TDS, low PSI, etc etc...

[WhiskeyCoffee]

So at my last place I was on city water and now I've moved to a house on a well. Let's figure some things out...

Old house: 80 PSI, 88 TDS from tap, 0 TDS after RODI, waste was 200+ TDS
New house: 40 PSI, 110 TDS from tap, 3 TDS after RODI, waste is 112 TDS

So, a couple questions. Why would my TDS increase from 0 to 3? Could it be the high levels of iron and manganese in my tap? Also, why is the waste TDS more or less the same as the tap TDS? That part has me baffled...

 

[nereefpat]

RO membranes love pressure. Rejection rate will be better with more feed water pressure. This explains most of what you are seeing.

The 3 TDS shouldn't be sneaking through, so you need to change your DI. I would consider a booster pump, to improve RO performance and extend the life of the DI resin.

 

[mcgyvr]

adjust (increase) the pressure

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

I'm probably gonna hold off on the booster pump for now, only because my landlord said he's upgrading the well pump from 6 GPM tp 10GPM. I wonder how much that will raise my PSI.

Also how do I know that the DI resin needs to be changed and not the other filters?

 

[nereefpat]

Also how do I know that the DI resin needs to be changed and not the other filters?

RO membranes remove a certain percentage of dissolved solids, usually in the upper %90s. They remove more with more pressure, along with some other factors. So the RO basically never gets TDS to zero. The DI removes the remaining dissolved solids, making the 0 TDS RODI water. Common numbers to see would be something like: 200ppm feed water > 5 ppm RO permeate > 0 ppm RODI.

If the RODI water is > 0, then the DI needs changed. Other things may also need changed though, depending on symptoms.

You are on your on well, it looks like. Do you use a pressure tank for the house? Maybe that can be adjusted.

 

[hkgar]

Changing the GPH of the well pump will not change the pressure. That is controlled by a pressure switch on the storage tank. Well water is generally very high in CO2 and CO2 destroys DI resin. Before setting up my degasser tank I was changing reason after about 150 gallons (3 weeks). With my degasser tank my first resin change was 13 months later.

consider a Smart Buddy booster system

 

[mcgyvr]

If I want more water pressure I simply adjust the pressure regulator/pressure switch at the house/pump... I would only purchase a booster pump if I didn't have one of those already or lived somewhere that I was not allowed to adjust that (apartment,etc...)

I just moved into a brand new house last week (boy was it not fun moving the tank/corals,etc..) but I have to hook up my RO/DI today and have already found the pressure regulator and will be adjusting it if needed but I thought I read in the home inspection that its set at 60PSI already... My last house was set at 30 and I just went under the crawlspace and turned a screw and voila more pressure..