R/O Blues....

[toyota44]

Help, Help, Help...
I am currently using a 3 stage Captive Purity R/O unit. For the past year I have been living in an apartment with access only to city H2o. Recently my wife and I purchased a home that has both city H2o AND well H2o. I thought it would be nice to run the unit off of the well since it is free, so last week I hooked up the R/O to the well and ran about 30g through it, and it made my perfectly white (stage 3) carbon filter a yucky tan/brown color :? So these are my questions:

1. Is that normal?
2. If so, how long can I use the filter before I have to replace it (i.e when does the "good water out" quality start loosing it's integrity?
3. Are there tests I should be performing on the water before and after it's come through?
4. Should I just say forget it and use the city water, or can I save some bucks doing it the other way????

I was considering having the water from the well tested professionally, which costs about $75. They would test for all the nasties etc....what do you guys think....

Thanks for the help fishy friends !

 

[Robin Goodfellow]

hi.

1. Is that normal?

No.

2. If so, how long can I use the filter before I have to replace it (i.e when does the "good water out" quality start loosing it's integrity?

If there is significant pressure drop as water is going thru the prefilters and the carbon, you need to replace them since they are clogged.

3. Are there tests I should be performing on the water before and after it's come through?

I suggest a pressure gauage for pressue, and a TDS meter for finding out how well are the carbon and RO is working.

4. Should I just say forget it and use the city water, or can I save some bucks doing it the other way????

Depends. You maybe able to solve your problem with a better prefilter(s) that can filter out the iron/mud/sediment particles.

I was considering having the water from the well tested professionally, which costs about $75. They would test for all the nasties etc....what do you guys think....

Waste of money, unless you have specific concern, e.g., using it for drinking and there is a industrial plan near your town....

 

[ChrisRD]

Is the house new?

If the well is new it's not unusual to get some sediment in the water for a while until things settle down.

To help keep this to a minimum you can run the tap for a few minutes to help clear out the pipes before hooking up the RO unit.

 

[reefland]

How does a 3 stage RO unit have the carbon block as the 3rd stage? I would think it should be:

Stage 1 - sediment filter.
Stage 2 - carbon block.
Stage 3 - RO membrane.


The Stage 1 sediment filter should turn tan/orange. This is a sign of iron in the water. The orange is not the iron itself but the iron eating bacteria in the water.

The Stage 2 carbon block may turn a very pale tan / off white. It should not discolor more than that.

I'd suggest replacing the filters every 3 to 4 months or so.

The house itself should have a sediment filter somewhere near the water tank (before it). That should trap most of the tan/orange goop. Hook the RO/DI unit up after this filter and your prefilters will last much longer.