RO/DI Units

[henkelsfamily]

Good Morning to all. First off I would like to say that it was a ppleasure meeting all of you last night in beautiful Bensalem. I am looking forward to future meetings.

So I was up early this morning and did some research on my presentation for the DIY 4 stage RO/DI unit. Prices are a bit higher that when I built mine but with some surfing around I think the system can be built for about 170.00 and will be mush better than one that is commercially purchased for that price. The unit will produce 75gpd @ 50psi/70F. That is 4.2 gallons per hour. I could tune this system to kick out a bit more but it would be at the expence of your DI media. If there is enough interest , say at least 5 people, I think I can get the price down a bit on all of the components. The following is a pretty close estimation of the price breakdown for components:

75 FilmTek RO Membrane 25.00
GAC Cart. 7.00
5 micron. Cart. 2.13
DI Cart. (Mix Bed) 19.99

3 filter housings 49.50
RO Membrane Housing 6.88

Tripple Filter Bracket 5.63
RO Housing Clips .76
Fittings 6.00
Tubing 5.00
Flow Restricter 14.00
_______________________________
Grand Total 141.89


Let me know. Have a good weekend and remember that after you consume those tasty fermented malt and hopps beverages you should only look at the pretty colors in the tank. This is no time to start fooling with it.

Regards,

Walter

[Spykey]

Count me in!!!

[CherryCat]

add my name to the list, please ...

[Mildewy]

I'm definately interested.

[no job]

Uhhh,,,, yeah... ok..

[FishTri]

Walter,

I've got a 5 gallon glass carboy in the basement gathering dust. Used to brew in a previous life...

Anyway, all this talk about water purification got me to thinking, would RO water make better beer? Hhhmmmm.....

Yeah, add me to the list.

-Alan

[henkelsfamily]

RO water make very bad brew. Being that RO water take EVERYTHING out of the water you do not have the minerals that make your beverage tasty. Are you looking for sterile water? If so you could go with a 0.22micron filter that will get everything except for Ps. dimunutea (sp) out of the water. I too brew so have been through this.

Walter

[FishTri]

Walter,

Have you seen the RO/DI systems on this site?

http://www.aquaticreefsystems.com/

Some of the prices seem really reasonable, but I don't have a clue which features or specs are important. How do they compare with the design you're working with?

The big question is ongoing expense - consumables (and water efficiency if its a factor). Can you buy one of their systems for not much more than it would cost to DIY, and then buy bulk media/cartridges vs. name brand (read: inflated cost) refills?

Thanks.

-Alan

[henkelsfamily]

Aquatic Reef Systems is a very good company and some of the parts that we would purchase would come from them. Bryan is a very nice and knowlegable person. Their systems look nice. The only advantage of a DIY is you get to tailor your system the way that you would like it. Both the carbon and mixed bed would be refillable and there would be a very nice flow restrictor that would allow you to dialin your system to meet both your water water pressure and temperature. As I am sure you know, these to factors are why most people do not get the most out of their systems and waste a great deal of water and or media. What I do like about their systems is the pressure guage. But this could be purchased from HD for about 6 bucks. Hope this answers your questions.

Walter

[FishTri]

Let me see if I'm getting this.

Both the carbon and mixed bed would be refillable

Does this mean "as opposed to the retail version where you would have to use the manufacturer's expensive refill cartridges"?

and there would be a very nice flow restrictor that would allow you to dialin your system to meet both your water pressure and temperature.

Is the flow restrictor not normally available on the retail units? Could you easily add one to the off-the-shelf version?

Walter, if you want to break up the chores, let me know the bill of materials for HD and I can make that run for you. Also, we buy from Grainger's at work so I can order stuff from there as well.

[henkelsfamily]

The flow restrictor cna be added onto an existing unit. It run about 14 clams.

The DI and Carbon can be refilled. What I suggest is getting 2 DI cart.. Empty on out into a zip lock and save it for your first recharge. This now becomes your GAC cart.. If you were to by a blank cart. alone it would run you around 15 clams. The DI runs 19.99. Better deal this way.

Most of the items I will buy online but I will put together a parts list will all links so that everyone can build a kick *** 75+ GPD RO/DI system for 150 or so.

Walter

[John Nielsen]

Count me in http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/images/icons/icon14.gif

[Aquatic Reef Systems]

If you guys want to save the bargain hunting give me a call and I will part it out to you.
I have the refill carts and stuff and I would be interested to see the innovations here.
If you get it all through me I will be able to cut that price for you!
LET ME KNOW

Take care bud
Bryan Crenshaw

[Aquatic Reef Systems]

I want pictures!!! :)

Bryan

[no job]

we should get the directions and pics up on the phillyreef.com site. add a DIY section. I am going to put my MH setup together. It can be a great resource for all.

[henkelsfamily]

Bryan,

Thanks for the offer. I have delt with your company previously and was more thatn satisfied with the dealings. I will put together a parts list that I will post. I will also be contacting you personally to discuss what we are trying to accomplish.

Regards

Walter