RO/DI unit for 220 gal

[wunderlong88]

We live in the country and get our water from a running stream. We mechanically filter it and store in large water storage tanks. The water comes in to our house and we have a 50gpd RO/DI under our kitchen sink for drinking and kitchen water. We are trying to use that to fill our 220 total volume tank/sump. It is not practical. We will be trying to fill 3 days a week just for water changes. We changed the filters but not the RO Membrane because it was time. It helped some. About to change the membrane because we think it is still not making anywhere near 50 GPD.

What size RO do you guys use? We can put a different RO just for tank water or replace the 50 with one that does more. Seems like it would be easier to just have one to change filters and deal with in the long run.

 

[KStatefan]

We live in the country and get our water from a running stream. We mechanically filter it and store in large water storage tanks. The water comes in to our house and we have a 50gpd RO/DI under our kitchen sink for drinking and kitchen water. We are trying to use that to fill our 220 total volume tank/sump. It is not practical. We will be trying to fill 3 days a week just for water changes. We changed the filters but not the RO Membrane because it was time. It helped some. About to change the membrane because we think it is still not making anywhere near 50 GPD.

What size RO do you guys use? We can put a different RO just for tank water or replace the 50 with one that does more. Seems like it would be easier to just have one to change filters and deal with in the long run.

This is a very unique setup and I have no experience but it is easy to change to a different membrane just have to change the flow restrictor to match.


I would contact Russ @Buckeye Hydro

 

[malacoda]

I've been using a Typhoon III from Air, Water & Ice for the past nine years. It's a 100 gallon per day 5-stage RODI.

If you're going to be making that much tank water ... on top of kitchen tap use ... you may need to look at something like their Typhoon III Extreme (rated for 150 gpd).

That said, the gpd an RODI unit will put out is not only based the type and size of the filters, membrane, etc. on the unit...

It's also based on the pressure of the water entering the unit. IIRC, ideal water pressure going into a unit is 55-65 psi in order to get maximum gdp out of it. (note: may depend on the RODI particular unit)

If you're incoming water pressure is low, you may want/need to consider a booster pump for the RODI system.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

RO/DI work best at 75 to 80 psig. If you don’t have this, you need a booster pump with a low pressure cutoff on the inlet side and a high pressure cutoff on the discharge side. It’s kind of odd to use RO/DI for drinking water, most just use Sediment and one or two charcoal filters, then RO. If you are using a standard RO Compression Tank on RO/DI, the membrane in the tank won’t last long, unless you have a re-mineralization block before the Compression Tank. BTW, I Love my BRS RO/DI System, with a booster pump, and I added another membrane to up it to 150 GPD. It’s been very cheap to use with my well water.

 

[wunderlong88]

Im using a unit from amazon. It is made by Express water and is 50 gallons per day. We just change the membrane a few minutes ago. It's better. The drips have become a stream. We have enough water pressure. There is a flow restrictor on it right now that says flow 300. Not sure what that means.

I see they sell a 100 gpd membrane that fits my unit. What flow restrictor do I need for that? I may try that membrane before changing units or doing anything else. I didn't realize you could just up the membrane with the same canister set.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

You can use two Membrane Canisters to up your RO/DI rate and ratio. I believe you have to match them. BRS Has Videos on how to connect them. That’s what I did, to go from 75 to 150 GPD. I Fill 5 gallon bottles and rotate them, to Saltwater mixing, so we have plenty of drinking water, if our well isn’t working. I was tired of monitoring the RO/DI.

 

[wunderlong88]

You can use two Membrane Canisters to up your RO/DI rate and ratio. I believe you have to match them. BRS Has Videos on how to connect them. That’s what I did, to go from 75 to 150 GPD. I Fill 5 gallon bottles and rotate them, to Saltwater mixing, so we have plenty of drinking water, if our well isn’t working. I was tired of monitoring the RO/DI.

Interesting. I will look into that. We have a 50 gallon brute trash can set up to mix saltwater (and it has a pump we can switch on to autofill the sump after we drain water for a waterchange) and we have a float valve system on it so the ro/di can fill and keep it full. We plan to mostly fill it at night.

We don't use but 2-5 gallons of ro water ourselves a day. We also are setting up an ato with the ro/di to the sump.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

You can use two Membrane Canisters to up your RO/DI rate and ratio. I believe you have to match them. BRS Has Videos on how to connect them. That’s what I did, to go from 75 to 150 GPD. I Fill 5 gallon bottles and rotate them, to Saltwater mixing, so we have plenty of drinking water, if our well isn’t working. I was tired of monitoring the RO/DI.

Not a good idea for the majority of situations.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

We live in the country and get our water from a running stream. We mechanically filter it and store in large water storage tanks. The water comes in to our house and we have a 50gpd RO/DI under our kitchen sink for drinking and kitchen water. We are trying to use that to fill our 220 total volume tank/sump. It is not practical. We will be trying to fill 3 days a week just for water changes. We changed the filters but not the RO Membrane because it was time. It helped some. About to change the membrane because we think it is still not making anywhere near 50 GPD.

What size RO do you guys use? We can put a different RO just for tank water or replace the 50 with one that does more. Seems like it would be easier to just have one to change filters and deal with in the long run.

Feel free to give us a call. We can do a little troubleshooting of the existing system and see if it is running ok. Low pressure and water colder than 77F will drastically decrease how fast your membrane produces permeate ("ro water"). How much? See the calculator on our website. Yes - you can install a faster membrane.

An issue I didn't see addressed in this thread is the nature of your feedwater. None of the filters, including the membrane, are intended for water that is not microbiologically safe. Are you sanitizing the surface water you're supplying to the system? This is typically done with a chlorine dosing pump. If not, it's almost a given that your membrane is fouled.

Russ

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

It's also based on the pressure of the water entering the unit. IIRC, ideal water pressure going into a unit is 55-65 psi in order to get maximum gdp out of it. (note: may depend on the RODI particular unit)

Sort of. Yes - pressure is important. Water temperature is equally important. Filmtec membranes are spec'ed at 50 psi. Nearly every other brand is spec'ed at 60 or 65 psi. That's not the "ideal" pressure... it is just the pressure at which performance of the membrane was tested by the manufacturer. The membrane will run better at pressures higher than spec, but be careful to adjust your flow restrictor to still yield the desired recovery, and don't exceed the pressure limits of other components in the system.

Russ

 

[TX_REEF]

I use this unit from BRS and am thrilled with it. I change the DI resin every six months or so or earlier if i see it change colors, and I just did my first RO membrane replacements lat week after 2 years. Always zero TDS output up until 2 weeks ago of heavy use (2 systems 90 gallons each). This unit uses 2 75 gpd membranes.

6 Stage Deluxe Plus 75 GPD RO/DI System

Makes up to 75 Gallons of RODI Water Per Day! BRS 6 Stage RO/DI Systems are capable of handling almost any type of water your house may have and polishing it down to 0 TDS. Each system comes with dual Universal Carbon Blocks and Dual Color Changing DI stages, making it the perfect RO/DI system...

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