RO/DI Waste innovation

[EBOLII]

Here is the thought. IF I buy a 35g a day RO/DI unit for a 100g and do a water change every 2-3 weeks…then I assume that there will be at least 430-450g generated waste correct?

What a loss….well not if my thoughts succeed. Why not run this waste to a reserve tank? Say a 500-600g tank [underground and outside] then run a sprinkler system for my yard off this tank. In the winter the excess runoff can be absorbed into the ground.

What do you think? Are there different suggestions?

I live in SC

[Cohiba]

This sounds like a good idea - the plumbing and the storage tank will be a big initial expense.

I use my "waste" water to run my clothes washing machine. I happen to have my RODI unit in the laundry room.

[uscgbeachbum]

It is very doable. There are some things you need to think about before doing it. If your underground tank is full of water and you have wastewater coming out from your RO where does that water go? If your sprinkler system uses all of the water in the tank where will it get more water to prevent from running dry? How do you allow the underground tank to "breathe" for the raise and fall of water in the tank? If I were to do it I think I'd make my own tank out of wood and fiberglass.

[BeanAnimal]

You will have

400 Gallons of waste for each 100 Gallons of product water you make..

Your 100G water change will consume 500G of water.

Here in Pittsburgh we pay one of the highest water rates (BY FAR) in the US (a joke because our water comes from the rivers).

Our water costs .5735 per 100 gallons.

So at 400 gallons a month of waste, that would be $2.30 cents a month in waste due to the water change.

Lets say the storage container costs $100 and the grass seed to fix the lawn costs $25. Lets toss in another $50 for pipe and supplies and $200 for a pressure rated pump for the sprinklers. We will not worry about tools, or control logic, failsafe protection, labor, disposal of unwanted fill, or any other expense.

That is $375 (and a pipe dream). The reality is going to be 5 times that... but lets just use the $375. Lets also ignore that fact that the pump uses electricity.

$375 / $2.30 = 163 months to get a return on the investment.

Time for a reality check... Real world payoff is NEVER going to happen. The project is a loss from the getgo. Your water likely costs A LOT less. Even if it were 5 times as much... the project will never pay off.

[EBOLII]

BeanAnimal - here is the thought. I need to add a lawn sprinkler. IF used off city water main it will cost anywhere from 700.00-1500.00 for a back-flow preventer [it was a quick snap not an actual quote] add in around 500.00-1000.00 for the actual system. Thus the idea.

Is it worth the cost of waste? No
Worth the cost of installation? Maybe?
See the thought? I like your reasoning this is why I posted the thread.

Cohiba - As far as using waste in my wash machine? A good idea but not going to happen. I have a state of the art front loading 1-2g machine I just purchased less than 1yr ago.

Uscgbeachbum – the actual design isn’t worked out yet. It would have to include a vent tube and overflow system

These are just ideas so keep the thought/discussion going

[KEstep]

Even if it is not cost effective it is not wasteful and I like and admire that idea. Not everything has to do with money savings.

[BeanAnimal]

That would certainly be up for debate. Wasteful with respect to what? A full cost accounting and environmental impact study of the resources required for both alternatives would be rather interesting.

Many times what appears to be a "green" alternative is many times worse when all accounting is done. Your left with the "it feels good" payback and nothing else.

MTBEs for your drinking water anybody?

[RobbyG]

I think the easiest and best thing to do is just run the waste line to a favorite Plant Bed or Tree, it costs about $20 for the extra RO hose and that's it.
Thats what I do and the Plants in that small flower bed look fantastic. Wife loves it because she no longer has to water that flower bed and I like it because I don't feel like I'm wasting the water, BeanAnimal will like it because it saves $375 and is environmentally friendly

[BeanAnimal]

[EBOLII]

What does MTBEs mean?

[jokerjp]

MTBE = Methyl tert-butyl ether. It's a gasoline additive that was supposed to be "green" by allowing us to stop using lead based fuels and promote a cleaner burn. It's now detectable in the groundwater in many locations and is considered a health risk as a carcinogen.

[BeanAnimal]

Ohh do tell the whole story!

The eco idiots ranted and raved about the stuff and how it was going to save the planet.

They were told it was NOT a good idea.

The stuff was tested, and the results were as expected. The combsution byproducts contained this water soluble crap.

The eco idiots demanded that it be used anyway because they despised the lead and wanted an alternative. MTBE raises the oxygen level during combustion and reduces tailpipe emisions. What more could an eco weenie want? No need to look forward at the consequences, just do and AND DO IT NOW!

So our wonderful suits in congress caved to the eco lobby and mandated its use. Several chemical companies started making the stuff under HUGE contracts, and abandoned much of their other business for the new found government mandated wealth. Ohh and the government fixed the price at almost below manufacture cost. So to get the chemcial comapnies on board, they signed mega huge mega year contracts.

Once the eco idiots figured out how stupid they realy were and the stuff was entering the water supply, the contracts were in place and the freight train had left the station.

