

My plan is to make to 2" PVC chambers about 3 feet tall. Each will hold approximately 5 pounds of resin. One for cation the other for anion resin. Tap water will enter one chamber from the bottom then exit the top and enter the next chamber at the bottom then exit at the top.

I plan on depending on a TDS meter to tell me what the resin is exhausted.

Any thoughts??

[CarlC]

While your building this you might also want to make a carbon chamber to remove chlorine before the water enters the Kati Ani.

Kati Ani's work best with a good contact time with the resins so make sure you have a slower flow moving through it and don't pack the resins tight.

Carl

[SkolPaFisken]

Thanks Carl!

You mentioned to allow a slow flow and provide a high contact time. My idea of using the tall slender chambers would provide prolonged contact time. However, now I wonder if choosing a small diameter tube will result in higher than optimal water flow???

Anyone's thoughts on this?

Also, Carl, you mentioned to pack the resin loose. Do you have one of these Kati/Ani units or does your recommendation come from a different source of knowledge?

Bruce

[CarlC]

I use one and have been using it for years. Not home made with PVC though. I use clear 20" cartridges with resin from Spectrapure.

The diameter won't really matter as long as you control the inlet pressure.

I leave about a 1/4" space at the top of the cartridge. I found this prevents channeling and gives a better overall flow.

carl

[cyberwollf]

Are you just planning on running this without RO? if so, how long do you expect to get between recharges?

[SkolPaFisken]

Are you just planning on running this without RO? if so, how long do you expect to get between recharges?

That's a great question; I do not know how long to expect between charges. I plan on using only the chambers. My total filtration system is going to be: city tap water into a .5 micron filter then into a carbon block canister filter then into the bottom of the cation chamber flowing up then into the bottom of the anion chamber, flowing up into a final stage of mixed bed resin.

My hope is that the TDS meter on the outlet of the anion chamber will alert me when the cation and anion chambers need to be recharged. This way the mixed bed resin will be a "back-up" or safety.

Sound good?