Inexpensive (but good) reverse osmosis system?

[dragonbreath11]

Here is a pic of an RO unit hooked up

The red hose comes from the sink faucet. Water goes into the sediment filter then through the charcoal filter into the RO filter. The RO mebrane rejects waste water which comes out of the black hose. This RO unit also has a DI filter which the water passes through before coming out the blue hose.

I had this one hooked up to a reservoir with a float valve. The float valve allows the reservoir to fill to a certain level then shuts off the flow. This unit is a 75 gpd. It takes quite a while to fill a 5 gallon container, but with a float valve the water can left on while filling without the worry of overflowing the container.

Ok, for brewing is the DI filter necessary?

 

[johnlvs2run]

Ok for brewing is the DI filter necessary?

I was told the DI is not good for drinking, as it doesn't taste very good.

The DI removes additional TDS, but might add chemicals in suspension, besides being much more expensive to produce.

 

[Clonefarmer]

That helps SO much! Thank you. I think I will mount it right on the counter of the laundry room, assuming those hoses are long enough to reach across for the waste water to go into the washing machine. A picture really IS worth a thousand words!

The hoses on the one I have are pretty long. I have it mounted in the basement and have the feed hose running up through an access panel in a closet to a first floor room. The waste water hose I had to extend to reach the hops in the backyard.

Here is a 75 GPD unit from the place I got mine. BRS 75 GPD no DI Their customer service is awesome. I bet if you asked they could give you the length of hose you need.

Ok, for brewing is the DI filter necessary?

Nope. For brewing you would only need a sediment cartridge, carbon cartridge and an RO membrane. The DI is only necessary when generating pure water for a Reef tank.

 

[Seven]

I contacted Airwaterice about their RO systems and they recommended installing the RO unit inside the house even though I told them we have a whole house water softener system already installed. They said using the softened water with their RO filter would work better than using the un-softened water from an outdoor garden house. Does this sound correct?

 

[Clonefarmer]

I contacted Airwaterice about their RO systems and they recommended installing the RO unit inside the house even though I told them we have a whole house water softener system already installed. They said using the softened water with their RO filter would work better than using the un-softened water from an outdoor garden house. Does this sound correct?

If the water softener removes stuff from the water to make it softer then using the RO on the softened water makes sense. If the water softener is adding salts or something to the water to soften the water the RO will have to remove whatever the softener is adding.

I'm not too familiar with water softeners, but I'm pretty sure they add stuff to the water. I would double check to see what the deal is.

 

[bja]

I was told the DI is not good for drinking, as it doesn't taste very good.

The DI removes additional TDS, but might add chemicals in suspension, besides being much more expensive to produce.

There's no difference in the taste of RO/DI water compared to RO water. RO water will have a very small TDS reading because the membrane is not 100% efficient. The DI only removes the last remaining TDS. It does not add anything to the water, especially chemicals (I don't know how people come up with this stuff).

 

[djt17]

I was told the DI is not good for drinking, as it doesn't taste very good.

The DI removes additional TDS, but might add chemicals in suspension, besides being much more expensive to produce.

I drink DI water all the time at work, it tastes fine; the city water is terrible.

 

[dragonbreath11]

The hoses on the one I have are pretty long. I have it mounted in the basement and have the feed hose running up through an access panel in a closet to a first floor room. The waste water hose I had to extend to reach the hops in the backyard.

Here is a 75 GPD unit from the place I got mine. BRS 75 GPD no DI Their customer service is awesome. I bet if you asked they could give you the length of hose you need.


Nope. For brewing you would only need a sediment cartridge, carbon cartridge and an RO membrane. The DI is only necessary when generating pure water for a Reef tank.

Do you use yours in brewing? Do you make chemical adjustments, mix half with tap water, or just use the RO water. Have you noticed your brews taste better with RO water?

 

[Yooper]

The hoses on the one I have are pretty long. I have it mounted in the basement and have the feed hose running up through an access panel in a closet to a first floor room. The waste water hose I had to extend to reach the hops in the backyard.

Here is a 75 GPD unit from the place I got mine. BRS 75 GPD no DI Their customer service is awesome. I bet if you asked they could give you the length of hose you need.

Does it hook up to the sink with an adapter? And then you just remove it when not using it? How often have you had to change the filter, and do you monitor with a TDS meter? Is it really ready to go out of the box? What else do you need? Anything for flushing the membrane?

