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r/o unit ?

  • Thread starter muoog
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    r/o
hello ,
due to the price of bottled water my dad will be getting a r/o unit ,i told him to wate befor he gets it, becaus i knew ya'll would know the best brands and what exactly to look for when getting one from the store ( costco, e-bay )

well, it will be for him and my sister not my plants(but he'll let me have some so my plants do not die) that is besides the point ! , what i'm mostly concerned with is will it filter out viruses , bacterium , and that verry small amount of fecal matter the water comp says is non harmfull <-- i think any in the water a human or animal is to drink to be dangerus .
it's not going to harm people with perficly functioning imune systms , but my sister who has a syndrom that compromises her imune sytem , could harm her.
that's another reson to be weiry of this , for me at least.

but my dad is set on getting one .
any help would be grately appreciated.
 
The RO filter can remove the MOLECULES of disolved minerals etc. in your drinking water. With the exception of the viruses, (I can't remember their size compared to the holes in the RO filter), everything you listed is much larger than that and will be removed easily. There are units that also have a UV light for disinfection of the water and these would take care of any organism that did manage to pass through the filters.
 
You can find some very cheap RO units on eBay (I got one for $50).
 
dose it do the same as an expencive one ?
not to sound to much like a penny pincher but the store ones are up there in bucks.
do you think we could use that uv sanitizer thing but get an attatchment ?

how long would you say it takes to get 5 gallons of r/o and uv sanitized water ? and would we have to sanitize it overnight ? or an hour or so ?

wow i am so glad i told my dad to let me ask the pros at petflytrap first!!!
woohooo u guys r awsome
 
RO systems generally produce water pretty slow. But that is why they come with a storrage tank. So it holds about 2.5-3.5 gallons of clean water ready for use in the tank.
As far as the UV sanitizer goes... there are add on ones you just add in the system like This.
If you're going for "clean" water as you describe... I'd say to make sure they system you buy is 5 or maybe even 6 stage system....
Also, I have recently heard of a new system that takes care of bacteria and such without the use of the UV light. That system is here..
Hope that helps you.
Andrew

Oh, and any system you get (and the future filter replacement parts) should be NSF approved.
 
An RO TFC membrane should remove virus as well.

Edit:

Just did a quick search to verify.

From the link below:
"
The pores in a reverse osmosis membrane are only approximately 0.0005 micron in size (bacteria are 0.2 to 1 micron & viruses are 0.02 to 0.4 microns)."

Although if you are drinking it and there are potentially very nasty things in the water then I guess it doesn't hurt to have some UV for added protection.

RO and everything you wanted to know

The important thing is to make sure the filters are changed regularly and the system is flushed periodically to help unclog the RO membrane.

My suggestion is a simple unit at least 3 stage.
Stage 1 Particle prefilter
Stage 2 Carbon BLOCK prefilter
Stage 3 TFC RO membrane

Note that this is the order the water moves through the system.  Some systems have a carbon POSTfilter after the RO membrane but a properly functioning system shouldn't need this.

Cheap units combine stage 1 and 2 into one stage.  A filter that does both particle filter and carbon filtering will not work as well.  Cheap systems may also use a GRANULATED carbon prefilter instead of a carbon BLOCK.  The granulated carbon is worthless.

I would also suggest you get one of those holding tanks that all goes under the kitchen counter and has a dispenser to mount above so you can get water when needed.  They reduce the efficiencey of the unit but it is nice to have filtered pressurized RO water available at all times.
 
The $50 Kenmore unit I got does what Tony said... combines stage 1 and stage 2. But it does use a carbon block, not granulated. It also has a postfilter which I consider just a gimmick and never replace.

I dunno... it's hard to imagine a cheap one not being enough. If a cheap one purifies the water 98%, and an expensive one purifies 99%... well... how much damage is that 1% really going to do?

As long as you keep the membrane functioning well that's what really matters. That's what those additional stages can help accomplish in some cases, so maybe that's how you should go for the additional insurance.
 
For plants, I agree with you both. For what he is talking about... I'd take the extra Carbon block stage.
 
If your water source is very clean of particulate matter then you can use a single carbon block as the prefilter. It will trap sediment in place of a sediment prefilter and also do the carbon filtering. The only drawback is if your water source has alot of sediment it will clog the carbon block prematurely and the carbon block is much more expensive to replace than a sediment filter.

