RO/DI Used, is it worth it to buy?

[CaptNemo]

Hey guys,

someone local want to sell me a used Typhoon 3 for a 110 dollars. Is it worth it to buy it or should i just buy a new one. I figure with the shipping from air water ice, it would cost me 230. this way i can save like 120 bucks. This unit is one years old or a bit longer, so naturally i would soon have to replace the membrane and all that. So what do you guys think??? is it worth it?

Thanks.

 

[Illuminati]

Odds are you would only need to replace the DI resin and the prefilters right now. The membrane should have some more life in it (depending on use).

Any idea how much he used it? Does he have a big system?

 

[CaptNemo]

he has a 120 gallon tank. I don't know how much he used it.. But i looked online the 5 pound mixed resin cost me for 40 bucks. Tough decision.

 

[Illuminati]

The magic question is asking him what his TDS is (if he has a TDS meter which I'm sure he does). If he's local the TDS he gets should be very close to what you get.
Might help to know if it is public water or well water?

 

[cinnamongirl]

I paid $110 for my Water General RO/DI unit 2 years ago. It was on ebay with $30 shipping. It's a 6-stage, and I change the filters every 8 months or so (about $40). My TDS is always very close to zero. I don't know if a Typhoon is that much better than mine not, but I'm completely happy with mine. JM2C

 

[autofish]

Get the RO/DI off eBay that cinnamongirl mentioned above. I've had mine 2 years now. Works perfect. I don't know why anyone would buy anything else, this setup is brand new and 1/2 the cost of the next closest deal.

An RO/DI is an incredibly simple thing. Just a bunch of water tight canisters with various filters thrown in, really. Not complicated at all. Why anyone pays $300+ for these things, I have no idea. You could buy that used system for the same price as a new one, but why? You'll have to replace all of the filters, and that's half the cost of the whole system anyway.

Just buy new, and get the unit off eBay; don't pay twice the cost for something else. You won't be disappointed. Get the high end version they sell that comes with the pressure tank; run the RO through the pressure tank and run a line off of that for drinking water. Then a second line goes through the DI for the fish tank. Trust me on this one, once you've tasted the incredibly pure water you get out of your RO unit you won't want to drink anything else.