Pure water club ro units

[AZDesertRat]

Have you ever disinfected the RO system and pressure tank? This should be done annually at a minimum and better yet at 6 month intervals when the filters are changed. It takes about 5 minutes and could be a lifesaver.

I have seen bacteria countsso high in a RO system that colony counts were not possible due to lack of maintenance. People think its a plug and play device with no maintenance required and it could not be further from the truth especially if its used for human consumption. I have posted disinfection directions many times and you can probably find them with a quick search, if not I can post them again.

 

Forget the two carbon blocks, its a waste of money. Go with a 0.5 micron prefilter, a single 0.5 micron carbon block and a new 98+% RO membrane and replumb the empty carbon canister as a vertical refillable DI for about $10 or less in a refillable cartridge and parts. You can find everything you need on sale here:

http://www.spectrapure.com/email/customer-...eciation.html#1

 

Two carbons are the ebay vendors way to get any sort of life out of their cheap carbons which wear out in as little as 300 total gallons. A good single carbon block lasts 20,000 gallons and doesn't cost much more. Remember all water, even the waste at 4:1 goes through the prefilter and carbon so get good ones.

[johnlvs2run]

Have you ever disinfected the RO system and pressure tank? This should be done annually at a minimum and better yet at 6 month intervals when the filters are changed. It takes about 5 minutes and could be a lifesaver.

 

No, it's a relatively new tank.

I will look up your instructions and disinfect the system right away, when the filters are changed.

 

Forget the two carbon blocks, its a waste of money. Go with a 0.5 micron prefilter, a single 0.5 micron carbon block and a new 98+% RO membrane and replumb the empty carbon canister as a vertical refillable DI for about $10 or less in a refillable cartridge and parts.

 

I will love to replumb it for DI! Do you have instructions for that? What about the chloramines?

 

You can find everything you need on sale here:

http://www.spectrapure.com/email/customer-...eciation.html#1

 

Thanks

 

Two carbons are the ebay vendors way to get any sort of life out of their cheap carbons which wear out in as little as 300 total gallons. A good single carbon block lasts 20,000 gallons and doesn't cost much more. Remember all water, even the waste at 4:1 goes through the prefilter and carbon so get good ones.

 

Excellent. Will do, thanks.

[AZDesertRat]

Its very easy to replumb a system so you use the extra carbon canister for a DI. The canisters are all connected together using plastic or nylon threaded nipples so you unscrew the canister lids from the top bracket and unscrew the last carbon canister from the middle one. Unscrew the nipple from the middle canister lid and replace it with a 90 degree thread by john guest speed fit fitting like this:

http://www.versuscountrybagamonsterbuck.com/

You'll need a couple of these or you can use straight thread by john guest on the new DI canister.

Take the line that leads up to the membrane and plug it into the center carbon canister now so it goes prefilter, carbon block, RO membrane, then take the good water out of the membrane and run it down to the new DI canister then out the other side for your RO/DI water. The bracket should have sufficient holes to rotate the last lid 90 degrees and reattach it to the bracket so the outlet and inlet face front to back and not side to side.

To give you an idea you can see in this picture how the last canister is rotated so the outlet faces the front and has a 90 degree elbow installed in it for RO/DI water:

http://www.spectrapure.com/St_osmo_p2.htm

 

A single good carbon block is all you need for chloramines. Most people mistakenly add carbons when in fact its the ammonia portion of chloramines that is the problem not the chlorine portion. The single chlorine guzzler carbon is more than adequate at normal drinking water residuals. Its the ammonia that passes through thew carbon and membrane and thats where a good full size vertical 20 oz DI comes into play and removes the ammonia.

[johnlvs2run]

Its very easy to replumb a system so you use the extra carbon canister for a DI. The canisters are all connected together using plastic or nylon threaded nipples so you unscrew the canister lids from the top bracket and unscrew the last carbon canister from the middle one. Unscrew the nipple from the middle canister lid and replace it with a 90 degree thread by john guest speed fit fitting like this:

http://www.versuscountrybagamonsterbuck.com/

You'll need a couple of these or you can use straight thread by john guest on the new DI canister.

Take the line that leads up to the membrane and plug it into the center carbon canister now so it goes prefilter, carbon block, RO membrane, then take the good water out of the membrane and run it down to the new DI canister then out the other side for your RO/DI water. The bracket should have sufficient holes to rotate the last lid 90 degrees and reattach it to the bracket so the outlet and inlet face front to back and not side to side.

To give you an idea you can see in this picture how the last canister is rotated so the outlet faces the front and has a 90 degree elbow installed in it for RO/DI water:

http://www.spectrapure.com/St_osmo_p2.htm

 

AZDesertRat, thanks for the great explanation.

Is it possible to reverse the rotation of the filters?

This particular system has the sediment filter in front instead of in back.

 

A single good carbon block is all you need for chloramines. Most people mistakenly add carbons when in fact its the ammonia portion of chloramines that is the problem not the chlorine portion. The single chlorine guzzler carbon is more than adequate at normal drinking water residuals. Its the ammonia that passes through thew carbon and membrane and thats where a good full size vertical 20 oz DI comes into play and removes the ammonia.

 

This is good to know. I saw one of your posts suggesting that DI water is not good for drinking. Would you elaborate on why this is? Can a different filter be used in the 3rd slot to get rid of ammonia so the water will be better for drinking? If so, is it better to have it pre or post membrane. Thanks

[AZDesertRat]

It does not matter if the filter array is left to right or right to left as long as the prefilter is first, carbon is second etc. Most vendors seem to go left to right but again it makes no difference.

