Reverse Osmosis systems are expensive

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EyePeeA

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After some research, I have noticed that under-sink reverse osmosis systems cost $150-400 on average for regular home use.

How much quality is being sacrificed by going with the cheaper options? Is the pressure tank included in this price? How often do filters need to be replaced? Is there any other routine maintenance that needs to be done?

And most importantly, can anyone recommend a more economical way of getting RO water?
 
I get it for about $0.35/gal in stores around my house. I brew 15 - 20 batches per year and use 10 gallons for each batch, of which half is my tap and half is RO. My annual cost is, at most, $35 for RO water.
 
I paid $119 for mine, but now it's $129. It doesn't have the pressure tank, but it works great for my needs.

I haven't needed to change any filters or membranes or anything yet (had it a bit over a year, and I brew quite a lot).
 
I get it for about $0.35/gal in stores around my house. I brew 15 - 20 batches per year and use 10 gallons for each batch, of which half is my tap and half is RO. My annual cost is, at most, $35 for RO water.
Why you gotta go and bring LOGIC to the discussion?!
 
I get it for about $0.35/gal in stores around my house. I brew 15 - 20 batches per year and use 10 gallons for each batch, of which half is my tap and half is RO. My annual cost is, at most, $35 for RO water.

That cost is not too bad, but what about the PITA cost to have to go out and get it? That's another variable that may influence a buying decision. For me, that would be a deal breaker since I don't want to go to another store and pick up big things of water.

My RO system is used for a lot more than brewing. I think my system was about $150 with a tank. I also added another 20 gal pressure tank that I picked up locally off of Craigslist.

Considering that all the components are virtually identical and are now a commodity, there is no advantage in buying a name brand or expensive system. You need 3 things: particulate filter, carbon filter, and membrane (3 stages). Anything more than those 3 stages is not really needed. Some systems have an extra particulate filter and post carbon filter. Some even have deionizing columns to get out that last little bit.

The one component that you may want to target is the membrane manufacturer. Filmtec (Dow) has a good reputation and is worth seeking. All the rest of the filters and canisters are generic and all should generally be equivalent.
 
While the 3 stage unit IPA mentions above should be good enough, its use of the small filter cartridges is not a good idea. The unit is rated at 75 gpd and the flow rate through a carbon filter is critical to its performance. Getting a RO unit with either the typical 10" cartridges or the super-sized :) 20" cartridges is recommended.
 
I bought the 5 stage system for $150 from AirWaterIce. Uses Filmtec membrane, came with TDS meter, shutoff valve, and DI bypass. In fact, I just removed the DI cartridge.

I bought a pack of sediment and 5 micron filters at $3/ea from Amazon. I rotate the sediment filter every 3 months, the first carbon less regularly, and the second carbon finer filter annually.

I use it for more than brewing, too. Watering seed starters, using RO water in humidifier so salts aren't sprayed over house in winter, filling drinking water containers.

I also installed a valve on a trash bucket to capture waste brine, and pump it.through chillers to chill on brew days. For brewing at least, I don't really waste water since I need copious water to chill even if I didn't start with RO.

My water comes from the tap at 120 ppm TDS, and now I average 3 ppm after RO. Blank slate.
 
I bought the 5 stage system for $150 from AirWaterIce. Uses Filmtec membrane, came with TDS meter, shutoff valve, and DI bypass. In fact, I just removed the DI cartridge.

I bought a pack of sediment and 5 micron filters at $3/ea from Amazon. I rotate the sediment filter every 3 months, the first carbon less regularly, and the second carbon finer filter annually.

I use it for more than brewing, too. Watering seed starters, using RO water in humidifier so salts aren't sprayed over house in winter, filling drinking water containers.

I also installed a valve on a trash bucket to capture waste brine, and pump it.through chillers to chill on brew days. For brewing at least, I don't really waste water since I need copious water to chill even if I didn't start with RO.

My water comes from the tap at 120 ppm TDS, and now I average 3 ppm after RO. Blank slate.

Wow! You must have a lot of sediment in your water???? In general, sediment filters do not need to be replaced until the flow rate is significantly affected. As they clog, they filter even better! There is not typically a 'breakthrough' of sediment particles from those filters.

+1 on the in-line TDS meter. I have the cheaper HM 2-way TDS meter and it provided guidance for when my membrane required replacement. Its well worth the $20 and it will help you avoid replacing that expensive membrane prematurely. I got almost 2 years out of my last membrane.
 
Wow! You must have a lot of sediment in your water???? In general, sediment filters do not need to be replaced until the flow rate is significantly affected. As they clog, they filter even better! There is not typically a 'breakthrough' of sediment particles from those filters.

My water is from DC. Falls Church City basically takes Army Corps' water, and throws a huge `tax' on it despite the fact that I live in a separate municipal county (I bring that up because it bugs me, Virginia's municipality system is broken).

