FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I'm planning on getting a RO System and need help on figuring out which one is good for me to get.

Eric, I believe you have this one. I know you just recently got it, but how do you like it so far and would you recommend it?

Steve has this for reserve I think and has suggested it before one

And I've searched this one. It had free shipping so thats why I picked it.

Out of the three which would you recommend getting? Or I guess if someone else would like to include an option setting the budget around $250 that would be great.

Thanks for your input.

Just wanted to bump this kind of got buried yesterday.

I love my RO filter. I dont have any experience with the others so I cant recommend one out of the 3 but I would definitely recommend the growonix filter. Takes my 130 ppm water down to 0-6 ppm.

Now, the others could be just as good for cheaper and have universal parts but i'm not 100% sure.

The reverse osmosis system I bought is this one:

http://www.h2osplashwaterfilters.com/4stropuchowi.html

It includes a pressure booster pump, which is important to me because our rural water system pressure is often low or highly variable, and does not include a tank because I empty the output water directly into 4 or 6 gallon containers for later use. I don't use the inline carbon polish filter that comes with it, because its purpose is to remove the taste that the rubber bladder of a storage tank adds to the water before it is drunk, and I don't use a storage tank so there is no need for the polish filter. I use the 80 or 100 gallon-per-day RO membrane, a 10 micron sediment filter and 5 micron carbon-block filter

Reverse Osmosis System

• Sediment pre-filter; this is what the incoming water goes through first
• Carbon filter; this is what the incoming water goes through to remove particles before the water goes into and through the RO membrane
• (Optional) pressure-booster pump; this quiet diaphragm pump increases the water pressure so that more goes through the RO membrane, giving you more clean, pure water and less waste water, if your local water pressure is much less than 60 psi (pounds per square inch).
• The RO membrane; these come in a range of output quantities, from 24 gallons per day to 100 gallons per day for standard size RO systems
• The pure water and waste water outlets of the RO memrane; one of these outlets on the RO membrane housing emits the pure water, and the other is where the waste water emerges. In a typical system running efficiently, the waste water will be about 4 times as much as the pure RO water, regulated by the flow restrictor in the wastewater line
• Flow restrictor (wastewater line); the flow restrictor or regulator determines exactly how much water flows through the system from the input water. Without a flow restrictor, water would flow much more quickly through the system and a tremendous amount of wastewater would be produced without producing any more pure, clean water, so the flow restrictor is important. Flow restrictors come in various "sizes" (that allow more or less water to flow through them). One should use a flow restrictor more or less matched to the gallons per day output of the RO system, to make the waste water be about 4 times as much as the pure water output; this will adequately flush the RO membrane to prevent accumulation of particles that reduce the efficiency and life of the RO membrane.
• Check valve (in pure water line); a check valve is a small but very important part of the RO system. It is placed just after the RO membrane pure water outlet and before the water automatic shut off valve (ASO valve).
• Automatic shut off valve; this valve will turn off the incoming water when the outflow of pure water is stopped or reaches too high a back-pressure. When the pure water is simply allowed to drain into a container, turning a ball valve to stop the flow of water will cause the ASO to shut off the incoming water so that water is not wasted and sent out the wastewater line without even going through the RO membrane. As soon as the ball valve is opened to allow more flow of pure water, the ASO will turn on the input water again. If the pure water is flowing into an enclosed storage tank (the kind often used in RO systems), it is the back pressure of the stored water (pressing against the rubber bladder inside the tank) that turns the ASO off.
• Electronic shut off valve (only used if a pressure booster pump is used); this valve, which is placed just after the automatic shut-off valve mentioned above, also senses the water pressure (or rather, back-pressure from the tank or a final valve to allow or cut off the flow of pure water) and will immediately turn off the electric booster pump when the pure water is not flowing. Like the ASO, this valve depends upon a good, working check valve (mentioned earlier).
• Ball valve to turn pure water output on or off, or standard 3-5 gallon metal storage tank. A storage tank is self pressurizing because it contains a rubber bladder and some initial air pressure. The water presses against the bladder, which increases the pressure inside the tank so that when the output valve of the tank is turned on the water is pushed out, and which also increases the back pressure on the line from which the water is coming into the tank causing the ASO and electronic shut-off valve (if a booster pump is being used) to shut off or turn on (when the pressure from the tank is low again or the ball valve is turned on, if no pressure storage tank is being used).

This system is the least expensive I've found for the parts included, and all the parts are standard and easily bought or replaced from other sources.

Steve, is this the same thing, but with a tank and with out the booster pump? Our town has good water pressure and don't think I need the pump. Also I'd like to have the storage take that comes with the unit.

Thanks again Eric and Steve for your comments and help!

jwbates26 wrote:Steve, is this the same thing

The system you were looking at looks pretty much the same, but without a pressure booster pump and without clear housings (like the unit I bought has) that allows you to see the condition of the filters inside. In addition, it comes with a 50 gallon per day RO membrane, whereas my system came with a 100 gallon per day membrane.

Other than that, the things I would ask about and make sure of is that the necessary check valve is an "inline check valve" rather than an "insert check valve" (which is cheaper but which can fail (mine did)). If you get a more-gallons-per-day membrane, you'll need to get a flow restrictor that allows more water to go through. The system you're looking at looks pretty good, although no better and maybe a bit more expensive than the equivalent system at H2Osplash.com.

http://www.h2osplashwaterfilters.com/ro4cl50scp.html

Sorry Steve. I feel like I'm waisting your time. I look back at my last post realized I forgot to post the link. I was talking about this unit.

http://www.h2osplashwaterfilters.com/ro4cl50scp.html

I ordered this unit Wednesday afternoon and recieved it Friday at 4:20. Not bad for free shipping. The lines where all color cordinated which made it very easy to install and there is a 14 minute, step-by-step, instructional video on youtube that you can fallow. IThe video would be good to watch before ordering. There is an optional piece you can get that make the hook up a lot easier if you have flexible water lines. Just go to youtube and search Reverse Osmosis System Installation H2O Splash. This system took me between 5 and 10 minutes to install and I didn't have a clue to what I was doing so it can be done quickly.

My tap water usually runs a little over 100ppm and after running through the system it is down to 9ppm.

Congratulations Jason! I hope it works well for you. Btw, does yours not just screw into a faucet or did you have to install it into the plumbing under the sink?

I bought a four dollar hard plastic water line and installed it under the sink.