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Unread 02/09/2019, 01:56 PM   #1
Boochika
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RO system DI resin depleting quickly

So I've made about 30-40 gallons of water so far after putting in all new equipment (sediment, carbon, DI resin and membrane) for my RoDI system.

What is strange to me is how quickly I've begun to deplete the DI resin. It's brs resin and a special chlorine buster carbon block filter. The membrane is the Dow filmtec 100.

As you can see there is a lot of junk in the membrane (maybe this is normal?) But the resin seems to be getting used up fast. Usually it lasts me 9 months at this rate it will only last a couple.

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Unread 02/09/2019, 05:17 PM   #2
mcgyvr
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Well water ?
I never rely on the color change


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Unread 02/09/2019, 05:57 PM   #3
geekengineer
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How old is your membrane. I thought that the DI resin will go faster if the rest of the filter is not working well.

Edit: I missed the part about new equipment. So I'm a bit stumped but maybe the stuff you got was bad?? assuming it worked before..duno.


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Unread 02/10/2019, 05:11 AM   #4
mann1139
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Do you have a TDS Meter?

What are the readings at the input, and then coming out of the RO membrane?

I have had 'bad' batches of DI resin that seemed to go quickly.

I have also packed the DI cartridge improperly which allowed water to travel through easily without touching enough resin.


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Unread 02/10/2019, 09:43 AM   #5
tom obrecht
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I’d also ask about well water? If so you may be dealing with co2 in the water which burns do resin very quickly. Check out spectrapures website on how to battle co2 issues. First would be to see if co2 is an issue. There are test kits on the market to test. The membrane could also be the cause. Process of elimination.


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Unread 02/10/2019, 10:21 AM   #6
Boochika
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It's not well water. But historically had very high TDS in this area like 400+. And yes I have a TDS meter.

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Tunze 9410 Skimmer, Syncra Silent 4.0, Herbie method (Bottom Drilled), 30 gallon sump.

Anyone know about assessor fish? Seems cool but I haven't seen much about them on the forum

Current Tank Info: 80 gallon simple set up with sump filtration
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Unread 02/11/2019, 11:59 AM   #7
Opus123
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Did you run each filter separately after you installed them to get rid of all the stuff that comes loose during shipping?

What is your tds after the membrane? My tap water is 400 to 450 tds and my tds after my membrane runs between 2 and 3.


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Unread 02/11/2019, 12:01 PM   #8
Boochika
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I didn't run them separately, but ive always done it.this way. Probably should have but I'm new at this. I'll check the after membrane water TDS tonight.

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Tunze 9410 Skimmer, Syncra Silent 4.0, Herbie method (Bottom Drilled), 30 gallon sump.

Anyone know about assessor fish? Seems cool but I haven't seen much about them on the forum

Current Tank Info: 80 gallon simple set up with sump filtration
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Unread 02/12/2019, 10:39 AM   #9
Boochika
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I did a check on post RO membrane TDS last night, and got 35-40 tds after the membrane before the DI resin. This isn't too bad considering when I measured my TDS from the faucet it was around 530-600 tds.

Last time I measured my TDS was in the summer, and I wonder for some reason it's worse in the winter for some reason. Even though I'm still getting a minimum of 92% efficiency from my RO membrane. The issue is that BRS sells this on their website and it states I should be getting around 98% rejection efficiency.


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Tunze 9410 Skimmer, Syncra Silent 4.0, Herbie method (Bottom Drilled), 30 gallon sump.

Anyone know about assessor fish? Seems cool but I haven't seen much about them on the forum

Current Tank Info: 80 gallon simple set up with sump filtration
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Unread 02/12/2019, 03:29 PM   #10
hkgar
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I would recommend replacing the RO membrane with a Spectrapure 99% rejection membrane. Your current rejection rate is under 95%. How old is the membrane? Do you know what your water pressure is?


https://spectrapure.com/NEW-99-perce...PD-RO-Membrane


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Unread 02/12/2019, 03:43 PM   #11
Boochika
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It's a brand new membrane. I have very high pressure but that's a qualitative assessment.

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Tunze 9410 Skimmer, Syncra Silent 4.0, Herbie method (Bottom Drilled), 30 gallon sump.

