Burning through DI resin quickly

[rhitee93]

I thought I knew what was happening here, but after some research, I am not so sure.

I purchased a BRS 5-stage RO/DI system. My tank isn't setup yet, but I decided to start making RO/DI water so that I have it ready when the tank gets here. However, after making about 50 gallons of water, the DI resin is looking pretty depleted. (Pic attached)

I assumed that this was because my municipality uses chloramines and the carbon filters that came with the BRS kit were just plain carbon filters which I understand don't remove the ammonia well leaving all that load to the DI filter.

However, I checked the carbon filters that were supposed to come with the BRS kit, and the website claims the "BRS Universal Carbon Blocks" are supposed to be effective for chloramines.

Do you all think I have something else going on?

I haven't measured the water pressure in this building for a long time, but it used to be close to 60PSI. The pressure certainly isn't much lower than it has always been. The water here is pretty hard, but not overly problematic in terms of other crud.

I don't have a TDS meter yet, so I'm flying a bit blind. I've been looking to get one, but I have a hard time believing the $20 meters I keep finding are any good. Any recommendations for a meter?

 

[AcroNem]

I would also check for CO2, which depletes resin very quickly. In the past I was in a house that burnt through a double resin canister in less than 100-120 gallons. Had to offgas the produced water before pumping through resin.

 

[twelvefive]

this is what I use

Dual Inline TDS Meter DM-1

Why does BRS recommend this? Using a RODI system without a TDS meter is like driving a car without a speedometer and gas gauge. At some point you will end up in trouble. With RODI systems it is TDS that you will want to monitor for performance and filter quality. By using a dual TDS meter it...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[The_Paradox]

For the meter I use this one as I’m lazy and it makes life easy:

Triple Inline TDS Meter-EL-TDS-INL-S3

www.aquariumwaterfilters.com

As for the DI filter, last two batches I have bought from different manufactures have done this.

 

[cwerner]

That seems obscenely fast. Like others said that could possibly be CO2 or a whole lot of Chloramines. One recommendation I have is possibly using the Dual cartridge Anion/Cation DI resin. I upgraded to that for my Liquagen unit and it's working very well and lasting much longer than my dual bed canisters did.

 

[14 foot reef]

Are you on a well ? if so, thats normal from the high Co2 in the well water

 

[rhitee93]

OK, so it seems like more of a mystery than I expected. We are on municipal water, so not a well issue. (Although all municipal water in this area comes from underground aquifers)

I saw CO2 mentioned as a possible issue when i was researching. What causes that? I've done a lot of forced carbonation in another hobby of mine, but never would have thought room temperature water would hold on to much CO2.

 

[The_Paradox]

I’m also on city water with around 35ppm TDS and no chloramine. Usually filters last me 2 years. I think there is just a bad batch of resin going around. I burned 2 sets in less than 50 gallons each. Got third set maybe 2 months ago so around 200g through them and they’re fine.

 

[dadnjesse]

I would get a DTS meter as suggested, even a cheap one will give you a better idea than nothing. You could upgrade to the 3 stage Cation, Anion and mixed DI that will last longer and usually you can replace them individually. Just add two more canisters. Also make sure you have it connected correctly.

 

[edd59]

your water probably comes from a municipal well, so it will have high co2.
fill a cup from the tap ck ph, let it sit over night and ck ph again, if it goes up you have co2 and it eats mixed bed resin fast. get the 3 stage resin cation,anion and mixed bed. i only go through anion with well

 

[XyPP]

Watch this by BRS. On their map, Indiana is identified as a state that uses chloramines. They show the standard carbon blocks rated at 6,000gal and 20,000gal failing in as little as 40-100 gallons before letting through 50% of chloramines. 80% of that will make it through the RO cartridge and be dumped into the resin, which it will quickly deplete.



Probably you need the chloramine specific blocks that are about double the price a piece.

ChloraGuard Carbon Block - 1 Micron

Powered by GreenBlock Technology Matrikx Chloraguard filters feature amazingly high capacity for chlorine reduction since it is made from a proprietary catalytic carbon that can deliver up to 4 times the capacity for monochloramine reduction. With a high dirt holding & absorption capacities...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

IceCap Chloramine Reducing Carbon Block Reverse Osmosis Pre-filter

10in Chloramine Reducing Carbon Block for Reverse Osmosis System Industry-standard 10in the cartridge will fit our IceCap RODI systems as well as virtually every brand of RO system that uses similar-looking carbon blocks.

www.coralvue.com

Chloramine Blaster Carbon Filter 10

www.aquariumwaterfilters.com

 

[rhitee93]

Yep, I had seen that video before, and assumed it was the original carbon filters. However, BRS supposedly shipped my system with their universal carbon cartridges that are effective with chloramines.

I've ordered a pair of the fancy chloraguard filters as well as new DI cartridges. I also ordered the 3-way TDS meter and a pressure gage so I can troubleshoot better.

In the meantime I'll try measuring pH to detect the CO2. I broke out my shiny new Hana test kit this morning before realizing that the pH test is labeled for marine water. I'm setting this tank up in my office, so I'll wait until I get home today to test the water with the pH meter I use for home brewing.

 

[Troylee]

What’s the water pressure going in? I had around 45psi and the same problem… I put a booster pump on and run 80psi now and I get about 700gal out of a dual di resin bed..

