Anyone using the Spectrapure rebuished unit? im having issues, please help.

Y

yankeeslover

New member
i purchased the refurbished 90 gpd ro/di unit about one month ago... I have filtered roughly 35-50 gallons so far and up until tonight i have been running 0 ppm tds.. Tonight i was filling a 5 gallon jug and noticed my tds was up to 5 ppm...even after filling letting it run for 15 minutes first. So I unscrewed the DI filter and removed the filter.. i than ran it again and noticed the TDS without the di filter was 86ppm... Shouldnt a brand new membrane that has only gone under 50 gallons total water be much lower then 86ppm? my tap water is around 145ppm.. so something is wrong.. i have no idea why the membrane is not removing tds...
I was also reading tonight about the flow restrictors.. of course the owners manual mentioned nothing of this. So i tested it and im getting around 2:1 ratio.. I took out the restrictor and it was already pre-cut and around 1/4 inch long... it was not 6 inches but 1/4 inch long... so at 2:1 ratio would that ruin my membrane in one month?
What should I do? i undestand the refurbished units are not warranty at all.. is it worth a call to spectrapure? any other ideas? like i said i have used this for under 50 gallons so far and it was running fine until tonight..thanks..
 
What is your water pressure? You can check to see if the membrane is pushed in all the way also

Deff give them a call, they are very helpful.
 
about 60 psi... i noticed my flow restrictor is in a red tube, and the restrictor itself is blue with a 1/4 inch small white stem off of it... i noticed this same restrictor on there site..this is odd, i wonder why its so short from the factory.
 
You can cut the restrictors to fit different membranes. I cant say if that is to short or not though as i dont have that unit but there is only so many things it can be on a rodi unit.
 
almost sounds to me like its a faulty membrane..not very happy.. I know i purchased this unit refurbished but i would expect the membrane to last more then 50 gallons.. I also noticed the color on the DI filter is also almost used up..I bet the DI filter has been doing all the work and not the membrane.. so now I have a brand new unit that I have to buy a membrane and di filter in under one months use... i wonder how good there customer service is.will see tomorrow.. thanks.
 
Have you tried takeing out the membrane and pushing it back in? Sometimes it looks like they are all the way in but they arnt, they can be very snug to push in
 
yankeeslover said:
almost sounds to me like its a faulty membrane..not very happy.. I know i purchased this unit refurbished but i would expect the membrane to last more then 50 gallons.. I also noticed the color on the DI filter is also almost used up..I bet the DI filter has been doing all the work and not the membrane.. so now I have a brand new unit that I have to buy a membrane and di filter in under one months use... i wonder how good there customer service is.will see tomorrow.. thanks.
Click to expand...

Hey I was cruising the forums and noticed that your membrane is not rejecting well. I see that you are only rejecting about 50%. A few things could cause this so early on, but I need to know more information first.

Did you notice your membranes tds always at 86, or was it lower than that to begin with?

Are you using a in-line tds meter, or is it a hand-held?

The red flow restrictor should be close to a 3:1 ratio, but have you measured your waste-to-product ratio with a stop-watch and measuring cup?

If the membrane is not seated in all the way, or if the membrane housing is damaged where the membrane seats into this could cause the high readings, or your membrane may just be faulty.

We will be very happy to help you through this process, and if it truly is a faulty membrane or membrane housing we will be glad to send you a new one.

Jeremy
 
thanks for all the responses

thanks for all the responses

SpectraPure said:
Hey I was cruising the forums and noticed that your membrane is not rejecting well. I see that you are only rejecting about 50%. A few things could cause this so early on, but I need to know more information first.

Did you notice your membranes tds always at 86, or was it lower than that to begin with?

Are you using a in-line tds meter, or is it a hand-held?

The red flow restrictor should be close to a 3:1 ratio, but have you measured your waste-to-product ratio with a stop-watch and measuring cup?

If the membrane is not seated in all the way, or if the membrane housing is damaged where the membrane seats into this could cause the high readings, or your membrane may just be faulty.

We will be very happy to help you through this process, and if it truly is a faulty membrane or membrane housing we will be glad to send you a new one.

Jeremy
Click to expand...
Jeremy, I only noticed this happening last night as far as the high tds thru the membrane.. I am gonna assume its been like this since day once since i have only filtered at most 50 gallons.. Lastnigth was the firt time i tested it with the DI filter off.. I noticed the color changing fast on the DI filter and I noticed the ppm creep after the DI filter. I figured something was not working right..
I tested the ratio last night with the DI filter off and got around 21/2:1 ratio.. a bit low... but i noticed the red tube had a very very small restrictor in it.. Once again would this low of ratio cause the membrane to go bad in two weeks?
I took the membrane out a few times lastnight and fit it back in and still was getting 75-85 ppm... oh, i am using a Handheld TDS meter.. I have not noticed anything wrong with the housing, but admit im not really sure what im looking at... it doesnt seem like much could go wrong with the RO/DI unit, if i was a betting man i would say faulty Membrane or housing like you said, but Housing looks ok to my eyes... but what am i checking? thanks again. Pete
 
