Atticus
New member
Finally got the kinks worked out and the tank is finally being refilled and will hopefully be circulating water by this weekend. Just in time for my 30th B-day on Friday...:beer: :celeb1: :celeb3: :celeb2:
I have been struggling with an ailing RO/DI that helped spell the demise of all of my corals and fish during the move to Independence. I was unable to produce a decent amount of water here due to the extemely cold ground water and extremely hard water. I was under the impression that I had fried my RO membrane and decided to experiment with it before buying a new one. It had worked well and was around a year old in Davenport.
Long story short I now have a 75 gpd membrane on track to kick out at least 75 gpd if not more and it is doubly efficient compared to its functionality in Davenport.... I went from 15-16 TDS post membrane and around 45-50gpd in Davenport to 7-8 TDS and at least 75 gpd here in Independence, after only getting about 10gpd last week out of it....
The trick was first to find the factory information reguarding the proper functioning parameters of Filmtec membranes and then use that info to my advantage. I hooked my RO up to a hot water and cold water line. I used the hot only to clean the membrane after making sure it was not hot enough to destroy the membrane or loosen the glue on the tape used to wrap the membrane. We all use TW rated low pressure membranes the TW which I thought stood for Tap Water actually stands for Tape Wrapped... Who knew?
Anyway, after flushing the membrane for 15 mins I mixed in the cold which also increased pressure (only about 5psi) since I am now using 2 lines to feed the membrane. It got me over the 60 psi mark. Another bonus that increases efficiency!!!
I checked the waste line to make sure I was running at near 77 degrees, the key temp for the 75 gpd Filmtec. I reset my flow restrictor to a ratio of about 4:1 waste to good and off we went. I could not believe the difference. The flow went from a slow drip to a steady stream of good water by doing this mod and the TDS was only at 7-8 post membrane!!! I can't wait to see how this baby runs after we install a new water softener.
Just thought I would share, since this easy and cheap mod could save you all a ton of money and time. I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner...
To do this all I did was hook up a saddle valve on a hot and cold line. I then connected the 2 with a T connector. The flow from each can be dialed in using the saddle valves.
If you don't want a semi-perminent connection like this then you can get the same effect using a garden hose Y connector inverted and 2 short hoses connected to your washing machine hook-ups.
I have been struggling with an ailing RO/DI that helped spell the demise of all of my corals and fish during the move to Independence. I was unable to produce a decent amount of water here due to the extemely cold ground water and extremely hard water. I was under the impression that I had fried my RO membrane and decided to experiment with it before buying a new one. It had worked well and was around a year old in Davenport.
Long story short I now have a 75 gpd membrane on track to kick out at least 75 gpd if not more and it is doubly efficient compared to its functionality in Davenport.... I went from 15-16 TDS post membrane and around 45-50gpd in Davenport to 7-8 TDS and at least 75 gpd here in Independence, after only getting about 10gpd last week out of it....
The trick was first to find the factory information reguarding the proper functioning parameters of Filmtec membranes and then use that info to my advantage. I hooked my RO up to a hot water and cold water line. I used the hot only to clean the membrane after making sure it was not hot enough to destroy the membrane or loosen the glue on the tape used to wrap the membrane. We all use TW rated low pressure membranes the TW which I thought stood for Tap Water actually stands for Tape Wrapped... Who knew?
Anyway, after flushing the membrane for 15 mins I mixed in the cold which also increased pressure (only about 5psi) since I am now using 2 lines to feed the membrane. It got me over the 60 psi mark. Another bonus that increases efficiency!!!
I checked the waste line to make sure I was running at near 77 degrees, the key temp for the 75 gpd Filmtec. I reset my flow restrictor to a ratio of about 4:1 waste to good and off we went. I could not believe the difference. The flow went from a slow drip to a steady stream of good water by doing this mod and the TDS was only at 7-8 post membrane!!! I can't wait to see how this baby runs after we install a new water softener.Just thought I would share, since this easy and cheap mod could save you all a ton of money and time. I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner...
To do this all I did was hook up a saddle valve on a hot and cold line. I then connected the 2 with a T connector. The flow from each can be dialed in using the saddle valves.
If you don't want a semi-perminent connection like this then you can get the same effect using a garden hose Y connector inverted and 2 short hoses connected to your washing machine hook-ups.
