RO systems cost effective?

[Carolina_Matt]

Dear Mr. Goose
A quick note to thank you for all the work you’ve done in this area and for taking the time to put it on this forum. It’s really helpful for all of us. I live near Charlotte NC and have good water, but I am concerned about heavy metals and other contaminants. Maybe I’ve read too many reviews by the manufacturers of RO equipment? The prices listed are about $350; where did you get your set up?
Happy Brewing

Everything I've read about Charlotte water is that it's very neutral, with limited minerals. You need to remove the chlorine (I use a campden tablet) and probably add calcium, but it's a great base for most profiles. I'm not sure an RO filter makes much sense with such neutral tap water.

Here's the report that Charlotte publishes - it gets updated a few times each year.

https://charlottenc.gov/Water/WaterQuality/Pages/MineralAnalysis.aspx

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

I got mine at Buckeye Hydro. One of their people, Russ, posts here. He was tremendously helpful in getting me exactly what I needed, including things like a connection to a garden hose spigot, things like that.

Ultimately you get what you pay for. Buckeye Hydro isn't necessarily the cheapest but the service was perfect, and to me service is worth a lot. In the end, IMO, I got more than I paid for.

I paid something near $150 for my system, IIRC, plus I added a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter. I think the latter is absolutely necessary, as I need to know when the system is no longer working optimally. I'd hate to keep producing RO water only to find out, later, that it had stated to produce 100ppm or greater water when I was counting on 5ppm.

A few tidbits I picked up along the way:

1. Feeding softened water to the RO filter works better than unsoftened water. My local water is really bad in terms of alkalinity, so it's softened.

2. RO systems work slower if the water is really cold. When I get to the spring when water coming in from our underground pipes is cold, it slows down. In August and September, it's pretty fast.

3. I selected the 50 gpd (gallons per day) model; It will produce about 2 gallons per hour but that's under optimal conditions (warmer water). During cold periods it's about 1.5 or so. In retrospect I kind of wish I'd chosen the 75 gpd system. I can replace the 50gpd filter with a 75gpd filter if I want to, but the system continues to work fine, so no need.

4. I always flush the system for 30 seconds before beginning, and for 30 seconds when I'm finished. It always takes a few minutes for the water coming out of the system to drop down to the 5-6ppm level it always settles at. So at the beginning I'll let it run for maybe 5 minutes after flushing, then direct the output into a small cup in which I've placed the TDS meter. That way I'm sure the system is performing, and at that point, I'll put the output line into the Aquatainer I use.

5. My standard procedure is to pump the RO water into my kettle at the start of brew day, then set the RO system to refilling the Aquatainer while I brew. That way I always have enough RO water to do the next brew day. Occasionally as I use up my 1-gallon jugs of RO water I'll refill them from the Aquatainer and then set to refilling that.

6. I've had two back surgeries. My Aquatainer is 7 gallons, and it dawned on me that even though I can lift that to a table on which I can fill pitchers to transfer water to my kettle, or fill the 1-gallon jugs, I might be tempting fate. So I researched and bought a transfer pump that I use to get water from the Aquatainer on the floor to the kettles, or to the jugs. I've shown how I do that below in a couple pics, and here's the source of that pump:

Power Supply: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073QTNF9F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Pump: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FT87XJY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Nice set up! One thing I noticed: You have one or more brass fittings on that pump - you'll want to replace that with a poly/plastic fitting. Remember: no metal (except stainless) contact with RO water!

Russ

 

[d40dave]

I decided to get a RO system. My water is over 400 total hardness. It's a 5 stage system. I probably use about 400 gallons per year which would be over $300 for Walmart distilled water. I haven't thought through it to see if it is really cost effective for me. I'm sure it must be though. Filter replacement must be considered too. I have not found any recommendations on how often to replace the filters other than on a time basis. Typically every year for most of the filters and every 2 years for the RO filter. Does anybody have any good guidelines based on actual gallons filtered?

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

We do. Please read the answer to our first FAQ, here: Reverse Osmosis Filters | RODI Systems | Commerical Water Filtration System - Buckeye Hydro

 

[Jako]

I decided to get a RO system. My water is over 400 total hardness. It's a 5 stage system. I probably use about 400 gallons per year which would be over $300 for Walmart distilled water. I haven't thought through it to see if it is really cost effective for me. I'm sure it must be though. Filter replacement must be considered too. I have not found any recommendations on how often to replace the filters other than on a time basis. Typically every year for most of the filters and every 2 years for the RO filter. Does anybody have any good guidelines based on actual gallons filtered?

Buckeye is awesome. customer service is great.

i have the 100G a day system and use it often after 5 months of use its only getting better. i have similar water to you but we have two wells that supply us. in the winter i was getting 500PPM or more and it would filter down to 28PPM or lower.

Right now i am filtering my water for National Homebrew day. its at 232PPM down to 7PPM


i love the product and its 100% worth the money. not having to plan getting the water makes it so much easier. you can use to clean as it makes some products more effective. I am working on a way to run the waste water to a tank outside so i can use it for a garden.