Anyhow, that Army Corps water runs through some ancient plumbing that is beyond repair. During the last power outage where water ran slowly, they announced that tap water needed to be treated and/or boiled because of the garbage and organisms it picked up at reduced pressure.

My sediment filters take about a month to turn a nasty orange. I feel like at three months, I'd rather just replace it for $3 than watch it get nastier, but I hadn't thought that it would actually filter more that way.

This is where my ignorance shows because I never asked. Sorry to hijack, but Martin, should I just leave the sediment filter alone until flow rate is reduced? I just didn't want to put that work on the carbon filters, or worse, the membrane. Or is that sediment filter discoloration normal, and I can get even more life out of my bulk filters?
 
My issues with an RO system is only partly due to the cost of the system and the inevitable diddling around with it v. just buying the RO water at the store. There's also the issue of waste. Before you buy any RO system, be sure you know how many gallons it wastes for each gallon of RO water it generates. Some systems are more than 3:1. And I would not buy such a system for that reason alone.
 
My issues with an RO system is only partly due to the cost of the system and the inevitable diddling around with it v. just buying the RO water at the store. There's also the issue of waste. Before you buy any RO system, be sure you know how many gallons it wastes for each gallon of RO water it generates. Some systems are more than 3:1. And I would not buy such a system for that reason alone.

No matter what you do, RO is going to have waste. If you pick up 10-20 gallons of RO from the store, how much water did they waste (surely it went into the sewer), and how much fuel did you burn for the journey (if your trip is solely for RO water)?

When you chill your beer, how much water do you waste? Or do you recirculate icewater through your chiller? And if that's the case, how much energy went into freezing that ice?

I just capture the RO "waste" water and chill my beer with it. Waste is directed to a cheap garbage can. Then capture the resulting hot water from chilling beer to mix PBW for post-brew cleanup. That brine still went through filters, it just has higher TDS suitable for cleansing, sans chlorine. When I filter RO water not used for brewing, I feed the waste water into rain barrels to water the lawn or garden. If you're creative, the waste in minimal.
 
Lots of fish shops that cater to marine aquariums have ro systems in the shop and sell it by the gallon. There used to be one in my area that sold it by the 5 gallons.
 
I have the Kinetico system, with the main filters
img-series-landing-kinetico.jpg

And this system that serves the sink drinking water spigot.
k5_system.jpg

I get good flow rate from the drinking water and the filters are over a year old and are at about 50% now.
Not sure what the sink unit cost as we bout the whole system in one go.
Not much help am I? lol
 
No matter what you do, RO is going to have waste. {snip}

1. This is quite true; however, I am on a well, and am not going to put that kind of load on it.

2. Part of a daily trip when all bases are touched; no more or less fuel involved.

3. My chilling water, at present, goes on the garden, more relevant in Spring than in Fall. So that's partly wasted, but the alternative is not to brew. I'm looking at recirculating the chilling water through a handy cistern, but that project hasn't matured yet, as I'm starting to think about how to put the cistern back to its original use in the broader context of water use in the household. (I'm just providing an answer to what you mentioned, not really sure how this pertains to the RO issue.)

4. I'm not sure I can agree from the information you've provided that anyone (= me, presumably) can keep waste "minimal" by just being "creative." I keep it as minimal as is reasonable, and reasonable means minimizing the load on our well.
 
How is the flow rate out of these systems? I do 15 gallon batches and use about 20 gallons when I brew and they list most as 50-75 gallons per day. So would it take 6 hours to fill a 20 gallon pot?

It does. I fill an HLT that holds about 14 gallons (keggle, with a HEX in it) and it takes about 5 hours to fill it.

The waste water goes directly into my washing machine, until full, then into a drain or a bucket in my sink for watering the garden.
 
1. This is quite true; however, I am on a well, and am not going to put that kind of load on it.

2. Part of a daily trip when all bases are touched; no more or less fuel involved.

3. My chilling water, at present, goes on the garden, more relevant in Spring than in Fall. So that's partly wasted, but the alternative is not to brew. I'm looking at recirculating the chilling water through a handy cistern, but that project hasn't matured yet, as I'm starting to think about how to put the cistern back to its original use in the broader context of water use in the household. (I'm just providing an answer to what you mentioned, not really sure how this pertains to the RO issue.)

4. I'm not sure I can agree from the information you've provided that anyone (= me, presumably) can keep waste "minimal" by just being "creative." I keep it as minimal as is reasonable, and reasonable means minimizing the load on our well.

I suppose using a well is different than the pressure a normal water system supllies. My comment was pointing out that the volume of water wasted can be managed. That was your original point.

I only brought up chilling on the topic of waste, so it almost certainly uses more water than the waste of RO. Ice came up to point out that lots of brewing is water and energy intensive.

That said, I would wager most homebrewers use less total energy than shipping bottles cross country.
 
FWIW: I changed from buying spring water to running tap water through a cheap RV filter. Never noticed a difference in flavor, neither did any of my fellow imbibers.
 

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