Russ at BuckeyeFieldSupply just hosed me

[corals b 4 bills]

Go on to there Forum check out my thread on " Clorine Block shut down my RO-HELP!" and tell if I'm crazy or is Russ just brushing me off?

[earthboy17]

where is this forum?

[corals b 4 bills]

RC Sponsors, I wish I knew how to link this thread.

[Cozen89]

It doesn't sound like he "hosed" you, but a similar thing happened to me less than 2 months after getting my RO/DI unit. My carbon block filter got clocked after 6 weeks and I only make about 15-20 gallons a week. I contacted the filter guys and they don't cover anything like that and I had to buy new filters which cost me $45 after shipping. It definately sucks.........

Just seems like the filters are very sensitive and what's worse is if this kinda thing happens every 2-3 months or so it wasn't even worth it buying my RO unit. Won't be saving any money.

[earthboy17]

You got PM

[corals b 4 bills]

I find it kind of strange though starting from a 1 micron sediment to a GAC to a 5 micron sediment filter only to have "water" clog a GUZZLER filter? Wouldn't be so bad but I just installed the darn thing and it was nearly $30 bucks, If these things were so sensitive shouldn't it be made more clear? Sorry it's late and I'm dealing with a very sick baby, mom and I are tired.................But I will still be a the meeting tomorrow! It's my first......................O.K. anyways I will see you all!

[BuckeyeFS]

Coralb4bills: Both sediment filter and carbon blocks can clog.

In the case of sediment filters, that exactly what we ask them to do - catch all the undissolved solids of x microns or larger.
Carbon blocks behave in the same way. They will catch all of the undissolved solids larger than x microns in size.

When prefilters clog, its not an indication that anyone did anyone wrong - its an indication that the filters were exposed to enough undissolved solids to clog the pores in the filter. Water doesn't clog prefilters, undissolved solids do.

The chlorine guzzler is our best selling carbon block. So folks don't get the wrong impression, our price on that block is $10.99 (not $30).

In your case you have a sediment filter after the GAC? That can be useful in protecting the block - install a 1 micron sediment filter there rather than a 5 micron.

Last but not least - if you don't have chloramines in your water, remove the GAC stage and use only a carbon block to remove chlorine and other VOC's.

Russ

[corals b 4 bills]

Well Russ I wish you would have explained it this way in the first place, I'm sorry that I have a short Internet temper but you only gave me consistent 10 word answers, I did just recheck my invoice and you were right I had bought two of them on the this order, after spending $125 worth of filters from your company for the first time and to have my RO stop working after the first month I was worried that all the filters were inferior to the other brands, My TDS is lower then most people in the country and I'm using two sediment filters instead of one and my home have all copper pipes so maybe I am jumping to conclusions. The reason I need to have this problem solved is that I do have chloramines in the water and if I place another guzzler on it will it do the same thing, If I marred the reputation of buckeye in anyway I apologize. I will try my spare guzzler and see what happens next, Mark

[BuckeyeFS]

Thanks Mark.

Try using a 1 mic sediment filter in that stage after the CGAC stage to keep the GAC fines out of the Guzzler.

Russ

[sfsuphysics]

Is there anyway you could backflush the filter to try to squeeze out unwanted gunk? I know all it takes is one water main busting or repair job on your street to send a ton of garbage into your pipes, especially easy if you have it hooked up to in such a way that you're
"constantly" producing water via a float switch or something.

[Al G Blenny]

BEFS didn't do or say anything that should have made you feel "hosed". I personally think you should go on the thread in his forum and apologize. You were the only one that made a rude comment and all he was doing was trying to help you out. He even goes on the BAR Forum when you didn't even tell him what or where it is. Then you insult him by saying he has 10 word answers which is obviously not true. You really need to learn how to control yourself. This guy is being very patient and helpful.

Oh and for anyone that doesn't want to dig around to find the thread
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1264588

[badpacket]

I would agree that there is most likely a problem with you input water or possibly a defective block. Also, what was the rationale for placing a 5 mic. sediment after the 1 mic. sed and 0.5-1 mic. guzzler? Smarter thing to do would have been:
Input > 5 mic. > 1 Mic. > GAC > Guzzler > RO

What was your starting TDS?

