Reverse Osmosis Water Management

[Ray]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

So I think I know how the in/out thing goes together. One question... since I have five stage filtration, the pure water out tube goes after the last deionization filter, right, instead of after the membrane filter?

Either way will work, but personally, I'd put it right after the membrane. DI is really overkill for orchids - 0-1 ppm versus under 10 isn't worth the expense. The next time you need to replace that cartridge, I'd just remove it from the system.

Then the float valve... I presume I drill a hole at the top of my fancy 55 gallon garbage can and stick the bulkhead of the float through, then fasten one of the two 90 degree elbows on the other side and screw down the bulkhead. So, which one of those two 90's do I use? The all white one is hollow. The one with the pink ring, I try to blow on it from either end and nothing happens. I'm thinking I use the all white one?

It doesn't look to me like you have the right connection for the float valve. Yes, you put it through the upper wall of your storage tank, and the output line from your RO system connects to it, but unless the float valve stem has internal threads that will accept one of those elbows, you're going to have to buy another fitting to adapt it to the 1/4" tubing. If it fits, go with the white one.

I'm quite sure the pink one is a check valve, but you don't really need it. Ditto for the ball valve. You don't need the locking clips either, unless you or someone in your household likes to mess with your system a lot.

Check vales are usually used to prevent the pressure of a bladder tank pushing water back through the membrane, but there is no back-pressure exerted by the open air tank.

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Ray

Either way will work, but personally, I'd put it right after the membrane. DI is really overkill for orchids - 0-1 ppm versus under 10 isn't worth the expense. The next time you need to replace that cartridge, I'd just remove it from the system.

It doesn't look to me like you have the right connection for the float valve. Yes, you put it through the upper wall of your storage tank, and the output line from your RO system connects to it, but unless the float valve stem has internal threads that will accept one of those elbows, you're going to have to buy another fitting to adapt it to the 1/4" tubing. If it fits, go with the white one.

I'm quite sure the pink one is a check valve, but you don't really need it. Ditto for the ball valve. You don't need the locking clips either, unless you or someone in your household likes to mess with your system a lot.

Check vales are usually used to prevent the pressure of a bladder tank pushing water back through the membrane, but there is no back-pressure exerted by the open air tank.

Yes, the DI filter is overkill, but I was given a couple of cartridges. I'll just disconnect and move on. Yes, one side of the white 90 degree screws into the inside of the bulkhead, so I'll use that. I mess with a portion of my MistKing tubing quite often, but probably won't with this, so I'll just leave for now and can always rob a couple off MistKing if needed. I figured the ballcock was unnecessary unless I wasn't understanding something correctly.

And that's the weirdest check valve I've ever run across. Since there's nothing involved in backflow that would go into something like an aerator and ruin it, it seemed like strange advice anyway.

I'll work at it soon, and report back with success or more questions! Gracias!

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[WaterWitchin]

Yesterday was a real SNAFU and nothing happened. We had an ice storm, a couple of long power outages, and I just wasn't feeling it by the time power got completely restored.

Okay, a cautionary picture before I start snipping hoses.



The pink clothespin is where the water goes in/out, so right now it's already cut because I removed the deionizer filter.

The green clothespin is the line that is just the leftover water that goes straight to a floor drain and runs out to some nearby flower garden and trees.

The orange clothespin is a very short piece of tube that leaves the carbon filter and goes into the big middle cannister, which is where I presume the membrane is. This is the one where I do the in/out on the top (non screws) side. Correct? So I'll just need to make a longer piece of tube there to fit it all together?

And another question...how in the heck do I know when it's time to change the sediment and carbon filters, and when I need to replace the membrane?

And I replace that whole middle tube where I presume the membrane is, or take it apart and there's something inside I change.

Ya know, I may need to make this a sticky by the time we're done. Sure would have been helpful to me, a newbie to doing RO. I used to just take a few 5 gallon jugs over to a friend's house and he'd return them filled, back in the aquarium days. Waaaay beyond that point now. We wouldn't still be friends at this pace.

[Ray]

Yes, the raw water side of the hydraulic cutoff goes where the orange clip is. The pure water side can go right where the DI filter was.

The two cartridges should probably be replaced every 2000 gallons of input water, but most folks do so every 6-12 months, depending on you usage.

The input end of the membrane housing unscrews, and you replace the membrane every 2years.

[WaterWitchin]

Excellent. Gracias!

---------- Post added at 01:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:02 PM ----------

Drat! Drat! Dagnabbit!! Okay, I thought it was perfect. Something isn't right. Water comes out the waste side, but nothing comes out the pure water side. Here's pictures...






What the heck?

[Ray]

Looks to me like you have the raw- and pure water connections swapped.

Assuming it is a standard hydraulic cutoff, the blue line from the carbon filter should enter the switch on the "in" port with NO screw heads visible, and the line from the "out" port on that side should go to the membrane housing inlet.

The side WITH the screw heads should be in the pure water line from the membrane housing to the float switch.

[WaterWitchin]

I will look again in morning. I gave up for today. And those connections are SOOOO HARD to disconnect. Is there a secret to it? My poor stubby little fingernails.

[Roberta]

For disconnecting... first make sure there is no pressure on the connection. Then, if you can't press the "ring" back far enough to get it loose... I have, on occasion, used a needle-nose pliers to present a larger surface against the ring, and pressed down on that (while pulling on the tubiing that I'm trying to remove) - just to get a little more force in the desired direction (don't squish)

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Ray

Every one I've ever seen has screw heads visible on one side - that's the "pure water" side of the switch.

Well shite, the darned video I watched said just the opposite. I should know better. Yes, it’s opposite of what it should be. I will try again tomorrow.

---------- Post added at 04:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:15 PM ----------

Where in the HE Doublehockeysticks is the smack head emoji!!!

[Nexogen]

Excuse me for intervention. You have a big problem that will cost you RO membranes. Where the Flow Restrictor is connected; you must mount a valve in parallel with the Flow Restrictor (the cylinder in which the blue tube enters and the white tube comes out) to flush membranes. I mean, Ray needs to explain to you in more detail how to flush membrane.