householdofpayne Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I just recently started making my own RODI Water. Its been killing me watching all that waste water just go down the drain. Today I changed up the method, and put the waste water to 5 gallon jugs and brought it out to water the garden. I quickly found this is not a sustainable practice, and began to wonder if anyone else had a system in place. We have galvanized supply lines to our house that makes our tap water absolutely disgusting to drink. Because of this we have water delivered to our house from sierra springs, and have a water dispenser. Is the waste water from RODI potable, and would it maybe filter out the gross stuff from our tap? What systems do you have in place to recover the waste and utilize it elsewhere? Also wondering if I'm pumping out more waste then others and if maybe I have something set up wrong. I have made around 1-2 gallons of RODI water, and dumped about 15-20 gallons of waste. Tanks Ya'll!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I don't think its potable due to bacteria, but double check on that. FWIW, If you add a second DI membrane, it cuts the waste in half. The waste goes through the second membrane. Just make sure you have enough pressure. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Something sounds wrong, waaaay wrong if you are having a 1:10 product to waste ratio. What membrane are you running? Do you have a pressure gauge to tell what pressure you are getting? If I had to guess, I would assume your waste flow restrictor is either wrong for your membrane or not present. What system are you using? Ive debaited using the waste for the garden but usually just have my waste line go to the yard to water the bushes or lawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjmdh Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I run my waste into our irrigation well. The brine or rejected water from the RO membrane has all the crap in it that wouldn't pass through the membrane. Probably not the best to drink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
householdofpayne Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 6 minutes ago, Blue Z Reef said: Something sounds wrong, waaaay wrong if you are having a 1:10 product to waste ratio. What membrane are you running? Do you have a pressure gauge to tell what pressure you are getting? If I had to guess, I would assume your waste flow restrictor is either wrong for your membrane or not present. What system are you using? Ive debaited using the waste for the garden but usually just have my waste line go to the yard to water the bushes or lawn. I have a marine Depot 4 stage RODI. I just got a pressure gauge I the mail but wasn’t sure where I should install it. I had read some people put it on the inlet to make sure they have enough pressure. Others after one of the membranes to show when the material inside needs replaced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I’ve never checked my waste TDS but it will be higher than your incoming as you are mixing flushing water (higher tds) with all the rejected TDS resulting in higher TDS then you had incoming. For drinking you want the water after your membrane but before the DI. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 1 minute ago, householdofpayne said: I have a marine Depot 4 stage RODI. I just got a pressure gauge I the mail but wasn’t sure where I should install it. I had read some people put it on the inlet to make sure they have enough pressure. Others after one of the membranes to show when the material inside needs replaced Given your reported 1:10 ratio I would start on the inlet side to make sure you are providing sufficient feed pressure. BRS had a nice video where they looked at output vs inlet pressure. That suggested you at least wanted to be at 60 but increases beyond that (booster pump) continued to increase efficiency up to at least 90 psi (if I remember correctly). As to the question about portability - if you have potable water going in and maintain your system (no bacteria) it should be potable “waste water”. If you think about it, at a “good” 1:4 ratio, the impurities in you waste water are only going to be 20% higher than they were in the tap water (at worst). Now, if your tap water is bad to start with that is a different story. When I do use my home RODI setup, I would run the waste water into our washing machine and do laundry in it. Always thought about setting up a catch barrel to water the plants but have been too lazy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 8 minutes ago, Blue Z Reef said: For drinking you want the water after your membrane but before the DI. Yep - I should have mentioned that also. The setups usually come with a bypass for this purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
householdofpayne Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 11 minutes ago, albertareef said: Given your reported 1:10 ratio I would start on the inlet side to make sure you are providing sufficient feed pressure. BRS had a nice video where they looked at output vs inlet pressure. That suggested you at least wanted to be at 60 but increases beyond that (booster pump) continued to increase efficiency up to at least 90 psi (if I remember correctly). As to the question about portability - if you have potable water going in and maintain your system (no bacteria) it should be potable “waste water”. If you think about it, at a “good” 1:4 ratio, the impurities in you waste water are only going to be 20% higher than they were in the tap water (at worst). Now, if your tap water is bad to start with that is a different story. When I do use my home RODI setup, I would run the waste water into our washing machine and do laundry in it. Always thought about setting up a catch barrel to water the plants but have been too lazy. I will get the pressure gauge hooked up tonight and report back with my inlet pressure to further diagnose. MY inlet TDS is 24ppm, outlet TDS is 0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 The manual states for ideal rejection rates you need 50 PSI at 77 degrees. Definitely check your pressure. Do you have a flow restrictor installed on your waste output line? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
householdofpayne Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 4 minutes ago, Blue Z Reef said: The manual states for ideal rejection rates you need 50 PSI at 77 degrees. Definitely check your pressure. Do you have a flow restrictor installed on your waste output line? water is for sure not 77 degrees its colder. It does not have a restrictor that I'm aware of. The waste line comes out of the top 4th filter chamber via 1/4 line and theres nothing on that after the RODI unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