Anyone know about assessor fish? Seems cool but I haven't seen much about them on the forum

Current Tank Info: 80 gallon simple set up with sump filtration
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Unread 02/12/2019, 03:59 PM   #12
lpsouth1978
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hkgar View Post
I would recommend replacing the RO membrane with a Spectrapure 99% rejection membrane. Your current rejection rate is under 95%. How old is the membrane? Do you know what your water pressure is?


https://spectrapure.com/NEW-99-perce...PD-RO-Membrane
I have to agree with this. You may have a brand new membrane, but the rejection rate is quite low. At 35-40 TDS, you will burn through DI resin like mad. My source water is near 700 TDS most of the time and after the membrane I get about 10-15 TDS. This puts it @ 98-99% rejection.

As mentioned above, water pressure can play an important role in the rejection rate. in general you want to be around 70 psi. A little higher or lower works well, but you don't want it to be more than about 80 or less than 40 for most systems.


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Unread 02/12/2019, 04:20 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boochika View Post
I did a check on post RO membrane TDS last night, and got 35-40 tds after the membrane before the DI resin.
Did you let it run for a few minutes before making this test ?.... The first water out of the membrane will be very high....I always blead off the first couple minutes using a valve before allowing the water to enter the resin.


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Unread 02/12/2019, 09:59 PM   #14
dkeller_nc
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There's one other thing I'd suggest that you check. It's possible to displace the RO membrane seals when it's inserted into the canister, and it's also possible to create a small bypass around the seals if the canister wasn't scrupulously clean.

When I assemble one of these, I typically lubricate the seals with a -small- about of plumber's silicone grease. And I do mean small - I rub a little of the grease on my fingertip around the seal, then wipe the seal with a clean paper towel. The purpose of the grease is just to lubricate the seal against the housing to ensure that it doesn't get displaced, you really don't want any excess, because theoretically it could clog the membrane.

If that's not the issue, then I'd suggest calling BRS. I suspect they will warrant the RO membrane.


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Unread 02/13/2019, 02:00 PM   #15
Opus123
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dkeller_nc View Post
There's one other thing I'd suggest that you check. It's possible to displace the RO membrane seals when it's inserted into the canister, and it's also possible to create a small bypass around the seals if the canister wasn't scrupulously clean.

When I assemble one of these, I typically lubricate the seals with a -small- about of plumber's silicone grease. And I do mean small - I rub a little of the grease on my fingertip around the seal, then wipe the seal with a clean paper towel. The purpose of the grease is just to lubricate the seal against the housing to ensure that it doesn't get displaced, you really don't want any excess, because theoretically it could clog the membrane.

If that's not the issue, then I'd suggest calling BRS. I suspect they will warrant the RO membrane.
This is very good advice. From all that I've read, most people do see 98 to 99% rejection from the BRS membranes. I've only read good things about their customer service so there shouldn't be an issue with getting the membrane replaced if it is bad. I would reseat the membrane, let it run for a few minutes and then take a tds reading. If it isn't 98% or better I would contact BRS.


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Unread 02/13/2019, 03:43 PM   #16
griss
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Originally Posted by outssider View Post
Did you let it run for a few minutes before making this test ?.... The first water out of the membrane will be very high....I always blead off the first couple minutes using a valve before allowing the water to enter the resin.
^^^This!!!!

I was having the same issue with my DI resin. It was depleting really fast. New filters and membrane did not remedy the issue and my pressure through the unit was as recommended by BRS.

What you may be experiencing is what's called, "TDS creep." Essentially, when the RO/DI system sits idle, TDS creeps back out of the membrane. When the system starts up again, this high TDS water in the membrane housing is pushed into the DI cartridges, depleting them rapidly.

My system was set up with a float valve in the sump connected directly to the RO/DI system. So, when the water level in the sump dropped, the RO/DI started up. Basically, throughout the day, my system was sending high TDS water into my DI carts. I now use a container to hold newly made RO/DI that is connected to the float valve in the sump.

I, then, put a valve between the membrane housing and DI carts. Whenever I go to make water, I open this valve first and let it run into the drain. I monitor the TDS coming out of the membrane until it drops, then close the valve and let the filtered water go through the DI resin to my topoff tank.

Since doing this, my DI is lasting MUCH, MUCH longer.


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