Ro/DI Booster pump ?'s

[Curve]

Where is the best and cheapest place to purchase an RO/DI booster pump that will work on a 150gpd unit?? Please let me know soon b/c I was going to try and start making my water for my new 225 friday and my unit is only producing about 75 gpd. I only have 30lbs of pressure and I need at least 65 lbs.

 

[supercon71]

Well "best and cheapest" don't always work well together

But, I was in a similar situation as you. I had purchased a Filter Guys Ocean Reef +1 RODI and was also only getting about 30psi, which is not sufficient.... not just for water making volume purposes, but apparenly the membranes do not work as efficiently at that pressure.

I just went back to the Filter Guys and bought one of their booster pumps:

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/booster_pumps.htm

Immediately it bumped up my pressure to about 90psi and my system has been working like a champ. Not sure if it's the cheapest solution, but it certainly worked the best for me.

Good luck.

 

[RokleM]

Re: Ro/DI Booster pump ?'s

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13135786#post13135786 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Curve
Where is the best and cheapest place to purchase an RO/DI booster pump that will work on a 150gpd unit??

Maybe taken out of context, but this is what I've always heard about 150gph membranes and boosters:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1392860&highlight=booster pump

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12557627#post12557627 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BuckeyeFS
150 gpd
98% rejection
needs a 150 gpd flow restrictor
needs at least 50 to 55 psi
better to have 65 psi
best at 90 psi
can not be used with a booster pump
can not be used with an auto shut off valve if you have/need one

 

[AZDesertRat]

The Aquatec 8800 is not large enough for the 150 GPD membrane.

 

[Curve]

Az I was hoping you would chime in as it seems you are a pro on these things. What is your input on a booster pump. I didn't say I wouldn't spend the money I just want to go as cheap as I can without breaking the bank. I know I need one I just don't know which one. Oh yeah and thanks AZ for the recomendations on the spectrapure di resin. It works very well.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Let me do a little research on pumps for larger volumes.
I am glad the resin is working out for you! For me its been fantastic.

 

[Curve]

I love it.

 

[old salty]

I'm using the Aquamedic 8800 on a 150gpd membrane and achieving fantastic results. 99% rejection rate and 180gpd output at 85psi. You may want to put a ball valve on your waste water line in order to adjust the flow to obtain a 4:1 waste to permeate ratio.


If you decide to go with an Aquamedic pump, I have a new in the box transformer for it. PM me and I will sell it for what I paid and ship for free.

 

[Curve]

Hey AZ have you figured anything out yet about the pumps. It just took me 2 hours to make 5 gallons and this is getting old.

 

[AZDesertRat]

I have not heard anything back yet. I did do further research on the Aquatec 8800 and it is only good for 1 liter per hour or about 380 gallons per day at 80 psi. The manufacturer does not recommend any higher than that amount and thats about a 75 GPD membrane at at 4:1 waste ratio (75 good and 300 waste). Hopefuly I will hear back from some other people I posed the question to.

 

[Curve]

My new membrane is only susposed to be 1/1.5 waste ratio. Would it work with that??

 

[AZDesertRat]

What membrane or system do you have? There is only one system/membrane I am aware of that will operate at that waste ratio, the Spectrapure MaxCap UHE 1:1 ultra low waste system and it comes with a booster pump already. If this is not what you have I would not advise operating at anything less than 3:1 even if you have almost pristine tap water. Membranes must have continous flushing or they fail quickly due to scaling. Once solids begin to collect on the membrane no amount of flushing will ever clean it up.
Dual membrane systems pass the waste from the first membrane into the second one so solids (TDS) are concentrated around the second membrane and will cause it to fail sooner than normal. Trying to reduce the waste has been tried by every reputable manufacturer and vendor for years and until the UHE which utilizes a microprocessor controller and circulates DI water around the membrane nothing else has been successful in long term testing.

 

[Curve]

I've got one of the cheaper ones but it is new and they just came out with it in the last month. It claims the 1/1.5 or less waste ratio but I was just going to see when I got it. It is'nt a dual membrane. I say it was cheaper but I paid $50 just for the membrane. When I recieve ity I will be sure to post up everything about it.

 

[AZDesertRat]

There is a 150 GPD membrane on the market now. It has had mixed results though, quality is hit and miss from what I see. Spectrapure was carrying them for a very brief period but they were not able to get enough of them to pass their rigid testing so discontinued them. I was lucky enougn to get one that passed their Select series testing and it produced slightly more than 150 GPD at 62 psi and 64 degree water temp with a rejection rate at about 99.23%. I did put it in a dual membrane system along with one of their 90 GPD membranes but still kept the waste ratio at 4:1 for the system. I would not try anything less than 3:1 myself even if my tap TDS was around 250 which it is not. As I said earlier you need the constant flushing to make them last. Once solutes begin to solidify the only thing that wors is chemical cleaning which is common in large municipal and commercial systems but non existent in home owner type systems.

 

[Curve]

Thanks and as soon as you find out about the booster pump please let me know.