RODI System Recommendations and Considerations (and which ones not to buy)

[ReyDeFarts]

I think chloramine is somewhat standard now in many water treatment facilities.

It's not necessarily. But there are definitely some systems that require chloramines to keep the water safer for longer distances.

 

[Alexander1312]

You are in Walnut Creek if I recall? I won't be home until late tonight - but around all day tomorrow. If you need RODI water you are welcome to swing by - I have a 200GPD that cranks it out pretty fast!

But if you need it literally right now/immediately, Cali-Kid is probably your best option, either buys you time to find a replacement system though!

@Alexander1312 OH WAIT! I do have an aquatic life (4 stage) in my garage! It's only 50GPD but you are welcome to it! I recently replaced it with the CoralVue/Ice Cap one I grabbed during that Black Friday big sale.

Really appreciate the offer, thank you! I had to make a quick decision and ordered a system from Air Water and Ice, and this should be here by Tuesday.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

Poly bio marine
Kold Steri-l
No waste water

 

[Alexander1312]

Poly bio marine
Kold Steri-l
No waste water

This is interesting - but looks like not without flaws. But I really like that there is no waste water.

 

[Alexander1312]

Closing the loop on what I ended up buying—I thought I had already posted this somewhere, but apparently not.

So I bought the AirWaterIce.com Neptune 8-stage system - https://airwaterice.com/collections...ts/neptune-8-stage-rodi-with-2-membranes-3-di
I added the following two upgrades:
- Catalytic carbon
- Cation/Anion/Mixed Bed

And then the booster pump: https://airwaterice.com/collections/pumps/products/booster-pump-power-station

Customer service, aka Chris, is probably more accessible than anywhere else. I tried all three — email, text, phone—and got an answer on all of them. He called me back late his time.

It is a sound system, but the learning curve was certainly much steeper than that of my previous system. This is a bit the downside with Chris. He is an expert, but he understands that many customers are not. He has tried to limit his expert talk, but he has not always been successful. The instructions that come with the equipment are very detailed but not really that user-friendly.

A few changes I had to make subsequently based on his recommendation, due to low water pressure (40 PSI):
- Replaced the 1/4 supply line with a 3/8 supply line. This included adding a hose adapter to the water supply.
- Moved the booster pump after the pre-filter - which will cause the need to replace the sediment filter every time I replace the resins (not sure if my understanding is correct though).
- Replace the cheap pressure gauge which came with this (which made an annoying sound) - seems like the margin on these products is not high enough to add a higer quality gauge.

Overall, it runs now well, but I am thinking moving it to the garage - but for this I might need help - will probably offer my infamous stakehouse vouchers or other stuff I have for this (watchout for another post).

 

[Kensington Reefer]

While you’re investigating.....
Poly bio marine Kold Ster-il
I would have included the link, but it’s “not secure”
NO WASTE Water!
I’ve been using it for 20 years, hooks to hose,
However I use NSW

 

[psidriven]

i'd help move it for some steaks, haha. plus i'm interested in seeing how this is plumbed to get ideas for how to do mine.

 

[Coral reefer]

Sounds like we need to do a club event. Been meaning to for awhile.

Closing the loop on what I ended up buying—I thought I had already posted this somewhere, but apparently not.

So I bought the AirWaterIce.com Neptune 8-stage system - https://airwaterice.com/collections...ts/neptune-8-stage-rodi-with-2-membranes-3-di
I added the following two upgrades:
- Catalytic carbon
- Cation/Anion/Mixed Bed

And then the booster pump: https://airwaterice.com/collections/pumps/products/booster-pump-power-station

Customer service, aka Chris, is probably more accessible than anywhere else. I tried all three — email, text, phone—and got an answer on all of them. He called me back late his time.

It is a sound system, but the learning curve was certainly much steeper than that of my previous system. This is a bit the downside with Chris. He is an expert, but he understands that many customers are not. He has tried to limit his expert talk, but he has not always been successful. The instructions that come with the equipment are very detailed but not really that user-friendly.

A few changes I had to make subsequently based on his recommendation, due to low water pressure (40 PSI):
- Replaced the 1/4 supply line with a 3/8 supply line. This included adding a hose adapter to the water supply.
- Moved the booster pump after the pre-filter - which will cause the need to replace the sediment filter every time I replace the resins (not sure if my understanding is correct though).
- Replace the cheap pressure gauge which came with this (which made an annoying sound) - seems like the margin on these products is not high enough to add a higer quality gauge.

Overall, it runs now well, but I am thinking moving it to the garage - but for this I might need help - will probably offer my infamous stakehouse vouchers or other stuff I have for this (watchout for another post).

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Would be great to hear the parts that didn’t make sense to you specifically so they can be fixed.
If you have any other questions I’m happy to try to answer. I would think @Srt4eric is your man to move it, but I might be able to depending on the particulars.

 

[Srt4eric]

@Alexander1312 ill definitely take you up on those steakhouse vouchers to move that. We can also take care of that other pump plumbing too

 

[Alexander1312]

Sounds like we need to do a club event. Been meaning to for awhile.


Would be great to hear the parts that didn’t make sense to you specifically so they can be fixed.
If you have any other questions I’m happy to try to answer. I would think @Srt4eric is your man to move it, but I might be able to depending on the particulars.

After this purchase I certainly got more interested into this topic. Looks like folks prefer to do a sequential setup of dual membranes but Chris argues that a parallel setup is more cost-effective due to cost savings from lower usage of resins over water savings. Even in California according to him. He had a whole calculation about this but would be curious if this is correct. Also, I am interested in the different functions of resins, how often to replace the various stages etc. And the most annoying part to this date is the booster pump which seems to be a very finicky setup which I am still playing around with.