 

Drinking DI isn't really a health issue as much as it doesn't taste refreshing and is expensive to make compared to RO only water. DI is very bland or blah tasting. What I would suggest is run from the RO only to the pressure tank then tee off the line between the tank and faucet with a ball valve to feed the DI filter seperately. That way you get RO only for drinking, cooking, icemaker and such and you still have a pressurized source of RO to feed to the DI to make tank water. I did just this for years until I got the new UHE strictly for aquarium use and a small RO just for drinking.

One problem with this method is pressure tanks cycle on and off or short cycle a lot due to water usage at the faucet and the need to keep the pressure tank full. This leads to TDS creep issues with the water stored in the tank slowly going up in TDS. I got around this by making sure to empty the pressure tank every week or two which wasn't a problem as I filled my 5G water jugs with RO/DI for changes anyway. Once the pressure tank is empty let it fill completely with fresh RO and the TDS drops again. My other solution was first to get a second 5 gallon pressure tank so I held about 7 gallons (3.3+/- gallons each) of pressurized RO water and the unit did not kick on so often to recover. I later bought a 14 gallon pressre tank and sold the two small tanks and had over 11 gallons of pressurized RO water on hand at all times, this allowed me to fill over two 5G jugs at a time before running out of water. I think the 14G tank was less than $100 new.

 

Another option is Spectrapure sells remineralization cartridges that fit in a standard canister that add back just the right amount of minerals for taste, they use these in their coffee lovers systems and all the major coffee shops (you know the ones I am talking about) use them for those expensive cups of java!

I would not put remineralized water in my tank though as it is defeating the purpose of having an RO/DI.

[johnlvs2run]

My previous system didn't have noticable creep but this one sure does. I have stopped using the spigot for drinking, instead filling three 1 gallon containers whenever they are completely empty, which is a few times a week. Each time, the tank is emptied completely. At first I was only filling two containers but discovered it is better to empty the tank every time.

 

I have been wondering for awhile, do 75-100 gpd membranes have more creep than 25-50 gpd membranes? It seems to me that they would. Thanks for your feedback.

[AZDesertRat]

No they do not. Dow Filmtec 100 GPD membranes are bad news though as they are only 90% rejection rate nano filters to begin with compared to their 25-75 GPD membranes rated at 96-98% rejection. The difference is dramatic when you consider for every 2% you increase your membranes rejection efficiency you double the life of your DI resin, 6-8% makes a tremendous difference. Spectrapure starts out with 75GPD Dow membranes then treats them with a proprietary process and tests their efficiency afterwards. Those that are better than 98% are their Select series which are on sale for $45 and carry a guarantee and those at 98% or slightly lower are their normal series at $35 right now. Those that fall much lower are sold in units such as hydroponics and other applications that do not require the efficiencies we like in reef aquaria. They are the only vendor I am aware of that hand tests their membranes.

The GE water 100 GPD is basically the same as the stock off the shelf Dow 75 GPD 976-98% rejection and 75 GPD at 50 psi, 90 GPD at 60 psi and 100 GPD at 65 psi but most of us don't have 65 psi at the tap so the 75 number is more realistic. You really need to know which membrane you have as it does make a difference.

[johnlvs2run]

I think this membrane is 75 gpd, will check that later.

 

Disinfection instructions

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...p;#entry1836192

 

Comparison of cleaning agents

http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.co...sinfectant.html

[AZDesertRat]

For RO membranes and systems a popular alternative to bleach is hydrogen peroxide.

[johnlvs2run]

Drinking DI isn't really a health issue as much as it doesn't taste refreshing and is expensive to make compared to RO only water. DI is very bland or blah tasting.

Does the DI add anything to the water when it goes through the epoxy beads?

The TDS is reduced, but is anything added in suspension, or in any other manner to the water?

[andrewguilfoy]

I have a 50gpd purewaterclub unit. It seems to work okay. I've had it for about a year, I get 0 tds everytime. But my local tap reads at 80, so it's not a huge difference.

[AZDesertRat]

DI adds noting and removes everything electrically charged either cation or anion.

[johnlvs2run]

DI adds noting and removes everything electrically charged either cation or anion.

 

Thanks for that information.

 

What happens when the DI is saturated and not renewed, does it release anything then or just not hold anymore?

[AZDesertRat]

Even BEFORE DI resin is exhausted, it starts to release weakly ionized substances back in to the treated water. Some of these weakly ionized substances include phosphates, silicates and nitrates so it is very important that you monitor your treated water TDS and change the resin or cartridge as soo nas you start to see anythng other than 0 TDS on a regular basis.

 

Another reason you want to change it immediately is weakly ionized substances may not register well on a obbyist grade TDS meter so you may have higher levels of contaminants in the treated water than you realize. What shows as 1 or 2 TDS can actually be much higher since they don't have much of an electrical charge. Remember TDS uses electrical conductivity as a measurement.

 

This is also another reason why I do not trust inline meters for my finished water, they are not nearly as accurate and a good handheld and are not truly temperature compensated. The HM Digital COM-100 can read either TDS down to tenths of a ppm TDS or resistivity either one and is temperature compensated so very very accurate. Same brand as the inlines but a much better meter as are the TDS-3 and TDS-4TM both of which along with the CO-100 have a built in digital thermometer too.

[johnlvs2run]

AZDesertRat, thank you very much for the helpful information.