Solved - Leaking BRS Dual Reactor

[VW_TDI_02]

[update]

Turns out the sender had two reactors and BRS actually has changed their canisters/housing. He tried putting his back together and his canisters were too small and wouldn't fit. Plan is to simply mail each other the right canisters (hopefully) so that we both have working reactors.

 

 

 

I bought a used BRS dual reactor and I'm having a lot of trouble getting this to work and not leak like crazy. The water is coming out from the canister threads and it isn't a small drop at all but full blown streams coming out of it. The original owner and I have been trying to figure it out and even BRS didn't have any advice other than buy new canisters and check the o-ring... It isn't a pressure thing since filling the canisters and flipping them over while fully screwed in results in water pouring out of the threads. Looking through the canister, I can see a visible gap (1/16-1/8") between the o-ring in the groove and the bottom of the white threads. When I slightly loosen it, I can feel a lot of play in the threads too. The o-ring looks to be in good shape without any cracks or anything like that. The hose fittings also work just fine and all the water coming out comes from the threads. Below are some pictures.

IMAG0729 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

IMAG0730 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

IMAG0732 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

[B16acrx1988]

Tried Teflon tape?

[ajmckay]

Thats odd, and frustrating.

 

So you bought it used... Normally I trust people that they'll sell me good working stuff, but ocasionally junk comes in. He could be lying if he claims it worked fine when he had it!

 

Quick question... Do you hand tighten or do you use a filter wrench? Usually I can get a no-leak seal with hand tighthen and only need the wrench for removal, but I suppose you could tighten with the wrench? Also, did he give you the metal plate for the top? Without the plate all the weight and stress from twisting the cannisters off is transferred to the nylon nipple in the middle which isn't very strong.

 

1) A crack. There could be a crack somewhere that when the water is off is not noticeable at all and only when pressure is introduced it opens up just enough to let water out. My guess is the crack would be in the white plastic vs the housing but it would be a lot more obvious in the clear housing plastic I think.

 

2) Incompatible components. The pieces aren't designed to fit together. This could be anything from he lost the O-ring and found one that looked like it would work so he tossed that in there and sent it off OR he could have had a bunch of random peices lying around from different systems and decided he could sell them for more if he sold them as a complete system vs. a bunch of misc. parts. So the white plastic part could be BRS but the housing could be another manufacturer possibly (threads too tall, o-ring slot too deep, etc..)? So I would swap cannisters (the clear part) and see if the leak always comes from the same side. It could just be the wrong size o-ring in there.

 

A third possibility is that there is damage to the threads or the o-ring seat somewhere. I would avoid teflon tape because you'll be taking this apart and each time you'll have to clean off and replace the tape, plus the O-ring is really the piece that should be doing the work. The threads on these cannisters aren't designed to seal by themselves, unline PVC pipe where the threads are tapered and the teflon tape is just to seal tiny imperfections. At most the only modifications you could choose to make are to put some silicone grease on the o-ring to keep it pliable for longer.

 

Anyways, play around with it some more and hopefully you can find out where the leak is coming from and correct it without too much trouble.

 

Edit, I just noticed that both sides are leaking... IMO that points to the wrong components being used. Either the wrong o-rings were included or the wrong cannister housings or possibly the heads themselves? Something probably isn't fitting right.

[VW_TDI_02]

Tried Teflon tape?

 

Could possibly work but I would need a lot of it since there is a large gap between the threads.

Thats odd, and frustrating.

 

So you bought it used... Normally I trust people that they'll sell me good working stuff, but ocasionally junk comes in. He could be lying if he claims it worked fine when he had it!

 

Quick question... Do you hand tighten or do you use a filter wrench? Usually I can get a no-leak seal with hand tighthen and only need the wrench for removal, but I suppose you could tighten with the wrench? Also, did he give you the metal plate for the top? Without the plate all the weight and stress from twisting the cannisters off is transferred to the nylon nipple in the middle which isn't very strong.

