five.five-six
Well-known member
I just spoke with the water department, they said 110-150 is normal for my area... I have 2 gauges and they both say the same thing.. should I shut my ro off untill I get this fixed?
RO/DI decision time
- Thread starter five.five-six
- Start date
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
An RO membrane can withstand over 200 psi. Its the housings and fittings that are rated for 125 psi working pressure that I would worry about. 80 is about as high as I would be comfortable with for most plumbing fixtures. Your hot water heater release valve is probably the most likely thing to fail first. Its a pain when the release valve pops off and releases hundreds or thousands of gallons of water when you are not at home. I would look at buying a pressure regulator for the incoming water supply.
five.five-six
Well-known member
it is a takagi tankless, I do not think it is a problem
five.five-six
Well-known member
ok new question
1/2 of my resin turned red or orange, does that mean it is done, or will the whole thing change colors when it is exhausted.. bummer I got less than 150 gallons out of it
1/2 of my resin turned red or orange, does that mean it is done, or will the whole thing change colors when it is exhausted.. bummer I got less than 150 gallons out of it
Fishbulb2
New member
Is it only the bottom half that turned color or just half the resin throughout the cartridge. It is possible for one of the resins, the anion or cation absorber, to exhaust first. In this case the orange and red will be speckled throughout the cartridge and it is most likely exhausted. If the top half of the cartridge has no color change at all though, then it is most likely still ok. If you have a hand held meter, just test the DI water for TDS. It should read zero. Yes it stinks that you only got 150g out of it. Have you worked out your water pressure issue? I wonder if a pressure spike could have caused some of your problems.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Before switching to the MaxCap 150 gallons was all I could even get out of normal mixed bed resin no matter how well I packed it, how fresh the resin was or who it came from.
Color changing resin is a poor indicator of resin condition. Its best to use a TDS meter and buy non color changing resin. One thing is if it is not packed tightly with no voids it will seperate or stratify so you may be seeing the resins seperating into ani and cati layers. A TDS meter will tell.
When refilling a cartridge, fill it to the top, tap it on the counter or tabletop several times to pack it down, then repeat several times. The foam on top should just barely fit. Resin shrinks slightly with time so pack it tight.
Color changing resin is a poor indicator of resin condition. Its best to use a TDS meter and buy non color changing resin. One thing is if it is not packed tightly with no voids it will seperate or stratify so you may be seeing the resins seperating into ani and cati layers. A TDS meter will tell.
When refilling a cartridge, fill it to the top, tap it on the counter or tabletop several times to pack it down, then repeat several times. The foam on top should just barely fit. Resin shrinks slightly with time so pack it tight.
five.five-six
Well-known member
well my membrane is varying from 30 parts to 70 parts... just plane sucks
also, I just changed the resin, should I dump the first gallon or is it safe to use?
also, I just changed the resin, should I dump the first gallon or is it safe to use?
Fishbulb2
New member
I would normally dump the first gallon but it's probably not necessary. Have you tested it with a TDS? It's disappointing to say the least that you are getting such low rejection. This is definitely not normal. Did you ever contact Buckeye back when you first noticed the problem? Did you ever get your high pressure situation taken care of?
five.five-six
Well-known member
yea I called the citty and they said "130 pounds, yea that is normal" 2 hours later it was back to 75 pounds
i sent buckeye a couple emails, noting of real consiquince back, looks like I will send him another one and probably buy a spectrapure
i sent buckeye a couple emails, noting of real consiquince back, looks like I will send him another one and probably buy a spectrapure
Fishbulb2
New member
I'm really sorry to hear that. That's quite disappointing. Alternatively, you could just buy a spectrapure membrane and install that. I would just hate for their to be something else wrong though and have you lose that membrane as well. Do you suspect that the unit ever worked properly and began to fail with continual use or do you feel like it was not functioning properly since the time of installation? I would hate to have you get a spectrapure unit and have it fail as well due to something systematic about your plumbing or water source.
FB
FB
five.five-six
Well-known member
the only thing that raises an eyebrow is that occasionly when I switch the RO valv to "flush" nothing happens, normaly you can hear water gushing to the drain but about 20% of the time... nothing, if I turn the sourse off an on again, then you hear the gushing. could there be a problem with my restrictor?