 

[Alexander1312]

@Alexander1312 ill definitely take you up on those steakhouse vouchers to move that. We can also take care of that other pump plumbing too

You got it - https://www.bareefers.org/forum/thr...morton’s-steakhouse-vouchers-for-trade.36344/

Sorry @psidriven - had to go with the master plumber, but you are welcome to come by.

 

[psidriven]

No worries. Glad to have the chance to learn from a master. Just say when.

 

[NanoCrazed]

Closing the loop on what I ended up buying—I thought I had already posted this somewhere, but apparently not.

So I bought the AirWaterIce.com Neptune 8-stage system - https://airwaterice.com/collections...ts/neptune-8-stage-rodi-with-2-membranes-3-di
I added the following two upgrades:
- Catalytic carbon
- Cation/Anion/Mixed Bed

And then the booster pump: https://airwaterice.com/collections/pumps/products/booster-pump-power-station

Customer service, aka Chris, is probably more accessible than anywhere else. I tried all three — email, text, phone—and got an answer on all of them. He called me back late his time.

It is a sound system, but the learning curve was certainly much steeper than that of my previous system. This is a bit the downside with Chris. He is an expert, but he understands that many customers are not. He has tried to limit his expert talk, but he has not always been successful. The instructions that come with the equipment are very detailed but not really that user-friendly.

A few changes I had to make subsequently based on his recommendation, due to low water pressure (40 PSI):
- Replaced the 1/4 supply line with a 3/8 supply line. This included adding a hose adapter to the water supply.
- Moved the booster pump after the pre-filter - which will cause the need to replace the sediment filter every time I replace the resins (not sure if my understanding is correct though).
- Replace the cheap pressure gauge which came with this (which made an annoying sound) - seems like the margin on these products is not high enough to add a higer quality gauge.

Overall, it runs now well, but I am thinking moving it to the garage - but for this I might need help - will probably offer my infamous stakehouse vouchers or other stuff I have for this (watchout for another post).

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Consider adding a third RO canister to the setup, chaining the three in series rather than parallel... I did that some years ago and push about 85psi with a booster... my waste water is about 0.75G to 1G product...

 

[yosemiteclimber]

You got it - https://www.bareefers.org/forum/threads/availble-4-x-50-usd-morton’s-steakhouse-vouchers-for-trade.36344/

Sorry @psidriven - had to go with the master plumber, but you are welcome to come by.

I’m happy to lend a hand if needed!

 

[Kensington Reefer]

My apologies for the redundant posts
I’m old an “forgetful”

 

[Coral reefer]

I disagree with the membrane idea. It’s going to depend on your source water how much resin you go through, and which ones. I spend more on carbon blocks than resin for sure. Getting more product and less waste gives me more product per lifespan of the pre filters. Mainly I do it to save water though, cause I’ve lived in California my whole life and am used to the constant drought even when we kid ourselves and say it isn’t currently we know it will be again soon.

 

[yosemiteclimber]

I disagree with the membrane idea. It’s going to depend on your source water how much resin you go through, and which ones. I spend more on carbon blocks than resin for sure. Getting more product and less waste gives me more product per lifespan of the pre filters. Mainly I do it to save water though, cause I’ve lived in California my whole life and am used to the constant drought even when we kid ourselves and say it isn’t currently we know it will be again soon.

paging @ReyDeFarts - he had quite a bit to say about this on our Friday night discussion!

 

[ReyDeFarts]

paging @ReyDeFarts - he had quite a bit to say about this on our Friday night discussion!

Hola! You rang...

Great choice @Alexander1312 on the Neptune. I was going to get that one.
I ended up with the Typhoon Extreme but need to add additional chambers for DI.

There is so many things to learn with water filtration. It's all about the source water and with so many different types, it can be hard for a business like theres to have something for everyone without having a piece or two of unnecessary add-ons.

As for the booster pump, a absolutely necessary component to keep that pressure locked in. Greater membrane efficacy with higher pressure.

Having additional membranes simply requires the pressure differential to be minimal so they are both filtering effectively. Often, folks cannot maintain the pressure without the additional boost from a pump. Even with a pump, you need to monitor the differential over time because it will increase. At which point do you make the decision to replace the membranes.

It’s going to depend on your source water how much resin you go through, and which ones.

Agreed. My current dilemma is very high negatively charged water. The easy fix, is accept that I have to rip through resin at a high rate. More complex, run different reactors and potential chemical treatment before the pre-filters and I may even reduce the need for the RO membrane and significantly reduce the resin usage. But my brain doesn't want to go down that rabbit hole.

I have been making a list of the various water purveyors that are local to me. And start getting their annual reports to study. Talk to their WQ department to get a sense of how they treat and/or filter that water as well. Because the chemistry can change quite a bit after it hits treatment plants.

 

[NanoCrazed]

My system is probably overkill for Mountain View as water comes from Hetch-Hetchy, which has modest TDS... I'll change my sediment filters a few times before the membranes need replacing. I used to do a swap during membrane changes so I only change out RO #3 and move #1 and #2 down a position but got lazy... so I run until my TDS shows 1-2ppm then will change everything.
I run an 8 stage system:

Sediment -> 5ppm Carbon --> 1ppm Carbon -> RO 1 -> RO 2 - > RO 3 -> Cation Resin -> Anion Resin -> Mixed Resin

I had thought about inserting a UV unit in between but decided that would be overkill...

 

[psidriven]

Sediment -> 5ppm Carbon --> 1ppm Carbon -> RO 1 -> RO 2 - > RO 3 -> Cation Resin -> Anion Resin -> Mixed

You’re running your 3 ro membrane in series, what’s your filter vs waste water ration? I just wonder how much it saves water vs 2 membranes?