Need Help

[sefrayser]

I just got the SpectraPure CSPDI 90 RO/DI filter. My question is..the Carbon filter is almost empty. I put a valve on the blue line and closed it to hopefully purge any air. The water is still running out of the yellow line. I let the blue line stay closed for about an hour..went back and opened the blue line and the carbon filter started to drain again. I was told to leave the blue line shut and the pressure gauge would go to zero.....when it did it purged. Is this right? I was also told that I shouldnt turn the water off, it would automatically stop making water when I close or stop flow on the blue line? I am reading about 65psi on the pressure gauge. I did the 1 minute test like the book said and I got 2/3 cup of water out of the blue line and a little over 3 cups on the yellow line. Does that need to be adjusted?

[AZDesertRat]

I have already answered two other threads you started on different forums.

 

There really is no need to cross post, your questions will get answered if you give people a little time to respond.

[sefrayser]

Sorry, Just trying to get some advice. I have water running and want to get ir right before $$$$ literally go don the drain.

[AZDesertRat]

To actually do it right you should flush the filters one at a time so you don't contaminate or wear the next filter out.

You should start with only the prefilter installed in the first housing and the line between the carbon block and RO membrane disconnected. You flush the prefilter by itself to remove all traces of glue, binders and antimicrobial coatings.Next you install the carbon block and flush it to remove any fines or carbon dust so they don't get on the membrane.

Next you hook the membrane back up but remove or disconnect the DI cartridge and flush 2-3 gallons to waste to rinse the membrane. Finally you install the DI cartridge and flush until you get 0 TDS on the OUT probe, then you are ready to make treated water.

[sefrayser]

I am going to stay at this thread. Sorry about double posting. Thank You for your help AZ. Now here is my last question.

I dont know what I did but now the third chamber is full and staying full. I cracked open the cyliders and when closed them and charged the system it filled up and is staying full. The other 2 chambers have always appeared to be full. What pressure is good. When I have my supply valve all the way open its reading 80. I can adjust it so its at 60. How much water should I flow before I can start using it for saltwater? I have flowed about 12 gallons. Still no reading on the TDS. When I am not using it I need to cut the water supply off....correct?

[AZDesertRat]

The higher the pressure, up to 90-100 psi, the better. Do not try to throttle the pressure and especially do not try to adjust the temperature, cold water only, never ever mix hot and cold! Membranes melt at 113 degrees and that not all that hot.

 

Yes, you can get the DI canister to fill up by bleeding the air but it will drain again and one more time, this is normal and nothing to concern yourself with. To demonstrate this stick a 3 or 4 foot long piece of tubing on the DI treated water line then while in operation raise the end of the line above the RO/DI unit and you will see the DI canister fill up. Lower the end of the line to the floor and you will see the canister drain out. Its normal.

 

Usually 3 to 5 gallons is recommended to flush a membrane. Spectrapure treats and tests their membranes so 2 to 3 gallons is usually sufficient. Remove the DI cartridge and screw the empty housing back on them make some RO only water. Monitor the TDS meter OUT reading and it will be ready to use when the TDS is about 98% less than the IN reading or a rejection rate of 98%. Reinstall the DI cartridge and you have good RO/DI water. I like to monitor my RO only TDS periodically as the RO membrane is the workhorse of the system, the DI is just a final polishing.

[sefrayser]

It is ok to remove the filter even though I have already started making water? I am new to this and want to do it right. I just don't know what to do. I can take the DI filter off and run water thru it if its what I need to do. If that's what I need to do, I will run the water until the TDS meter reads 98% of the incoming reading. In other words if my incoming is 100 when the outgoing is at 2 I am good?

[AZDesertRat]

Yes a tap water TDS of 100 should present a RO only TDS of 2 or less and a RO/DI TDS of 0.

 

Its probably too late to do the flushing I described, the filters have already been flushed into each other with the 12 gallons or whatever you have made so far.

In the future, at 6 month intervals, flush the filters individually as I described and they will perform better and last longer.

 

You will replace your DI resin whenever the TDS on the OUT probe shows anything other than 0 TDS on a consistent basis. Each time you start the unit to make water, its normal to see a final TDS of 2-3 or so until the DI is flushed out again but when the TDS stays at anything other than 0 after a few minutes its time to change the DI resin. Thats usually when I would test the RO membrane TDS using the method I described earlier with the empty DI housing so I can see how the membrane is doing. Since the membrane does 90-98% of the work you want to keep up with its condition because once it starts to fail DI resin is eaten quickly since it must make up for the failing membrane. Fortunately Spectrapure membranes last for years and years if you keep up with the regular 6 month maintenance.

 

You can also use your RO/DI unit for drinking water again either by removing the DI cartridge or beter yet bypassing it with a tee and ball valve between the RO and DI stages so you can fill bottles, pitchers or jugs with RO only water. We have drank RO only for over 15 years now and by making our own we really cut down on all the throw away plastic bottles of drinking water.

[sefrayser]

Thanks for all the input. I stil do not get a reading on the incoming.......I am a little frustrated. When I first hooked the unit up I got some reading on the incoming, after a few minutes it went to 0. I will check again when I get home and post findings. Once again Thank You for the help.

[AZDesertRat]

Make sure the probe is inserted all the way into the tee and is oriented in the correct direction of flow.

 

If you still do not get a reading try swapping the IN and OUT probes to see if they agree or give different readings.

 

Where are you located and what is your water source? Some areas of the US and Canada have very low TDS in their water, say 50 or so, but its pretty rare. The national average is up around 250 today and in the Southwest where i am located its not uncommon to see a TDS of 500-1200 or higher. Mine never drops below 500 and is usually 600-800. Needless to say a good RO/DI is a must and maintenance is key.

[sefrayser]

Im in Gloucester Va. I had my water tested and it was reading I think in the mid 700's. I am on City water. I turned it on and had readings on the in of around 90 and then after the water was flowing for a couple minutes it dropped to 0....thats on the incoming. The out has always read 0.

[AZDesertRat]

Trace the lines and make sure the IN probe is between the carbon block and the membrane housing and not after the RO membrane, either way it should have some reading if your tap water TDS is 700.

Try reversing the probes temporarily, the OUT between the carbon and membrane and the IN fater the DI and see what they read. Sometimes you just get a bad meter or probe and it needs replaced. Spectrapure should be able to help with that.

They also have a Sponsors Forum here on N-R and answer all their threads quickly and accurately from my experience.

 

Looking at your water quality reports over the last few years I see a couple things that should make you extremely pleased you bought a good RO/DI unit.

http://www.co.gloucester.va.us/util/Services.htm

 

For one they feed phosphates into the distribution system for corrosion control which is tough if you don't have RO/DI. They also have measurable silicates again which the RO/DI takes care of.

[sefrayser]

This is how it is... 1st chamber, 2nd chamber, up to the one on top and then probe, then third chamber. I am going to find the sponsor and see whats up. I looked at the probes and everything looks good......but then again I don't really know what Im looking at other than a probe.

 

Even before I had my water tested I knew I was going to get a RO/DI unit. I wanted to make sure I had a good start.

[sefrayser]

I called them and they got me straight. What I ended u doing is taking the incoming probe off and putting it in Tap water. I got a reading and then it cleared when I hooked it back up. They also got me straight on measuring the GPD and a few other things. At least now I know it is working properly. Thanks Again AZDesertRat for all your help.