 

1) A crack. There could be a crack somewhere that when the water is off is not noticeable at all and only when pressure is introduced it opens up just enough to let water out. My guess is the crack would be in the white plastic vs the housing but it would be a lot more obvious in the clear housing plastic I think.

 

2) Incompatible components. The pieces aren't designed to fit together. This could be anything from he lost the O-ring and found one that looked like it would work so he tossed that in there and sent it off OR he could have had a bunch of random peices lying around from different systems and decided he could sell them for more if he sold them as a complete system vs. a bunch of misc. parts. So the white plastic part could be BRS but the housing could be another manufacturer possibly (threads too tall, o-ring slot too deep, etc..)? So I would swap cannisters (the clear part) and see if the leak always comes from the same side. It could just be the wrong size o-ring in there.

 

A third possibility is that there is damage to the threads or the o-ring seat somewhere. I would avoid teflon tape because you'll be taking this apart and each time you'll have to clean off and replace the tape, plus the O-ring is really the piece that should be doing the work. The threads on these cannisters aren't designed to seal by themselves, unline PVC pipe where the threads are tapered and the teflon tape is just to seal tiny imperfections. At most the only modifications you could choose to make are to put some silicone grease on the o-ring to keep it pliable for longer.

 

Anyways, play around with it some more and hopefully you can find out where the leak is coming from and correct it without too much trouble.

 

Edit, I just noticed that both sides are leaking... IMO that points to the wrong components being used. Either the wrong o-rings were included or the wrong cannister housings or possibly the heads themselves? Something probably isn't fitting right.

When I do it, I normally hand tighten it and then give it a small tug with the wrench but not a lot. Yes, he did give me the top plate but I took it off in order to get a better view of what was leaking When removing the canisters, I always hold onto the white part on top of the canister that is being removed in order to not put any stress on the middle. No cracks either.

 

Option 2 is actually the correct option. Turns out the original owner has another BRS dual reactor. I received a message this morning saying that he tried to put that reactor back together and the canisters are too small for that reactor. So it turns out that the canisters got switched somehow (probably in storage or while cleaning). It's strange because when I called BRS, they said they hadn't changed the canisters in 5-6 years and this thing doesn't look that old. I'm waiting on a response again from the owner but everything appears to be working out how it should. He's going to mail me the correct canisters (well, hopefully they are the right ones. haha) and he's going to pay for me to mail back the canisters he sent me. Hopefully after all is said and done, both reactors (his and mine) will be working just fine.

[ajmckay]

Kick ass... I mean sucks you have to wait but at least the guy is working with you... Kudos for testing it out first.

 

Who knows if it's BS or not, I mean you can get these housings on eBay from china for really cheap and they all essentially look and function the same... As long as you get the right cannisters I suppose that's whats most important.

[AZDesertRat]

Make sure you get genuine Amatek or Pentek sumps (canisters) and lids. They are tested and rated by organizations such as ANSI/NSF and meet Uniform Plumbing Code requirements for working and burst pressures.

 

Many if not most of the imports are not tested or rated and do not carry the approval seals. The plastics are more britte so do not stand up to water hammer or surges, the lids are not as beefy so develop hairline cracks where the fittings screw in and sometimes even screwing in the screw that holds them to the top bracket creates a crack or leak. Another issue is lead in the plastics which does not meet drinking water standards.

 

Just because they look the same doesn't make it so. The imports have gotten pretty good at making things appear the same but the quality just is not there.

[VW_TDI_02]

Yea, it sucks but he's been easy to communicate with and get everything sorted out. I think it is that BRS switched something out because this one still has the BRS label and everything. I'll check later to see if there are any approval stamps or anything like that.

[AZDesertRat]

Many vendors have made changes over the years. My household drinking water system had canister lids that were real thin around the fittings and developed hairline cracks and leaks and they were actually name brand products. I switched to a better, thicker lid and had to swap sumps too since the diameter was slightly different even though they looked almost the same.