RO - this much waste water possible

[yessongs]

Never thought of mounting my RO/DI right above the kitchen sink, you can hardly notice it :joke:

 

[herman]

Never thought of mounting my RO/DI right above the kitchen sink, you can hardly notice it :joke:

My wife would have my nutz hanging next to the RODI unit if I ever tried that setup. All I can say is that some of you guys have some very understanding partners :icon16:

 

[Vic8361]

chasesng go to this site and see that there are two different type of flow restricters. you need to take a good look at the waste line to see if you have one in place. If you don't have one the unit will not have enough back pressure on the waste line and not be able to push the water through the membrane. One tye of the flow restricters is actullay in side the waste line you will have to take the line off to see if it is installed.
It's a smaller line inside the tube that creates the back pressure and theres another tye that that's just a valve that you open and close to adjust it till you get a 4 to 1 ratio.
This is your first thing you should look at to try and get the unit working right for now.

http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/showproducts.asp?Sub=109&showspecials=109

Good luck
Vic

 

[chasesng]

thanks vic...i'm positive i dont have the adjustable flo restricter and i'm pretty sure theres no capilary flo restictor currently installed.

but there is a TDS sensor attached to the output line which looks just like the adjustable restrictor and i'll bet the added pressure on the output line off the sensor relative to the unmeasured/unrestricted waste ouput line is enuf to cause the problem.

plus the description of the adjustable restrictor says it can be adjusted to compensate for seasonal changes in water (cold water restricts membranes) . my tap water is cold and that together with the restriction from the sensor probably result in a pressure imbalance that favors the waste side.

how do those little t junctions get installed? i'm guessing a splice but i was hoping they slide over.

 

[chasesng]

just thought of something.

there is knob on the waste output line that i thought was just a shutoff valve on the waste line. the valve handle rotates only 90 degrees from parallel to perpendicular AND says on/off. so i figured......

but i suppose the waste valve can be turned partially to limit output partially but i cant imagine it will have that much ability to adjust flow within 90 degrees.

at one point in my initial attempts, i did turn the waste valve to off and noticed that clean water was starting to come out. but i was concerned that no waste outflo might damage the membrane or corrupt the quality of the clean water if impurities were not allowed to exit the waste line. what happens to the unit if i shut the waste line completely and just limit output to clean water?

also, could it be that the valve is this flush thing you guys reference. i dont know what a flush valve is or suppose to do.

i just wanted a couple of saltwater fish...i didnt want a degree in plumbing

 

[Vic8361]

Try to adjust the knob on the waist line till you get a 4 to 1 ratio it seems that thats not the right kind of valve for the job but you could try and use it till you get the right one. Just keep closing it till you get as close as you can to the 4 to 1 ratio and your good to go.

The TDS meter on the output line shouldn't ristrict the flow that much to cuse a problem. If there's a valve on it try opening it up some to see if it helps.

Hope this helps out.

Vic

 

[masterswimmer]

I have a similar valve on my waste line. A white fitting with a blue handle. Only turns 90 degrees. When I start up my system I keep the flow completely open on that valve (parallel to the waste line). This flushes the system.

When I am done flushing the system, I turn that valve completely off (on my system, it does not shut the waste water off completely, it just restricts it). I get my waste water and I get my 100 gallons a day. I believe that is the issue you are having. Try shutting it off completely and see if you get any waste water. I'll bet you do.

Russ

 

[Buckeye Field Supply]

Hi folks - maybe I can help on questions like these that pertain to RO and RO/DI systems.

Low output as you describe can be caused by a number of things - some are mentioned above - I'll recapture them here and offer a few more.
1. Low water pressure. What is the pressure in your system? If you have a Filmtec membrane in that system it was designed to meet the factory spec output at 50 psi.
2. Cold water temperatures. I'm guessing your tap water temperature is in the mid 40's. If you have a Filmtec membrane in that system it was designed to meet the factory spec output at 77 degrees F.
3. If your RO membrane was wetted, then allowed to dry out before you bought it, the membrane may be damaged or ruined.
4. The prefilters may be clogged. If they were wetted and then allowed to set unused for an extended time they may need to be replaced. A pressure gauge would help determine this.
5. What is your waste to permeate ratio? I'm guessing its much higher than a 4:1 - hence the beauty of an adjustable flow restrictor when you have tap water temperatures that change!

I'd start with these options and see what you can figure out.

Russ @ BFS

 

[Josh]

Wow, good info!

Welcome to MR!