Can someone help me make sense of this water report?

[Blackdirt_cowboy]

Gotcha. So I'm just going to brew with my water like I have been. When the RO system is back online, then I'll start using it and building my water. So far, the few brews I've done taste good, I just want them to be the best they can be.

 

[JonesCreek]

My raw well water for my house sits right around 650ppm of TDS, after my green sand filter it lowers it to about 500, and after the RO system it drops it down to 20 ppm TDS. I am not sure how you would have it plumbed in but it is important to always keep pressure on the RO membrane because if you don't the water will go back through the membrane and ruin it much faster than normal.

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

Feel free to give us a call when you are in front of your RO system and we can do some quick troubleshooting and figure out what is wrong with the system.

Russ
513-312-2343

 

[ajdelange]

I am not sure how you would have it plumbed in but it is important to always keep pressure on the RO membrane because if you don't the water will go back through the membrane and ruin it much faster than normal.

I'll note that my system does not keep pressure on the feed side when it is not running. It simply shuts off the feed and the pressure quickly drops to 0. Now I'll note that the permeate goes to an atmospheric tank. Some permeate will move, by osmotic pressure, back into the feed channel but as soon as the feed channel is dilute enough that stops.

Now if my permeate were fed to a bladder tank the story would be a bit different. The high pressure in the bladder tank would force water back through the membrane, down the feed channel and out the drain. Whether that would damage the membrane or not I do not know but can imagine that it might. That aside, a good proportion of my pressure tank's content would wind up in the sewer. That's why systems feeding pressurized tanks are equipped with check valves!

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

Well, that might be a slight overstatement. But it has some basis in truth. The real problem is that those teeny sediment and carbon filters in that second system are too small and will rapidly be exhausted. I strongly recommend that brewers select the first type of RO system with the larger filters.

The second type, with the small encapsulated filters really involves a misapplication of the filters - they are not designed/intended to be used in this way. Vendors know that a low initial purchase price will entice uneducated (usually first-time) RO system buyers.

We have all the pieces/parts in house to build those systems, but we never have, and have no plans to start.

Russ

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

The high pressure in the bladder tank would force water back through the membrane, down the feed channel and out the drain. Whether that would damage the membrane or not I do not know

Yes - it sure will damage (as in, ruin) the membrane.

Russ

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

There should always be a check valve in/at/near the permeate port on the RO membrane housing to prevent this backwards flow.