Tony
 
  • #10
The extra carbon block won't filter anything the carbon block prefilter would filter. A simple 3 stage will be more than pure enough for any plant watering needed. But if you plan to drink it and the source water is contaminated by hazardous bacteria or virus then the UV is needed as it wouldn't be 100% safe to assume the RO is removing ALL the pathogens.

I would recommend a 3stage as I mentioned in my previous post and a UV if you are planning to consume the water and pathogens hazardous to people are present.

Tony
 
  • #11
I bought mine on ebay and it's almost identical to this one:

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/AQUA-SAFE-100GPD-HOME-REVERSE-OSMOSIS-WATER-FILTER_W0QQitemZ4452455773QQcategoryZ20684QQrd
Z1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/AQUA-SA....iewItem</a>

It was the same seller, who I found to have excellent customer service.

Capslock
 
  • #12
Capslock, that's very similar to the one I bought from him, except mine is a 6 stage. Great product for the price. Instructions are horrible though. His jokes aren't funny, and confuses the reader too. Best advice I can give for installing this unit is, throw out the instructions and hook it up like the photo.
 
  • #13
Hi everyone.... Today was my home's RO system maintainence day... When all my plants were here, not only did I use this sytem for myself to drink, but also all the plants.. Becuase it got so much use I do 3 maintanences a year (every 6 months is typical) Anyway, today while getting this done, I decided to take some pictures, to not only show WHY you should have RO for drinking water.... But to further support my 2 carbon block rule for drinking water...
First of all, lets talk about how dirty our incomming water is... (Yes, I am on Tucson water.... Not some local well or anything.... it is ran by the City.)
As I remove the sedament filter and 2 carbon block filters and drain the water that was in the bowls I set all of this in a 5 gallon bucket.... (the bucket ends up being about 1/5 - 1/4 full... so some of the junk has been washed off of the sediment filter due to splashing...) Have a look at what this water looks like.....

P1010011.JPG


Ewww.... And this is a picture of the top of where the sedement filter screws onto the system:

P1010007.JPG


Further EWWW!!! LOL...

Now for the main reason to post... Although with one carbon block you're water does get ample contact with the carbon... have a look at the filters after being removed... (Keep in mind, the water flows in the middle of these filter through the media then to the outside where it flows to the next stage)

They go from left to right: Sediment filter; carbon block ; carbon block....

P1010017.JPG


Although not "too bad" you can still see some of the yellowing color that was on the sediment filter over on the 3rd carbon block... So I'm happy that that filter is there helping out. Otherwise all that of which has built up on that stage... Could have gotten further in my sytem... to the membrane, the final 10' filter or maybe even out the faucet... I've actually thought about cutting apart the final "polishing" filter just to look, although I assume (and hope!) that filter would be perfectly clean.
Oh, and you want something to compare those filters to? How about the new filters... Here is how white they are when new....

P1010014.JPG


The choice from here is yours. But I'm glad I use a 5 stage for my drinking water. Maybe I should even go get a 6 stage
smile_m_32.gif
lol....
Have a nice day.
smile.gif

Andrew
 
  • #14
Oh, and BTW, the whole filter kit cost me 32.25 delivered from watts premier (2 day shipping!! lol) and takes under half hour to do. So there is NO reason to not do this 2 or 3 times a year to get it working perfect.
Andrew
 
  • #15
Just a note first. The water always flows from the outside to the inside of the filter.

Well those are spiffy picks alright but they don't prove anything. First I never said anything about 2 carbon blocks for prefiltering. My comments were that a POST carbon block was a waste and not necessary.

Now my thoughts on having 2 carbon blocks prefiltering. The fact that there is a little sediment on the 2nd block means nothing. The sediment filter or the 1st carbon block are not capable of catching 100% of any sediment coming in. There is always just a little sediment that is too fine for such filters to catch effectively. So the fact that there is some sediment on the 2nd is not surprising. If you had 3 or 4 you would still see some sediment on all of them as well! The main point though is that the carbon block is not there to catch sediment. While it is handy that it does catch some and reduces the potential for clogging the RO membrane, the 1st carbon block will catch all the dissolved organics and chlorines etc that it is suppsed to catch. These are things you will not see in the water that drains from the filter when you change them.

If your water is particularly high in chlorines then the 2nd carbon block might be a good insurance for protecting the RO membrane. This is the main purpose of the carbon block.. remove chlorine so the RO membrane doesn't get destroyed. It does also remove other organics and stuff but in reality it doesn't NEED to since the RO membrane would remove them anyway. If your water is not that high in chlorine perhaps you would be just as well off with 2 sediment prefilters and 1 carbon block? You could get a 5micron sediment, 1 micron sediment and a .5micron carbon block. It would cost less for filters and I seriously doubt your RO water would be any less pure.


