Sounds like you are going to have to remove pipes and see where the issue is. Have you got lots of towels, lol? It'll be something daft, more than likely. Have you got an automatic shutoff?
RODI filter Help
- Thread starter CristinaNTimothy
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OP
OP
I do agree but where I live in this new subdivision it’s been a mess with water supply etc… people in the neighborhood complain about water pressure being an issue off on on etc. I personally just never had an issue but we as a community do.
OP
OP
I make water in my garage… the home is about 1.5 years old and it insulated pretty good. Yet our winters are harsh never had an issue with water freezing, I have 2 50 gallon drums and it usually took me about 24 hours to fill both now it’s like 3 days to fill 1.
We do have a community issue with water, they usually have a water ban in the summer etc and many people in the community Facebook group all complain about a drop in pressure. So I do know there is an issue there it’s just something Ive personally never paid much attention to, but at the same time never really had a reason to until now.
I'm in England. We rarely have issues with a lack of water, lol.
OP
OP
What do you mean by flow restrictor? Sorry not to educated on what it is.
I do know when I had it apart there was on fitting that had a green tube type thing inside the fitting that was very movable but not removable… I know I blew into it and it wouldn’t obstruct flow one way but the other it would. That is back on in the correct way…. Is this what you mean?
*Edit* after a quick google search I believe what I described is a flow restrictor… if so it seems to be functioning the way it supposed to.
OP
OP
I haven’t seen that before… at least not in my unit. What I have is this…. It’s on the waste water line.That sounds like a capillary flow restrictor but that would let flow both directions.
That green thing is a flow restrictor looks like. I would take that out and use this. It’s basically a ball valve that you can adjust the pressure. It goes on the waste line. I adjust it so my pressure is like 80 psi
For hard water you want 3:1 ratio, soft water 2:1 ratio.
Perform a bucket test
You can determine your actual ratio by following these steps:
Perform a bucket test
You can determine your actual ratio by following these steps:
- Gather two containers. Use two identical buckets or measuring cups.
- Identify the lines. Locate the product line (usually blue or white, carrying purified water) and the waste line (usually red or black, carrying rejected water).
- Timed collection. Start your RO/DI system and place both lines into their respective containers at the exact same time. Let them run for exactly 60 seconds.
- Compare volumes. Measure the volume in each container.
- Example: If you have 100 ml of product water and 300 ml of waste water, your ratio is exactly 3:1.
- Calculations: Divide the waste water volume by the product water volume (waist/product = ratio
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Not sure if that’s your problem though. A flow restrictor goes bad it sure would lead to low pressure. They do get clogged that’s why I use a ball valve. It’s just a pain though sometimes because you have to check what your ratio is from time to time. Hope this helps
OP
OP
Thank you for the detailed information I really appreciate your time and knowledge on this. This helps tremendously. I will take the advice and see what happens
Where would you get the ball valve from? I will check Amazon, most things are usually available there, but in Canada not everything can be sent.
I do have a gauge meter on the unit. I was usually 60-65 of so but now I’m lucky at 40-45.
Thanks again I really appreciate the help
I would NOT recommend using a ball valve on your waste line in place of a flow restrictor… for a number of reasons… it’s actually the worst possible choice of valve for flow control in general (intended for on/off only), aside from a waste line having a manual control valve causing its own issues…
@Buckeye Hydro , would you care to share some expert advice on the subject?
OP
OP
i guess i need some learning to do especially in this area for various reasons… Thanks for your post as I need to take a step back and dive into the subject a little further.
I think at this point a booster is the best way to go and see if this works and go from there.
I do appreciate all the help and advice with the issue.
Aha! I think @Garf may have nailed it!
So, I’ve only ever run 1micron GE RO.Z graduated sediment filters there are ~.1-1micron, growing increasingly fine closer to the filter core. I then run dual 1 micron carbon blocks. I have never seen more than a 5psi drop in observed pressure post-carbon/sediment (on filters WAY past due for changing).
For this reason, I believe the filter micron size change is a red herring, and the issue lies elsewhere!
— aside from something relatively obvious like installing an RO membrane backwards, or a kinked line; the Automatic Shut Off (ASO) valve is a common culprit for extremely low water flow rates, and 40-45PSI maximum operating pressure!
That said, Does your system have something relatively box shaped with four fittings/tubes going into it? It might look like this:
This ASO valve allows you to leave your RO system pressurized while not in use without having water constantly dump out the waste line!
— if installed backwards, it will kill water supply to the system as soon as the city supply line hits 40-45PSI!
So, I’ve only ever run 1micron GE RO.Z graduated sediment filters there are ~.1-1micron, growing increasingly fine closer to the filter core. I then run dual 1 micron carbon blocks. I have never seen more than a 5psi drop in observed pressure post-carbon/sediment (on filters WAY past due for changing).
For this reason, I believe the filter micron size change is a red herring, and the issue lies elsewhere!
— aside from something relatively obvious like installing an RO membrane backwards, or a kinked line; the Automatic Shut Off (ASO) valve is a common culprit for extremely low water flow rates, and 40-45PSI maximum operating pressure!
That said, Does your system have something relatively box shaped with four fittings/tubes going into it? It might look like this:
This ASO valve allows you to leave your RO system pressurized while not in use without having water constantly dump out the waste line!
— if installed backwards, it will kill water supply to the system as soon as the city supply line hits 40-45PSI!
Lol @Buckeye Hydro is the one who recommended it I do think it’s been years. I can adjust flow it’s not on or off so I don’t know what you mean. I could be wrong I bought it from him but again it’s been years. I Ike to see what he says
While it is technically possible to adjust flow with a ball valve, the adjustments are coarse at best…
if you insist on using a valve for waste line restriction, I recommend looking into a needle valve as a major control upgrade which will quickly pay for itself in membrane life, and DI resin consumption!
It is possible that ball valves were the go-to before other valve types, and/or flow restrictors became readily available! I have consistently seen @Buckeye Hydro recommending correctly sized flow restrictors in recent years, at least!
Further reading:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lets-talk-ro-flow-restrictors.993044/
OP
OP
Appreciate the detailed explanation, my mental thought was density = lower flow but clearly that was an incorrect thought process. In regards to an ASO I actually don’t have one. For my system I just screw it on the garage faucet, let it do its thing and keep an eye out, set a few (lol) reminders and turn it off. I don’t have anything that looks like those fittings. My unit is a 4 stage Waterbox RODI unit for reference.Aha! I think @Garf may have nailed it!
So, I’ve only ever run 1micron GE RO.Z graduated sediment filters there are ~.1-1micron, growing increasingly fine closer to the filter core. I then run dual 1 micron carbon blocks. I have never seen more than a 5psi drop in observed pressure post-carbon/sediment (on filters WAY past due for changing).
For this reason, I believe the filter micron size change is a red herring, and the issue lies elsewhere!
— aside from something relatively obvious like installing an RO membrane backwards, or a kinked line; the Automatic Shut Off (ASO) valve is a common culprit for extremely low water flow rates, and 40-45PSI maximum operating pressure!
That said, Does your system have something relatively box shaped with four fittings/tubes going into it? It might look like this:
This ASO valve allows you to leave your RO system pressurized while not in use without having water constantly dump out the waste line!
— if installed backwards, it will kill water supply to the system as soon as the city supply line hits 40-45PSI!
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