 

[Clonefarmer]

Do you use yours in brewing? Do you make chemical adjustments, mix half with tap water, or just use the RO water. Have you noticed your brews taste better with RO water?

No, the RO water was only for a Reef tank. I use tap water that has been through a simple tap water filter for brewing. The city water here is pretty decent quality. It tastes good out of the tap and even better when carbon filtered. The water is soft with 35 TDS, but there is allot of phosphate. The phosphate hasn't been an issue with brewing, but it wreaks havoc on a Reef system.

 

[Clonefarmer]

Does it hook up to the sink with an adapter? And then you just remove it when not using it? How often have you had to change the filter, and do you monitor with a TDS meter? Is it really ready to go out of the box? What else do you need? Anything for flushing the membrane?

It came with a sink adapter which is hooked up to the utility sink. The adapter has a lever on the side that allows the faucet to still be used.

The sediment and carbon filters have to be changed about every 6 months or so depending on the water quality. The RO membrane should last years as long as the pre filters are maintained. The DI will last a while and will change color as it loses usefulness.

The TDS meter is inline and monitors both the water going in and coming out. They can also be put inline between the RO and DI and at the output to monitor the condition of the RO membrane. There are also handheld TDS meters.

The one I got was ready to go I just had to hook it up to the faucet and the reservoir.

From what I've read there is no need for a flush kit. The membrane gets flushed by the waste water during the filtering process.

I got an auto shut off kit installed with mine. It includes a pressure shut off valve and a float valve that can be hooked up to a container so it shuts off automatically before overflowing.

 

[Yooper]

Here is a 75 GPD unit from the place I got mine. BRS 75 GPD no DI Their customer service is awesome. I bet if you asked they could give you the length of hose you need.
.

I just ordered that unit. I don't need DI, just RO and I called them and it comes with 10' hoses already installed. Hopefully we won't have too much waste water from it!

 

[Seven]

I just ordered that unit. I don't need DI, just RO and I called them and it comes with 10' hoses already installed. Hopefully we won't have too much waste water from it!

Plus, you'll have a healthier reef and less algae outbreaks!

 

[Yooper]

Plus, you'll have a healthier reef and less algae outbreaks!

I'm sure my goldfish will love it.

But for my pond, I do have a UV filter and I haven't have an algae bloom since I got it!

 

[Clonefarmer]

I think you'll like it. I have a similar one. It was easy to hook up and works great. The waste water is a downside, but it can be used to water a garden or house plants.

 

[dragonbreath11]

For those who are interested there will be a group buy on Ro Systems and filter from http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/. Anyone is welcome to participate. Details will be forthcoming in the Group Buy section. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f174/

 

[dragonbreath11]

If anyone cares, discard that last post for now. I kindly asked Yooper, a moderator, if I could get confirmation on the group buy as far as I know it's up in the air.

 

[Yooper]

If anyone cares, discard that last post for now. I kindly asked Yooper, a moderator, if I could get confirmation on the group buy as far as I know it's up in the air.

We'll let you know ASAP!

 

[BrotherFreeman]

Just a quick heads up about RO. RO is great... I have one.. but I also sell them at work... and they use a TON of water. Most systems are about 5 or 6 to 1 for input vs output. Meaning to make 1 gallon of RO water, it goes through about 4-5 gallons of tap water. So, just be prepared to hear that residula going down the drain when its filling the tank. You cant go too much wrong with a Watts system, but other great ones out there are Cuno/Aquapure as well as Everpure. These are mostly higher end, showroom grade RO systems but they perform well. My work is not the place to buy "inexpensive (but good)" RO systems. jd3's suggestions about collecting the waste water is an excellent idea though to comabt what I said above.

 

[TomSD]

A permeate pump helps quite a bit with that. You can also reuse that water in the yard if you do a little extra plumbing. I'm still debating the best way to do it but plan to run it out so I can water with it.

 

[dragonbreath11]

Just a quick heads up about RO. RO is great... I have one.. but I also sell them at work... and they use a TON of water. Most systems are about 5 or 6 to 1 for input vs output. Meaning to make 1 gallon of RO water, it goes through about 4-5 gallons of tap water. So, just be prepared to hear that residula going down the drain when its filling the tank. You cant go too much wrong with a Watts system, but other great ones out there are Cuno/Aquapure as well as Everpure. These are mostly higher end, showroom grade RO systems but they perform well. My work is not the place to buy "inexpensive (but good)" RO systems. jd3's suggestions about collecting the waste water is an excellent idea though to comabt what I said above.