Not only is the stuff found nationwide in our water (and it is not going away)... we (the taxpayer) are still paying those contracts even though we don't use much of the stuff anywmore. Why becuase the morons in congress signed huge contracts to supply the crap for eternity.

Hell the stuff was a MAJOR player in the stock market (tied to gasoline futures) until recently when the lawsuits start to fly.

At least that is my take on the whole mess!

What shall we talk about next?

DDT and the fact those same enviro weenies messed that up too

[AZDesertRat]

RO waste would probably be considered "Grey Water" in most locales and would be goverened by local building and plumbing codes. By the time you mess with permits and inspections to do it legal its probably not worth it if they would allow it at all. In Phoenix they would not allow it which is kind of stupid considering the drought we are experiencing.

[BeanAnimal]

And drinking 1 cup of the waste water gives you the same "stuff" as drinking 5 cups of the tap water. My waste water from my 200 TDS input is likely better than your 800 TDS input.

Next we assume that all that "TDS" is bad stuff to drink. But, yeah I am sure if you made the mistake of asking the local GOVT for "help" it would cost you a furtune and you would get fined for dumping grey water into the storm sewers instead of the sanitary sewer.

Yet the same people that fine you are the same folks that spend your tax dollars trying to keep non "sanitary" wastewater OUT of their system AND beg people to conserve water any way possible. The same folks that squander those taxes instead of upgrading the waste system, so that it overflows raw sewage into the streams during heavy rain.

What a kick in the pants people can be.

No more talk about this... I am gonna get all worked up!

[BruiseAndy]

Why not use an RO system that injects the waste right back in your potable system.

[BeanAnimal]

The water has to go someplace. You need a pump (money) that pushes it back into the system. The water heater will take the brunt of this. There it either puts the system under more pressure (not a good thing) or it pushes back past the meter (backflow prevention is a rare thing from my understanding) and you pay for it again when you turn the tap on.

You also increase the TDS of the input water, as well as add all that crap to the water tank (calcification).

Just my thoughts... I could be wrong.

[strayvoltage]

Just do the easy thing and water trees or something else in your yard when the ro system is going. You wont have any waste and you wont have a huge investment.

[BruiseAndy]

Originally posted by BeanAnimal
The water has to go someplace. You need a pump (money) that pushes it back into the system. The water heater will take the brunt of this. There it either puts the system under more pressure (not a good thing) or it pushes back past the meter (backflow prevention is a rare thing from my understanding) and you pay for it again when you turn the tap on.

You also increase the TDS of the input water, as well as add all that crap to the water tank (calcification).

Just my thoughts... I could be wrong.

Zero waste RO systems are setup this way. Small 1/20hp booster pump. Take a shower or wash the dishes and you lose the high TDS in the potable system.

[BeanAnimal]

To an extent yes. But that is one of those reduction (concentration) equations that I don't want to try and figure out

[AZDesertRat]

You also put high TDS water back into your interior plumbing defeating the purpose of a water softener.

[Eldouble]

Why dont you turn off the unit (quit making water) when your storage tank/bucket is full. You do have to replace the filters and ro membrane and at $60 a set, they are not cheap. I have a 50 gpd unit and make/store 5 gallons a day in empty salt buckets. Why waste all that filter capacity to water your lawn? I have the storage tanks desighned for under your sink systems and when they are full, thats it. No more water goes through the system. No waste.

[EBOLII]

Originally posted by BeanAnimal
eco idiots.........eco weenie.....enviro weenies

That is awesome! "go hug yourself on your own time"....that is what I always say....Those staements are awesome!

Originally posted by Eldouble
Why dont you turn off the unit (quit making water) when your storage tank/bucket is full.

I was not intending to run it..unless the 100g tank needs filling.

[UN-Sizzlers]

I have been thinking of running the waste line out to my garden since the dirt dries up so fast when not raining here.

[EBOLII]

I still want to add a sprinkler system, just trying to be efficient

[chopsuey]

Originally posted by RobbyG
I think the easiest and best thing to do is just run the waste line to a favorite Plant Bed or Tree, it costs about $20 for the extra RO hose and that's it.
Thats what I do and the Plants in that small flower bed look fantastic. Wife loves it because she no longer has to water that flower bed and I like it because I don't feel like I'm wasting the water, BeanAnimal will like it because it saves $375 and is environmentally friendly

This is what I am doing currently. I have 3 32gal garbage cans in the back yard. When I make RO/DI the waste goes into these hoding cans. I then use the 'elbow grease' method by using a 5gal bucket to scoop out some water and walk it around the yard watering all the plants and trees.

Originally posted by Cohiba
This sounds like a good idea - the plumbing and the storage tank will be a big initial expense.

I use my "waste" water to run my clothes washing machine. I happen to have my RODI unit in the laundry room.

I love this method. Can you tell me how you do this? Do you fill the washer tank with water then add clothes and soap then turn it on? Im not sure I can turn on my washer with out it starting to fill..? Would love hear how you do this. Thanks!!