RO Membrane Question

[EmilyB]

My RO/DI has no output. The pressure still shows the same tho. The filters are all new in the past month. Would this indicate membrane failure?

[Veng68]

That is wierd Deb......... have you tryed taking all the filters out & putting them back in?

Cheers,
Vic Veng68

[StirCrazy]

usaly if a membrain fails you should have a tone of output. I would check for some sort of restriction.

Steve

[mnoll406]

Hey Deb,
I agree with Steve, You must have something plugged up. Are the filters in the right way (Not trying to be a smartass) Some filters have only one opening. Another thing to check is there flow in the concentrate line? This should be restricted somewhat. I have a special type of ball valve that came with my RO, that when fully closed still lets some flow through, but increases the pressure enough to force the water through the membrane.

Mike

[Jason McK]

What about trying to disconnect each chamber one at a time until you find the one that has no output. That way you can isolate the chambers a lot faster.

J

[Son Of Skyline]

I had a similar problem recently. Turns out my new prefilter cartridges were wrong. I had a 0.5-5 micron filter and it was just too fine for the RO unit. I swapped it with a 5-15 micron filter and everything was ok. You mentioned that you just changed the filters so maybe this is the problem?

Good luck!

[Michel]

Hi,
If you have the unit from AqauaSafe in Vancouver, you may want to check the auto shut off valve ( flow before and flow after)
Ed has told me that sometimes they are defective and do nott allow flow through. Just a suggestion
Good luck

[EmilyB]

It's a ReefPure. The flow problem seems to be after the RO. The carbon chamber fills up quickly, then the RO just drips into the DI chamber. :confused:

[StirCrazy]

whats you watter pressure Emily? also when you redid everything did the flow restrictor get put back in?

Steve

[EmilyB]

water pressure is 42psi, but it's always been that way. Flow restrictor? I don't think I've ever seen it or taken it out? :confused:

[StirCrazy]

water pressure is 42psi, but it's always been that way. Flow restrictor? I don't think I've ever seen it or taken it out? :confused:

at 42 PSI a RO isn't going to work very good at all. my 100 GPD unit used to fill up my top off bucket in 3.5 hours from empty with 100PSI, the other day when I did it with 42PSI it took me 2 days :rolleyes: so you can see how much it slows down if you are aproching the 40PSI minimum.


ok on your waist water line there should be a insert that limits the flow of waist water. this will give you the back pressure you need to make the membrain work properly. do you have a flush valve? if so if you look at it it will look like a loop with a valve that you can open to flush your membrain, usaly this is taken off befor and after the flow restrictor.

If this is confusing take a couple pics of the tubing and I will try see how it is set up.



Steve

[Veng68]

did you ever figure it out Deb?

Cheers,
Victor

[EmilyB]

I did a 30 minute backflush and I have some flow now. I guess it is probably as good as I can get in the winter with 42psi and the cold water.
:neutral:

[golden69_ca]

you have a cloged membrain which you proved by backflushing it . how old is your ro . on the water machines i work on we get about a year out of a membrain . you can get allittle more life if you leave if on a back flush for a couple days . it is recomended to back flush them every couple weeks to prolong lifespan .

[StirCrazy]

you have a cloged membrain which you proved by backflushing it .

She also has very cold water and only 42 PSI which means only about 20% of the rated flow.

Steve

[Veng68]

you have a cloged membrain which you proved by backflushing it . how old is your ro . on the water machines i work on we get about a year out of a membrain . you can get allittle more life if you leave if on a back flush for a couple days . it is recomended to back flush them every couple weeks to prolong lifespan .

I notice that you are in the lower mainland........ how does the RO membrane clog within a year around here since our water has a very lower TDS?

Cheers,
Vic

[Aquattro]

Vic, it's very difficult to gauge clogging in time. A lot depends on how many gallons you process. I go thru 40g/week with my unit and it's about 1.5 years old. Our TDS is fairly low here, but we have a lot of algae. I go thru prefilters like crazy

[EmilyB]

I guess then the fact that the membrane :razz: is probably a year old, and I run double or more what Brad runs, I probably need a new one soon.

[golden69_ca]

the membraine will also catch organics . i know where the bad water sorces are in the lowermainland and trust me there are some bad areas that you would not think of .

[mnoll406]

Hey Guys,
Actually 42 PSI is not that low. I have a 50GPD, and my inlet is only about 42psi. I fill a 8 gal bucket in a couple of hours. I do flush the unit for 5-10 min before I use it, and do longer run lengths (ie 8 gallons) every time I do it.

Mike

[StirCrazy]

Hey Guys,
I fill a 8 gal bucket in a couple of hours.
Mike

at or beklow the recomended rated pressure a 50GPD membrain will only put out 2 gal per houre at a max rate (unless you are over pressuring it) so you are taking 4 hours to fill your 8 gal bucket at best with a 50 gal membrain. Also by dropping the temp down to 5 degrees C you can drop your output up to 30%. A TFT type membrain that we comenly use in the hoby and home drinking water is designed to have a minimum of 40PSI (this is what it to permatate the membraine) there are low PSI membrains out there and different types but the most commen is a TFT as it is what kent and all of the retail ones are.

I just filled 10 gall on the floor of my garage in 1 hour :rolleyes: wen't out and forgot I was filling a 5 gal bucket.

Steve