Quote:
Originally Posted by neoh
Though I should probably take it all apart and check! The way the system is put together, it doesn't seem as though the unit is put together the way that is described in the video.
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That's a great idea, particularly if you have little to no information as to filter media condition from the previous owner. It could well have been sitting for some time, either dry or wet & has all kinds of nasty stuff bound in the sediment and/or carbon stages. The membrane could also be shot if it has dried out.
I know on my system, the center fitting out of the membrane is the pure water & the waste is the outer fitting & that's usually the way most membrane housings work, but one never knows for sure without confirmation of the manufacturer or by opening it up. The way most membranes are built, the water is pushed from the outside to the inside while flush water rinses the outside of the membrane. So it makes sense that the center fitting on the membrane is the pure water.
Also make sure there is a restrictor on the waste line somewhere. Some are built into the waste line fitting, some are obvious combination valve/restrictor units that you can use to either flush the membrane or produce pure water by closing the valve. With the restrictor in line & working properly, your pure water to waste water ratio should be about 1 to 4. Should be easy to tell that way which is the pure water out & which is the waste, since the output will vary significantly between the two. That is, the water coming out of the waste line should be running much faster than the pure water out.
I've seen quite a few posts about water quality at various locations around our fair country & you folks in greater Van have some of the best source water anywhere, usually less than 10 TDS, so the 300 you're seeing is really wacky. Some areas like White Rock are on a different source & TDS may be somewhat higher but still nothing like what we have in the North Okanagan. My incoming TDS is usually close to 200 & my 75 gpd membrane gets that down to 1 TDS after running for about 5 minutes. Which reminds me to ask, what's your water pressure? Water pressure & temperature both have a major effect as to the efficiency of an RO system. If there's a way for you to disconnect your TDS probe & hold it under running tap water, you'll know what your incoming TDS is. Water quality reports available from your supplier are also a good source of info on your incoming water.
As someone has already mentioned, over 300 TDS for your area is out to lunch. It's possible your sediment filter may be releasing all that TDS into the system, but after running 6-8 hours it should have come down significantly provided the system is hooked up properly.
Let us know how you make out after disassembling the unit. It would be a shame to toss it & buy another without further troubleshooting. Like you said, it's not rocket science & if assembled in the correct order with serviceable components, there's no difference between a generic, vertex, brs, or what have you system. They're all built with more or less generic components. Some have a few more bells & whistles, but the real difference is generally in the quality of the membrane & carbon blocks.