RO/DI Flush Kit & Refillable DI & Carbon?

drstratton · Nov 10, 2015

I have an AquaFX 100gpd ro/di and I was wondering if it is worth it to purchase a flush kit? I was also wondering if purchasing refillable cartridges for DI Resin & Carbon works as well as the ones that are ready to use? Thanks!

NanaReefer · Nov 10, 2015

Some swear by flush kits. Personally I've never used one. Never an issue with TDS. I've always bought refillable DI and pre filled carbon filters.

drstratton · Nov 10, 2015

Thank you! Any reason that you don't use refillable carbon? Do you use color change resin?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 10, 2015

I've not noticed any difference between DIY DI and prepacked.

I've never used a flush either, and don't pack the carbon. The carbon cartridges don't cost all that much and last a good while (IME). I'm not sure what I'd use to pack them.

drstratton · Nov 10, 2015

Thank you! I will go ahead and get the DI refill supplies & no flush kit or carbon!!!

AZDesertRat · Nov 10, 2015

Flush kits are a waste of money. A refillable DI may be a good investment providing you buy the correct blend of DI resin insmall quantities so it does not dry out sitting around and properly pack the cartridge. Myself I find using Spectrapure MaxCap and SilicaBuster cartridges is a better value than the bulk resin I had been using previously. Granular carbon had a very short useful life compared to extruded carbon blocks so again a refillable carbon would be a waste of money. GAC can exhaust in as little as 300 total gallons(60 treated gallons and 240 waste gallons) versus 12,000 to 20,000 gallons for a 1 micron or 0.5 micron carbon block.

drstratton · Nov 10, 2015

AZDesertRat said:
Flush kits are a waste of money. A refillable DI may be a good investment providing you buy the correct blend of DI resin insmall quantities so it does not dry out sitting around and properly pack the cartridge. Myself I find using Spectrapure MaxCap and SilicaBuster cartridges is a better value than the bulk resin I had been using previously. Granular carbon had a very short useful life compared to extruded carbon blocks so again a refillable carbon would be a waste of money. GAC can exhaust in as little as 300 total gallons(60 treated gallons and 240 waste gallons) versus 12,000 to 20,000 gallons for a 1 micron or 0.5 micron carbon block.

Thank you for the info! I ordered a refillable DI cartridge and I went ahead and bought 7.5lbs of DI resin. I'm going to reseal it with my foodsaver, so it will suck the air out and should last really well that way!

AZDesertRat · Nov 10, 2015

DI resin has about a 6 month shelf life even when properly vacuum sealed in individual 20 oz packets and stored in the back of the refrigerator. I think you will find its not the way to go once you try bulk versus the Spectrapure prefilled cartridges. My DI life went from 150 gallons per fresh, properly packed high quality refill to over 1000 gallons on Spectrapure cartridges. Huge cost savings and no bags of resin to take care of. I tried 3 different resin suppliers, two of which were wholesale vendors who supply the resellers you see in the hobby. You will be throwing dryed out, exhausted unused resin away unless your membrane is not very efficient and you are relying on DI as a crutch.