Tony
 
  • #16
I decline your explanation and substitue my own, since you are wrong. LOL
Jking-
Thanks for your views on it. From the best I can find... this "kit" is a 5 micron sediment, and 5 micron carbon blocks... So whatever is on the 3rd has gotten past 2 5 micron filters alredy. I do think I may try the dual sediment or even a sediment, 5 micron block, 1 micron block and check that out... Like I said, I have no CPs here anymore- so all this will be for normal household use now... ( 75 gpd membrane is prolly overkill here now.... LOL) BTW- I don't know what the "main job" of a carbon block is, but it does remove more than just sediment and chlorine... "The second stage of filtration is the carbon filter, or filters which reduce volatile organic chemicals, chlorine, and other taste and odor causing compounds." True though that the membrane is the "work horse" of the RO system.
Which brings me to membrane maintainence!!! (Maybe this can be something Tony will agree with me on, and maybe even admit to learning something...??
smile_m_32.gif
)
Be sure to flush your membrane every couple of months. It will keep it "healthy" longer. I try to flush mine about every month or two. There are 2 ways to do it. 1 you can do without buying anything.... Just turn the water supply off, then dissconnect the line from BEFORE the flow restricter, and then turn the water supply back on, while running the water from the line into a bucket. The fast flow past the membrane will flush away the bad stuff getting stuck to the membrane.
Another way is to build a "flow restrictor bypass" All you need is 2 quick connect Ts and one quck connect shut off valve. And some extra poly line. after shutting off the suply water, cut the poly line on each side of the flow restrictor leaving about 2-3 inches. put a T on each side and reconnect to the lines that were there. Then take some of the poly you bought, and connect to one of the ts and run it over to the other T. Cut that in half and put in the shut off valve. When it is time to flush the membrane, you just turn that valve on to bypass the flow restrictor. And turn it back off about 3-5 mins later to resume flow though the restrictor. I can get a picture if anyone needs one on what that'd look like.

Thanks Tone man
smile.gif
!!!!
Andrew
 
  • #17
HEY didn't I mention flushing the RO filter periodically? Thought I did! hehe It wouldn't cause a decline in water quality if not flushed as often as it should be. But if badly neglected will cause a noticable decline in RO water output.

75gpd eh? hmm better get cracking, you have alot of water to drink! I am tellin ya though.. only a matter of time before you need to have just a few cps sitting on a windowsill somewhere ;>

Tony
 
  • #18
I wish i had the enviorment to allow for CPs in non green house enviorments... at all.....

You're right, you did say "The important thing is to make sure the filters are changed regularly and the system is flushed periodically to help unclog the RO membrane." I just helped clear up hooooow to do it. You ever heard of the flow restricor bypass method? It's made it MUCH easier... Doing so also helps extend the life of the membrane I'd say.

Andrew
 
  • #19
oooooh I see! Yes it does help extend the life of the membrane. Popping the restrictor out works. Or you could rig up a bypass with some fittings, tubing and a valve as you mention. There are also kits available for the less mechanically inclined that have the parts and pieces needed to put a bypass loop into the system.

T
 
  • #20
what about heavy metals ?
we have arsanick in small amounts. at least they say it is . but there was a story on the news of people getting sick from the arsinick.
that's a big part of most people here buy bottled so the don't get sick
. althogh i still drink the water lol haven't droped dead yet.
also water from phoenix AZ was awful the last 3 months we lived there it started smelling funny and turned a solid opaque white-ish color that was when i stoped drinking AZ water.
but still i think the problem is the higher management . not the workers of the water companys.
they must think it's ok ! our (the public's) bodys will be fine and get used to it.
i still remember the news people saying just leave your water with a slice of orange or lemon in the fridge over night that will get rid of the smell and funny taste.
yea i tryed it . did'nt work.
oh and that hard water is good for showering and bathing , it causes friction and cleans you better.
for me it left a powdery residue. no matter how much i scrubed.
and then there were the ones that said all those minerals give you strong healthy bones and teeth.
i know some minerals will but i doubt the sand and chemicals they put in it made it good for a HUMAN body!!!

i think they need to think more about the common person for we ARE the ones putting mony in there pocket by buying there water.
 
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