Warning to those that plan on using RO/DI booster pumps...

B

bimmer88

Member
Make sure you dial it down and that it's not set too strong!!!!! I've been having horrible output on my unit lately(due to temp drop) so I bought an Aquatec 8800 pump from BRS... After plugging it in and setting it up I turned it on and I was thrilled... I got my normal output back again!!! I didn't adjust the output at all and just allowed it to run because it seemed to be running fine.

So I just let it run to fill up my water change mixing tank that I have in my living room. One of my neighbors called me to come over and have a few beers and I almost did, but ended up calling him back and changing my mind because I wanted to make sure everything was running fine with the booster pump... An hour goes by and everything is running smooooooooth..... woop dee doo!!! :dance:

20 minutes later, i hear what sounded like an explosion... I ran over the my RO/DI unit... My third chamber holding my stage 3 carbon block had a huge crack in it where the threading to screw it in was... a large chunk of it was actually cracked off. water was splattering all over the place... i quickly shut everything off but there was water all over the place...

Everything seemed like it was running fine prior and there were no indications that this was going to happen. Good thing I didn't go over to my neighbor's place. Water would have leaked out from the room I had it in and all over my laminate wood flooring... results would have been catastrophic... Now it looks like I'll have to buy some RO/DI locally until the filter guys can send me another container... :sad1:

Make sure your booster pumps aren't set too strong!!! Mine was on default setting...
 
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Do you have a pressure guage? How much psi where you running?

I use a booster pump and run around 80psi for past few years and all is well so far.
 
Yeah we really need to know what the PSI was.
Boosters just add to pressure so, if you were at 30 and default setting boosted to 80 you're ok
If you were at 60 then boosted default to 110 you're in the danger zone!
 
Yup keep the PSI dialed in between 50 and 80 and your output should be fine. A pressure gauge is a must if ya don't have one.
 
yeah... no pressure guage... i have one that measures water pressure from my home but not one that measures pressure from the ro/di lines... will have to get one...
 
Update on this... DON'T adjust your booster pumps... just make sure the pressure is correct... supposedly, these are already adjusted to work properly with the ro/di units... once i got my pressure gauge i was able to test pressure... before and after my 3 filters.. after, it dropped 20psi... turns out that one of my filters were clogged causing the explosion... my filters were only 4 months old so i wasn't suspecting they were clogged. Now i'm getting about 90 psi with the pump being used. According to Jim at the Filter Guys, this is what is recommended for dual membrane systems. If you do use a booster pump, however, you should have an in-line pressure gauge installed so that you can know if one of your filters is clogged so that you can change it before you get an explosion(of the filter housing) like i did....
 
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I'm looking at getting a booster pump so this will be handy info, thanks.

I'm able to pre-warm my water some by running through a long coil of plastic tubing. I store my RODI water in a tank that I keep around 75 with a small aquarium heater. The coil of tap water is submerged in that tank and warms the tap water, like a refrigerator chills water for the door dispenser. My RODI tank feeds into my 5g top-off container under the reef tank and I refill that every few days so my draw from the RODI tank is pretty slow.
 
bringing this thread back to life... i will not be using my booster pump any more... another one of my chambers(1st one) exploded!!!! Lucky I was home... once again... when it exploded... still got water all over the place... for all those using booster pumps... BE VERY CAREFUL AND DO NOT LEAVE THE AREA WHILE USING IT!!! Changed my filters in December... been only doing about 30 gallons a week... 15 for water changes and 15 for top off....
 
I believe the booster pump is supposed to go after the sediment / carbon filters and before the ro membrane ... :) I Believe that is your problem
 
Hmm, I have the pressure reducing valve adjusted in my home plumbing to just over 110 psi. This pressure is delivered to my RODI unit & been running for years with no ruptures. Seems like it's always the first chamber that's busting on you. Typically that's the sediment filter that would be replaced most often, no? Are you perhaps over tightening the housing?f I usually tighten all the pre filter housings by hand only. Sometimes need the wrench to remove them, but never use to tighten.
 
sfbayview said:
I believe the booster pump is supposed to go after the sediment / carbon filters and before the ro membrane ... :) I Believe that is your problem
Click to expand...
According to Jim, from filter guys, it's supposed to be installed before the filters... he says they don't work right when you install them after...

ZR1001 said:
What was your water pressure with the booster pump?
Click to expand...
85-90psi

Mike31154 said:
Hmm, I have the pressure reducing valve adjusted in my home plumbing to just over 110 psi. This pressure is delivered to my RODI unit & been running for years with no ruptures. Seems like it's always the first chamber that's busting on you. Typically that's the sediment filter that would be replaced most often, no? Are you perhaps over tightening the housing?f I usually tighten all the pre filter housings by hand only. Sometimes need the wrench to remove them, but never use to tighten.
Click to expand...
First time was actually my 3rd chamber. Last time I replaced the filters was in December.. it's been just 4 months... my output from the membrane is only showing 1ppm on my TDS meter so I think the filters are still good. Same here, I never tighten with the wrench.
 
Weird I have two RO systems with boosters (300gpd and 2000gpd) all are right before the membrane ...
reverse-osmosis-booster-pump_l.jpg
 
sfbayview said:
Weird I have two RO systems with boosters (300gpd and 2000gpd) all are right before the membrane ...
Click to expand...

Might be dependent on the individual set up. Your diagram includes a pressure tank, extra filter & drinking water faucet which many of us don't have.

I use two pressure gauges on my system, one to monitor incoming pressure (house pressure) and another after the sediment & carbon filters (before the RO membrane). House pressure is typically around 110 psi and pressure before the RO membrane is 95. This means that my 3 pre filters (5 micron sediment, 1 micron sediment & 0.5 micron carbon block) drop 15 psi. With clear housings on my pre filters, I can usually tell visually when it's time for a change, but I generally wait until the pressure differential climbs to about 17 psi. Most of the time all I end up doing is changing the first stage 5 micron & the differential is back down to 15 psi.

So if the booster pump is installed after the pre filters, you won't lose any pressure through those stages & the membrane gets full booster pump pressure. I guess it would also reduce the likelihood of a pre filter housing rupturing. I imagine it will work either way, but you need to be aware that you lose some pressure through the pre filters. That may mean that the booster pump kicks in earlier or more often, depending on what the pressure switch controlling the pump sees for pressure at the end of the line.
 
bimmer88 said:
Update on this... DON'T adjust your booster pumps... just make sure the pressure is correct... supposedly, these are already adjusted to work properly with the ro/di units... once i got my pressure gauge i was able to test pressure... before and after my 3 filters.. after, it dropped 20psi... turns out that one of my filters were clogged causing the explosion... my filters were only 4 months old so i wasn't suspecting they were clogged. Now i'm getting about 90 psi with the pump being used. According to Jim at the Filter Guys, this is what is recommended for dual membrane systems. If you do use a booster pump, however, you should have an in-line pressure gauge installed so that you can know if one of your filters is clogged so that you can change it before you get an explosion(of the filter housing) like i did....
Click to expand...

Its not a problem to adjust the bypass pressure on a booster pump. You have to realize that the clear housings are typically the weakest part of the system in terms of withstanding high pressure. You should have installed the pump AFTER all your prefilters housings, rather than before the entire system.

Russ
 
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