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RO prefilter replacement

  • Thread starter sharp229
  • Start date
S

sharp229

Hi,

I bought an RO system from a guy on eBay about a year ago that had prefilters rated at 6 months for 3 or 4 gallons a day.

I have only been using 2 or 3 gallons a week, and my source water is very high quality (24PPM), and the system is still producing water at 0PPM.

My question is how long can I continue to use the original prefilters under these conditions.  Will continuing to use it damage the membrane, or can it go longer?  Is there any way to test?

The guy I bought it from claims I should replace them but I wanted to get an opinion from someone who is not selling filters first.

Thanks, I really appreciate it.
-Ben
 
Prefilters don't affect TDS... That's the membranes job. The prefilters *depending on how many stages the system is* are probably sediment filters and carbon. If you are only using the filter for your plants... Then you could probably go longer. But if you drink it too, then I'd stay on schedule (or close to it) as the carbon does wear out... Bottom line IMHO is filters are cheep, stay on schedule
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Andrew
 
I thought when you have PPM below 70PPM every thing was preaty much ok? And when youre PPM gets over 100 you should stick with getting a R/O or a buying water?

cheers
 
...no matter your TDS level, (except 0) it WILL end up building up if you water with the tray method... Do it would be best to use the RO water anyway... just to prevent plant deteriation etc...
 
Nepenthes can take hard water up to 150 ppm, all other plants should have water near the 0-10ppm range. I recommend that for all CP's ;)
 
This system has one 5 micron sediment filter, one GAC, and one 5 micron carbon block filter.

I will order replacement filters per your suggestions.  Do you think that the membrane could have been damaged or that using it until the replacements arrive could cause problems?

Thanks a lot for the suggestions.  By the way, I am using this for all my indoor plants right now and I am trying just normal hose water on outdoor plants since they get flushed by rain pretty often.
 
Nahh- i'd say you're fine. If your water production goes down, or the PPM goes up.. then the membrane has been damaged. I think I also read that chlorine (removed by the gac and carbon block filter) can dammage the membrane. So, replacement to save the membrane is a good idea.
smile.gif
Remember too, you don't have to go to the manufacture for new filters. Check out http://www.wattspremier.com/watts/index.cfm?&DID=15 that is where I get mine, and their prices seem pretty good to me.
Andrew
 
If your readings are still good, your membrane is fine. I find they last a lot longer using them for a cp collection (reasonably sized) than the way they rate them. Mine's been over a year and it's still gives 4ppm from 110ppm source.

Capslock
 
Yeah I'm pretty sure removing chlorine is the main function of the prefilter. The membrane should be able to handle just about anything... sure it can get clogged with crap but you can flush that away. But chlorine puts holes in the membrane... crippling it.
 
  • #10
Yeah, I've heard that chlorine is the thing to worry about, and that is why I was wondering if a certain amount of water has to go through to wear down the filters or whether they degrade over time just being connected.

I believe I've had my questions answered though, and the system seems to be OK for now, so I will look into getting replacement filters ASAP.  Thanks to adnedarn for the link.
 
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