Noob RO/DI questions

[Menidia]

I'm thinking of getting a RO/DI unit, probably this one: http://spectrapure.com/Refurbished-90-GPD-RODI-System

 

I just have a couple silly questions:

 

I live in an apartment and don't really want to mount it permanently anywhere. In my research it seems many people hook them up to the laundry line but I don't have that option. It says that this unit includes an adapter, does that mean I can just hook it up to the bathroom faucet and run the waste line into the tub or something?

 

Also does it need to constantly be hooked up or can I hook it up to the sink, make water, then take it down and store it until the next week as long as the membrane stays wet?

 

Thank you for any feedback, I'm completely lost with RO/DI units!

[Nocturnal]

I'm in an apartment temporarily as well and I have mine cooked up to my laundry line when I use it and the drain line running down the waste drain in the wall. I need to buy a T connection so I can stop swapping.

 

Depending on your adapter you will need to unscrew the aerator on your sink and connect the adapter. Removing it as needed works fine.

[Noinoi24]

I just got my spectapure as well. I live in an appartment and plan to hook it up under the kitchen sink...

[Clown79]

I'm in an apartment.

 

There's no room in my laundry room to set up the unit and I can't do any plumbing so I took up the hoses every week to the unit, use the adapter on my faucet (had to buy an additional part to get it to work with my faucet), then take it all down when done.

[Menidia]

Awesome! Thanks all, just put in my order! 

 

 

[squamptonbc]

I am in an apartment and mine is hooked up to the bathroom sink with an adapter. Our kitchen sink has a weird fancy faucet not compatible with the adapters available for RO units, and the laundry faucets are behind the washer and dryer and not accessible without taking down the heavy dryer stacked on top of the washer... So bathroom it was. I am lazy and just leave it hooked up and sitting on the counter.

[Menidia]

How often do you change each of the cartridges? Mainly the ro membrane and the di cartridge? 

 

Also so what's the difference between a di cartridge and di resin? Is the resin just what goes into the cartridge?

 

Sorry about all the questions, RO/DI has me somewhat confused still haha. 

[squamptonbc]

5 minutes ago, Menidia said:

How often do you change each of the cartridges? Mainly the ro membrane and the di cartridge? 

 

Also so what's the difference between a di cartridge and di resin? Is the resin just what goes into the cartridge?

 

Sorry about all the questions, RO/DI has me somewhat confused still haha. 

 

Your source water will determine your frequency to change everything, the cleaner the source water the longer everything lasts.

 

For me the source tap water is very clean, very low TDS and very low chlorine levels.

 

I change the sediment pre-filter every 6-8 months on average, I never see a drop in pressure and the pre-filter never changes color, but I feel changing it out every 6 to 8 months is ideal, same with the carbon filter.

 

I have never had to change the membrane yet, but this unit has only been running a bit over a year so still relatively new.

 

DI resin I don't use as I get 0 without it but when I did use it it lasted well over a year, in fact it never actually needed replacing, I just stopped using it which is the norm for my area, not many use DI resin due to high quality source water the city has.

 

The cartridge is the container the resin goes into, many if not most units the cartridge is refillable and you only replace the resin, but there are exceptions, I believe aquatic life has a system you need to buy their proprietary cartridges.

[Menidia]

Awesome, thanks! That cleared a lot up. 

 

I hear the water here isn't great, guess I should get a TDS meter next

[Clown79]

28 minutes ago, Menidia said:

How often do you change each of the cartridges? Mainly the ro membrane and the di cartridge? 

 

Also so what's the difference between a di cartridge and di resin? Is the resin just what goes into the cartridge?

 

Sorry about all the questions, RO/DI has me somewhat confused still haha. 

Each person's frequency is different. For me, it's every 3 mnths to change sediment, 2 carbons, and di....it gets expensive when it's changed this often.

 

On 17/04/2018 at 11:51 AM, squamptonbc said:

I am in an apartment and mine is hooked up to the bathroom sink with an adapter. Our kitchen sink has a weird fancy faucet not compatible with the adapters available for RO units, and the laundry faucets are behind the washer and dryer and not accessible without taking down the heavy dryer stacked on top of the washer... So bathroom it was. I am lazy and just leave it hooked up and sitting on the counter.

How do you prevent the water draining out?

[squamptonbc]

13 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Each person's frequency is different. For me, it's every 3 mnths to change sediment, 2 carbons, and di....it gets expensive when it's changed this often.

 

How do you prevent the water draining out?

I use one of these on the product line, when not in use I close it and it prevents any water from draining out of it. The waste line always stays in the sink, I put it down the over flow drain when not in use so any water from it just drains down the drain.

 

https://www.jlaquatics.com/ro-inline-ball-valve-fitting-1-4-x-1-4-quick-connect.html

[Clown79]

8 minutes ago, squamptonbc said:

I use one of these on the product line, when not in use I close it and it prevents any water from draining out of it. The waste line always stays in the sink, I put it down the over flow drain when not in use so any water from it just drains down the drain.

 

https://www.jlaquatics.com/ro-inline-ball-valve-fitting-1-4-x-1-4-quick-connect.html

But the waste line constantly draining, doesn't that drain the membrane section?

 

I was told by spectrapure that the membrane and di must stay full or both get damaged.

 

They advised having the hoses placed upwards but where my unit is, I can't because of my cupboards.

 

I have no other place for the rodi unit to go.

 

Been looking for a solution to cap off the di and waste line.

[Menidia]

I'm having trouble getting it connected to the faucet. I removed the aerator but the faucet has a 3/4 inch female thread which the included adapter obviously won't fit... Are there any other adapters that I can try?

[squamptonbc]

2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

But the waste line constantly draining, doesn't that drain the membrane section?

 

I was told by spectrapure that the membrane and di must stay full or both get damaged.

 

They advised having the hoses placed upwards but where my unit is, I can't because of my cupboards.

 

I have no other place for the rodi unit to go.

 

Been looking for a solution to cap off the di and waste line.

I don't have a spectra pure system but I have never had water drain out of the system I have, just some residual from the product line but never from the waste, all containers are full and the membrane is wet, so I see no reason to change anything and its easier to just keep it in one spot.

 

 

[FISHnChix]

3 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Each person's frequency is different. For me, it's every 3 mnths to change sediment, 2 carbons, and di....it gets expensive when it's changed this often.

 

How do you prevent the water draining out?

How do you know when it's time to change the carbon??? So you can tell when your di changes colors it's bad.. I assume that once your di goes bad that means your sediment filter is bad too???  

[FISHnChix]

Oops just answered my own question.. thought I would link this

 

www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/howto-know-when-to-change-your-rodi-filters/

[Menidia]

I tried and it has water in the sediment filter and carbon block. I can't keep going until I get an adapter or find a different faucet. Do I need to empty it? Sorry I think I screwed this up...

[Menidia]

Okay I think I found and adapter, but is the lead content a concern?

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GP9G860/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1524612712&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=danco+snap+coupling&dpPl=1&dpID=41RHPtRIIOL&ref=plSrch

[Clown79]

6 hours ago, Menidia said:

I'm having trouble getting it connected to the faucet. I removed the aerator but the faucet has a 3/4 inch female thread which the included adapter obviously won't fit... Are there any other adapters that I can try?

I had to purchase an additional piece myself because my faucet has female threads and so does the adapter.

 

It's a double male plastic adaptor. 

[Menidia]

RO/DI unit is hooked up and flushed, and am making my first real batch of RODI water now. 

 

Thank you everyone for all your input, it has truly been invaluable!