ebay RODI systems
- Thread starter july865
- Start date
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
The less efficient membranes will pass more TDS through that in turn will eat up your DI much much faster. With the non refillable horizontal DI you do not have as much media in them and they do not work as efficiently to begin with so you keep spending money to replace them. With a vertical housing and a refillable cartridge you can buy bulk resin and refill it your self for about $5 to $9 at most vs. ???$25 for the others which last half as long to begin with. Also you really should get a 75GPD membrane when you replace your no matter which unit you have. Again the difference between 90% and 98% goes a long way.
You are not doing your math homework if you buy the cheap units. Add up the cost of replacements over a year to 3 years and see which comes out on top. I am not connected to anyone here but hate to see fellow reefers spend money un wisely.
You are not doing your math homework if you buy the cheap units. Add up the cost of replacements over a year to 3 years and see which comes out on top. I am not connected to anyone here but hate to see fellow reefers spend money un wisely.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Hey,You got a filter and you are on the right track! Hope all works out well for you. You are going to like having your own RO/DI water and not having to go buy water or use tap water.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
I don't know where you are coming up with those prices. The AirWaterIce Typhoon RO/DI is $149. Their Dual Home/Reef is not much more and you get everything. The e-bay units are $99 and up and have higher shipping and handling rates, not much difference to me when you consider replaceable DI and better membranes.
Sierra
In Memoriam
auker said:
yes mine was 97 and change for everything including shipping - shipping only took 2 days super fast.
we poor folks will likely only get poorer from the deal - but hey I look at it this way at least I got RO/DI water and I can still pay the bills this month!
mmmm coffee made with my new RO/DI water - sweeeeet!
btw I performed a smell/taste test between my tap vs RO/DI water - WOW what a difference!
Sierra: So I take it you don't have a system with a holding tank, is this right? How are you going to set your unit up so you have RO/DI on hand when you need it? Do you think it's worth the extra money for a filter with a storage tank? It appears to be only a 3.2 gallon storage tank for $20.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
The extra money gets you a tank, auto shutoff valve and faucet. Well worth the extra money. I even added a second bladder tank to mine so I get almost 7 gallons of water before it slows down.
Sierra
In Memoriam
auker said:
It took me about 30 minutes to fill a 1 gallon pitcher - which I put into the fridge for delicious clean drinking water. Plus I saved a few 1 gallon milk jugs which I cleaned out real well and have them stored in a cool dry dark place (cabinet) - so as far as having drinking water on hand - NO PROBLEM!
I also went down to home depot and picket up a small purified water faucet and installed it in my sink - I picked up some extra tubing and used it to plumb in an extra long 25 foot tube which I can run directly to my tank. I simply installed an extra "switch" to divert my product water to the 25ft tubing going to my tank.
I'll post a picture in a few minutes.
The Storgae tank isnt going to hold enough for my needs anyway so I chose not to get it. rather I bought a Large 32g FDA approved trashcan and plan on filling it so I have plenty of water ready for water changes. I would have bought the 32g trashcan for water changes anyhow.
it cost me an extra 30 bucks for the additional tubing/faucet/ parts - and I was able to plumb it EXACTLY how I wanted it w/ the 25 foot tubing plumbed in to run directly to my tank for top off.
Sierra
In Memoriam
The Blue Tube Leads to the faucet - The White tube directly across from blue goes to the RO/DI unit - The White coming out the bottom is the 25 foot tubing for tank - the 25 foot tube has a shut off vavle on the end.
The Faucet we bought - gotta love that water pressure - amazingly it is giving me 2g per hour.
The Faucet we bought - gotta love that water pressure - amazingly it is giving me 2g per hour.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Sierra. Get a plastic tee and replace the brass ASAP. Any copper or brass will leach copper into your water. DI water will attack it very quickly. Home Depot and Lowes both sell John Guest or speed fit type fitting now.
Sierra
In Memoriam
AZDesertRat said:
yah - I had to get on my husbands case about picking up the copper hardware - He is going to switch them out tonight. Right now I'm just making drinking water up right now so no worries. also I have an acrylic tank - but I still dont want copper anywhere near it.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
I find the biggest driving force is your raw water quality. If you have high TDS ie 250 or above, and you make much water, it is worth the price difference to go with a 75GPD 98% rejection membrane. At the same time vertical cannisters and refillable DI cartridges pay for themselves very quickly. Even at www.airwaterice.com the horizontal non refillable DI filters are $20 each. I buy bulk DI resin for less than $5 per refill and it lasts quite a bit longer as they hold more and have better flow characteristics than horizontals do. You can pack the resin so you don't get short circuiting which lets untreated water through.
I would say if you can find an e-bay vendor that sells quality membranes and vertical DI for a decent price go for it, but you probably won't because those are two of the most expensive items in a quality RO/DI unit. You also won't get the customer service or technical support next year or the year after when you need it.
I would say if you can find an e-bay vendor that sells quality membranes and vertical DI for a decent price go for it, but you probably won't because those are two of the most expensive items in a quality RO/DI unit. You also won't get the customer service or technical support next year or the year after when you need it.
Sierra
In Memoriam
I do plan on purchasing a more effiecient /expensive unit in the future. But for now this is what I can afford and it will do the job ok for now without me having to dig into my lighting/skimmer/ LR budget.
If I werent budgeting my spending so much I would definitely have gone with a slightly more expensive unit.
My thought is : if you have the extra 225 laying around for a super nice unit - then buy the super nice unit - But If You are like me and dont have quite so much room in the budget- This RO/DI will get you through until you can afford the expensive ones.
I plan to get a new one by the end of the year. I figure this unit will have more then paid for itself by then and will give me a chance to squirrel away a few dollars at a time for a big fancy unit.
If I werent budgeting my spending so much I would definitely have gone with a slightly more expensive unit.
My thought is : if you have the extra 225 laying around for a super nice unit - then buy the super nice unit - But If You are like me and dont have quite so much room in the budget- This RO/DI will get you through until you can afford the expensive ones.
I plan to get a new one by the end of the year. I figure this unit will have more then paid for itself by then and will give me a chance to squirrel away a few dollars at a time for a big fancy unit.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Darn budgets suck don't they! I have been the same way over the years. My RO started out as a Watts Premier Drinking Water system from Costco and has progressed over the years. My only thing I was able to do upfront though was to go to the Wats Premier factory here in Phoenix and exchange the 25GPD membrane for a fully tested 75GPD membrane for an additional $35 when I bought it. Other than that it has been one piece at a time.
silkchaos
Member
I just orderd my RO/DI. I kinda compromised between the two. I went with an Ebay seller that also has an established store, so that I do have the tech support available! This one had the advantage of being 75 gallon for the better particle reduction, and also the clear bases so that the filters are visible. Thanks to Emilye2 who pointed this one out!
Robinson
Robinson