Fishbulb2
New member
Could be. If you retrictor didn't allow proper flow that could easily plug up your membrane and cause it to prematurely die out. If I recall though, you have the capillary style restrictor correct? I'm not sure what could really go wrong with them. Perhaps bits of activated carbon from your catalytic carbon chamber could temporarily be blocking the restrictor from time to time. It wouldn't hurt to take it out and inspect it.
five.five-six
Well-known member
not sure. i pulled the tube out today and there is a little somthing in the connector, kind or like a bicycle tire valve stem but not realy. I was afraid Iwas going to break somthing so i put it back toghether
5-5-6
I just took a snap shot for you, the flow restrictor should look like this and be on the waste output of your RO cartridge:
<a href="http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj165/DonZ50/?action=view¤t=P3230316Medium.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj165/DonZ50/P3230316Medium.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Mine is oriented with the narrow end facing down the output line and the wide fits against the tubing end.
HTH's
I just took a snap shot for you, the flow restrictor should look like this and be on the waste output of your RO cartridge:
<a href="http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj165/DonZ50/?action=view¤t=P3230316Medium.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj165/DonZ50/P3230316Medium.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Mine is oriented with the narrow end facing down the output line and the wide fits against the tubing end.
HTH's
johnlvs2run
New member
waste water ratio
waste water ratio
I've been reading this thread and have some questions about the waste water ratio on an AquaSafe unit that is 5 years old and I'm using only for drinking. The tap water is 360 TDS reducing to 10 after the RO, with no DI. Water pressure is 70 psi.
The issue is that I'm using 2 to 3 gallons a day, and the unit is losing 150 gallons a day! This is a waste ratio of 50-75 to 1.
I've been testing the water loss for a week, and have verified the RO unit is the culprit, with 75 gallons more lost during the 12 hours at night with it on, than with the valve turned off at the wall.
Additionally, the tank was full at night, and 12 hours later with the tap at the wall off it was empty. I had not closed off the valve on the tank, only at the wall. Thus it appears the tank is emptying good water down the drain when I'm not using the unit at all.
I followed all the instructions of the guy at AquaSafe when installing. He might have had me do something with the flow restrictor but I don't recall what it was.
I'd be happy with a ratio of 4:1 or even 8:1, but not 50:1.
Thanks for suggestions.
waste water ratio
I've been reading this thread and have some questions about the waste water ratio on an AquaSafe unit that is 5 years old and I'm using only for drinking. The tap water is 360 TDS reducing to 10 after the RO, with no DI. Water pressure is 70 psi.
The issue is that I'm using 2 to 3 gallons a day, and the unit is losing 150 gallons a day! This is a waste ratio of 50-75 to 1.
I've been testing the water loss for a week, and have verified the RO unit is the culprit, with 75 gallons more lost during the 12 hours at night with it on, than with the valve turned off at the wall.
Additionally, the tank was full at night, and 12 hours later with the tap at the wall off it was empty. I had not closed off the valve on the tank, only at the wall. Thus it appears the tank is emptying good water down the drain when I'm not using the unit at all.
I followed all the instructions of the guy at AquaSafe when installing. He might have had me do something with the flow restrictor but I don't recall what it was.
I'd be happy with a ratio of 4:1 or even 8:1, but not 50:1.
Thanks for suggestions.
five.five-six
Well-known member
I will have to pull mine out and look at again, I am not exactly sure I understand your description of the orientation
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
john, sounds like you need a new autoshutoff valve and check valve.
Let me take another shot at the explanation. The narrow tubed end of the flow restrictor is inserted directly down into the waste line and the flange at the other end seats against the end of the waste line. Only the "flange and perforated "coned" end of the flow restrictor should be protruding from the waste line end. This then plugs into your fitting on the RO cartridge (the waste out one).
HTH's
HTH's
Fishbulb2
New member
Check your ratio while the unit is producing water. Not an average of over night. If it is still 50:1, then clearly there is a problem with the flow restrictor. If the ratio is 4:1 while it is making water, but you're waste water never shuts off, then it point towards your auto shut off valve. Your unit does have an auto shut off valve right? What does the pressure gauge on the unit read?
FB
FB
johnlvs2run
New member
DR and FB thanks for your feedback.
I'm not sure how to check the ratio when it's producing water, other than the house meter,
but the loss of water seems to be continuous, whether producing good water or not.
I don't know if the unit has an autoshutoff valve, or a check valve. :hmm2:
I'll take a look this morning and see if I can tell where they are.
There's no pressure gauge on the unit.
I have a pressure gauge somewhere but haven't used it for awhile.
The unit has lost ~145 gallons since yesterday morning, compared to 2 gallons used.
I'm not sure how to check the ratio when it's producing water, other than the house meter,
but the loss of water seems to be continuous, whether producing good water or not.
I don't know if the unit has an autoshutoff valve, or a check valve. :hmm2:
I'll take a look this morning and see if I can tell where they are.
There's no pressure gauge on the unit.
I have a pressure gauge somewhere but haven't used it for awhile.
The unit has lost ~145 gallons since yesterday morning, compared to 2 gallons used.
