How about replacement DI cartridges?

[Anonymous]

What's the better choices to go with out there?

The last one I got was cheap but seemed to get depleted extremely quick.

(And I'm not looking for extremely technical ones either, just your run of the mill drop-in color-change unit...)


Norm

 

[liquid]

I like my SpectraPure DI cartridges. I go thru about 1 per year or so...

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

WOW!

I picked up my cheapy only about a month ago and it's nearly shot now. (I figure I got maybe 120 gallons out of it.. - Having to put more through it right now because of the move.)

 

[taikonaut]

You should do better than that if you feed it water straight from the Lake!

Seriously, what is the TDS of the input water? My RO get me around <10ppm, and my cartidge goes for hundreds of gallons.

I used to use SpectraPure's DI, because my water filter is from the same company.

 

[liquid]

What kind of RO/DI do you have and how many stages?

Shane

 

[PilotNY]

Hi,
There is a company that sells replacement filter cartridges on e-bay. I think it was 50 bucks for four sets of filters. PM me and I'll shoot you his store name. Personally, I use the replacements from the same company I bought my 5 stage 100 gpd filter from- Air Water & Ice out of Florida I think. I usually replace mine every 6 - 8 months. FWIW

CYA
Carl

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not too sure what the brand/model is.. - The manual says ReefPure but no other labeling is visible anywhere. (Got it on an online trade..)

Anyway, it's a 4-stage and worst of all is that I have no pressure gauge or TDS for it. I'm guessing the output from it is ok.. I had diatoms blooming out of my boxers before I got it (and when my first DI cartridge finally got depleted) but otherwise water quality appears to be good.. (The original DI cartridge lasted a good while, more in the range of about 2-300 gallons..)

When I went to find this last replacement DI cartridge, I shopped hard to find the cheapest I could, ($50 for 4 is WAAY cheaper than I found so look for that PM Carl - thanx!) - So I'm not really suprised by this ones performance, but I was just curious what most folks shoot for in the way of a higher performing DI cartridge..

 

[taikonaut]

I strongely suggest you look into borrowing a TDS meter from local hobbyist to test your RO output. You will feel better if you found that your RO is shocked right away, instead of going thru a few "hi performance" DIs a few months down the road.

The DI cartidge is pretty much the same when it comes to capacity. There are tons of DI out there, but IME, I get same performance out of them regardless of brand. There are some minor improvement when it comes to specialized applications, but most of it is just marketing.

 

[liquid]

Anyway, it's a 4-stage and worst of all is that I have no pressure gauge or TDS for it. I'm guessing the output from it is ok.. I had diatoms blooming out of my boxers before I got it (and when my first DI cartridge finally got depleted) but otherwise water quality appears to be good.. (The original DI cartridge lasted a good while, more in the range of about 2-300 gallons..)

When I went to find this last replacement DI cartridge, I shopped hard to find the cheapest I could, ($50 for 4 is WAAY cheaper than I found so look for that PM Carl - thanx!) - So I'm not really suprised by this ones performance, but I was just curious what most folks shoot for in the way of a higher performing DI cartridge..

How long ago did you replace your sediment, carbon block, and RO filters? It almost sounds like the reason your DI is getting chewed up as fast as it is is because those filters are shot.

Shane

 

[PilotNY]

Norm,
I agree with taikonaut. Borrow a TDS from someone to check you output. Let the new filters run for about 1 hour and check the TDS. Mine is always around 0 - 1 ppm until the filters start to get depletetd. Answer is in your mailbox.

Carl

 

[playfair]

AquaFX sells DI cartridges (10") for $18.50
They also offer refill kits
http://www.aquariumwaterfilters.com

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! A pressure gauge and a dual inline TDS to measure post and pre-DI are on the shopping list (with the possibility of a booster pump as well, but doubtful..)

Thanks again!

Norm

 

[liquid]

While you're at it, grab a flush valve for your RO membrane. It's supposed to significantly extend your RO membrane as after you are done making RO/DI water you flush the RO membrane of any crap that's deposited on it.

Shane

 

[taikonaut]

unsolicited comments:

1, you can do away with a regular TDS meter instead of a dual inline one. More flexible.

2, booster pump if your pressure gauge should you having a pressure problem, but most don't need it. If I remember correctly, low pressure will cause wastefulness of water usage, but better quality of output water. There is no indication of this problem in your case.

3, measure the TDS at three points.. A, RO input. B, RO output/DI input, and C, DI output. For MI water, you should get some number like the following:
A, 100-150ppm
B, 5-15 ppm
C 0-2 ppm.

 

[Anonymous]

Ahh... - Yeah, I was looking at that too, thanks for the reminder.

And I wouldn't be suprised if A were higher than those numbers! :lol:

 

[taikonaut]

MI water actually is pretty good, unless you use well water. Around summer time, the lake water get a bit "muddy" due to the bacteria bloom, but it does not affect the TDS much, and only non-native Wolferines can taste the difference.