Ro/Di setup advice?

[ChallengedOne]

Hello I am looking to purchase at least a five stage ro/di unit. I am planning on installing into a copper hard line. I have a few questions.

1.) can I make ro and ro/di from the same unit by placing a valve between the stages if I want pure drinking water? And also be able to make tank water?

2.) how do most people keep the premixed water fresh and ready to use?

3.) what do you guys (if you do) do to recycle the ro/do waste waster. I'm
Thinking of devising an irrigation system for my hops plants...

[mcgyvr]

1) yes.. But and you will want to "t" off right after the RO and use a check valve and pressure tank if you want drinking water. (water comes out SLOW in RO/DI units and you won't want to sit there for 5 minutes+ for your glass to fill up)

2)fresh RO/DI should be just kept in a sealed container

3)I use mine to water the plants/garden.

FWIW.. bulkreefsupply usually has the best deal on RO/DI units. Airwaterice and spectrapure are good too..
If you want drinking water buy a kit that includes it all.. it ill be cheaper.

[jamie1981]

Hello I am looking to purchase at least a five stage ro/di unit. I am planning on installing into a copper hard line. I have a few questions.

1.) can I make ro and ro/di from the same unit by placing a valve between the stages if I want pure drinking water? And also be able to make tank water?

2.) how do most people keep the premixed water fresh and ready to use?

3.) what do you guys (if you do) do to recycle the ro/do waste waster. I'm
Thinking of devising an irrigation system for my hops plants...


1. Yes! I do but I would recommend a pressure tank of a few gallons capacity on the RO line if you don't have one so that it is not turning on and off every time you get a glass of water. ( this will prematurely clog the membrane much faster)

2. Any storage container will work I use a 50 gallon poly tank but most just use brute trash cans.

3. It may be hard to believe for many but the waste water from a RO unit is much, much cleaner than the tap water going into it. (it has already gone through the first 3 stages of filtration and chlorine and particles much larger than 1 micron have already been filtered out) Use it how you want some run it to the washing machine, some run it down the drain, some water plants with it...It's up to you.

[ChallengedOne]

1) yes.. But and you will want to "t" off right after the RO and use a check valve and pressure tank if you want drinking water. (water comes out SLOW in RO/DI units and you won't want to sit there for 5 minutes+ for your glass to fill up)

2)fresh RO/DI should be just kept in a sealed container

3)I use mine to water the plants/garden.

FWIW.. bulkreefsupply usually has the best deal on RO/DI units. Airwaterice and spectrapure are good too..
If you want drinking water buy a kit that includes it all.. it ill be cheaper.




I assume you heat and circulate the pre mixed solution?

[ChallengedOne]

My main thought on the pure r/o were for my craft beer experiments. But I usually go through 10 gallons a week. I assume a. 10-15 gallon pressure tank would be costly.

[jamie1981]

My main thought on the pure r/o were for my craft beer experiments. But I usually go through 10 gallons a week. I assume a. 10-15 gallon pressure tank would be costly.

No there not really, check eBay, there pretty cheap.

14 gallon about $100 shipped

[mcgyvr]

My main thought on the pure r/o were for my craft beer experiments. But I usually go through 10 gallons a week. I assume a. 10-15 gallon pressure tank would be costly.

no..no.. pressure tanks are for drinking water.. not "drinking" water
:lolspin:
Typically they are 2-3 gallons and are plenty for the typical few glasses of water a day.. you fill up a glass then it fills back up ready for the next glass of water.

[mcgyvr]

I assume you heat and circulate the pre mixed solution?

Well..I don't.. I haven't made saltwater in 2 years (I don't do water changes).. I only use RO/DI for topoff water and for personal drinking (RO)

But yes if you are making salt you should throw a pump in there and might need a heater depending on the temp of the water/area its kept.

[mcgyvr]

Here is one "dual" (RO/DI and drinking water) setup
http://www.airwaterice.com/product/1DUALHR/Dual-Home-Reef-with-Tank-Faucet-for-under-the-sink.html
or
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-4-stage-ro-drinking-water-system-75gpd-1.html


Nice things to have with an RO/DI are TDS meters (dual is great), a few pressure gauges (on on inlet and even one before RO to check on prefilter pressure drops), ASOV valve

[mcgyvr]

3. It may be hard to believe for many but the waste water from a RO unit is much, much cleaner than the tap water going into it. (it has already gone through the first 3 stages of filtration and chlorine and particles much larger than 1 micron have already been filtered out)

not necessarily true..
here is my readings.
water in 74 TDS
waste = 100 TDS

And don't forget the waste is "concentrated"

[ChallengedOne]

So you monitor for tds on the incoming supply line and the complete finished product line ?

