In one helluva jam. Need help & advice

[Ghetto Wash]

I'm going to be driving from DFW to Alabama mid October. If you are on my way, I don't mind stopping and looking things over with you.

I agree with Mac, most RO systems are way over built. I built my own for a low volume wash with spare parts for not much $$$.

 

[MEP001]

I agree with Mac, most RO systems are way over built. I built my own for a low volume wash with spare parts for not much $$$.

Have you seen a GinSan Water Lovers RO? If you haven't, you'll be stunned at how ridiculously overbuilt it is.

 

[copperglobe]

Same thing happened to our RO system a few years ago- quit working. They are waaaay over built as has been mentioned. Relays, circuit boards, timers, yadda, yadda, yadda. When ours quit working I simply bypassed everything and ran power directly to the booster motor (the pump that supplies higher pressure to feed the RO membranes) from the breaker panel. When we needed more RO for the tank I simply flipped "on" the breaker and let it run until full. Then, at my convenience, I investigated why all those relays, boards, garbage, weren't working. Found the problem ($5 relay) and we were up and running again. Meanwhile, I wasn't frustrated, rushed, anything because I didn't have RO water. I still have the wiring in place for this emergency bypass just in case someday it quits again.

 

[Stuart]

Hopefully you got your electrician on the job by now and you are up and running? What's the update?

 

[mparker1975]

Does it work off of a float switch that controls the pump and solenoid?

 

[mac]

Sooner, hope things are getting better. If you want to thank the people here for their help, the best way is to name the idiots who ripped you off with the lousy service. This industry won't improve till the jerks and idiots are driven out. Also I would refuse to pay for the service and parts you got that did not fix the problem.

 

[soonermajic]

My distributor finally sent in his "expert" Ro/O guy. he had it fixed in a couple hours. Said my membrane was clogged, which is odd, as it was brand new & had very little use. Anyways, he also said I need to put new charcoal,oyster shell etc...into my charcoal filter tank...?
I will hold off on my distributor, til I find out if he's gonna charge me for the trips where nothing was fixed...

 

[soonermajic]

thank you guys so much for your help & advice. I am finding out that my RO is way over engineered.

now I need to find a way to send this RO water to my Ice Machine. Advice...? It is about 100 feet away, from my pumphouse.

 

[carwashireland]

Try getting on to amazon and searching for a hydro logic commercial reverse osmosis system. This will produce 1000 gallons of r.o per day! I have 3 of these at 3 different in a locations with storage tanks and delivery pumps. They work great and the replacement membranes are cheap yet last well!

 

[soonermajic]

sounds pretty dang smart. How do you use & or set this up?

 

[MEP001]

Get the Hach pool/spa chlorine test and test the reject water from the RO system. Chlorine will be concentrated in the reject and even the slightest trace will show up.

 

[carwashireland]

It's dead simple and dead cheap. R.O units are expensive because they produce a lot of R.O water in a hurry. So if you use a cheap system like this and get a storage tank, you can save a fortune. I will post pics tomorrow with a install guide

 

[soonermajic]

Cw Ifeland, post some pics soon as you can please.

 

[carwashireland]

Cheap R.O set up.

Cw Ifeland, post some pics soon as you can please.

Hi soonermajic, I am having trouble attaching the pics to the post. can you send me an email to sales@washwell.co.uk and I will send you the pics then.
To give an idea on this set up though you will need. 1. the commercial r.o filter set, 2. a 24 volt normally closed 1/2" or 3/8"solenoid valve, a float switch and some hosing, your r.o water storage tank. You basically connect your water supply (1/2") to the inlet of the normally closed solenoid, then from the outlet of this to the filter system. The water then goes through the R.O unit and splits in two, with one outlet giving r.o water which needs to be plumbed to your storage tank (as large a tank as possible), the reject water can then be plumbed to your normal water storage tank. (If you don't have a storage tank for normal water then just plumb to any h.p water supply tank). Next fit a float switch into your r.o tank. Then set it up, so that when the tank needs water, the solenoid gets power and opens up. When it is full the float switch rises and shuts off the solenoid.
Note...You are controlling the r.o supply by the r.o tank levels only and not by the reject water supply. If the tank that the reject water is going into gets full it will overflow!
You should also get yourself a cheap tds meter if you don't have one. About 20 -40 dollars on amazon. To avoid spotting your TDS needs to be below 20.
So... Solenoid valve $50, float switch $30, Hydrologic R.O unit $550, Digital tds meter $25, hoses and fittings $50 Total $685 - $750
Hope this helps!
Web Links for parts!

http://www.amazon.com/Hydro-Logic-3...r0&keywords=merlin+commercial+reverse+osmosis

http://www.amazon.com/Float-Switch-...82765&sr=8-4&keywords=water+pump+float+switch

http://www.amazon.com/iSpring-TDS3-...UTF8&qid=1442982689&sr=8-4&keywords=tds+meter

http://www.amazon.com/Baco-Engineer...982899&sr=8-3&keywords=1+2+solenoid+valve+24v

 

[Greg Pack]

Try getting on to amazon and searching for a hydro logic commercial reverse osmosis system. This will produce 1000 gallons of r.o per day! I have 3 of these at 3 different in a locations with storage tanks and delivery pumps. They work great and the replacement membranes are cheap yet last well!

Interesting...

 

[2Biz]

I'm finding this interesting too. How long do the filters last? Less than $20.00 each is enticing.....

 

[carwashireland]

I have a site with a tds of 220 and the membranes last about 6 months and another site with a tds of 100 which lasts about 12 months. The flow rate is a bit slow which is why you need good storage. The membranes also last longer if the feed goes through a softener. I tend to change the membranes when I get a tds of 50.

 

[soapy]

You mentioned that your membrane was clogged and that it is fairly new. The membrane should have a back flush feature. It sounds like the membrane is not getting back flushed if it clogs quickly. Also if you use a water softner You could put a simple hydrominder on top of the tank and set it to fill the tank if it becomes low due to the RO not working. It might not be true spot free but it is better than full hard water rinse.

 

[MEP001]

You cannot backflush a membrane. It will destroy it immediately.

Some RO systems have a flush system that runs water through it with no pressure, but I have not seen them to be effective. The only things that affect membrane life are soft water supply and proper setup.

 

[2Biz]

I have a site with a tds of 220 and the membranes last about 6 months and another site with a tds of 100 which lasts about 12 months. The flow rate is a bit slow which is why you need good storage. The membranes also last longer if the feed goes through a softener. I tend to change the membranes when I get a tds of 50.

You don't mention a Carbon Pre-filter to take chlorine out of the supply water. Is this not necessary? What regulates reject volume? The Manufactures website says 4 to 1....(1 is the reject volume)....My Ro system rejects about 2 parts for every 1 part that goes in the tank. Its a Dultimeier 800gpd....Although, after about 5 years, my TDS is still between 0-5PPM...I'm Still interested in this system if mine ever needs replaced? OR if I just want more volume. Currently my SFR is plumbed to above the bay using nylon tubing and uses a SS Transfer pump....So pressure is limited because of the tubing. If the transfer pump ever quits (They are very expensive) this might be an alternative to add volume to my RO system and let the bay pumps handle the transfer. This would allow me to get rid of tubing and the rest of the CV's in the attic! The gears are turning...Again!

Mep, My system has a back-flush. It runs about 3 minutes every day and uses the booster pump when its running....As stated above, my TDS hasn't changed since the install 5 years ago. I don't quit understand your comment about it not being effective?