Upgraded my RO/DI system

[rockstarnsc83]

I had a 50 or 75 gpd Ro/di 4 stage system. Since the membrane, filters and such all needed changed, I just decided to upgrade. So I got a 100gpd RO/Di 6 stage system


This system is a 6-stage 100 gallon per day reverse osmosis + 2DI filter system with single outputs (mainly for Aquarium and Reef).
The advantages with using clear, refillable DI filter: REFILLABLE means that you can partially refill your DI filter and eliminate the effect of channeling, and increase the usable life of the DI resin 3 times and filters out 3 times more water
RO+DI unit with All 6 stage , 6 filters (ALL FILTERS ARE STANDARD SIZES)
Feed water adapter valve which connects to cold water supply under the sink
Drain saddle valve
Automatic shut off valve:
when your shut off the dispensing valve or when your own float valve closes, the automatic shut-off valve shuts off the water feed and drain, so prevent wastage of water going to drain. And if you have your own large container and float control valve, this system would turn ON/OFF automatically to refill your container.
DI filter dispensing ball valve for your own container
color tubings
Installation Manual

1st stage: high capacity, 5 micron sediment filter, to remove sediment, rust, sand, (replace every 12 months)

2nd stage: high capacity carbon filter, coconut shell carbon block filter removes chlorine, taste & odor (replace every 12 months)

3rd stage: high capacity carbon filter, coconut shell carbon block filter further removing chlorine to ensure 100% removal of chlorine (replace every 12 months)

4th stage: TFC-100 Premium membrane we have done extensive testing among different brands of membrane, and we recently have switched to a higher rejection membrane filter, by US MEMBRANE, MADE IN USA. It removes 95% to 98% of all chemical, dissolved solids in tap water. (replace every 2-3 years) Look at data below. We also have TFC-75 membrane available upon request.

5th stage: DI filter (de-ionized, de-mineralize filter), Nuclear grade, color changing DI filter with refillable clear housing. The DI filter removes remaining of dissolved solids after RO system.

6th stage: DI filter (de-ionized, de-mineralize filter), Nuclear grade, color changing DI filter with refillable clear housing. The DI filter removes remaining of dissolved solids after RO system. A ball valve is included for dispensing DI water into open containers or to open tank. GOOD for reef, aquarium, hydroponics applications.

[rayme07]

Very cool RO/DI system!

[CarmieJo]

That looks very nice!

[AZDesertRat]

You are on the right track but you could have done better, probably for less money too.

Not to pick on you but E Bay vendors like to play tricks on unsuspecting buyers and the buyer usually ends up on the short end of the deal.

First off, when buying a new RO or RO/DI system, ignore the word "STAGES" completely, this is a buzz word they throw around to sound impressive. What you do need to pay attention to is what those stages contain, not how many there are. Included in those "tages" on the ebay model are several things you have no need for and do not add to its filtration capabilities.

What you do want and need for an RO system are 3 stages, for an RO/DI 4, no more no less. This applies in 99% of all installations unless you have special conditions such as heavy sediment or high CO2 that may require an additional prefilter or a second full size vertical DI.

Lets start at the beginning. The first filter inline is a prefilter which traps sediment and particulates. The reason this filter is there is to protect the carbon which is next inline. To protect this carbon you want a prefilter with as low a micron range as is practical, usually 1 micron or less. The reason is carbon, both granular products and carbon blocks are made up of billions of timy microscopic pores which is where the chlorine is adsorbed. if you have a 5 micron prefilter everything up to and including 5 microns is allowed to pass through and lodge in the carbon rendering it useless for removing chlorine.

Next up is the carbon block. I say carbon block as most granular carbon products have no place in a RO or RO/DI system since they degrade and turn to dust clogging the RO membrane or whatever is downstream. Many lower end RO/DI systems use two carbon blocks and again make this sound like something special. In fact a single good quality carbon block is prefferable since it provides less pressure drop so the membrane performs better. They provide two since they are usually higher micron sizes which equates to lower chlorine adsorption before they are exhausted. A 10 micron carbon block may last as little as 1000 total gallons of water before it is shot, thats only 200 treated gallons and 800 waste gallons at the normal 4:1 waste ratio. Now remember the high micron prefilter that is allowing 5 micon particles to pass through? That 200 gallons may be significantly less. So they add a second one instead or providing one single, yes more expensive, lower micron higher quality carbon block in the 1 micron or less size. note many ebay vendors do not even state the micron size and some still provide cheap GAC granular. The normal 1 micron carbon block can filter 9000 gallons of normally chlorinated water, thats 1800 gallons of treated water and 7200 gallons of waste with a single carbon block provided it is preceded by a high quality prefilter of the same or smaller micron size. Big difference. Even better is a 0.5 or 0.6 micron Chlorine Guzzler type carbon block which does up to 20,000 gallons with a single block and only costs about $13.

