50 gpd R/O in apartment - Very Slow

[johnvic]

I am just setting up my tank and bought a Pure-Flo II 50 GPD r/o. I hooked it up to my kitchen faucet. I have the cold water faucet wide open. The flow is very slow. The 3rd stage barely has water in it. I think I'm getting about a gallon an hour of good water.

Does this sound right using a kitchen faucet? The unit is brand new.

 

[Bob 1000]

With a 50 per day that might be about right.. I ha dto upgrade to a 75 then 100 in my place in my shop I have a 150..

 

[Killerdrgn]

you should also check your water pressure to see if it's enough.

 

[reefman204]

You Might Want To Go To Home Depot To Get A Pressure Tester That Will Hook Up To Your Faucet To Tell You How Much Pressure Is Coming Out. They Are Around $ 6.99-$ 10.99........your Psi Should Be Around 40 And No Higher Than 80 Psi............thats A Problem With Apartment Buildings The Water Pressure Is Not Always Good Because Everyone Is Running Of The Same Water Line.

 

[doctor_random]

Get yourself a booster, man.

Well, at 50 gpd you should be making about 2 gph, or a salt-bucket full of RO/DI every 2-3 hours. This time of year the water in NYC is pretty cold, which reduces the flow from a RO/DI unit dramatically. The membrane flow is temperature and pressure dependent. I think buckeyefieldsupply.com has a temp/flow calculator, if you want to explore this effect.

In any event, if your "weak stream" is a problem, get yourself a pressure booster to improve flow. I've got an Aquatec 8800, and it works like a charm. I've got it running right now...

 

[johnvic]

So it seems, based on the responses, that it is working as best as it can. It doesn't seem worth it to get a booster or larger rate RO for now. I only have one tank, a 34 gal. Solana, so this is a one time thing. After this it's 5 or 10 gal. at a time. Of course once the bug truly hits me I'll have to get a larger RO!

The only annoying thing is every time someone flushes in the building the fucet and RO make a sound.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[georgelc86]

Does your RO unit say what the temp of the incoming water should be. Most units have a recommended temp. Most of them roughly 76 degrees F. Sounds like your unit should produce about 2 gallons an hour. You can also attach a pressure gauge to your unit as well rather than going to Home Depot. A booster pump would increase the efficency of the unit also but you have to check your manual to see what the recommended incoming line pressure should be.

 

[mcnuggget]

a ro/di waste to product water ratio depends on more than just the membrane gpd
below is all that also affects it:
-pressure of the source water
-how clean the filters are
-how old the membrane is
-temp of the water
-how clean the source water is
-# of filters used

2 must have items for any ro/di
-pressure meter
-tds meter

with a 50gpd membrane, u can calculate how much water u should be getting in an hour 50/24=2.083
a new ro/di will take a few weeks to reach its full potential.

 

[wallysworld]

The most important thing here is pressure. As said before check your pressure. I know it will run at lower but I would make sure its at least 55psi. if not get a booster pump. Remember the reason RO works is because of the pressure otherwise it would be call Osmosis. Meaning the pressure is what reverses the natural osmosis effect. Naturally water will equalize from less saturated to more saturated. Its a long boring story but essentially pressure reverses this natural occurrence.

The temp makes a difference because it effects the permeation of the membrane. Meaning if the water is colder the holes get smaller (constrict).


-Walter