Exhausting DI quickly - Please Help

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 12:39 PM

About a year ago i started using RODI and cannot seen to comprehend why i have used 8 LBS of DI. I am on city water and my TDS is around 260 to 290 Consistenty.

Background:

Started with 6 stage RODI from ebay 50GPD.
Installed a flush and used for a few months. It was not selling to do the trick so 6 months in i added a 90 GPD high efficieny spectra pure membrane.

Still no noticeable difference as i was getting 50 to 75 gallon of 0 TDS water per DI.

I then switched to a 5 stage 90GPD spectrapure RODI unit. I am currently running 1 micron sediment. Carbon. 99% membrane and then dual DI. I am getting 9 to 11 after my membrane.

I then decided to add a booster this increased my pressure from 43 to 70.

I am looking for some help it is driving me crazy how much DI I an using and now i am getting 20TDS after my membrane.

I have changed my filters 3 times in a year.

Someone please help me solve this.

shifty51008 · 05/31/2016, 01:16 PM

What is the tds before the di? Hiw much waste water do you get for every cup of good water? Does your city have chloramine's? What kind of tds meter are you useing and when was the last time it was calibrated?

My tap water is 534ppm and after the membrane i get 4ppm useing the maxro membrane from buckeye hydro. If your getting 20ppm after the membrane with a 280ppm tap something isnt right.

Also make sure the membrane is pushed in all the way.

shifty51008 · 05/31/2016, 01:19 PM

Also when you make water do you make it in large batches or small and do you drain the first few min of water to get rid of tds creep before letting it go into the di?

When you switched from the 50gpd membrane to the 90gpd membrane did you also change the flow restrictor to match the new membrane?

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 01:21 PM

The TDS before the DI and after the membrane was 9-11 for the longest time. Only this week did I see it creep up to 20.

I am unsure on the waste water to good water ratio as I have not tested this. I did install the hard water flow restrictor making it supposedly 3:1 according to Spectrapure.

I am unsure on chloramines or how I would even test for that!

Lastly, I have a dual TDS and pressure gauge built into my spectrapure system. I also own a hand held but have not used it since I get 4 readings total from my dual TDS meters on the unit

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 01:23 PM

I usually try and make 30 to 45 gallons of water at a time.

My unit has a manual flush valve. I typically flush before and sometimes after each usage. I usually see the TDS drop down to about 30 to 50 and then I will kick the unit on to begin. At that point the TDS jumps to about 80 to 100 before starting to quickly decline...

Opus123 · 05/31/2016, 01:24 PM

Something is definitely wrong, you should be getting around 3 tds after your membrane based on your tap water tds. The only thing I can think of currently is maybe your water has high chlorine/chorimine content and it is slowly degrading your membrane. You could test your water output ratio to see if you are ok there. I believe spectrapure recommends 3 to 1 on their units, so you should be getting 3 cups of waste water to every cup of purified water.

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 01:26 PM

Is it going to be a bad idea to discontinue DI use all together assuming that i would be getting 9 to 11 TDS. I am running 2 reed tanks.

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Opus123 · 05/31/2016, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CUSE1315

Is it going to be a bad idea to discontinue DI use all together assuming that i would be getting 9 to 11 TDS. I am running 2 reed tanks.

Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

I would say yes since you have no idea what is making up that 11tds.

As for chlorine/chloramine testing, check a local pool place, they will have test kits.

Opus123 · 05/31/2016, 01:32 PM

Have you called/emailed Spectrapure about your issue? I've heard they have great customer service.

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 01:33 PM

I have not called spectrapure as I bought the unit used and did not give that any thought.

As far as the test. If it is high is there anything that can be done?

shifty51008 · 05/31/2016, 01:34 PM

That manual flush doesnt really remove tds creep, the best way to do it is to add a t before the di stage and drain the water from the ro till you see the tds drop completly. I have a system right now in the prototype stage that does this automatically when the storage container gets low, it will save the di quite a bit especally if your allowing 80-100ppm water go into the di, even if only for a little bit.

I would suggest getting 5 glasses of equal size and measure how many cups of waste you get for every 1 cup of good water. Also get some calibration fluid and make sure the meter is calibrated.

You can usually find your city's water tests online, that will tell you if they use chlormine's or not.

shifty51008 · 05/31/2016, 01:38 PM

If you have chloramines you can get carbon filters made just to remove those.

And i agree, i wouldnt stop useing di, the little tds could be all bad stuff. Really no way to test though thats why we strive for 0ppm.

You can also call Russ at buckeye hydro, great guy and very knowledgeable. Even if you didnt get the system from them he will help you find the problem and tell you how to fix it, he will never sell you stuff you dont need.