You may want to consider getting some 0.5 mic. sed's from filterguys as BFS doesn't carry them.
Russ, any chance you might start carrying them? I'd much rather replace a .5 sed every month or two if it really saved my GAC and block.

---
OK, just read your thread.
It seems like you wrote Russ right off midway through the thread. I've been pretty happy with BFS, fair and fast.

[corals b 4 bills]

Thank you for your response, I apologized to Russ for being short with him I'm not an articulate person especially on a computer I happen to be a non confrontation type of person so I guess I popped! Sorry to everyone who has to read this. here is a picture of my RO unit (the DI resin is not where it states on the canister I just bought a separate one for that). this was in the first week in November.

[sfsuphysics]

badpacket: Have you checked home depot? I don't know if I'm just dreaming here (back pains today = meds ), but I could have sworn I picked up a couple of .5 micron sediment filters. I'll have to double check one of these days.

[fishnfst]

What part of SF are you in? There is a ton of construction going on out in the geneva mission area.. The water dept has been turning the water on and off at least twice a day out in that area.. SOmeitmes late at night and then again midmorning to early afternoon.. Just them turning the water on and off will cause a huge amount of sediment to dislodge out of the water mains,, Which would explain overworked and clogged ro.di setups...

[BuckeyeFS]

corals b 4 bills - Those pictures help. To make sure I understand, you have 5 prefilters (i.e., 5 filter stages prior to the membranes), and you have a DI stage not shown in your pictures.

Assuming that's correct, you have a ton of options. Here's one that will work and only needs 4 prefilter stages (you could do a little replumbing and change the unused 5th prefilter stage into a DI stage):
Stage 1: 1 micron sed filter
Stage 2: 0.6 micron Chlorine Guzzler carbon block
Stage 3: catalytic GAC
Stage 4: 1 micron sediment filter (to catch fines coming off the GAC)

Recommendation: Get a pressure gauge add on kit so you know when one or more of your prefilter stages is clogging. You would install it in that yellow tube that feeds both membranes.

Recommendation: I don't recall you saying anything about having a pressure tank that feeds a drinking water faucet. If you don't, get rid of that horizontal taste and odor (i.e., GAC) cartridge after your RO membranes.


Russ

[corals b 4 bills]

Thank's Russ, do you recommend a Silicate cartridge? If so where in the chain would it go?

[BuckeyeFS]

Short answer - no, probably not.

Long answer - In the water purification world there are speciality filters/filter configurations to remove many many different substances from feedwater - arsenic, iron, hydrogen sulfide, phosphates, silica, chromium, ammonia, cyanide, fluoride, lead, zinc, copper, calcium, magnesium, nitrates, tannins, perchlorate, uranium, radium, etc.

Along the lines of "don't add any supplements to your tank that your are not testing for," -- unless you've identified a specific problem with your tap water there's really no need to configure your purification system to treat that problem.

Russ

[badpacket]

Russ, you wrote that stage 2 should be the guzzler and stage 3 should be the Cat GAC. Shouldn't they be reversed? I believe both your and another vendor's site indicate as such.
PS. Any chance you are going to consider 0.5 mic filters possibly?

[BuckeyeFS]

The idea of placing the GAC in front of the block is to have hte block catch any fines that come off the GAC. If you have enough prefilters, as is the case here, you can place a sediment filter after the GAC. So a good order might be:
Sediment
CGAC
Sediment
Carbon block.

We can carry the 0.5 micron sediment filter - are you talking about a pleated filter or a poly melt blown filter?

[Thefilterguys]

Hey guys just thought I'd chime in here since there is more then one person having filter issues. Hard to say if it is high chloramine levels or the construction someone mentioned or both. It is not the filter quality but water quality causing filter failure. Filter clogs are not the norm but they do happen and we do not have insight into what you municipal water supplier is doing.

Jim

[badpacket]

Russ, I'd be interested in the poly melt unless they are prohibitively expensive compared to the pleated.

thanks,
fred

[i]
We can carry the 0.5 micron sediment filter - are you talking about a pleated filter or a poly melt blown filter? [/B]