TDS Levels? (1 Viewer)

[Davy Jones]

Hello, does anyone know the tds levels for golden valley? I think its ran through the minneapolis water supply and stuff but not sure. If anyone knows something general that would be helpful as im in the market for a different RO/DI system and itll help me decide on which model i need.

 

[ikserk]

TDS levels could vary from house to house, but what does matter is that the water is treated with chloromines. That will impact which carbon filters you will want to use as well as their expected life capacity.

For the record, you are correct, Golden Valley gets its water from the city of Minneapolis and they do treat with chloromines.

-j

 

[Davy Jones]

Thats what i figured but i thought i might be able to get some kind of average for the city. As for chloromines, i was told that http://spectrapure.com/RO-RODI/RODI-SYSTEMS/Refurbished-90-GPD-RODI-System will be able to remove chloromines and bring the tds to 0 as well as be very efficient and a good brand. I like the price of the unit, and i like that on another forum (NR) everyone says that spectrapure rodi units are some of the best.

Thoughts?

 

[David Grigor]

Good units for sure but your paying a premium for the replacement cartridges. BRS has high quality components as well. Knowing you need to treat for chlorimine, I personally would prefer and extra carbon stage.

 

[Davy Jones]

Good units for sure but your paying a premium for the replacement cartridges. BRS has high quality components as well. Knowing you need to treat for chlorimine, I personally would prefer and extra carbon stage.

Thanks for the input! would this work better then? http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-4-stage-value-ro-di-system-75gpd-2.html

In the description it says
4 Stages of Filtration:

• Purtrex 1 Micron Depth Sediment Filter
• BRS 1 Micron Universal Carbon Block (35,000 Gallons Chlorine / 3,500 Gallons Chloramines)
• 75 GPD Dow Filmtec Membrane
• Pre-filled Single Deionization (DI) stage with refillable cartridge

Also, This is what im working with for connection options, its going under my sink as i live in an apartment. What adapters will i need and how do i hook everything up?

 

[David Grigor]

Both still just a 4 stage. I'd like to see an additional carbon block. In the long run, it will also save money on DI if it had 2 of those as well. When TDS goes above 1 you can move the 2cd DI to the front and new in the back so that you fully exhaust the first di without sacrificing any water quality. You know its 100% fully exhausted when TDS out of membrane = TDS out of first cartridge. But with only 1 you wouldn't want to wait until fully exhausted. Usually get a few more weeks out of the DI when you have 2 of them. In long run the upgrade will pay for itself.

 

[Bschowa]

Accor stops make it pretty much impossible to hook up directly into the water supply, if that's the route you wanted to go you would have to take off the Accor stop that has the line crimped on and either install one that has the threaded connection or you could remove it and expand on a pex stop.
then you just use your adaptor and put a braided supply on after that both of those options are kind of a pain in the butt as you have to shut off the water to the house

Faucet adaptor that you just take on and off when needed would be a much easier option


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[Davy Jones]

Accor stops make it pretty much impossible to hook up directly into the water supply, if that's the route you wanted to go you would have to take off the Accor stop that has the line crimped on and either install one that has the threaded connection or you could remove it and expand on a pex stop.
then you just use your adaptor and put a braided supply on after that both of those options are kind of a pain in the butt as you have to shut off the water to the house

Faucet adaptor that you just take on and off when needed would be a much easier option


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I really would love a faucet adapter. So very much. But my faucets in the apartment are those "fancy" kind that dont have any sort of threading anywhere.

I also have a washer and dryer in the apartment, ill try and see if those hook ups are any different to connect into.

 

[Bschowa]

Those should be much easier to attach to, run a short hose from the cold to a splitter and hook one up to the rodi and one to the washer and then just put your waste water down where your washer drains


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[Davy Jones]

Those should be much easier to attach to, run a short hose from the cold to a splitter and hook one up to the rodi and one to the washer and then just put your waste water down where your washer drains


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I am not sure what you mean by where the washer drains, its an apartment and the wahser/dryer are stacked in a closet. Im sure that the drain is plumbed somewhere i dont have access to

 

[Bschowa]

In most new builds they use washer boxes one has the water and then right next to it is a drain.

If that is not the case then there will be a standpipe somewhere where the waste water from the wash machine goes


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[Davy Jones]

To the washer and dryer, what can I do with tbis?

 

[cypho]

To the washer and dryer, what can I do with tbis?

That is perfect.

See the hole in the wall with the black hose coming out. Just jam the RO wastewater line down that hole.

Unscrew the coldwater washing machine hose from the valve (blue knob), and attach a Y connector. You will find that part in the garden hose section of home depot.

Then attach the washing machine back up to one of the outlets on the Y and attach your RO input line to the other. If your RO machine did not come with a garden hose adapter, you may be able to find one at home depot in the section with icemaker plumbing parts (RO machines use 1/4" icemaker tube) which is a different than the general plumbing section with PVC parts. If you cannot find a garden hose adapter locally, you may have to order it online.

 

[Davy Jones]

That is perfect.

See the hole in the wall with the black hose coming out. Just jam the RO wastewater line down that hole.

Unscrew the coldwater washing machine hose from the valve (blue knob), and attach a Y connector. You will find that part in the garden hose section of home depot.

