Used ro/di questions

DO NOT test from the bucket. Always test water straight from the unit using a squeaky clean clear glass drinking water glass which has been washed by hand in very hot water so it has no dishwasher soap residue, spotting agents or water spots. This way you get accurate readings and not what was in the bucket previously or in the air.

Do not buy color changing resins, they contain dyes which actually register as TDS when the colors change. On top of that most are very inaccurate for telling condition anyway, they can turn in streaks, top to bottom, bottom to top, not at all, all at once etc. A good handheld TDS meter is your best friend and does not lie if it is clean and calibrated.

To troubleshoot the system you need 3 TDS readings, tap water TDS, RO only TDS before the DI and final or RO/DI TDS. The RO membrane should be in the 96-98% rejection rate range if it is in good shape meaning if the tap water was 100 coming in you should see no more than 2-4 TDS with the RO only before any DI cartridge.

Flush valves are a waste of money, all they do is lighten your wallet and give you a warm fuzzy feeling. Something you will want though and you have already mentioned it is an inline pressure gauge to monitor sediment andcarbob block plugging and pressure drop.

I would highly recommend you get the CSPDI replacement kit here:
Untitled Document

Its $52 and gets you a very good 0.5 micron absolute rated sediment filter, a 0.5 micron 20,000 gallon carbon block and a filled 20 oz SilicaBuster reef specific DI cartridge which will outperform and out last any other DI on the market, saving you money in the long run in replacements. Most other vendors use higher micron, nominal rated sediment filters which do not protect the carbon blocks billions of tiny microscopic pores where the chlorine and volatiles are adsorbed.

Temperature does make a difference, the colder the water the better it treats and lower the treated TDS will be since it is more dense. Warmer water will speed the process up but give you higher TDS and eat your DI faster so is not worth messing with. The booster pump will greatly improve the efficiency and the GPD by raising the pressure up to 90 psi or so, I run mine at 95-100 personally. Do not try to temper or blend hot and cold, thats the fastest way to ruin a membrane there is. Same with sticking a heater in a bucket of water with tubing coiled in it, it costs a ton in energy and is not efficient since plastic tubing is a horrible heat exchanger. It takes a lot of BTU's to raise the temperature of one gallon of water even 1 degree.
If you look at the top of the page here you will find a calculator which shows how temperature and pressure change the production rate:
www.buckeyefieldsupply.com .

Your waste ratio should be 4:1 as mentioned by someone but that has nothing to do with the membrane being good or bad, thats just the flush that keeps it clean. The TDS meter tells you if it is good or not by the rejection rate I mentioned before. Take your tap water TDS-RO only TDS/tap water TDSx100 to get the rejection rate.

 

Wow, awesome. Thank you so much. Looks like I have some detailed testing to do! Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

 

I found a good hand held TDS meter on Amazon complete with 1000 TDS calibration solution for not much money, one of the best investments I have made.

+1 on the color changing resin, I would not rely on it.

 

told ya azdesertrat would be along to save the day!

 

Totally, ordering replacement filters now. Pretty good deal overall, kent maxxima hi-s 65GPD with new filters (once I recieve them) and a aquatec 6800 booster for $100. sweeet. Thanks again guys!

 

I ordered new filters along with the pressure gauge today. My question is where do I install the gauge? Before the booster pump? After but before the ro/di unit or somewhere in the unit between filter sections?

 

Between the carbon block and RO membrane so you are measuring pressure available to the membrane. When you start to see that pressure drop its an indication the sediment and/or carbon block are dirty and in need of replacement.

 

Received my shipment and installed. Before booster pump at 40psi and with 95psi, sound right?

 

Thats what I have run my system at for almost 4 years now. Never a problem.