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 01:41 PM

Does this look like the right information? Does this make any sense to any one?

http://www.townoflysander.org/sites/...20Lysander.pdf

shifty51008 · 05/31/2016, 01:46 PM

Looking at the water tests for syracuse it looks like they dont use chloamines but does use chlorine, still wouldnt be a bad idea to add catalitic carbon to the system instead of your other carbon block just to try.

http://www.buckeyehydro.com/carbon-1/

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 01:47 PM

I am actually in the town of Lsyander now in the village of Baldwinsville. Is the report i found correct

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shifty51008 · 05/31/2016, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CUSE1315

Does this look like the right information? Does this make any sense to any one?

http://www.townoflysander.org/sites/...20Lysander.pdf

Yep thats the report, and you dont have chloramines and little chlorine so you should be fine with the filters you have

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 01:51 PM

Wow so it really makes no sense as to why i would be going through this DI so quickly.

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shifty51008 · 05/31/2016, 01:51 PM

One other thing you can check is to see if you have alot of co2 in the water, i know that will burn up di fast also but usually dont have an issue with it unless running on well water. Its a cheap easy test and will also eliminate that after tested.

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 01:53 PM

Where would i find that test at? It seemed the report did say something about wells

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shifty51008 · 05/31/2016, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CUSE1315

Where would i find that test at? It seemed the report did say something about wells

Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

Yeah thats why im still thinking that could be the issue. If you measure the alk and pH of your RO water you can call Russ at buckeye hydro and he can figure out the co2 levels for you, or spectrapure sells a co2 test kit. Never used it so not sure how that kit works

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 02:19 PM

I am going to assume i would not be able to use a saltwater kit for the ALK?

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shifty51008 · 05/31/2016, 03:30 PM

Not positive but you should be fine, i didnt see any refrence of which type to use

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 07:06 PM

So I tried the saltwater ALK test and it didn't turn as per usual. I will try and grab one from the pool store.

The PH tested after the membrane at 6.4

CUSE1315 · 05/31/2016, 07:12 PM

Also, on a complete side note I decided to swap the old membrane (same exact one that I bought 90 GPD 99 percent rejection spectrapure) and put it back into the unit.

I immediately saw 99 percent rejection rate for the first time. The reading after the membrane dropped to 6. I know this may not seem like much but it was 9-11 typically before.

As I said I bought this unit used so I am unsure how much usage this membrane has but is has a date stamp on 11/2013.

I am not sure if this will help with the DI usage or not but I guess I can hope.

kevin_e · 06/01/2016, 06:16 AM

Testing pH of RO water is very inaccurate and usually complete wrong.

05/31/2016, 12:39 PM	#1
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	Exhausting DI quickly - Please Help About a year ago i started using RODI and cannot seen to comprehend why i have used 8 LBS of DI. I am on city water and my TDS is around 260 to 290 Consistenty. Background: Started with 6 stage RODI from ebay 50GPD. Installed a flush and used for a few months. It was not selling to do the trick so 6 months in i added a 90 GPD high efficieny spectra pure membrane. Still no noticeable difference as i was getting 50 to 75 gallon of 0 TDS water per DI. I then switched to a 5 stage 90GPD spectrapure RODI unit. I am currently running 1 micron sediment. Carbon. 99% membrane and then dual DI. I am getting 9 to 11 after my membrane. I then decided to add a booster this increased my pressure from 43 to 70. I am looking for some help it is driving me crazy how much DI I an using and now i am getting 20TDS after my membrane. I have changed my filters 3 times in a year. Someone please help me solve this.

05/31/2016, 01:16 PM	#2
shifty51008 12-5 Chiefs record Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 10,134	What is the tds before the di? Hiw much waste water do you get for every cup of good water? Does your city have chloramine's? What kind of tds meter are you useing and when was the last time it was calibrated? My tap water is 534ppm and after the membrane i get 4ppm useing the maxro membrane from buckeye hydro. If your getting 20ppm after the membrane with a 280ppm tap something isnt right. Also make sure the membrane is pushed in all the way. __________________ 75 gal. mixed DT, 100 gal. sump, 50 gal. fuge, Clownfish breeder

05/31/2016, 01:19 PM	#3
shifty51008 12-5 Chiefs record Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 10,134	Also when you make water do you make it in large batches or small and do you drain the first few min of water to get rid of tds creep before letting it go into the di? When you switched from the 50gpd membrane to the 90gpd membrane did you also change the flow restrictor to match the new membrane? __________________ 75 gal. mixed DT, 100 gal. sump, 50 gal. fuge, Clownfish breeder Last edited by shifty51008; 05/31/2016 at 01:25 PM.