yankeeslover said:
Jeremy, I only noticed this happening last night as far as the high tds thru the membrane.. I am gonna assume its been like this since day once since i have only filtered at most 50 gallons.. Lastnigth was the firt time i tested it with the DI filter off.. I noticed the color changing fast on the DI filter and I noticed the ppm creep after the DI filter. I figured something was not working right..
I tested the ratio last night with the DI filter off and got around 21/2:1 ratio.. a bit low... but i noticed the red tube had a very very small restrictor in it.. Once again would this low of ratio cause the membrane to go bad in two weeks?
I took the membrane out a few times lastnight and fit it back in and still was getting 75-85 ppm... oh, i am using a Handheld TDS meter.. I have not noticed anything wrong with the housing, but admit im not really sure what im looking at... it doesnt seem like much could go wrong with the RO/DI unit, if i was a betting man i would say faulty Membrane or housing like you said, but Housing looks ok to my eyes... but what am i checking? thanks again. Pete
Click to expand...

When I use a handheld meter I get a glass and stick the product tube inside of it, and I hold it over the sink or a bucket. I let the water overflow out of the glass, and then I stick the meter inside of it and measure flowing water. I hold the tds meter there until the tds stabilizes. Sticking a tds meter inside of a cup and dipping it in is not accurate.

Again if the membrane or housing is faulty, but I need to get to the bottom of if it actually is a bad membrane or housing. when you state that you have a 21/2:1 ratio was that a typo?

Jeremy
 
SpectraPure said:
When I use a handheld meter I get a glass and stick the product tube inside of it, and I hold it over the sink or a bucket. I let the water overflow out of the glass, and then I stick the meter inside of it and measure flowing water. I hold the tds meter there until the tds stabilizes. Sticking a tds meter inside of a cup and dipping it in is not accurate.

Again if the membrane or housing is faulty, but I need to get to the bottom of if it actually is a bad membrane or housing. when you state that you have a 21/2:1 ratio was that a typo?

Jeremy
Click to expand...
LOL, not a typo... halfway between 2:1 and 3:1 ratio... wasnt sure how to round that, so i used 2.5..hehe... i do the same thing with the tds meter. i let the water run out of cup with the tube in there, and then i measure like you say.. any idea why the restrictor is the small little blue one? its about 1.4 inch long... shouldnt it be much longer then this? it looks pre-cut...plus the directions in owners manual did not mention anything about cutting the restrictor..thanks again..
 
yankeeslover said:
LOL, not a typo... halfway between 2:1 and 3:1 ratio... wasnt sure how to round that, so i used 2.5..hehe... i do the same thing with the tds meter. i let the water run out of cup with the tube in there, and then i measure like you say.. any idea why the restrictor is the small little blue one? its about 1.4 inch long... shouldnt it be much longer then this? it looks pre-cut...plus the directions in owners manual did not mention anything about cutting the restrictor..thanks again..
Click to expand...

Send me an email to support@spectrapure.com. I will get you a new membrane. You want to make sure that you do not set this up on a float to automate the system. Setting it up on a float is ok, but the float is for overflow protection only. It is not meant for automated means.

Please include your complete contact info in the email.

Jeremy
 
SpectraPure said:
Send me an email to support@spectrapure.com. I will get you a new membrane. You want to make sure that you do not set this up on a float to automate the system. Setting it up on a float is ok, but the float is for overflow protection only. It is not meant for automated means.

Please include your complete contact info in the email.

Jeremy
Click to expand...
Jeremy, thank you for helping... i never expected to hear from you guys on this message board and that is going above and beyond on your part.. i thank you... btw, i dont use this for a overflow.. only have a 46 gallon tank, so i just fill gallon jugs as i need it with the RO/DI and add water as needed.... thanks again, PETE
 
Yankeeslover,
Try to run the RO longer.
Short runs play havoc with membranes scaling up.
If you have to get a 20 gallon Brute, use almost all before refilling.
 
Nice info to help him guys, but this is actually coming down to being a faulty membrane. I know I am surprised too. We will be sending him a new membrane and DI. Thanks for all the help everyone!

Jeremy
 
Btw what I do for my RODI is make water in a 10 gallon reservoir tank(pressurized). Then turn off water feed at the sink, a valve between then RO and DI, and I think either a check valve or shut off valve after the DI. Then I plumbed a float valve to my sump. So the tank pressure pushes the water into the sump when needed. Then once a week I flush the system and make the 10 gallons again.
 
MitchSutherland said:
Btw what I do for my RODI is make water in a 10 gallon reservoir tank(pressurized). Then turn off water feed at the sink, a valve between then RO and DI, and I think either a check valve or shut off valve after the DI. Then I plumbed a float valve to my sump. So the tank pressure pushes the water into the sump when needed. Then once a week I flush the system and make the 10 gallons again.
Click to expand...

Mitch this process is correct. Although DI can be harmful to the bladders. They do make Special DI pressurized bladder tanks.

Jeremy
 
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