R/O unit, Seems like simple question, can't find answer!

[Chronic Chrissy]

First off i've been googling all night....

I just got a 5 stage R/O unit yesterday. We were going to wait till the weekend to set it up. However upon returning home my husband discovered my 2 year old's Goldfish trying to do the back stroke. So of course I have no more bottled water to change out his tank, it just made sense to set up the r/o and maybe save NEMO.

We did id the easy way under the sink and they gave you these nifty pipe peircers to run it off the cold and back into the drain, Hoping to move it under the house to run the whole house later.

At first the Tank/bladder(as H calls it) wasn't filling up but the wather kept running for over 2 hours, not even a swish of water in the tank. We followed the trouble shooting and let a little pressure from the tank and got it filling. However we found once the tank was full the water keeps running and running and running through the system and out the drain. It's like if the tank if full we are just filling our grey water feild outside and making our main water pump kick in all the time like crazy.

we really don't use alot of water, and don't pay for it at all. 5 times the ammout of waste water to clean water I can handle but water running down the drain with no purpose doesn't make sense. Shouldn't there be an automatic way for the system to shut off when the tank is full?

[McDanger]

mine came with a small ball looking float, but if you have a sealed tank I don't know. you might want to contact the people you got it from. I only use mine for plant water, so I usually just fill a bucket then turn the system off. I also noticed a lot of waste for the amount of good water I get. I have a 5 filter system also.

[Chronic Chrissy]

It seems I'm having a water softener pressure problem. Just started it back up after being shut down for a while and it seems to be screwing with my whole house. People really need to include instructions with their house when they move or at least make sure the appliances are labled so manuals can be found!:mad:

[socialistpete]

I don't know much about how RO systems work but I do know know when doing any sort of plumbing to stay away from pipe piercing inlets. the diameter does not usually allow for enough water to be brought in unless its for a fridge.

[Chronic Chrissy]

I don't know much about how RO systems work but I do know know when doing any sort of plumbing to stay away from pipe piercing inlets. the diameter does not usually allow for enough water to be brought in unless its for a fridge.

That's what I tried to tell my husband. He says "well it is a smaller pipe for it to flow through" But I say " the pipe is bigger than the hole where the water is coming through, so the hole is the restriction".

Long story short we moved in two years ago, shut down the softener becasue we really didn't know how to use it properly. Now starting it back up it's causing low pressure in our whole house so I'm learning about regeneration.

I tried to tell my husband we should do one thing at a time so we can tell what's happening where(just like in the garden) but no, if we do it all now then it's done, right? Wrong! it just means it takes longer to figure out what is going wrong and how to fix it.

[Daddynobucks]

not sure what brand you have, but if its a culligan, TAKE IT BACK. everything culligan makes is way over priced JUNK
They sold me a filter,water softener, and under sink RO unit $3500 total ripoff price
the RO unit never made enough water to drink,always wasted water to drain 24/7 and tasted funny to boot
(RANT OFF)

the best units are Merlins@$450-$500, as they waste the least amount of water only 3 gal waste for every gal made. and have a shutoff float valve that is supposed to stop the incoming water, so its not wasting h2o because the res. is full. does your unit have a booster pump?, if you don't have at least 50psi of water then you might need a booster.

but honestly unless your water is like mine ,sulfur and hard iron 350ppm,you probably don't need the headache of RO

[the image reaper]

contact the manufacturer, for the correct answer :thumbsup: ... also, unless you need it otherwise, return it for refund ... it removes EVERYTHING from the water, is almost distilled water, not good ... you would have to add CalMag+, and other micronutrients, to bring it up to growing standards ... I only used mine for drinking water, after discovering all that :smokin:

[Chronic Chrissy]

OUr well water is between 350ppm and 400ppm so we need it. The water actually kills any plant I water it with except out door plants. All show sure signs of a calcium toxicity even with no nutes added. I'm already buying R/O water from the store and using rainwater with nutrients so adding nutes isn't a big deal to me. Plus I'm pregnant and have a small child, and live close to a lake which I'm sorry to say is fed by the Red River and since the USA has dumped their Devils Lake project into it our Waters are being contaminated more and more each year. Not to mention al;l the crap that is being brought up by the flooding down south.

My house water is at 60 psi. I didn't buy it from culligan or Krevco, and actually researched which of the systems would best suit me for what I needed, which wasn't alot, we don't use excessive water here so don't need a big system.

Forget about the water softener I've turned the bypass back on for now until my water guy calls me back. The pressure dropped while it was on and even with a regeneration didn't get better so I'm sure it needs to be cleaned.

