Need info/help setting up RO/DI

[khrios]

I have a Typhoon III ro/di system that is currently hooked up to the sink in my garage, via a hose adapter. Unfortunately the pressure is only 25psi from it. There aren't any copper pipes in the garage to tap into, either. Should I try to find a place to hook it up inside, and run the line to the garage (where the tank is), or is there some other way I could do it? The unit requires 50-75psi for an optimal rejection and production rate. Any help would be greatly appreciated

-Jon

[gdm42001]

You will most likely require a Booster Pump. (http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=YSP5331)
If all the pressure you can muster at the sink is 25 lbs. that would be your house pressure.

[culdublvd]

Are you on santa rosa city water or a well. If you are on a well you will definately need a booster pump. If you are on city water your pressure should be in the 50-70psi range.

[khrios]

on city water, but I think we have a pressure reducer on the main.

[culdublvd]

"Usually" if you have a pressure reducer on your main feed your water pressure is over I think 90psi which is when you start blowing angle stops off of the wall, and it usually doesn't bring it down to 25psi. I'm wondering if you have some sort of clog or something.

[gdm42001]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8774295#post8774295 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by culdublvd
"Usually" if you have a pressure reducer on your main feed your water pressure is over I think 90psi which is when you start blowing angle stops off of the wall, and it usually doesn't bring it down to 25psi. I'm wondering if you have some sort of clog or something.

A clog should only affect flow, if all the valves are closed in the house, pressure should be the same. Maybe a leak, that is not allowing pressure to build up.

[northbay-reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8773852#post8773852 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by khrios
on city water, but I think we have a pressure reducer on the main.

Krios, you are correct. Go to the main valve where you turn water off to the house. You should see a regulator with a screw at the end. Turn the screw clockwise until you here a "wooshhh" that should get you from 25psi to 50 psi. This is what I have done and my water presure is much better :D

[khrios]

I turned the nut as far as it could go, but my pressure reading at the faucet in the garage is still only 34psi. Leak somewhere or bad pipes maybe? the pipes leading to this faucet are steel, not copper

[northbay-reefer]

did you turn it in or out ? if in then you are turning it the right way. Also you might want to try hooking up the RO to the ouside water hose and see if you are getting anymore water pressure.

if the water pressure is still only 32 then its your city water pressure, you will need to use a booster pump if you want to make more water and waste less

[khrios]

I had the plumber come by and check the water pressure. It is at 65psi. For some reason, the gauge on the RO unit is only reading ~22-24psi near the output. Could there be something wrong with the unit? I'm not sure what else I can do. Currently, the rejection rate is over 10:1, which pretty much defeats the purpose of having my own unit. Any ideas?

[northbay-reefer]

maybe the regulator on the unit is bad. But you mention the pressure gauge is near the output, this may mean that the pressure gauge is in the wrong place or you are reading it wrong.

Also to controll the waste to make up water ratio what I have done is taking the wasteline of the first unit and run that through a second membrane, and then T that off to a DI filter, I manage to get 2.5 to 1 ratio with my two units.

My membranes are 75gal/day each what is yours ?

[khrios]

I had a "well duh" moment upon reexamining the unit. I was not aware that it has different valves for: RO only, DI bypass, and fast flush. The DI bypass and fast flush valves were open! I now get a reading of 60psi, like I should, and it has been working great. It makes 75gpd. Do you guys use float valves to stop production, or just manually turn it off? Also, anyone know where to get a 50gal drum for water storage? I have a few 34g bins, but it would be nice to have one big one.

[northbay-reefer]

Glad to see it working better, I don't reccomend using a floatvalve for turning the ro off and on, unless you want to take your chances of flooding your house :D

You can find these type of cantainers cheap at the salvage yard on mountainview drive across from Freeman brother, they have juice/oliveoil/pepsi/and everything else used containers for about 10 buck each ... once you get it you will have to realy clean it though. But the containers are very sturdy. I got one that was used for olive oil in the past and its working out realy good. ... while you are at it get an extra one to save your waste water for watering plants or emergency water supply.

[BuckeyeFS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8783993#post8783993 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by northbay-reefer
maybe the regulator on the unit is bad. But you mention the pressure gauge is near the output, this may mean that the pressure gauge is in the wrong place or you are reading it wrong.

Also to controll the waste to make up water ratio what I have done is taking the wasteline of the first unit and run that through a second membrane, and then T that off to a DI filter, I manage to get 2.5 to 1 ratio with my two units.

My membranes are 75gal/day each what is yours ?

If you are running your membranes in series (waste from the first feeding the second, you should be using a single flow restrictor on the waste line from the second membrane. The waste water from the second membrane, when compared to the combined permeate flow, should be at a 4:1

Think of the two membranes plumbed in series as a single membrane

[northbay-reefer]

BcukeyeFS, I am thinking of using two more membranes to reduce the amount of waste water, what do you think the ratio would be? and is it worth it to go to 4 membranes

[BuckeyeFS]

4:1