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

this is what I use

Dual Inline TDS Meter DM-1

Why does BRS recommend this? Using a RODI system without a TDS meter is like driving a car without a speedometer and gas gauge. At some point you will end up in trouble. With RODI systems it is TDS that you will want to monitor for performance and filter quality. By using a dual TDS meter it...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

The DM1 (available here https://www.buckeyehydro.com/dm1-dual-inline-tds-meter/ is certainly less than ideal for a typical 4 stage RODI system. On the typical 4-stage system you want to know TDS in THREE locations: tap water, RO water, DI water. If you have multiple DI stages you want to know the TDS after each DI stage.

We have these inline meters with one, two, and three inline probes.

Russ

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

For the meter I use this one as I’m lazy and it makes life easy:

Triple Inline TDS Meter-EL-TDS-INL-S3

www.aquariumwaterfilters.com

The TRM1 is a more cost effective option. https://www.buckeyehydro.com/trm1-tri-inline-tds-meter/

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

To my knowledge there is no state that universally uses chloramine. It varies by water utility.

Also - if someone has chloramines in their water, by definition the water is not from a residential well.

 

[rhitee93]

Well here is a bit of an update with a little more info:

My pressure going into the RO membrane has been running between 55-60psi.

I put a TDS sensor before the membrane to see what the water looked like going in, and it usually reads around 380. The sensor is after the sediment filter and carbon blocks right now, but I can move it easily.

I'm still getting a 0 TDS reading after the DI cartridge even as depleted looking as it is.

To check for CO2 I tested the pH of the tap water and let it sit for 24 hours before testing it again. There appears to be a significant rise. I'm not confident that my pH meter is giving me accurate readings, but assuming the linearity isn't way off, I saw about a pH rise of about 1.5. (~7 to ~8.5) I might go get a fresh water pH kit to test this again since I don't trust my beer brewing meter.

I also noticed a lot of bubbles had formed on the side of the container after letting the water sit for a day. Definitely some sort of gas coming out of solution.

I don't see myself degassing a big tank of tap water before pumping it through my filters, so I have ordered another 3-housing setup to put in seperate anion, cation, and mixed bed resins in.

Am I safe to keep running the existing DI resin until I see the TDS meter move off of zero?

 

[Troylee]

Well here is a bit of an update with a little more info:

My pressure going into the RO membrane has been running between 55-60psi.

I put a TDS sensor before the membrane to see what the water looked like going in, and it usually reads around 380. The sensor is after the sediment filter and carbon blocks right now, but I can move it easily.

I'm still getting a 0 TDS reading after the DI cartridge even as depleted looking as it is.

To check for CO2 I tested the pH of the tap water and let it sit for 24 hours before testing it again. There appears to be a significant rise. I'm not confident that my pH meter is giving me accurate readings, but assuming the linearity isn't way off, I saw about a pH rise of about 1.5. (~7 to ~8.5) I might go get a fresh water pH kit to test this again since I don't trust my beer brewing meter.

I also noticed a lot of bubbles had formed on the side of the container after letting the water sit for a day. Definitely some sort of gas coming out of solution.

I don't see myself degassing a big tank of tap water before pumping it through my filters, so I have ordered another 3-housing setup to put in seperate anion, cation, and mixed bed resins in.

Am I safe to keep running the existing DI resin until I see the TDS meter move off of zero?

I’d say so as long as it’s a good reading.. meaning it’s calibrated

 

[edd59]

Well here is a bit of an update with a little more info:

My pressure going into the RO membrane has been running between 55-60psi.

I put a TDS sensor before the membrane to see what the water looked like going in, and it usually reads around 380. The sensor is after the sediment filter and carbon blocks right now, but I can move it easily.

I'm still getting a 0 TDS reading after the DI cartridge even as depleted looking as it is.

To check for CO2 I tested the pH of the tap water and let it sit for 24 hours before testing it again. There appears to be a significant rise. I'm not confident that my pH meter is giving me accurate readings, but assuming the linearity isn't way off, I saw about a pH rise of about 1.5. (~7 to ~8.5) I might go get a fresh water pH kit to test this again since I don't trust my beer brewing meter.

I also noticed a lot of bubbles had formed on the side of the container after letting the water sit for a day. Definitely some sort of gas coming out of solution.

I don't see myself degassing a big tank of tap water before pumping it through my filters, so I have ordered another 3-housing setup to put in seperate anion, cation, and mixed bed resins in.

Am I safe to keep running the existing DI resin until I see the TDS meter move off of zero?

i run the brs 7 water saver. in 1 year i went through 3 anion and the cation and mixed bed are still good, no yellow. easier to change the resin than off gasing and not expensive.

 

[rhitee93]

Well, what started as a simple 5-stage RO/DI system has now jumped the shark I bought a 3 stage cation/anion/mixed bed kit. It happened to come with a 3-way TDS meter.

I had already bought a 2-way meter and a pressure gage to debug what was going on, so I left them in the system.

I also replaced the original universal carbon blocks with ones that are supposed to be for chloramines. I don't think that was necessary as the BRS universal ones are supposed to be good for them, but better safe than sorry. I'll let the lightly used carbon blocks dry out. Maybe I can save them for an emergency.

Since I already had a loose housing for the original mixed bed DI cartridge, I replaced that cartridge and stuck it at the end of the line.

I'll report back on performance once things start getting depleted...