I wasn't getting more than a few liters out of it even when left to fill the bladder for a long time. Now that the pressure is back it seems to be putting out more. It is supposed to be rated for 50gl/day. But it still always seems to have water running through the waste, more so when the unit if full, than when it is empty it seems. Am I just not wait long enough for the bladder to fill for the shut off cut in or could there be no shut off and when it is full diverts all the excess down the drain?

[Daddynobucks]

sounds like there isn't a shut off or it is not working.all your water is going down the drain!
screwing up the backwash by flushing the potty at 3am
forgetting to add Cl2 to the stripper filter,stinky water,
dead plants

All these kind of headaches were solved by putting a 1500gal storage tank and have city water trucked in twice monthly, cost tank$400,pump and pressure tank$500
water $100 monthly
we got it initially for the plants but use it for the whole house now, no more headaches

[Chronic Chrissy]

Thanks guys for everything. But I'm pretty sure this chapter is closed.

Water guy called. Figures there is iron build up and need to clean the softener resin, so it's staying on bypass for now. In the mean time the low pressure from the problems was wasting the water. Since the system needs so much PSI to wash over the membrane the low psi made most of it divert.

The bladder should hold 4gl and take about half a day to fill, so impatient me has been the cause of why everything keeps running. Oh and it puts of 3gl of waste for every gl of fresh water, and does have a shut off when full.

The softener was used over a year ago and killed all my plants. My plain water has been used for the time since and kills all my plants. Water doesn't stink, or taste funny, just thought I would let you know.

But hey is there anything I can use the waste water for around the house? Like maybe buying another and having the waste stored to run out the outside taps for washing cars and filling kiddie pools in the summer?

[cannakeeper]

sounds like no aso valve and not enough pressure. I just did a solid month of research before I just bought mine and an auto shut off is a must. Also the 50gpd is based on specific stats and running constant into a rez rather than a small pressurized tank. The unit should be NSO and water quality certified, use carbon block style cartriges instead of GAC(granular), made in the USA, otherwise they can claim it performs however they want and parts are said to fail on the reg. I personally would never use softened water on plants or an RO. The performance of an RO is heavily based on water pressure so Water supply should be tapped before the softener and enough pressure to run them both if not bypassed. The parts should be designed for well systems as well. My tap is 420ppm(I swear! hydro shop guy laughed his ass off) my 5 stage system is USA made, certified, uses blocks, puts 3gal to drain, 50gpd and my water tested at 25ppm, only 10 ppm higher than store bought RO water(15ppm). OOPs, I type slow as hell. Sounds like you got it straight.

[Chronic Chrissy]

What's with all these avators? Somebody please tell me what they mean and why everyone seems to have them?

[cannakeeper]

DWC social group

[cannakeeper]

Deep water culture style of growing group

[Daddynobucks]

not all bucket growers are DWC

I run aero in buckets

[the image reaper]

if your problem is too much calcium, you can put a $20 house filter inline for that ... then, you won't be removing everything, that your plant needs ... and, no reason you can't grow hyrdroponically with 400ppm water, either ... good luck :thumbsup:

[Chronic Chrissy]

I gotcha now. What's the orange writing on the bottom say I can't see it?

[Daddynobucks]

OFFICIAL MEMBER

check out the thread - Buckets the social group

[cavadge]

I went through some RO "pain" when I first set up with it, but have since gotten a handle on it. I purchased a 5 stage Water General system off of ebay. What appealed to me a lot was the water hookup. They don't use a piercing type valve, which I've always hated, but instead a fitting which tees into the supply line where your sink hose hooks up. Much neater, better flow, and no leaks.

There was mention in the FAQs about a permeate pump. So I looked into it, and found one in the Water General ebay store for $45. A permeate pump uses no electricity, but the pressure in the waste water line to run it. It significantly improved throughput, and reduced waste water by a third at least. As I tend to drain the storage tank each time I draw water, the mfr recommended removing the system's shut off valve. Doing so make the permeate pump the shut off valve. No guarantee it will work with your system - it depends on the design. But it costs nothing to run, and makes the system more efficient.

An alternative is an electric booster pump, which brings the incoming pressure up to 70 or 80 psi. Better throughput, but no reduction in waste water.

If you need a lot of RO water for growing, a larger storage container would be in order, as opposed to filling small containers constantly (been there, done that, hated it). I ordered a 55 gal water storage container, and had an optional bulkhead fitting installed. Added a 3/4" ball valve with a hose adapter on the end to that fitting. In the top bung fittings I added a float valve in one, and drilled the other as a vent. Teed off the RO dispenser supply line, added a manual shut off valve, and connected that to the float valve. Now the barrel fills with RO water overnight, and the float valve automatically shuts off the flow when the float valve raises up. A short length of garden hose connects to the ball valve, and I can fill a 2 gallon pail in about 30 seconds. No more puddles on the floor. :)

HTH