Awesome RO/DI for the "Financially Responsible"

[catweh00]

Hey,
I just bought one of these unts and they are incredible. I havent used RO/DI water ever, but after reading here, i realized how important it was. Too bad most units are 200+. I found this guy locally and I was able to watch him build this setup. It is incredible--and cheap. It cost me 120 bucks and it has most of the things you need-- I opted for his Bare Bones unit, which is a 4 stage 50 gpd type. Please email me at [email protected] for pictures. I know this sounds like I work for him, but everyone should check this guys website out at least at www.buckeyefieldsupply.com Luckily someone recommended him to me or i would have spent a fortune on a unit like this. Let me know what you all think.
Craig

 

[PeeJ]

Well you could have bought a better unit for less money on e-bay.

 

[PeeJ]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 18703&rd=1

 

[catweh00]

Thank you for the link, but anyone reading this would disagree. The prefilter on Russ' RO/DI are rated for 20,000 gallons, not a measly 3600 as the ebay website states.

"Our pre-filters have a capacity of 3,600 gallons. If your system is discharging waste water at the ratio of 3:1, then these pre-filters are good for 900 gallons of RO water"

From my understanding, 3:1 isnt even the right ratio--it should be four parts waste to one part usable water. i am glad you read the post, and i suggest you try one of Russ'.

The product listed on ebay is inferior in my opinion. i have the numbers available if anyone would like to see them--aside from the 20,000 gallon number that is.

 

[npaden]

An RO unit is an RO unit. They are all pretty much the same exact thing. Some have fancy clear housings and some are solid white. Some have fancy brand names on them and some don't, but pretty much all the filters are interchangeable.

If you are using a pre-filter for 20,000 gallons it isn't doing much filtering. I like the 1 micron sediment prefilters and I change them out every couple months and probably should change them out even more often cause they are nasty when I do change them out.

The 5 micron prefilters are almost a joke and I've even seen a 50 micron prefilter for sale at the hardware store. About all that will filter out is some Major debris.

As far as waste ratios it depends on what the incoming water pressure and temperature is on what the best ratio is. Also depends on the filter you are using to some extent.

FWIW, IMO, Nathan

 

[catweh00]

Good comments nathan, but i dont understand how a 20,000 gallon prefilter isnt filtering much--it is, it is rated to treat 20,000 gallons. How is that "not filtering much."
Yes, the 1 micron filters are really important, and that is what Russ uses. Anything above that, like 5 micron, is ridiculous and useless. I am simply alerting everyone to problems associated with inferior products, since you will have to replace filters more often and shell out more money in the long run.

 

[Anonymous]

Both catweh00 and npaden has some good points. Although consider minor issue, prefilter design can have dramatic different capacity, as you are aware after reading this thread. Prefilter design is pretty much a compromise between the capacity/flow rate/cost of material. You can't keep two the same and change the third without paying more.

Keep in mind that prefilter and the RO is the consumptables of the filter. Since prefilter is much cheaper than the RO membrane, as long as the extra saving justifies the lower quality (the quality may not be lower), it can still be a good deal. In addition to the actual good/hardware that you are buying, another one is the knowledgeable people and after-sale service.

I dealt with SpectraPure and to a lesser extent, buckeyefieldsupply.com, and FWIW, I never have problem with either of them.

 

[npaden]

catweh00 - that 20,000 gallon prefilter on the buckeye site is something called a cholorine guzzler that I've never heard about on any other site. Unless you are using 3 stages of prefilters (Sediment, Carbon, Chlorine) there is no way a .6 micron filter is going to last for 20,000 gallons.

Regardless I don't need a Chlorine filter because I don't have any Chlorine. The inferior products you are going on about on the Ebay site are most likely the same exact products being sold on the Buckeye site. There are very few actual manufacturers of RO products but a zillion resellers of them.

FWIW, Nathan

 

[catweh00]

Well im not going to go on and on, but i was just showing the numbers here and how they match up to the ones on the ebay site. if you looked at www.buckeyefieldsupply.com, youll see that he does sell the other stuff at different prices. i was simply pointing at why there was a difference in pricing between the two units--mine had different specs, and someone was thinking "Hey the one on ebay is cheaper, must be better." I tried to explain why it was cheaper, not necessarily better.
No sweat, i was just excited about this product--i am glad people are selling them all for a lot cheaper than some of the big commercial brands, arent you guys?
Craig

 

[PeeJ]

catweh00 - that 20,000 gallon prefilter on the buckeye site is something called a cholorine guzzler that I've never heard about on any other site. Unless you are using 3 stages of prefilters (Sediment, Carbon, Chlorine) there is no way a .6 micron filter is going to last for 20,000 gallons.

Regardless I don't need a Chlorine filter because I don't have any Chlorine. The inferior products you are going on about on the Ebay site are most likely the same exact products being sold on the Buckeye site. There are very few actual manufacturers of RO products but a zillion resellers of them.

FWIW, Nathan

Your comments here seem remarkably contradictory. First you state that mostly all RO units are the same, save the casing style. However, you next make a blanket statement about the "inferior" products on E-Bay. Seems rather odd to me. If most of such products are the like, being manufactured by "few", what makes these products inferior? Isn't most of the quality/capacity of the silly filter dependent upon the filters themselves rather than the carts?At any rate, lets not get our knickers in a bind over a such a petty disagreement.

Hope your RO works out well. I wish I had one. I'm weary of refilling containers on a daily basis.

 

[catweh00]

Youre right Peej, but who are you referring to in the above statement? Nathan or i? Well, it doesnt matter, im just glad they have them cheaper nowadays, and i want everyone to look into getting a unit for the health of their tank. I just thought www.buckeyefieldsupply.com was a good place to start, others like ebay. No sweat.
Craig

 

[npaden]

Sarcasm doesn't work well in an internet text based bulletin board I guess. My inferior statement was a reference back to catweh00's post.

My point was the products are most likely being made by the same manufacturer and are basically the same product with a different label on it.

FWIW, Nathan

 

[PeeJ]

Yeah you are so right. I'm not saying anyone's opinion is better or more righteous that the nexts'. Just pointing out a unit with 6 stages rather than 4 and including a pressure container.

Nathan how far away is Lubbock from San Antonio?

 

[Unresistible Blue]

that 20,000 gallon prefilter on the buckeye site is something called a cholorine guzzler that I've never heard about on any other site. Unless you are using 3 stages of prefilters (Sediment, Carbon, Chlorine) there is no way a .6 micron filter is going to last for 20,000 gallons.

Regardless I don't need a Chlorine filter because I don't have any Chlorine. The inferior products you are going on about on the Ebay site are most likely the same exact products being sold on the Buckeye site. There are very few actual manufacturers of RO products but a zillion resellers of them.

There are very few RO MEMBRANE manufacturers. There is a wide variety in the manufacturers and quality of sediment filters, carbon block filters, DI resin, and brackets.

If you're interested, here is a site describing KxIndustries 0.6 micron, 20,000 gallon capacity Chlorine Guzzler: http://www.kxindustries.com/matrikx/matrikx_1.htm

HTH,
Blue

 

[DaisyPolyp]

nice filter