[ChallengedOne]

So ok the house we bought has a single stage can under the sink. I do not want to keep this here I would like to move it to the laundry room. Can I add this can onto another system?http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/05/ujaguquz.jpg

[ChallengedOne]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/05/uquhynug.jpg label shot

[mcgyvr]

Thats just a taste/odor filter.
You really don't need it if you setup a drinking water RO/DI system or you can move it to another sink if you wish.

[mcgyvr]

So you monitor for tds on the incoming supply line and the complete finished product line ?

yes. Typically with a dual TDS meter one would monitor incoming and then monitor the RO/DI after the DI stage.. it should be 0 coming out.
But you really only need the last one. But more info is always better.

[jamie1981]

not necessarily true..
here is my readings.
water in 74 TDS
waste = 100 TDS

And don't forget the waste is "concentrated"

Only 74 that's really clean water to start!
But this is most likely why it is higher according to the tds meter.

Your TDS meter is only reading the Total Dissolved Solids in the water They will not detect any neutral (uncharged) compounds. Such compounds include sugar, alcohol, many organics (including many pesticides and their residues), and unionized forms of silica, ammonia, and carbon dioxide. These meters also do not detect macroscopic particulates, as those are too large to move in the electric fields applied. So if you see "rusty" looking water from iron oxide particulates, that won't be measured. Neither will anything else that makes the water look cloudy.
More Total Dissolved Solids coming out of the waste water but less of all the other stuff.

[ChallengedOne]

Ok, so if I "T" the line after r/o do I need the T to run directly into the pressure tank? Can I make r/o and rodi at the same time or will there not be sufficient pressure?

[jamie1981]

Line should come out of RO membrane then tee to pressure tank, drinking water and DI canisters. If you don't use a check valve the pressure tank will just feed both your drinking water and DI. You actually will use 2 tees the pressure tank uses one also. All it really is is a big balloon that stores RO water under pressure. When you use RO water (for drinking or to make DI water) faster than the unit can produce it it will come out of the pressure tank.

[mcgyvr]

Here is a typical drinking water and RO/DI diagram..
you can omit the taste filter if you wish
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59844524/Dual%20Home%20Reef%20Illustration.pdf

[firemountain]

Russ from buckeye hydro is great to deal with and helped me out.

This link will definitely help you out...

https://www.buckeyehydro.com/content/5_Stage_Reef_Residential_RODI.pdf

Here is if you need to add a booster pump to your system....I highly recommend it....

https://www.buckeyehydro.com/content/Booster_Pump_&_Related_Components.pdf

[ChallengedOne]

[QUOTE=firemountain;22994981]Russ from buckeye hydro is great to deal with and helped me out.

This link will definitely help you out...

https://www.buckeyehydro.com/content/5_Stage_Reef_Residential_RODI.pdf

Here is if you need to add a booster pump to your system....I highly recommend it....

https://www.buckeyehydro.com/content/Booster_Pump_&_Related_Components.pdf[/

Ok I heard a booster was not required unless my inlet (house) pressure was less than a certain psi. I've heard the number should not be less than 50, and I also head it should not be less than 60 to start.

I need to have my house pressure tested.

Another thing that was of concern by looking at filters is chloramine. I'm pretty sure my city uses this but I have not asked them yet. Just heard by asking around.

[Buckeye Hydro]

[QUOTE=firemountain;22994981]Russ from buckeye hydro is great to deal with and helped me out.

This link will definitely help you out...

https://www.buckeyehydro.com/content/5_Stage_Reef_Residential_RODI.pdf

Here is if you need to add a booster pump to your system....I highly recommend it....

https://www.buckeyehydro.com/content/Booster_Pump_&_Related_Components.pdf[/

Ok I heard a booster was not required unless my inlet (house) pressure was less than a certain psi. I've heard the number should not be less than 50, and I also head it should not be less than 60 to start.

A little background info should help clear this up. Membrane manufacturers test their membranes at a given pressure and temperature. So for instance, when DOW/Filmtec sells a 75 gpd membrane, they mean it will produce 75 gpd at 77F and 50 psi.

All manufacturers I'm aware of use the same test temperature - 77F (25C), but they use either 60, or 65 psi. This is one of the reasons Filmtec membranes are the most popular/widely used residential membrane.

Membrane performance falls off with low pressure. The lower the pressure, the worse the performance. So assuming you use a Filmtec membrane, if you are like many other customers, you'll be willing to put up with reduced performance down to around 40 psi - and then we get calls saying "Hey - something is wrong with my system!"

Also - most people have 40 psi or more in their house.

Another thing that was of concern by looking at filters is chloramine. I'm pretty sure my city uses this but I have not asked them yet. Just heard by asking around. Feel free to give us a call - we can check on this for you.

Russ