Rodi setup help. Part 1 of 2

[MichaelB]

I'm Trying to get my rodi system set up.

This was a used Ro system that was generously given to me at the last swap.

Household 4 stage Water Filtration drinking System WH-4T

Free shipping within USA, 48 states only

www.purewaterclub.com

This is a similar lookibg match I found from their site linked above. - there are so many types, I have no idea if it's a match or not. Nor do I know or have a guess how many gallons per day this setup is rated for. [There are no serial numbers or names present that would help identify a specific model]

If I understand it correctly this unit I have was made for drinking water and not originally made as a rodi unit.


Pictured below is the filters that were included when I opened it up today.
2 - carbon block filters
1 sediment filter.

* when I got it one thing was different the clear chamber was located on the left side, I swaped it to the right side.

Pictured below is my planned setup of the system.

Left - sediment filter
Center - carbon block filter
Right - clear canister for DI Resin.

* the clear one was shifted to the right because it is my understanding that you need to be able to see the Di resin to observe color changes denoting that the resin is spent when the progressive color shift is about a 1/2 inch from the top of canister.


Below is Pictured images of:

1.) 1 of 2 di resin bags I was also given with this system.
2.) A refillable di resin container I bought from Neptunes aquatics. - I've seen it on several youtube videos. From my lack if experience with rodi systems I'm not certain if it's needed or not? [Though I plan to use it if no one tells me I shouldn't]

It is my current understand based on personal research- not experience (please feel free to tell me if i'm wrong or missing something) that the incoming water source needs to pass first through the sediment filter, than through the carbon block filter, than through RO membrane on top of the unit, and finally through the DI resin in the clear container as the final step.

** being that this was not originally a rodi setup, I'm assuming some of the hoses may need to be configured differently than they currently are. Inorder to get the di resign to be the final stage.

*** I'm uncertain how to route the hoses. There are 3 different hoses connected to the ro membrane housing.

I'm assuming that 1 = water intank, 1= waste water exit, 1 = water passed through membrane that needs to still go through rodi resin.

I've included several pictures below of the connected hoses and the points mentioned above.
Front

Left side front view

Right side view

Rear view

Top view

Below are photos of extra hose and componets that came with kits I ordered a while back for the install.

Kit to hook system up by splitting the, connection of the cold water hose on the back of the washing machine.
* drain hose for system will just be stuck into the the top of the kitchen sink.

Continued on post two.

 

[MichaelB]

Rodi setup help Part 2 of 2

Below is Pictured rodi storage and float valve kit.

10 gallon brute trash can.
* I eventually want 20-30 gallon brute or container that won't be a eyesore while giving me enough water to cover all my tanks.

Finger points to where I'm assuming would be a good spot for the float valve to go. If not feel free to tell me otherwise?

Float I valve picked up from Amazon.


Below is some extra tubing that was also given to me with the unit. The two kits I bought also came with extra tubing and various connectors - I'm not sure what to do with any them precisly.

The only thing I gleaned from youtube vidoes was typically for clean rodi water coming out the unit typically blue is used, red is typically waste water from the membrane, and white I think is typically used between the different rodi canister sections.

@Srt4eric has offered to give me a hand with this.

I'm just reaching out to see If I can make some head way on my own sparing him a trip, seeing as it doesn't look overly complex. I have general ideas of what should happen but I Wouldn’t wanna gamble on what I picked up from watching random videos.

Would be grateful for any imput, what to do, or how to suggestions you may have?

The storage part seems straight foward unless I said something in my descriptions that seems off let me know lol.

Getting the water to past through proper filters in correct order without leaking is what I'm not confident on and I would only be guessing at best.

Again if anything I said comes off as wrong or seems like a red flag please let me know.

Thanks, Michael

 

[dangalang]

Do you know how old/used the RO membrane is? Might need to get a new one of those as well, possibly.

 

[dangalang]

I like the Melev's Reef YouTube videos on RODI.

 

[MichaelB]

Do you know how old/used the RO membrane is? Might need to get a new one of those as well, possibly.

View attachment 59849

No idea, the filters in it general looked fairly new, granted i know apperance isn’t enough to go by. So i will test for tdos, if it's not 0 i won't actually use the water in my tanks. Swaping them out if needed would be fairly easy in any case. Money is tight so i'm hoping they are good enough to last a me little bit. Until i get new filters. The only one I seen that's pricey is the ro membranes. The others are under $12 each at Neptunes. Even cheaper online but you probably get what you pay for when it comes to the no name filters. So i won't get cheap to the point of trying to save 10 bucks with potential issues going cheapest route.

The di resin will be new however.

Thanks alot for the labels, better than me trying to guess and hope I got it right.

 

[JVU]

Your many stated assumptions looked correct to me, within the understanding that I don’t have experience with that exact unit. In a way you’re lucky that it’s a relatively simple system and you can see what connects to what pretty clearly.

The order you stated of water source -> sediment filter -> carbon filter -> RO -> DI -> output is correct. Lots of us do 2 carbon filters because of chloramine, and make sure your carbon filters are chloramine rated. There’s lots of various opinions about how to do the DI part, simplest is a single mixed bed color change resin.