05/31/2016, 01:34 PM	#11
shifty51008 12-5 Chiefs record Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 10,134	That manual flush doesnt really remove tds creep, the best way to do it is to add a t before the di stage and drain the water from the ro till you see the tds drop completly. I have a system right now in the prototype stage that does this automatically when the storage container gets low, it will save the di quite a bit especally if your allowing 80-100ppm water go into the di, even if only for a little bit. I would suggest getting 5 glasses of equal size and measure how many cups of waste you get for every 1 cup of good water. Also get some calibration fluid and make sure the meter is calibrated. You can usually find your city's water tests online, that will tell you if they use chlormine's or not. __________________ 75 gal. mixed DT, 100 gal. sump, 50 gal. fuge, Clownfish breeder

05/31/2016, 01:38 PM	#12
shifty51008 12-5 Chiefs record Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 10,134	If you have chloramines you can get carbon filters made just to remove those. And i agree, i wouldnt stop useing di, the little tds could be all bad stuff. Really no way to test though thats why we strive for 0ppm. You can also call Russ at buckeye hydro, great guy and very knowledgeable. Even if you didnt get the system from them he will help you find the problem and tell you how to fix it, he will never sell you stuff you dont need. __________________ 75 gal. mixed DT, 100 gal. sump, 50 gal. fuge, Clownfish breeder

05/31/2016, 01:21 PM	#4
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	The TDS before the DI and after the membrane was 9-11 for the longest time. Only this week did I see it creep up to 20. I am unsure on the waste water to good water ratio as I have not tested this. I did install the hard water flow restrictor making it supposedly 3:1 according to Spectrapure. I am unsure on chloramines or how I would even test for that! Lastly, I have a dual TDS and pressure gauge built into my spectrapure system. I also own a hand held but have not used it since I get 4 readings total from my dual TDS meters on the unit

05/31/2016, 01:23 PM	#5
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	I usually try and make 30 to 45 gallons of water at a time. My unit has a manual flush valve. I typically flush before and sometimes after each usage. I usually see the TDS drop down to about 30 to 50 and then I will kick the unit on to begin. At that point the TDS jumps to about 80 to 100 before starting to quickly decline...

05/31/2016, 01:24 PM	#6
Opus123 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: North Texas Posts: 605	Something is definitely wrong, you should be getting around 3 tds after your membrane based on your tap water tds. The only thing I can think of currently is maybe your water has high chlorine/chorimine content and it is slowly degrading your membrane. You could test your water output ratio to see if you are ok there. I believe spectrapure recommends 3 to 1 on their units, so you should be getting 3 cups of waste water to every cup of purified water.

05/31/2016, 01:26 PM	#7
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	Is it going to be a bad idea to discontinue DI use all together assuming that i would be getting 9 to 11 TDS. I am running 2 reed tanks. Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

05/31/2016, 01:32 PM	#9
Opus123 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: North Texas Posts: 605	Have you called/emailed Spectrapure about your issue? I've heard they have great customer service.

05/31/2016, 01:33 PM	#10
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	I have not called spectrapure as I bought the unit used and did not give that any thought. As far as the test. If it is high is there anything that can be done?

05/31/2016, 01:41 PM	#13
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	Does this look like the right information? Does this make any sense to any one? http://www.townoflysander.org/sites/...20Lysander.pdf

05/31/2016, 01:46 PM	#14
shifty51008 12-5 Chiefs record Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 10,134	Looking at the water tests for syracuse it looks like they dont use chloamines but does use chlorine, still wouldnt be a bad idea to add catalitic carbon to the system instead of your other carbon block just to try. http://www.buckeyehydro.com/carbon-1/ __________________ 75 gal. mixed DT, 100 gal. sump, 50 gal. fuge, Clownfish breeder

05/31/2016, 01:47 PM	#15
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	I am actually in the town of Lsyander now in the village of Baldwinsville. Is the report i found correct Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

05/31/2016, 01:51 PM	#17
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	Wow so it really makes no sense as to why i would be going through this DI so quickly. Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

05/31/2016, 01:53 PM	#19
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	Where would i find that test at? It seemed the report did say something about wells Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

05/31/2016, 02:19 PM	#21
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	I am going to assume i would not be able to use a saltwater kit for the ALK? Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

05/31/2016, 03:30 PM	#22
shifty51008 12-5 Chiefs record Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 10,134	Not positive but you should be fine, i didnt see any refrence of which type to use __________________ 75 gal. mixed DT, 100 gal. sump, 50 gal. fuge, Clownfish breeder

05/31/2016, 07:06 PM	#23
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	So I tried the saltwater ALK test and it didn't turn as per usual. I will try and grab one from the pool store. The PH tested after the membrane at 6.4

05/31/2016, 07:12 PM	#24
CUSE1315 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Syracuse Posts: 327	Also, on a complete side note I decided to swap the old membrane (same exact one that I bought 90 GPD 99 percent rejection spectrapure) and put it back into the unit. I immediately saw 99 percent rejection rate for the first time. The reading after the membrane dropped to 6. I know this may not seem like much but it was 9-11 typically before. As I said I bought this unit used so I am unsure how much usage this membrane has but is has a date stamp on 11/2013. I am not sure if this will help with the DI usage or not but I guess I can hope.

06/01/2016, 06:16 AM	#25
kevin_e Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,083	Testing pH of RO water is very inaccurate and usually complete wrong.