ro/di unit

[rommelgin]

Is it ok to leave the water sitting in the chambers of the ro unit when not in use? i know it doesnt make sense to empty out each chamber when im done with it but just wondering. I dont have a dedicated water line that i can permanantly hook it up too so ill be hooking it up to my sink faucet when i need water so I'll be building a small mobile compartment for it so it can sit stable on my counter while i filter.

[Entropy]

I would keep it wet, but hopefully your are using it often enough that the water is not going to stagnate. You definately do not want the RO membrane to dry out IMO.

[rommelgin]

Thanks Entropy. I believe i will be using it enough to not let it get stagnant because it will be used for drinking water also.

One more question, will having hard water have any effect on the filters as oppose to having soft water like having to change them out more often? I live in a condo and i have no way of putting in a water softner.

Thanks again for the info!

[Entropy]

The harder the water the fast everything will be used up. The filters will clog faster, the RO membrane will get clogged, and the DI will be depleted faster.

I don't know enough about RO/DI to say for sure, but I am pretty sure the salt in softened water is bad for the RO membrane. I only say that because I know it is a pain in the butt to get fresh water (pure) from seawater. If it was easy there probably wouldn't be a shortage of drinking water in the world.

[AZDesertRat]

RO membranes were originally designed for desalination so they deal with salt well. Softened water is preffered but they work fine without it. It will extend the life of the membrane but have little effect on the prefilter and carbon block since softened water still has dissolved solids and suspended solids just like tap water, just sodium instead of calcium and magnesium.

The harder the water the faster the membrane will wear out and the faster the DI will exhaust since the membrane is only going to be 90-98% efficient either way. 98% of 1000 TDS is more than 98% of 200 TDS. The DI will have to work harder.

Yes leave the housings full between uses. Always keep the membrane and the DI resin wetted or they can go bad on you.

[rommelgin]

Thanks for the info entropy and azdesertrat! I will just test the water more often to make sure filters are still good.

[AZDesertRat]

A good handheld TDS meter is an invaluable tool. Use it often.

[rommelgin]

any suggestions on a tds meter? i was given the impression any will do but i am a firm beliver in getting what you pay for.

[AZDesertRat]

HM Digital COM-100 . Most any of the RO/DI vendors/sponsors here on RC should have it. I think www.buckeyefieldsupply.com carries it and I know www.spectrapure.com and www.thefilterguys.biz do.

[rommelgin]

Thanks for link! I will be ordering one soon.