Do I need an RO Booster Pump?

[swannyson7]

what if you used a bigger hose reduced down to your existing hose right before it goes into your unit, the bigger hose would allow more water and if you gatevalve that down then it would be better than using a normal size hose for a rodi valve down. just my opinion, i need to go back by there and see how he did it again, i have only seen it once but, he had a nice stream of good water coming through his to show me it did work.

I'll try opening the ball valve on the water line about halfway instead of full bore and see if it makes a difference. I'll let you know if it makes a difference

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

For comparison,

~350 TDS well water
BRS 75 GPD 6 stage RO/DI.
Water pressure ranges from 35 - 60 PSI (depending on accumulator charge)

At 35 PSI, the RO generates 4 TDS water
At 60 PSI, the RO generates 2 TDS water
I haven't done a time comparison, but it's obviously much faster at higher pressures.

As a result, I am installing a boost pump as doing so will double the life of my DI resin - perhaps even more when operating above 60 PSI.

 

[swannyson7]

For comparison,

~350 TDS well water
BRS 75 GPD 6 stage RO/DI.
Water pressure ranges from 35 - 60 PSI (depending on accumulator charge)

At 35 PSI, the RO generates 4 TDS water
At 60 PSI, the RO generates 2 TDS water
I haven't done a time comparison, but it's obviously much faster at higher pressures.

As a result, I am installing a boost pump as doing so will double the like of my DI resin.

My well water is only about 60 TDS and my RO/DI gives me 0 TDS, but it's painfully slow. Have you decided on a booster pump yet? There's so many different ones with good reviews that I don't even know where to start.

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

My well water is only about 60 TDS and my RO/DI gives me 0 TDS, but it's painfully slow. Have you decided on a booster pump yet? There's so many different ones with good reviews that I don't even know where to start.

Are you getting 0 TDS from your RO? A DI should always generate 0 TDS, but the resin will exhaust faster at higher TDS.

I was simply going to use the one offered by BRS (once it's back in stock.)

 

[swannyson7]

Are you getting 0 TDS from your RO? A DI should always generate 0 TDS, but the resin will exhaust faster at higher TDS.

I was simply going to use the one offered by BRS (once it's back in stock.)

I have 2 inline TDS meters and I'm getting 1-2 before the DI and 0 after the DI. I was looking at the one from BRS, but it's been out of stock for over a month, along with all of the accessories for it. I'm wondering if it's being discontinued?

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

I got tired of waiting for BRS to get it back in stock and ordered the Powerstation through Air, Water& Ice.

 

[swannyson7]

I got tired of waiting for BRS to get it back in stock and ordered the Powerstation through Air, Water& Ice.

How do you like it? Did you get a significant increase in RO production?

 

[Paul_N]

My well water is only about 60 TDS and my RO/DI gives me 0 TDS, but it's painfully slow. Have you decided on a booster pump yet? There's so many different ones with good reviews that I don't even know where to start.

WOW that is good only 60TDS, mine tap water is like 380 last time a checked. We have too much pressure though. I have my saddle valve open only 75% to give me the 75psi. Also one thing you should do is get a hand held tds meter. I keep hearing that the inline ones are not as accurate. I have an inline one and will get a hand held shortly to double check.

 

[swannyson7]

WOW that is good only 60TDS, mine tap water is like 380 last time a checked. We have too much pressure though. I have my saddle valve open only 75% to give me the 75psi. Also one thing you should do is get a hand held tds meter. I keep hearing that the inline ones are not as accurate. I have an inline one and will get a hand held shortly to double check.

Maybe I should give poland spring some competition! I guess that's one of the perks of being a country bumpkin in the backwoods of CT. I've heard the same thing about the inline TDS meters, but supposedly most of them can be callibrated with a screw inside as long as you have a good TDS meter to compare to. My annual water report (My neighborhood has an artesian well that is shared, so we have to pay, but we get water reports) said the TDS was 73, and a reefer in the next town over got a reading of 57 with his milwaukee.

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

How do you like it? Did you get a significant increase in RO production?

Just ordered it today - I'll let you know next week once I get it installed.

 

[swannyson7]

Just ordered it today - I'll let you know next week once I get it installed.

OK, thanks!

 

[btkrausen]

WOW that is good only 60TDS, mine tap water is like 380 last time a checked. We have too much pressure though. I have my saddle valve open only 75% to give me the 75psi. Also one thing you should do is get a hand held tds meter. I keep hearing that the inline ones are not as accurate. I have an inline one and will get a hand held shortly to double check.

I just talked to BRS about this exact thing, and they said the exact opposite, that the inline were accurate enough. I bought a handheld and it was jacked up, so they told me that when speaking to them about it.

 

[Paul_N]

I just talked to BRS about this exact thing, and they said the exact opposite, that the inline were accurate enough. I bought a handheld and it was jacked up, so they told me that when speaking to them about it.

hmmmm well that just confuses me even more...lol

I'm definitely gonna have to get a hand held and try this out to see if there is a difference at all.

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

I just talked to BRS about this exact thing, and they said the exact opposite, that the inline were accurate enough. I bought a handheld and it was jacked up, so they told me that when speaking to them about it.

I have always understood that generally, hand-held TDS meters were considered more accurate. I *assumed* this was due to the fact that the inline probes are constantly exposed to water and potential contaminates; whereas hand-helds were only exposed during actual use.

 

[Paul_N]

I have always understood that generally, hand-held TDS meters were considered more accurate. I *assumed* this was due to the fact that the inline probes are constantly exposed to water and potential contaminates; whereas hand-helds were only exposed during actual use.

good point. I only have my inline hooked up to the DI ouput so maybe why I had no issues. I never bothered to hook it up to the input. Mine has a switch to read input and output.

 

[swannyson7]

I have always understood that generally, hand-held TDS meters were considered more accurate. I *assumed* this was due to the fact that the inline probes are constantly exposed to water and potential contaminates; whereas hand-helds were only exposed during actual use.

I would assume the same thing. It seems like it would eventually get a buildup on the probes

 

[btkrausen]

Thats what I thought, and the reason I bought the hand-held. After it was reading like 400 one time, then 100 another, then 500 another, I called about a possible defective product. Thats when BRS told me about this. Might be worth talking to another vendor about it as well.

 

[swannyson7]

Are you going to exchange it for another handheld or just go with the inlines?

 

[btkrausen]

I just sent it back and continued using my inline for now.

 

[DC_Reefer]

Low pressure will cause both low output and higher TDS from membrane. Look at the spec on your membrane, it will say something like 97% rejection. That means if your TDS going into the membrane is 150, you should expect to see about 5 coming out. You shouldn't expect to see less. If you see more that means your pressure, temperate or membrane is off. I will usually flush the membrane before making any decisions on it's performance.

I had a 150GPD that produced about 75GPD and had 92% rejection. Water came slow, DI resin went fast... I got a booster and everything worked perfectly. I will recoup the cost of the booster just in DI savings alone.