RODI unit comparisons help!!

[YoungREEFA]

I will be looking to purchase an rodi unit and cant spend to much. The tds in my well water is 600 ppm! So i have been buying distilled water and its a real PITA and found these rodi units and want to know if any of you used them and how they compare to the brs units. The one i would buy from brs would be the $130 one but that with four filters they would get burned out fast.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aqua-Reef-R...586?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c0a518f72

http://www.ebay.com/itm/0PPM-Portab...047?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588e2553f7

 

[sirreal63]

Both of those are pure crapola, note the horrid rejection rate...
"Water Purity Reference: (1.)Tap or well water(300 PPM), (2.)After RO system(20 PPM)---> (3.)After DI filter(0 PPM)" That's only about 93% rejection rate, that is dismal and unacceptable.

Spend the money on a system that will give better rejection rates. Based on your 600 tds, after the membrane would be 60 tds and that will eat DI resin at an alarming rate. With as high of a tds as you have, you want to buy a system that will offer at least 98% rejection to not burn through the DI as fast.

 

[YoungREEFA]

Both units say the same water purity reference but one has 2 more stages? thats makes me think how! haha

 

[sirreal63]

Given your high tds, I would be looking at SpectraPure and nothing else. They do have units with a 98% minimum rejection rate. A lessor system will use a lot of DI resin, which ends up being the most expensive part of RO/DI. The savings in resin will offset the higher initial price very quickly.

 

[YoungREEFA]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Max-Water-5...486?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c69e8d886
this seem better? says 99.5 rejection rate

 

[jerpa]

The only stages that remove a significant amount of the TDS are the RO membrane and DI resin. Addition pre-filters(sediment and carbon stages) remove compounds that can damage or clog the RO membrane. A quality RO membrane with a high(98%+) rejection rate will prolong the life of your DI resin. The resin hapens to be the most expensive stage as well. Invest in a quality unit with name brand pre filters and membranes. You will quickly spend the difference in filter changes. If they dont list a brand name it's most likely a subpar unit.

 

[YoungREEFA]

is TFC good?

 

[jerpa]

Thats the rejection for the entire system not just the RO membrane. That unit seems to have better filters if they are misspelling the names. The fact that they are misspelling the components on their unit may make customer service "difficult" to say the least. That unit also lacks a pressure gauge, which helps determine pre-filter life, and a TDS meter, which determines the life of the DI resin and is an important tool in diagnosing problems.

Check this one out. There are many other choices but this type of unit will cost you less than the Ebay one when you factor in the TDS meter and pressure gauge.

http://buckeyefieldsupply.com/showproducts.asp?Category=168&Sub=166

75 GPD, or 90 GPD if you buy from SpectraPure, units have higher rejection membranes than 100 GPD and are more economical.

 

[sirreal63]

http://www.spectrapure.com/

The membrane is the heart of the system, even if you buy one of their more budget systems, you can upgrade it to the better membrane before they ship it. It is worth it, or you can buy a cheapo ebay system and then blow a lot of money on DI resin.
http://www.spectrapure.com/St_replac_p3.htm

 

[YoungREEFA]

i own a tds pen moniter, and the di resin states 500+ gallons on a 300 tds reading going in and 0 going out. So if i have twice the tds going in, the i should likely recieve about 250 gallons before i change the resin? And i will look into these spectra pures, i own a $250 ro unit that puts out 90 tds with old filters, so maybe i could add a di stage to upgrade the unit? the ro membrane is shot i know that

 

[Pittsburgh]

You can add a dual stage DI to your RO for ~$50 from BRS, filter guys, etc. Get replacement filters for your RO there as well and call it a day. They sell primarily brand name membranes like Dow, GE. etc.

 

[sirreal63]

if you already have a unit, get the good membrane and add a DI stage and you are good to go. Avoid the cheap ebay stuff, there is a reason it is so cheap. With SpectraPure you know who to call and they have been the gold standard in RO/DI setups for a very long time.

 

[YoungREEFA]

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/dual-deionization-canister.html
add this and im gold?
these are the filters i have now, the uit doesnt show up http://www.reverseosmosis.com/products/Microline-TFC%2d335-Reverse-Osmosis-Filters.html

 

[sirreal63]

Yes, and the SpectraSelect™ Ultra-High Rejection RO Membrane with the correct flow restrictor and while you are there, I would replace the pre-filters as well.

 

[YoungREEFA]

okay thanks guys, and this is hooked up to a drinking stations so i will readily have water from the faucet! Actally the ro membrane is suppose to last 3-5 years and it might have been rplaced last year, possibly i will replace the sediment and carbon and add the di stages, and see how that goes, if its not enough i will go ahead and buy the other membrane

 

[YoungREEFA]

Yes, and the SpectraSelectâ„¢ Ultra-High Rejection RO Membrane with the correct flow restrictor and while you are there, I would replace the pre-filters as well.

Also if the unit i have currently is making 600 tds water to 90 still in good shape? If i have that amount go through the two DI stages how fast would it burn do you think? probably four times faster than the average rate (20 tds after RO0

 

[sirreal63]

No, that is not good. With that high of incoming tds you want to get it down to about 10 or less. At 90 you will be replacing DI resin very fast. This where that 98% minimum rejection rate becomes important, the cleaner the water going to the DI the longer it will last. 45 bucks for the best membrane is cheap compared to DI resin.

 

[YoungREEFA]

di resin is only 12 bucks per cartidge,

 

[sirreal63]

Yes, and if you only get 30 gallons of water through it before it is exhausted, how many of those cartridges will you need before you have paid the price for a better membrane? You can do it however you wish, I am only trying to save you money in the long run. I was once hard headed about ro/di and when I finally listened and put the best membrane that I could in the system I was amazed. My incoming water is about 200 to 220 and before the di resin it reads between 0 and 1 unless they are working on the water system in our city, then it can go to 2. Needless to say my di resin lasts many months before I change it. 5 lbs lasts me about 2 years and I do a lot of water changes.

It's simple economics, run the best you can to keep the di usage as low as you can.

 

[YoungREEFA]

Okay thanks for the advice so much man, im going to get that membrane or the best one i can get and the two stage di filter,