RO Filter damaging Water Heater?

pjewett

pjewett

aquariablog
Hi All,

I live in a two-story home in the top half in an apartment. I've been using an RO filter in our bath tub a couple times a week for some time.

On two occasions (including this morning) we've lost hot water and I believe it's because the guy downstairs (who controls it) has turned it off. The first time I had been using the filter in our sink and after a few uses we lost hot water and the landlord got to work fixing it. He called me and asked if I had done anything with the plumbing like install some weird shower heads but I didn't mention the RO filter at first.

Somehow it all got fixed and life went on as I've been using the RO filter regularly for a few months now. Today's it's happened again and I swear I heard a lot of banging and rucus last night and I'm hoping that wasn't him getting angry that something went wrong again.

Could the RO filter be causing this due to back pressure or something else? I don't have a pressure gauge or anthing. I just have the filter hooked right up to the shower with ball valves that I turn on or off depending on whether I'm showering or making water.

Any thoughts?
 
So there's no way a Coralife RO filter hooked up in my shower would have anything to do with the fact we have no hot water?

Should I be getting a gauge because back pressure could cause other problems in the plumbing or are they mostly used to check filter blockage?

My assumption always was that pressure in the filter is released via the waste line....meaning if I was turn the water up more...out pacing the rate it can be pushed through the blue line...that more would come out of the red?
 
Are you blending or tempering hot and cold water using a single handled faucet by chance? It is possible to bleed hot back into the cold with a single cartridge type faucet if you put head or resistance on the faucet like an RO does.
Make sure you have cold water only feeding the RO system and the handle is fully open in the cold water position so the cartridge will no allow hot water to mix if its a single faucet.
 
maybe you should tap the toilet feed pipe to prevent the possibility of the hot water bleed through.
 
No it is possible. Think about it, a single cartridge type faucet mixes hot and cold water when the faucet is in the warm water position. Now restrict the flow out of the faucet by installing a RO or any other device, you know have a direct path between the hot and cold internally in the faucet. In apartments there may be an internal looped hot water recirculation loop that may or may not be at the same pressure as the city cold water system. If the hot or cold is higher than the other water will take the path of least resistance and flow from one to the other. It is possible.
This is the reason we have the Uniform Plumbing Code and building codes, to eliminate this type of problem. RO units installed to a faucet do not meet plumbing codes as there is the possibility of a cross connection, especially if you stick the waste line in the sink drain. Codes require units to be hooked up with an air gap faucet and have the waste line installed on the sink side of the P trap. Water can do strange things!
 
I ONLY use cold water...NEVER the hot.

This rig is basically 2 ball valves hooked up in the shower with the shower head on the end. When I want to make RO I close the valve that sends water to the shower head and open the one that feeds down to the filter.

We have both a HOT & COLD knob in our shower.....so once I set those ball valves I turn on the cold water...low pressure (at this point it's coming out of the faucet and right downt the drain) and then turn the other handle that sends the water up to the showerhead but since it's closed off it instead goes to the filter.
 
move? just lookin for help sport...don't need the infantile comments..go screw with someone else's thread.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13962785#post13962785 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pjewett
move? just lookin for help sport...don't need the infantile comments..go screw with someone else's thread.
Click to expand...
Wow, sorry if I offended you!!!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13962569#post13962569 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pjewett
I ONLY use cold water...NEVER the hot.

This rig is basically 2 ball valves hooked up in the shower with the shower head on the end. When I want to make RO I close the valve that sends water to the shower head and open the one that feeds down to the filter.

We have both a HOT & COLD knob in our shower.....so once I set those ball valves I turn on the cold water...low pressure (at this point it's coming out of the faucet and right downt the drain) and then turn the other handle that sends the water up to the showerhead but since it's closed off it instead goes to the filter.
Click to expand...

With a two handle faucet and if you’re only using cold, that has it’s own feed or bypasses the water heater and should have no effect on it. There is always pressure in the lines when the water main is on unless its after a valve. Has he said what the issue has been? You should ask him to elaborate.

To clarify you have two ball valve on the shower head right? Doesn’t sound like it should create a problem to me.

http://www.contractorssolutions.com/Information/images_Tubs-Showers/Two-handle_faucets.jpg
 
Just curious, when you say you have no hot water when you open your hot water valve, do you get nothing or cold water?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13963053#post13963053 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Juruense
Wow, sorry if I offended you!!!
Click to expand...

If I mistook your comment for something more than it was then I apologize.

I live in this apartment with my wife while our house buying plans are on hold because of this economy.

There's whispers of layoffs where I work....combined with the possibility of ****ing off my landlord and getting evicted...I'm stressed.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13963299#post13963299 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dkh0331
Just curious, when you say you have no hot water when you open your hot water valve, do you get nothing or cold water?
Click to expand...

I get cold water....from hot.

I'll know more tonight when I get home or will at the very least post a good pic of my setup for those who are interested.
 
These dots don't connect from what I am reading...What you are doing downstream cannot cause the water heater issues.

There would be more instances of issues if it did cause issues. IMO.

Its easy for the Land-lord to blame the users for his equipment failure...sometimes stuff breaks and it isnt the fault of the user...Just cause it was working fine yesterday!
 
I'm not a plumber, but if your shower has separate knobs for hot & cold and you are only using cold water when you run the RO filter, I can't imagine why the hot water heater would stop making hot water as a result. RO filters do create back-pressure, but water is flowing so the backpressure can't be greater than when a faucet is completely turned off.
 
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