For the output I like to have a 2 way valve at the end of the tubing (like in your last pic), and that can be connected/disconnected to the tubing sticking out from the collection bin float valve. For the input you’ll want a tap into your house water line, or a faucet adapter. The former is a lot better long term. For the waste water output you could just put it in the sink, but for a more permanent install it’s easy to have it tap into the waste water pipe of the sink.

Having someone experienced like Eric help you set it up is absolutely the best way to go. Having all the stuff on hand ahead of time is worth doing, seems like you do.

 

[tribbitt]

No idea, the filters in it general looked fairly new, granted i know apperance isn’t enough to go by. So i will test for tdos, if it's not 0 i won't actually use the water in my tanks. Swaping them out if needed would be fairly easy in any case. Money is tight so i'm hoping they are good enough to last a me little bit. Until i get new filters. The only one I seen that's pricey is the ro membranes. The others are under $12 each at Neptunes. Even cheaper online but you probably get what you pay for when it comes to the no name filters. So i won't get cheap to the point of trying to save 10 bucks with potential issues going cheapest route.

The di resin will be new however.

Thanks alot for the labels, better than me trying to guess and hope I got it right.

Membrane $30 for a decent 75gpd. If you really need one I can buy one and give it to you next swap. If the membrane dried out it’s probably best to replace.

Resin: Color changing is not a great way to be 100% certain. The blue beads are a color changing element, not the resin itself, used to approximate how much is expended. TDS meter is cheap and i recommend one if you can. I have a no name one that i hardly trust, which I can give you if you want lol, but they’re $10 on amazon.

Your carbon stage I would recommend changing. They’re $10-15 for a decent one. This is purely because we have lots of chloramines and if it got through it would damage your membrane. m

Yes the resin goes in the cartridge, then in the big canister. In fact you cannot just pour the resin into the big cup and call it a day - the cartridge forces water to move through the resin properly.

I can dm you pictures of how I plumbed the input into my sink WITHOUT drilling or cutting anything - i don’t recommend faucet adapter long term, the back pressure is not good for the faucet head itself, which rarely has to deal with much pressure at all. I have heard of things breaking or leaks from that happening. I think based on pics and your description you’re already intending on doing the exact same thing.

Either get an ez flush valve for the membrane, or remember to remove the flow restrictor and flush it manually before and after use.

Good luck. And while I’m not an expert you can still ask questions from me. I just set my second, final RODI system up a few days ago, still dealing with small troubleshooting as well.

 

[MichaelB]

Your many stated assumptions looked correct to me, within the understanding that I don’t have experience with that exact unit. In a way you’re lucky that it’s a relatively simple system and you can see what connects to what pretty clearly.

The order you stated of water source -> sediment filter -> carbon filter -> RO -> DI -> output is correct. Lots of us do 2 carbon filters because of chloramine, and make sure your carbon filters are chloramine rated. There’s lots of various opinions about how to do the DI part, simplest is a single mixed bed color change resin.

For the output I like to have a 2 way valve at the end of the tubing (like in your last pic), and that can be connected/disconnected to the tubing sticking out from the collection bin float valve. For the input you’ll want a tap into your house water line, or a faucet adapter. The former is a lot better long term. For the waste water output you could just put it in the sink, but for a more permanent install it’s easy to have it tap into the waste water pipe of the sink.

Having someone experienced like Eric help you set it up is absolutely the best way to go. Having all the stuff on hand ahead of time is worth doing, seems like you do.

Thanks for your advice. I only have a few issues as far as the faucet and tapping into the sink drain.

I rent a apartment and can't make any permanent changes. The washing machine is in my kitchen a few feet from kitchen sink. I tapped into the water line to the sinks faucet, using spliters. So nothing really altered.

As far as tbe drain line I also couldn't tap into sinks drain. My washing machine drains into the top of the sink same as i intend for rodi waste water.

I had to go with washing machine tie in because my faucet would need to be replaced before being able to connect anything too it. It's old outdated and the end of it wont allow anything to be screwed to it.

Eric said he would help me, just trying to see if I can make some headway on getting it setup. I'm also learning alot along the way. If anything doesn't work out I will definitely wait on him.

 

[MichaelB]

Membrane $30 for a decent 75gpd. If you really need one I can buy one and give it to you next swap. If the membrane dried out it’s probably best to replace.

Resin: Color changing is not a great way to be 100% certain. The blue beads are a color changing element, not the resin itself, used to approximate how much is expended. TDS meter is cheap and i recommend one if you can. I have a no name one that i hardly trust, which I can give you if you want lol, but they’re $10 on amazon.

Your carbon stage I would recommend changing. They’re $10-15 for a decent one. This is purely because we have lots of chloramines and if it got through it would damage your membrane. m

Yes the resin goes in the cartridge, then in the big canister. In fact you cannot just pour the resin into the big cup and call it a day - the cartridge forces water to move through the resin properly.

