Just got my Maxcap system today... But they didn't ship the faucet adaptor I paid for w/it... So I can't use it yet...System looks well built.. I will be making a call tomorrow.. We will see how there customer service is.. I'll keep everyone in the loop on how it performs once I'm able to use it...

mine is still going great. already made over 100 gallons.got a quick release too, i love it.

Also notice Spectrapure has joined N-R.com as a sponsor so you may be successful contacting them by sending them a message as well as calling.

Hey folks-
maybe off topic (sorry) but you all got me thinking about something in this thread- I was curious, since you were all comparing pricing and features in this thread, I got to wondering why we have offered bulk resin kits for DI refills at the lowest prices we can determine http://www.spectrapure.com/email/customer-...eciation.html#1
yet it seems like almost everyone buys our already prepared cartridges even though bulk fills are much less expensive. Why is this do you think?
bruce

I guess simplicity

People are lazy.

Ditto the 2 replies above...

I end up wasting resin.

lack of knowledge. ease of transference.

Excuse my ignorance on the subject but I guess this is a good time for me to pony up and get a RO/DI. I can permanatly plumb it in my apt so I was thinking either the faucet adaptor or the adaptor that goes under the sink mated to the flex hose coupler...

Does the faucet adaptor fit on any faucet or only threaded ones? that seems easier to put on and off it it fits any faucet. The under the sink option will work but I'd rather be able to just hook and un-hook right at the faucet then keep the unit in the closet otherwise.

^ what a poser

the one i got fits on a threaded faucet. what i did was had a threaded faucet, and put a quick release on it, so i can pop the RO/DI hose on or us eit as a sink by popping the hose off.

there are garden hose adapters (connect to where your garden hose connects), there are Y hose connectors for under the sink or in your laundry room at home depot, and there is a clip on faucet adapter for easy on off to your sink connection. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Factors include convenience, flow (thus production rate effects), and murphy's whoops factor (what if the line pops off, what gets wet or ruined?)
bruce.

Thanks Bruce. I think for the simplicity of things the clip on adaptor would be the best. I don't need much flow since I don't go through much water. I'm assuming you sell these clip on adaptors?

I believe it only works on threaded ones, but don't quote me on that. Generally the threads are on the INSIDE of the aerator though with the fauctes that apartments tend to have. What i did with my RO/DI when I had an apartment, was just add the "T" adaptor mine came with to the existing cold water flexline, then add another flexline from the adaptor to the faucet. It's really easy to do that way, and still portable in a sense in that it can move with you if you move out.

quick disconnect

i used something similar to this. makes it really easy to just click on and click off. kind of works like an air compressor

Cool, thank to both of you. I think I get it now.

I'd still like to know if the "Quick-Connect Faucet Coupler with Aerator" on the spectrapure site will work with any faucet. Otherwise I might just grab the feed water adaptodr and rig it up like phixion was talking about under the cabinet.

Hey that's a pretty neat kit, Caps!

Yeah, I've had my RO/DI at 2 different apartments and then currently at my house I now have. At the house, I put the unit in my garage and have it feeding off a convenient hose bib that runs off the water line to the house which runs up through the garage.

Most, but not ANY :-)
http://www.spectrapure.com/St_fd_valves.htm

I like the Y hose bib from home depot or Harbor freight (brass, includes shut off valve) that you can add on under the sink and leave on for hose bib reconnect. BUT, a good point for infrequent users is the faucet adapter is out in the open where you can see what is happening. Nothing worse than coming back from vacation to find that your spigit under the sink was dripping because your spouse jammed a box of chlorix up against it and turned the valve slightly. Ask me how I know..

how do you kn..... i dont even want to know on second thought

Thanks Bruce. I think it all makes sense to me now. I'm going to try one of those Y fittings and put the hose adaptor that comes with on one side, then sink flex line on the other. I just need to see if they sell flex line in 1/2 on one side and 3/4 on the other. Either way thanks for the help and i'll figure it out. Just placed the order.

let us know if we can help.
1-800-685-2783 tech line.
bruce

Sorry for my probably newb question but, if I buy the Maxcap, what else do I need to use this without mounting it for a faucet? Can I just like fill a bucket of tap water and pump that water through? How would that work? Thanks.