See where I am going, they talk their systems up but don't tell you the truth. Again, I'm not intending to single you or anyone out, heck you are doing good by buying a RO/DI in the first place!

Now the 100 GPD membrane could possibly be the worst thing in the whole RO/DI system. If its a Dow Filmtec 100 GPD then its not even a RO membrane but is considered a nano filter which is only 90% removal efficiency compared to the 75 GPD Dow at 96-98% removal. You need to check on this and make sure its not a Dow 100, if it is I would return it for a 75 GPD Dow Filmtec since it will make your DI resin last 4 or 5 times longer. More on that next.
There are also 100 GPD membranes which are OK, GE Water and Applied Membranes are two examples but they are not quite what they appear to be either. Dow Filmtec rates their membranes to produce the rated GPD at 50 psi and 77 degrees F. GE and Applied rate theirs at 65 psi and 77 degrees so in essence the 75 GPD Dow and 100 GPD GE or Applied are almost identical/ lay the graphs over each other and you find they all do 75 GPD at 50 psi, 90 GPD at 60 psi and 100 GPD at 65 psi. Its just a different way of advertising. We will not even consider the Dow 100 GPD since it is such a poor performer. Most reputable vendors will point this out and try to talk you out of it since it ends up costing moer in the long run and does not filter as well.

Finally the DI filter. The problem with the horizontal housings is water takes the path of least resistance and travels along the bottom of the cartridge so the resin ath the top never gets wetted or used. This is called channeling or short circuiting and is common with horizontals. The ebay vendors then add a second one stating dual DI gives you more contact time. Sounds good but its not quite true.
Reputable RO/DI vendors use a standard 10" vertical canister with a refillable cartridge inside that holds 20 oz of resin when packed properly. These canisters and cartridges are plumbed so the water enters the bottom first and must travel up and out the top so all resin and water come into contact with each other so no channeling or short circuiting and the resin gets used completely saving you money on refills and better final watwr quality.

We have cut the 6 stages down to 4. This saves you money on replacements, gives you better prefiltration so the carbon lasts longer, cuts the two carbons to one so you have less pressure drop and fewer housings and fewer filters to replace. It also does a better job of trapping particulates and colloidal materials so the RO membrane will last longer and function better. We have ensured you have a 96-98% rejection or removal rate RO membrane so the DI resin lasts longer. One thing I forgot to mention is for every 2% you increase the RO membrane efficiency you DOUBLE the life of your DI resin. Next we eliminated the two horizontal hollow tubes and gave you a standard 10", 20 oz DI filter. We not only doubled the DI life with a more efficient membrane now we have extended the DI life even further with the bottom up flow and increased capacity with no short circuiting.


See how the ebay vendors mislead people? It helps to know how theses systems work and arm your self with questions for the vendor before buying. There are others on this forum such as Russ at Buckeye Field Supply who can confirm my statements above. Take a look at his 75 GPD Premium system, 1 micron prefilter, 1 single 0.6 micron carbon block, a 75 GPD Dow Filmtec RO membrane and a single vertical DI. This is all pretty common in the industry.
You might also check out the CSP-DI at the link below. It contains pretty much the same stuff but takes it a few steps further by testing the RO membranes performance and also mixing their own proprietary DI resins. Both the Premium and CSP-DI include necessary items like TDS meters, inline pressure gauges and the much better capillary tube flow restrictors.
http://www.spectrapure.com/email/cus...ciation.html#1

Quality does not have to be expensive. Shop wisely and don't let vendors lead you down a path. Be informed.

[laurabolyard]

wow, I came to the right place for info, as usual!! Great, I am finally in the market for one of these!