Water Softener/RO systems

[rtcgolf]

Help-I am told I need to re-bed my softeners. Need new Resin. Being quoted resin at $390 per cubic foot. In searching the webb the highest price resin I find is $125 per cubic foot. Is there difference in the quality of resin or is this price way to high?

also, any thoughts on PM for softeners and RO systems. how often do you change filters and clean or replace membranes?

I am new to the business and this is the first time I have run into softener and RO problems. any thoughts are appreciated.

Dick

 

[2Biz]

I am new to the business too (7 months) but might be able to help you out a bit since I just finished an RO install. I learned a lot here on the forum and by contacting Dultmeier, who is the manufacturer of my system.

One thing I was told is that you shouldn't run an RO system if your Softener is not up to par. Anything less than 1 grain of hardness making it past your softener will eat away at your membrane. I guess this falls under your maintenance question. You'll need to start by checking the total grains of harness before and after your softener to see where its at. Mine is about 2 grains before and less than 1 grain after the softener. Another thing I was told, is there can't be any chlorine that makes it to the membrane of your RO unit. So you'll need to check for chlorine after your Carbon filter. A simple pool test kit will get this job done. You should also have a pre-filter to filter any solids before making it to the membrane. Mine is a 5 micron filter. This should be changed monthly. More if used heavily. Lastly, I check my RO water pretty often to check for TDS. (Total Disolved Solids) With a new membrane, mine runs less than 5 tds. The Dultmeier engineer said that a membrane that has hardness free and chlorine free water going to it will last many years, depending on volumn. Allowing chlorine or hardness to get to the membrane shortens its life considerably. Anything over 40 tds and your membrane should be replaced. This is all from the Engineer at Dultmeier...

As far as the resin price goes, just for comparison, Dultmeier has is for $72 per cubic foot. Somebodies wanting to make up for losses in the stock market!

Hope this helps...

Jeff

 

[MEP001]

2Biz is right on. Membranes don't need to be replaced on any routine, just when the quality is no longer "spot free".

I don't fully agree that changing the prefilter once a month is necessary, it just needs to be changed often enough that it doesn't restrict flow to the RO system. It won't hurt to change it often though.

I've found softener resin for $50 a cu.ft. online. A typical car wash softener doesn't need any particular quality resin.

There's a fairly recent thread in which someone got enough information here to change the softener resin himself.

 

[2Biz]

Your probably right about the Pre-Filter. I am going to change mine after the first month to see what it looks like. I don't have a huge volumn, so I might be able to go two maybe three months. It would be nice to put in pressure gages before and after the filter to check for pressure drop. Thats the way our RO system here at work is set up. Otherwise you don't know if you've got restriction.

BTW... 10" filters are cheap...Only about $2 bucks....So testing to see what the longevity of the filter is won't cost an arm and a leg.

 

[Rudy]

Check the forum for other posts on how to service your softeners. FWIW, Wood Brothers had the best prices on resin and all the supplies I needed. The special funnel (to reinstall the resin) was worth every penny in saved labor....

 

[rtcgolf]

Many thanks to you guys. 2Biz,MEP001, and Rudy. I have received more valuable information in one day from all of you than I have from three different suppliers. The value of the Forum.

I have looked at the other threads and withwhat you have provided I now have enough info to ask and get good information.

I apprecaite your help and will let you know our conclusions.

Again, Thanks