Is this RODI setup correct?

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by -=James=-

Success! Thanks so much Russ.

I am filling the 180 now

BTW anyone know where to get a cheap TDS meter? Home Depot doesnt have them.

If not mistaken, Buckeye Field Supply has them. Not going to find that much difference in price through various vendors, a dollar or two here or there. BFS was kind enough to walk you through getting it working, that probably has some karma.

[Buckeye Field Supply]

Mike - you are a scholar and a gentleman!

[-=James=-]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Field Supply

Yeow. Someone sold you a less than ideal set of prefiltes. Assuming you are on city water w/o chloramies, a good combo is a 1 micron sediment filter and a 0.5 micron carbon block. GAC prefilters really have no place in the high capacity systems we use in this hobby. Really no need for a third prefilter, but you could use a second sediment filter or a second carbon block if you'd like.

They were included with the unit. So its not a good idea to use the ones included? So 1 micron sediment filter and two 0.5 micron carbon block?

BFS is definitely getting some business from me!

[Lampshade]

Yeah, pretty hard to beat service at midnight. This was a good teamwork thread, lol.

[Buckeye Field Supply]

Carbon blocks do a much better job than GAC in this application - so much better that the GAC isn't really worth having in that position.

If you don't have chloramines in your water, you only really need one (1) good quality carbon block. You can lease the other (third prefilter) housing empty. I wouldn't use two 0.5 mic blocks because you'll lose a bit of pressure with each. If you DO have chloramines, go:

1. 1 mic sediment
2. Catalytic GAC (CGAC is much superior than plain old GAC)
3. 0.5 mic block

OR

1. 1 mic sediment
2. 0.5 mic block
3. 5 mic block

Russ

[-=James=-]

Awesome, thanks again. I know you recommended better alternatives but does it hurt for me to use the 3 I presently have? I dont want to spend if I dont HAVE to. Tight budget haha. Plus I already started filling the tank and it got me all excited.

Originally Posted by Buckeye Field Supply

Carbon blocks do a much better job than GAC in this application - so much better that the GAC isn't really worth having in that position.

If you don't have chloramines in your water, you only really need one (1) good quality carbon block. You can lease the other (third prefilter) housing empty. I wouldn't use two 0.5 mic blocks because you'll lose a bit of pressure with each. If you DO have chloramines, go:

1. 1 mic sediment
2. Catalytic GAC (CGAC is much superior than plain old GAC)
3. 0.5 mic block

OR

1. 1 mic sediment
2. 0.5 mic block
3. 5 mic block

Russ

[Buckeye Field Supply]

Won't hurt to use what you have, no.

Your carbon block may clog faster than you'd like because it has a pore size smaller than the pore size of the sediment filter.

Russ

[mike31154]

I haven't seen any evidence of a pressure gauge on your system. If you don't have one, it would be a good idea to include that on your shopping list. Great way to monitor how your system is performing, along with the TDS meter. I actually use two pressure gauges, one at the source/input so I know what pressure is going in, and the second in the customary position between the pre filters & RO membrane. By comparing the two readings I can pretty much tell when the sediment filter needs attention or replacement. That's one of the items that gets changed out quite regularly on my system with 210 TDS source water. Good thing it's one of the less costly consumables.

[Buckeye Field Supply]

Mike is right on. A TDS meter and a pressure gauge are two tools we tell cutomers are critical to successfully run/troubleshoot/maintain these systems over time.

Russ