I can dm you pictures of how I plumbed the input into my sink WITHOUT drilling or cutting anything - i don’t recommend faucet adapter long term, the back pressure is not good for the faucet head itself, which rarely has to deal with much pressure at all. I have heard of things breaking or leaks from that happening. I think based on pics and your description you’re already intending on doing the exact same thing.

Either get an ez flush valve for the membrane, or remember to remove the flow restrictor and flush it manually before and after use.

Good luck. And while I’m not an expert you can still ask questions from me. I just set my second, final RODI system up a few days ago, still dealing with small troubleshooting as well.

View attachment 59852

Thanks at a meeting now so inky glanced over it will look again in detail tonight. I'm ok on the membrane. I honestly haven't taken it out and examined it, i probably should. I will check it out and throw up a picture of it soon. If i have to delay until i get whats needed i will. Swaping filters seems easy, so more wanna get it up and running in general. I will get new ones at some point and I definitely won't use crappy water lol. I been buying it for years so whats another few weeks. I have a tester to check out tdos in any case to better gauge the condition other filters currently in it.

 

[tribbitt]

Thanks for your advice. I only have a few issues as far as the faucet and tapping into the sink drain.

I rent a apartment and can't make any permanent changes. The washing machine is in my kitchen a few feet from kitchen sink. I tapped into the water line to the sinks faucet, using spliters. So nothing really altered.

As far as tbe drain line I also couldn't tap into sinks drain. My washing machine drains into the top of the sink same as i intend for rodi waste water.

I had to go with washing machine tie in because my faucet would need to be replaced before being able to connect anything too it. It's old outdated and the end of it wont allow anything to be screwed to it.

Eric said he would help me, just trying to see if I can make some headway on getting it setup. I'm also learning alot along the way. If anything doesn't work out I will definitely wait on him.

I also was only able to do this because the generosity of a reefer, in my case it was Clearwater Ed. These filters are expensive, lol

I did the same splitter thing. I attached a couple pics of how I T’d it off and screwed on the adapter afterwards. I used a hose turn-offy thing and it works great, but now i have multiple murloc valves so i might remove that.

Membrane will be damaged if it dried, if mold formed, or for other reasons and it’s not always visible. Again if you want to just get going I can buy you a membrane.

Carbon gets used fast here because of chloramines so if the carbon block is old I would not trust it.

good luck

 

[MichaelB]

So breif update here. I decided after much thought to spend a little more money.

And ordered the following

Think that current system was specificly a ro unit. If i keep it as it and add this dual di things on it after ro membrane.

It would give me the following set up.

1 sediment filter
2 carbon block
3 carbon block
4 ro membrane
5 di resin
6 di resin.

I assuming this would be more effective long term. One video said di resin would last longer and less chances of crap sneaking through the dual carbon and dual di.

Hopefully thats a correct assumption.

The orginal in line tdo meter i was planing to get had only 2 probs, this one has 3. So i assumed more information would be better for a few bucks more.

Where in the setup i mentioned above would you recommend me placing each probe?

"With the two probe Version I was planing pre sediment and after the di resin " I'm not certain best placement for the one with 3 different probes.

 

[Srt4eric]

One probe on the inlet, one before the di and one on the outlet

 

[Coral reefer]

That will work, but I’d definitely add a second membrane on there for efficiently using your pre filters and water

 

[MichaelB]

That will work, but I’d definitely add a second membrane on there for efficiently using your pre filters and water

I may add it at some point. Does this cut down on waste water i think a random video may have refrenced?

Would i need a booster pump as after adding a extra membrane?

 

[Coral reefer]

I may add it at some point. Does this cut down on waste water i think a random video may have refrenced?

Would i need a booster pump as after adding an extra membrane?

Yes will make more product water with the same amount of pass through, so more product during the issuable life of pre filters, and less waste.
Booster pump depends on the pressure you have

 

[tribbitt]

I may add it at some point. Does this cut down on waste water i think a random video may have refrenced?

Would i need a booster pump as after adding a extra membrane?

I have a spare RO membrane canister I can give you, hit me up

 

[MichaelB]

I have a spare RO membrane canister I can give you, hit me up

Cfm? Only if you don't need it.

 

[tribbitt]

Cfm? Only if you don't need it.

Can do! When I upgraded from RO buddy to a used BRS system, the system already had 2 housings. Since the Buddy already uses a standard housing I just took one of the BRS ones off and set it aside and used the other BRS one + the buddy one as my 2 membrane housings

I briefly considered 3 membranes but it seemed excessive lol

 

[Coral reefer]

Can do! When I upgraded from RO buddy to a used BRS system, the system already had 2 housings. Since the Buddy already uses a standard housing I just took one of the BRS ones off and set it aside and used the other BRS one + the buddy one as my 2 membrane housings

I briefly considered 3 membranes but it seemed excessive lol

“Excessive”
I use three…
I get very close to 1:1 product to waste that way
But I use a lot of water

 

[tribbitt]

“Excessive”
I use three…
I get very close to 1:1 product to waste that way
But I use a lot of water

Lol. I have a 20 gallon tank. To me, it's definitely excessive, at least until I set up another system

To me, the waste and product already look pretty similar, but I havent actually measured it.