Recharging DI Resin

[winland]

About 18 months ago, I purchase some bulk DI resin, 1 cu. ft., about 44#. As I used it, I through it away, as most of us would.
I did sell about 10# or so to some other reefers. I then found this thread on recharging DI resin.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1144161

and this subsequent article.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-09/nftt/index.php

So I started saving my DI resin.
Earlier this month, I finally used the last of the "virgin" resin that I had purchased and decided to try the procedure discussed in these articles.

All went pretty well considering I am not a chemist by any stretch of the imagination. I started off with about 25# of used DI resin and ended up with about 22# of recharged resin. Considering that a 5# bag of new resin can cost over $40 plus shipping, I think that it was VERY MUCH worth the effort.

However, and this is a BIG however, I have not used any of the newly recharged resin yet. I will update in a couple weeks when I have to change the current DI resin in my RO/DI canisters.

winland

 

[MACDad]

Please let us know how effective it was. Did you keep it separate or did you mix it back together? I have read it is not as effective separate, but it would make recharging a lot easier. You would probably not lose much at all.

 

[winland]

TDS was up around 10 so it was time to change my DI resin. This is the first change using my re-charged resin.

I did the change and let the water run about 10 - 15 minutes and TDS is back down to 0.
I guess now the question is, will the re-charged resin last as long as the new resin?

MACdad: I did mix them back together. They say it works much better when mixed, but you are right, it would be SOOO much easier if you kept the resin beads seperate.

chuck

 

[winland]

Well, so far so good. I got about 300g of RO/DI water out of the recharged DI resin. This is comparable to what I was getting with the original "virgin" DI resin before the TDS would go into double digits.
So, stop throwing your used DI resin away, if you are not going to recharge it yourself, I will be happy to take it off your hands.

:rollface:

Chuck