Ro Units Vs Ro Water From Lfs

[houndour]

Am looking into RO units verses buying the water from LFS.

1. If I were to buy an RO unit, how does it work? Is it permanently fixed to the tap? Or do you just attach it when you need to make water?

2. Does the membrane or filter need replacing? If so how often?

3. If I buy my water from the LFS does it have to be used straight away? Is it OK to sit unused for a few days?

think thats it.

 

[maestro]

1) you can either have it permanty plummed in and then you have a tap on it to turn it on or off OR you can run it from an outside garden tap and remove once youve filtered enough water.

2) check out this site http/www.ro-man.com/ro-facts.html

3) its ok to sit unused with an airtight lid for a while

 

[penguinpimp1990]

2. yes it needs replacing, but it usually last for at least a year on most RO units
3. its ok to sit in a air tight container for a few days but the pH will raise greatly

 

[Lateral Line]

If you have it connected to an outside tap, do not leave it out if there is a risk of frost. The formation of ice crystals will destroy the membrane very quickly.

Remember, RO units work by using pressure to force water molecules through the membrane, (simplistically). Most of the water that goes into an RO unit goes straight through it as waste. When considering the economics of RO setups, remember if you pay for water by volume, a load of it will be wasted, (unless you can capture it and use it somehow of course).

Be wary of claims that unit X produces 20 gallons a day for example. It may well do so at the rated pressure, but on normal mains water pressure, rarely gets anywhere near that. You will need a booster pump if you want that kind of rate.

 

[houndour]

Thanks for the info guys.

We pay our water annually rather than by a meter. But it's a shame to waste the water. Where would the water go? just down the sink? Surely I could use it for the garden?

excellent link maestro.

//edit...actually reading the link
Quote from website http/www.ro-man.com/ro-facts.html

What are some of the disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis?
Process is relatively slow, requires a storage tank
Requires a connection to your drain for wastewater
Requires some water to be sent to your drain to prevent membrane clogging
Production is adversely affected by low water pressure and high temperature

what does it mean by connection to drain? Isnt there just a outflow pipe that you can run into the sink? Sorry for being thick...its just a bit technical for me.

 

[Lateral Line]

Most of the water that goes into an RO unit goes straight through it. This is generally regarded as waste water and goes down the drain. If you have a unit that attaches to a tap over the sink, (I've had one like that), the waste water squirts out of a hole at the botton and into the sink. If you have a plumbed in unit, (I've had one like that), the waste water is led by a pipe to a drain somewhere.

A lot of the detail will depend on the make and model. With a suitable dose of ingenuity, I'd have thought you'd be able to do anything you wanted with the waste water.

 

[cujoho78]

I did some research into RO units. In addition to the info in the above posts i discovered that the water entering the RO unit can't be too cold or too hot. My water would be too cold. Also, if your water is too hard then it will clog the filters faster and they will need to be replaced more often. So for the amount of water that i figure i would need in a year versus the cost of the unit itself, plus the cost of the replacement filters i think that i would be years getting my money out of buying a unit. So you might want to consider how much water you need in a year and compare the cost of buying it at the LFS versus buying and maintaining your own unit.

 

[littleimp]

I have one of these.

They are made by gapswater. It's a six stage pressure pump poowered device with all the pressure switches etc built in, they also have an inbuilt TDS meter, flow rate/rejection display & in also tells you when you need a service. (about once a year depending on usage, service pak cost £35). It gives you a faucet tap & from this feed I have a pipe that runs round the kitchen to a water container that sits under our kitchen table. This is what I use for water for top-ups etc so I always have a constant supply.

Once you start drinking R/O water you will never go back to drinking tap water!! I can't even touch the stuff now & limescale in the kettle etc is now a thing of the past!!