RO/DI units require pressure to force water through the membrane, this pressure is normally provided by household tap water pressure. You need to either hook it to a faucet like kitchen or bathroom with a screw on adapter, tap into the cold water supply line near a faucet or like many of us do use a hose bib wye adapter like found at the hardware to hook two garden hoses to a single hose bib or faucet.
The MaxCap comes with a threaded adapter with hose bib threads standard and can be adapted to any of the above very easy and inexpensively. I use the wye on the cold water line to the washing machine and mounted the MaxCap on the wall above my laundry sink.

How much pressure is TOO much to put through an RO/DI system? I'm getting ready to hook mine up to an UNregulated supply source. I need to get a pressure gauge for it, but I believe it'll be around 100psi, maybe 90 at the least. My current household pressure is regulated at 55- 60psi and I'd rather not fiddle with the pressure regulator and just hook up my RO/DI unregulated instead.

The housings and fittings are the limiting factor. Most name brand components have a 125 psi working pressure rating which means they have a burst strength about 3 times that. Most vendors say 90-100 psi max. which is conservative in my estimation if you have good components.
The RO membranes themselves are rated up to 150 psi.
I run my booster pump at 100 psi which not only gives me a higher GPD but also improves the rejection rate up to over 99.35% removal efficiency.

Spectrapure has some very informative Sticky Posts in their Nano-Reef Sponsors forum including this one:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=214143

AZ to the rescue!

I recall Charlie @ RAP telling me the housings have an 80psi rating... I too thought it was higher, around 100 at least... I'll definitely test the pressure first before connecting my system to that water line. I'm wondering though if the actual limiting factor is the seals themself rather than the actual plastic housing...

Also, when using a hose bib adaptor, is it bad to have it connected to one of those anti-siphon things? When my house was build, ALL hose bibs had those attached, and the builders CUT the heads off them so they can't be easily removed... Kind of annoying, at least on the one my RO/DI is connected to...

O ring seals are used in high pressure hydraulics and can stand much higher pressures than the plastic housings. I think for any water related product to gain the UPC and ANSI ratings in the US they must meet the 125 psi working pressure rating, at least in the municipal water industry that is true.
All vendors are going to be conservative to protect their warranties no matter who they are if they are smart. Working for an engineering firm, I find our engineers to be ultra conservative when it comes to things like that. Operators and Engineers don't always see eye to eye but we operators can always fix what they screw up in the design . I get an give a lot of grief about that.

Hose bib vacuum breakers are a PITA, they burp every time you shut the hose or device off etc. My house had them on every faucet except the cold water line to the washing machine. I ended up putting in a 1" backflow assembly and running seperate lines so the inside water is protected from my landscape irrigation.

It usually wipes the threads off to unscrew the vacuum breaker but ypu could replace a faucet easily if its threaded and not sweated. You can als odrill and use an easy out on the brken off screw. I don't condone this since it is a possible source of cross connection after that. You will also not many vendors sell non approved, non airgap faucets with their drinking water kits which do not meet plumbing codes or msot city codes. That air gap is theer for a reason as well as the air gap on the waste saddle which protects you from getting raw sewage back into a membrane in the event of a backup. Its all for a reason as much as we hate it.

I know about the engineer vs. operator stuff pretty well from where I work at, and I agree with you there.

When I got the house, the customer service rep for the builder company told me if I didn't like the vacuum break, I could use a hacksaw to slot it the holding screw, and remove it. I figure they are on for a reason though and probably there by code with my luck... =/ They are only attached to any outside hose bibs, not to anything inside fortunately. My irrigation is a seperate line (though sharing the same meter, so off the same main service) which is kinda nice. I'm not planning to put a vacuum break on the faucet I bought that I plan to attach the RO/DI to as I don't see a point in having one on there for that, and I won't be using that new bib for anything else anyways.

Great info on this thread....I'm about to pull the trigger on a unit myself, but thought I would share some info first on some deals I found.

Spectrapure RO/DI ProPlus 90gpd units are on sale for 149.99 on marine depot and petstore.com

I think I'm going to get mine from petstore because there is free shipping over $75