5-6 gallons wasted for 1 gallon of RO is certainly nothing to scoff at. So basically for a 5 gallon brew session using pure RO water (no tapwater mix) You're looking at about 50-60 gallons for 9-10 gallons. Wow, it certainly something to keep in mind.

 

[Yooper]

5-6 gallons wasted for 1 gallon of RO is certainly nothing to scoff at. So basically for a 5 gallon brew session using pure RO water (no tapwater mix) You're looking at about 50-60 gallons for 9-10 gallons. Wow, it certainly something to keep in mind.

My brewdays have been using tap water and RO in a mix, usually 30-40% RO depending on what I"m making.

My system won't be here until Monday, but my plan is still the same. I plan on using the waste water to fill my washing machine and/or for watering plants or cleaning. Most of my brewdays start with 15 gallons of water total. That means up to 7 gallons of RO water, which I realize will produce more waste water than I'd like.

 

[johnlvs2run]

5-6 gallons wasted for 1 gallon of RO is certainly nothing to scoff at.

The ratio should be 3:1, no higher than that. This is easy to test.
If you're losing more than 3:1, the flow restrictor needs adjustment or replacement.
In addition to this, a permeate pump is a must have item for an RO system.

My brewdays have been using tap water and RO in a mix, usually 30-40% RO depending on what I"m making.

There's no good reason to add tap water back to pure RO water.

 

[KuntyBrew]

Depends on if you know your tap water profile and if your trying to make a certain profile in particular

 

[bja]

The ratio should be 3:1, no higher than that. This is easy to test.
If you're losing more than 3:1, the flow restrictor needs adjustment or replacement.

When using a pressurized storage tank, the ratio will change depending on the pressure differential between the input and storage tank. If the tank pressure is relatively high, the waste water to RO water ratio will be higher. Saying that the ratio should never exceed 3:1 is a bit naive.

There's no good reason to add tap water back to pure RO water.

So you're saying that we should use straight RO water to brew with?

 

[johnlvs2run]

When using a pressurized storage tank, the ratio will change depending on the pressure differential between the input and storage tank. If the tank pressure is relatively high, the waste water to RO water ratio will be higher. Saying that the ratio should never exceed 3:1 is a bit naive.

The ratio does not change when you're using a permeate pump.

So you're saying that we should use straight RO water to brew with?

Yes, that's right, IF you want the water to be pure.

If the water is already pure coming from a good well then you don't need an RO system.

That is very unlikely though. Certainly I would not run it through RO and then add the wastewater back in.

 

[bja]

The ratio does not change when you're using a permeate pump.

We're not talking about using a permeate pump.

Yes, that's right, IF you want the water to be pure.

If the water is already pure coming from a good well then you don't need an RO system.

That is very unlikely though. Certainly I would not run it through RO and then add the wastewater back in.

You don't want to brew with "pure" water. Water containing minerals in the right concentration are beneficial. This is why you mix the RO water with tap water.

You will never find a well that produces pure water. It aint gonna happen.

 

[Budzu]

The purpose of brewing with RO water is not to mash with absolutely pure water, its to have the opportunity to put in exactly the minerals you want, without having to deal with the minerals you don't want. Salts should be added into the mash as you dough in. Use a good water calculator. I recommend EZ water calculator.

 

[johnlvs2run]

We're not talking about using a permeate pump.

Okay then.

You don't want to brew with "pure" water. Water containing minerals in the right concentration are beneficial. This is why you mix the RO water with tap water.

Tap Water Contaminants - partial list

Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, from sewage treatment plants,
septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife;

Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, naturally occurring or resulting from urban storm water runoff,
industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming;

Pesticides and herbicides, from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses;

Organic chemical contaminants, synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, byproducts of industrial processes,
runoff from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems;

Radioactive contaminants, naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities;

I can see adding a balance of minerals to RO permeate if desired.

 

[bja]

I can see adding a balance of minerals to RO permeate if desired, but not the contaminants contained in water from the tap. A lot of people do though and that's a personal choice.

Most people have potable tap water and brew with it. I take it that you think that's a bad idea.

I see you edited you post sometime after I quoted it.