RO system troubleshooting

[Coral reefer]

Should be waste (not product) from first goes to input for second,

 

[svreef]

I ran everything for a good while after every change I made. I flushed a bazillion times.

Routing waste from the first into the second produces more water. I want lower TDS.

 

[Coral reefer]

I ran everything for a good while after every change I made. I flushed a bazillion times.

Routing waste from the first into the second produces more water. I want lower TDS.

I’m not sure the way you did it makes sense tho. Not sure pressure works that way properly. Never tried it

 

[JVU]

I ran everything for a good while after every change I made. I flushed a bazillion times.

Routing waste from the first into the second produces more water. I want lower TDS.

I didn’t catch that when you said it before. I’ve never heard of someone doing it that way, don’t think it is designed for that as Mike says. But I don’t know for sure.

 

[Coral reefer]

If there’s only one flow restrictor at the end I don’t see it working. Guess I gotta think more about it.

 

[NanoCrazed]

I ran everything for a good while after every change I made. I flushed a bazillion times.

Routing waste from the first into the second produces more water. I want lower TDS.

In this scenario, you would need 2 restrictors.

The required back pressure to properly drive the membrane is on the waste line... if you have only on retrictor on the last stage and you are feeding product from first to input of second, the water ratio of the first will be of poor quality...slightly better than unfiltered.

Effectively you are only using one membrane... or mixing good product with subpar water.

 

[svreef]

The two waste lines feed into a Y and the flow restrictor

 

[svreef]

Ok, I removed the second membrane today and went back to a single, brand new one. Getting almost 200 TDS out. I’m furious

 

[MolaMola]

Oh wow, that’s maddening! You probably ran it for awhile to get the membrane hydrated and going, right? Gaskets look okay? I had one get squished in one of mine when I upped my system end of the summer.
Carbon block stages and gaskets can also be problematic.
I didn’t go back and read if you have changed the flow restrictor. I suppose something can mess it up over time.
Anything that could be going on in the Smart Buddie?

 

[NanoCrazed]

Ok, I removed the second membrane today and went back to a single, brand new one. Getting almost 200 TDS out. I’m furious

It may be time to change your flow restrictor.

The RO Buddy is just a conveniently packaged box of parts... but inside, is still the basic pieces.

Typically a good idea to change restrictors with the membrane particularly if you have high starting tds

 

[Srt4eric]

Ok, I removed the second membrane today and went back to a single, brand new one. Getting almost 200 TDS out. I’m furious

Is your tds meter good?

 

[NanoCrazed]

@svreef so the more i think about it, the more i think it's your flow restrictor that's clogged or failing.

Would explain the spike in pressure and poor water... and did you say you have low production too?

Do you have an extra barrel restrictor to swap in?

 

[svreef]

I don’t know whether the TDS meter is bad or not, but the input TDS measures consistent.

I do have a spare flow restrictor. I’ll try that tomorrow.

 

[Coral reefer]

Maybe a second booster pump after the first membrane? Probably stupid. I’m trying tho

 

[Piper]

Make sure the o-rings and seals on the membrane(s) are still there and properly seated. If the new flow restrictor doesn’t work start checking the membrane housings for hairline cracks inside where the membrane seats.

 

[JVU]

If I were in this situation and I’d tried so many things and I was just getting super frustrated and not figuring it out spending so many hours trying different things, I would just buy a whole new 6 or 7 stage system and be done with it.

 

[MolaMola]

You could also ask about it at AquaFX. Super nice people who are all about RO systems. Would probably enjoy figuring out your issue and objective instead of just answering the usual boring questions.
https://www.aquariumwaterfilters.com/crm.asp?action=contactus

 

[svreef]

If I were in this situation and I’d tried so many things and I was just getting super frustrated and not figuring it out spending so many hours trying different things, I would just buy a whole new 6 or 7 stage system and be done with it.

I considered this.

 

[NanoCrazed]

@svreef have you tried the new restrictor yet?

 

[svreef]

I bypassed the Smart Buddie’s restrictor with a 600 ml restrictor. Membrane pressure went from 110 psi to 84 psi. Output TDS went from 370 down to 96 in the first 15 minutes.