Well Water Chewing through DI Resin

[JordanM]

The information. ~300tds out of the well, 25tds after RO membrane and 0 TDS after two canisters DI resin. Booster pump is getting pressure to 90PSI measured between membrane and resin.
System is the 150GPD.
Problem: I just replaced the tow stages of DI resin and after only making about 50 gallons mi Resin is already depleted halfway up the first canister. Also noticed it looks like it only used a partial of the first canister and started consuming the second canister as you can see from the pictures. This is older resin in the first that has been regenerated a few times so maybe it has lost its color changing ability and the stuff that did change right at the beginning was the new stuff. What are your thoughts on the rapid consumption? CO2?

 

[theMeat]

Di resin will get used up quick if it has to remove 25 tds.
Time to change the membrane which should be removing 96+%

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I would add a silicate filter before everything and replace the ro membrane.

 

[JordanM]

Di resin will get used up quick if it has to remove 25 tds.
Time to change the membrane which should be removing 96+%

You mean both membranes
It also seems like production is very slow. After 16 hours it has managed to make about 50 gallons worth. Does this mean the membranes are bad as well?

 

[JordanM]

This system has the 1um sediment filter and two carbon blocks before entering the membrane.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Have you measured alk and pH to get CO2 to see if that's an issue?

https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/CO2DIDepletion.php

 

[SashimiTurtle]

300 TDS going in reduced to 25 after the membrane is about a 92% reduction. Not the advertised 96-99%, but your incoming TDS is higher than 250 also.

 

[JordanM]

Have you measured alk and pH to get CO2 to see if that's an issue?

https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/CO2DIDepletion.php

I can do this tonight. Also ive read that people measure the ph then bubble it for awhile and measure the ph to see how much it changed to determine how much CO2 is in the water. Is this what I should do as well? How long to bubble it for?

 

[theMeat]

You mean both membranes
It also seems like production is very slow. After 16 hours it has managed to make about 50 gallons worth. Does this mean the membranes are bad as well?

Could be, or probably. Silicates will mostly pass through membrane. So if silicates is the issue than a silicate filter would be a better cheaper long term fix than to keep replacing the di resin.

Check pressure and tds after cartridges/ before membrane to know for sure

 

[JordanM]

Could be, or probably. Silicates will mostly pass through membrane. So if silicates is the issue than a silicate filter would be a better cheaper long term fix than to keep replacing the di resin.

Check pressure and tds after cartridges/ before membrane to know for sure

Do you suggest the silicabuster with Maxcap combination from spectrapure?

 

[theMeat]

That unit would work. But before you go buy it make sure you need it.
How old is membrane?
Have carbon blocks been changed regularly?

 

[JordanM]

That unit would work. But before you go buy it make sure you need it.
How old is membrane?
Have carbon blocks been changed regularly?

Probably going on 5 years with on and off use. Carbon blocks have not been changed recently but id di not see the point since there should not be any chlorine in the well water unlike city water.

 

[theMeat]

You’re right on the carbon blocks/well water. Although they can trap debris and then release it.

Would recommend changing the membrane and see where that leaves you.
The di resin should only be removing the last few points of silicates. So if after changing membrane you’re getting more than a couple of points above zero out of membrane, before resin, probably a good idea to get silicate filter.

Also a good idea to change flow restrictor and auto shut off when changing membrane. And while you’re at it installing a flush valve too

 

[JordanM]

I do have a flush valve and ive been letting it flush to 30 tds before switching it to the di. Would it be more worth it to change out one of the carbon blocks for a silica buster and still run a dual di color changing? I would of course replumb the order so the silica buster was right before the dual di. When i get home tonight ill check the ph and alk out of the tap. BRS has the spring sale going on now so it would be nice to get them ordered during this sale if i need them.

 

[JordanM]

Just looked into the flush valve and have some questions. So does this replace the restrictor completely and serve as a flush valve and restrictor in one?
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/membrane-flush-valve.html

 

[mfinn]

Probably going on 5 years with on and off use. Carbon blocks have not been changed recently but id di not see the point since there should not be any chlorine in the well water unlike city water.

Time to change the membrane.
I would get one of the best membranes out there. The Spectrapure membrane. Be sure to get the matching flow restrictor.

 

[jwalker314]

I am on well water as well and saw a drastic decrease in TDS switching to the 99% Spectrapure membranes. Also I replaced my cabron prefilters (no chlorine in well water) with a multiple stage sediment filters, 10micron, 5 micron, 1 micron. This has helped get some of the junk out of the water so it doesn't clog up the membrane. In addition it is a good idea to add a flush before your DI resin. Since the first bit of water being produced will have a very high TDS from sitting in the filters it is good to divert a gallon to waste before DI.

As far as production I know with my well the water is very cold coming in. RO Membranes work best at more of a room temperature water. I have seen guys run 100ft of ro tubing on their feed line through a bucket of water with a heater in it to help production. I personally just deal with the lower production instead of having another component of the system to worry about.

 

[JordanM]

I am on well water as well and saw a drastic decrease in TDS switching to the 99% Spectrapure membranes. Also I replaced my cabron prefilters (no chlorine in well water) with a multiple stage sediment filters, 10micron, 5 micron, 1 micron. This has helped get some of the junk out of the water so it doesn't clog up the membrane. In addition it is a good idea to add a flush before your DI resin. Since the first bit of water being produced will have a very high TDS from sitting in the filters it is good to divert a gallon to waste before DI.

As far as production I know with my well the water is very cold coming in. RO Membranes work best at more of a room temperature water. I have seen guys run 100ft of ro tubing on their feed line through a bucket of water with a heater in it to help production. I personally just deal with the lower production instead of having another component of the system to worry about.

Thanks for the input. I do have the flush before the DI and it starts at about 150TDS and gets down to about 30 before i switch it to the DI and after about 20 gallons it only gets down to about 25 TDS before the DI. Good point on the carbon block. Maybe i will convert one to a 1um and continue to use the first sediment filter as a 5um. Then i may change the second carbon block to the silicabuster before going into the dual DI.
The flush valve on the waste line is still confusing me though. Does this just replace the flow restrictor and serve both purposes?

 

[Crabs McJones]

FWIW I was going through di like crazy for a while. Then I changed out my prefilters and both my 75 GPD ro membranes, and my di consumption went down considerably. I was changing it almost every 2 to 3 months, now I'm looking at more like 6 to 7

 

[mfinn]

The flush valve on the waste line is still confusing me though. Does this just replace the flow restrictor and serve both purposes?

BRS uses a flush valve that serves as a flow restrictor. The number on it says what amount of water is going to waste. 800 0r 600, etc.
Places like Spectrapure usually use a inline flow restrictor.