RO/DI HELP

[habsfan]

I am considering one but want to make sure it's right for my situation before I spend the money. I'd hate to buy it then end up putting it in the back of a closet.
I have well water running through a water softener. The water is quite cold(< 60F).
Will a RO work with this cold of water?
Is there anyway to heat the water before running through the RO?
How much waste water is usually produced per gallon of filtered?

 

[atnixon]

I cant really see that the temperature is going to make that much of a difference to be honest..

I dont think there is anyway to heat it, as it would have to be heated at source and i cant see how you could do that with a Well...


With regards to waste water, that all depends on the unit you buy..It is usualy around 2 - 3 gallons waste, to 1 gallon ro water..

Niko

 

[ChrisRD]

Your RO unit will work at those water temps. You will, however, see higher production rates and less waste water with warmer temps. How much I couldn't say as I've never experimented with this myself. As for waste water - 3 gallons of waste to every gallon of product water would be a good target ratio.

If the unit is mounted anywhere near the tank, some folks will actually run a bunch of extra tubing from the feed source to the RO unit and loop it around in the sump. The incoming water is warmed as it travels through the submerged tubing thus improving the performance of the RO unit. If the unit is mounted in a location that is typically at normal room temps, you can do something similar with a bucket full of water.

HTH

 

[habsfan]

Running the source water through a bucket of warm water before the RO sounds like a good idea. That's a lot of wast water though. Wow.

 

[atnixon]

Well, on the subject of waste water, i dont dump all my waste water, it actually aint that bad, just that it has had all the chemicals that are usually associated with drinking quality water removed..But, i use it fill my kettle for hot drinks, washing my car etc etc..There are other uses besides just letting it go down the drain...

Niko

 

[ChrisRD]

Agreed. The "waste" water is still perfectly suitable for many uses.

 

[Anonymous]

At winter time in PA is an issue, but here in California, I use the waste water for watering my lawn and garden. I use a lot of RO since I use it for cooking and drinking.