how do you set up an ro-di system?

would I be able to time it so the next time I use it I know to set the mircowave timer (or any other timer) for X minutes.

 

Yes, it will vary a little bit with water pressure and water temp but it will be pretty close. My winter water production is almost half of my summer water production if I don't do something to warm up the tap water, just due to my tap water being so cold in the winter.

If you get the auto shutoff kit (about $25) you don't have to worry about catching it though.

 

As long as your water pressure and water temperature stay pretty constant the GPD will not vary much. Pressure and temperature are the two biggest things that affect RO output, the higher the pressure and warmere the water, the faster it will produce water. On the opposite end cold water and low pressure lower the flows. While on that subject, never try to temper or blend hot and cold water with a faucet to raise the water temp. It is the easiest way to toast a emebrane there is. Remember being in the shower and someone flushes the toilet or starts the washer? You got your tust scalded didn't you? Same thing happens to the RO membrane and they cannot take any water over 113 degrees or they melt. Use cold water only and boost the pressure if it comes down to it.

 

Actually, no. I have seen this in movies and have heard and told jokes about it... but I have never actually experienced this in any of the places I have ever lived...

my toilet is viewable from the shower and my wife and I always act like we're being mean when we flush... but it's just a joke for us... it doesn't actually do anything...



I actually thought it was an ol' wives tale...

(not arguing your point though).

actually actually actually... jeeze, I used that word often enough in this post :

 

You're lucky. In my home the two bathrooms are back to back and the hot water heater is on the far end of the house in the garage. I can always tell when someone is in the other bath or the wife is doing laundry and it can be painful!

 

On the hot/cold water topic, I believe hot water also carries higher TDS as well so you will need to change your filters more often if you mix your water to improve the temp.

 

It depends on the plumbing setup in the house. My mom has college stories from when she shared a bathroom with like 20 or 50 or some number like that in her dorm (back when dorms were jail cells with one bathroom per floor) and every time you had to flush the toilet you had to yell "FLUSH!" so the folks in the showers could step out of the water for a little bit to dodge the wave of heat.

The same happens in the old locker rooms at my old highschool. We'd have wednesday morning practice at 6:00am and we'd be in the showers, then we could always tell if someone flushed, even if it was in the girls locker room. The guy on the right side shower head was messenger boy, because his shower head would always feel it first, whether it was a wave of coldness or hot. He'd start yelling, and we'd all know to step back or squeal like little girls The weird thing was the water was either hot or cold, which isn't effecting by toilet flushing. So maybe our water heater was just a piece of crap.

 

Its not so much the hot water has higher TDS, its usually that you are stirring up the crud in the bottom of the hot water heater that has accumulated over the years. The TDS is the same if it wasn't for that.

 

The toilet/shower flushing issue is from using cheaper temperature valves or not sizing the branch line to handle the cold water flow for both the toilet and shower on at the same time. Some designers focus on cost savings.

 

Very very few homes use tempering valves, maybe less than 1/10 of 1% I'll bet. They are fairly new to the market and most of us live in homes that have been around a few years. Every home I have ever seen built in AZ uses the same 1/2" copper plumbing and only recently have we started seeing hot water loops and such. Not cheap plumbing, just standard UPC code plumbing. Tract homes don't have designers, they are all cookie cutter.