Then attach the washing machine back up to one of the outlets on the Y and attach your RO input line to the other. If your RO machine did not come with a garden hose adapter, you may be able to find one at home depot in the section with icemaker plumbing parts (RO machines use 1/4" icemaker tube) which is a different than the general plumbing section with PVC parts. If you cannot find a garden hose adapter locally, you may have to order it online.

Really? I just stick the output down that hole and it's fine? That seems way too easy lol

 

[Bschowa]

Yep if you are overly nervous like I am you can hose clamp it to the other hose going down but that is not necessary at all


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[cypho]

Really? I just stick the output down that hole and it's fine? That seems way too easy lol

Yep, lift up the black tube and you will discover that the washing machine's waste water line is also just pushed down that hole. The plastic clip just holds the hose in a U shape so it does not fall out.

 

[David Grigor]

Just be sure to cable tie ( or whatever method you choose ) the waste line securely so it won't pop out of the hole. Especially when you use the flush option on a ro/di creates quite a bit a pressure ( like a water wiggle toy when you were a kid ) and can easily come out if not secure.

 

[Davy Jones]

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-6-stage-universal-water-saver-plus-ro-di-system-150gpd.html
http://spectrapure.com/RO-RODI/RODI-SYSTEMS/Chloramine-Removal-90-GPD-RO-DI-System

These are roughly the same price right now, both systems have good reviews, but i really dont need 150 gpd... i have a 65 gallon system. Any other suggestions?

Also, what do i need to do to care for the thing to keep filters healthy? i know almost nothing about them..

 

[David Grigor]

Keep in mind the dual membrane does need higher pressure which may mean another $90 for a booster pump. Dual membrane does have several advantages. When run in-line ie: waste water from first is the feed water for the second, your reducing the waste water. Reducing waste water also means your sediment and carbon filters will last 2-4X longer. All water ( waste and filtered ) go through the sediment and the carbon. BRS dual is a very nice unit has most all the thing

I don't really think gallon per day can be equated to any size tank per say. So no 150gpd is not overkill. I think it's pretty nice to know that in an emergency you can crank out 50-100% water change for a 65g tank in shorter amount of time.

The BRS one has a guage , as your sediment starts to clog your psi will go down so that is good indicator when time to replace. If psi low after changing sediment then that could mean your carbon is starting to clog ( from sediment getting through ). Testing your waste water for total chlorine ( test strips are even included with this unit ) will tell you when your carbon is done.

The TDS meter that comes with it will tell you when its time to swap DI out. When the TDS out of the membrane(s) = out of the first DI you know its complete exhausted, move DI #2 to front and refill with DI.

It comes with the water hose adapter so all you will need is the Y connector Cypho pointed out earlier.

There are two more items I would buy the float valve and the flush kit. Both are pretty inexpensive. With those two items you have pretty much all the bells and whistles and will help you keep it running as effiecient.

The membranes will last your 4-5 years ( and beyond ) if you stay on top of your sediment and carbon changes.


In the long run the BRS 6 stage is going to save you money on replacments filter costs. This is the best time of year to be purchasing a unit so you can't go wrong on the price.

 

[cypho]

There is no difference in efficiency, durability, or water quality between different brands.

They are all made from the same parts, and water quality and efficiency are determined by what stages are used and what (replacement) filters you choose down the road.

All you need to consider is the price and what parts it comes with.

Doubling up on the carbon stage can increase the lifespan of the RO membrane and may result in a small improvement in output water quality. Definitely not required but there is no downside and minimal cost.

Doubling up on the RO membrane like the 150 GPD system not only increases production speed, but also increases efficiency. In the standard configuration, (waste water from the first, is the input for the 2nd) you get 2x the clean water production with the same level of waste-water production. The water purity coming out the 2nd RO stage is a bit less pure though. If that bothers you you can run them in parallel instead of in series and get 2x the clean water production, 2x the waste-water production, and exactly the same purity from both.

The output of the RO stage is 90-99% pure. It is pure enough to be safe to use, but many/most like to aim for 100%. Adding a single DI stage will bring you up to essentially 100% pure. Until the DI resin is used up. Doubling up on the DI stage will ensure that when the first DI stage is used up, you continue to get 100% pure water.

DI resin is expensive and does not last long. Adding a DI stage will increase maintenance cost 2-10x. Adding a 2nd DI stage will have a negligible impact on the ongoing costs.

TDS meters help you know when it is time to replace the membranes.

A flush valve will help extend the life of the membranes.

A pressure gauge can help you know when it is time to replace the sediment and carbon filters and let you know if you would really benefit from a pressure booster pump.

A pressure booster pump will increase both production speed and efficiency (more clean water per gallon of waste water).

A permeate pump is useful if you are going to store the pure water in a pressure tank.

A float switch and auto shutoff valve is needed if you want the RO system to run automatically and keep your reservoir full at all times.



_____________________

Now you are an expert and can choose for your self which system you want.




If I were buying a new system, I would probably go with this one.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-4-stage-value-plus-ro-di-system-75gpd-1.html

After the DI resin ran out the first time, I would probably reconfigure it to use the DI stage as a 2nd carbon stage.

Then I would either skip the DI, or go all in and add a Dual DI.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/dual-deionization-canister-1.html

If down the road you get a bigger tank and want to increase production. You add a 2nd RO stage for next to nothing. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/standard-ro-membrane-housing.html