householdofpayne Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 18 minutes ago, Blue Z Reef said: The manual states for ideal rejection rates you need 50 PSI at 77 degrees. Definitely check your pressure. Do you have a flow restrictor installed on your waste output line? Had an extra minute and installed the gauge on the inlet. I have 45psi of water feeding the RODI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 So you should either have one of these: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/membrane-flush-valve.html OR Something like this: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reverse-osmosis-flow-restrictor.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
householdofpayne Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 2 minutes ago, Blue Z Reef said: So you should either have one of these: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/membrane-flush-valve.html OR Something like this: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reverse-osmosis-flow-restrictor.html I don’t see either of those anywhere on the unit are you saying I need to add one? If so which one would you suggest, where would I add it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Don’t worry about the 77 degree part, that’s only for “ideal” conditions. If you have it on a faucet you can adjust to around that temp and also enjoy the benefit of warm water if making for a water change. If not, don’t sweat it. 45PSI isn’t bad. Sounds like you just need a flow restrictor on the waste. If you are 100gpd then you want an 800ml one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 They just go on the outlet line. The fast flush one is better if you don’t have a flush kit which appears you don’t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
householdofpayne Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 1 minute ago, Blue Z Reef said: Don’t worry about the 77 degree part, that’s only for “ideal” conditions. If you have it on a faucet you can adjust to around that temp and also enjoy the benefit of warm water if making for a water change. If not, don’t sweat it. 45PSI isn’t bad. Sounds like you just need a flow restrictor on the waste. If you are 100gpd then you want an 800ml one. What does GDP stand for? Thank you for helping me through this and holding my hand. hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
householdofpayne Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 Just now, Blue Z Reef said: They just go on the outlet line. The fast flush one is better if you don’t have a flush kit which appears you don’t. So the 800ml restrictor would go on the waste line I got that. Where would the fast flush go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Sorry, based on reviews since you don’t have a booster pump get a 600. I use an 800 on mine but use a booster pump. the flush part of it is just a little black valve you turn. All it’s doing is changing the oriface size. So you go from wide open (which is what you have now and is typically used to flush out the membrane prior to use for 15 mins) to restricting to 600ml flow rate output on waste. This will up your pressure a bit and cut the waste out down to an acceptable level. make sense? Do some reading on it but I thought all systems came with them...I know mine did. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
householdofpayne Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 1 minute ago, Blue Z Reef said: Sorry, based on reviews since you don’t have a booster pump get a 600. I use an 800 on mine but use a booster pump. the flush part of it is just a little black valve you turn. All it’s doing is changing the oriface size. So you go from wide open (which is what you have now and is typically used to flush out the membrane prior to use for 15 mins) to restricting to 600ml flow rate output on waste. This will up your pressure a bit and cut the waste out down to an acceptable level. make sense? Do some reading on it but I thought all systems came with them...I know mine did. Yes totally makes sense! I only need to buy the fast flush sized at 600. Thank you very much for helping me solve this. I felt like I was wasting sooooooo much water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 2 hours ago, householdofpayne said: Yes totally makes sense! I only need to buy the fast flush sized at 600. Thank you very much for helping me solve this. I felt like I was wasting sooooooo much water. Glad you found that. Seems strange it didn't come with one as Blue Z mentioned. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
householdofpayne Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 On 3/20/2019 at 11:02 AM, Blue Z Reef said: Sorry, based on reviews since you don’t have a booster pump get a 600. I use an 800 on mine but use a booster pump. the flush part of it is just a little black valve you turn. All it’s doing is changing the oriface size. So you go from wide open (which is what you have now and is typically used to flush out the membrane prior to use for 15 mins) to restricting to 600ml flow rate output on waste. This will up your pressure a bit and cut the waste out down to an acceptable level. make sense? Do some reading on it but I thought all systems came with them...I know mine did. So I moved where my RODI unit was located and now I am getting 60psi at the inlet. The production has increased but still quite a bit of waste. Would you still recommend getting a fast flush, or maybe a 2nd DI membrane? My next thing I would like to set up is a float switch for my storage container. I'm having trouble finding the solenoid that stops the waste water as well could you point me in the direction in what I would need for that? Is there any cons to keeping RO water heated? Was thinking this would make it faster to mix water in case of an emergency, but didn't know if it increased chance of bacteria or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parvo99 Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, householdofpayne said: So I moved where my RODI unit was located and now I am getting 60psi at the inlet. The production has increased but still quite a bit of waste. Would you still recommend getting a fast flush, or maybe a 2nd DI membrane? My next thing I would like to set up is a float switch for my storage container. I'm having trouble finding the solenoid that stops the waste water as well could you point me in the direction in what I would need for that? Is there any cons to keeping RO water heated? Was thinking this would make it faster to mix water in case of an emergency, but didn't know if it increased chance of bacteria or something. The flow restrictor is required for your RO to work properly. Looking at the pictures, it looks like you hooked it up incorrectly. If I’m not mistaken the clear line coming out of the RO canister is your waste line. Not sure where you got the clear tubing, but there should have been yellow (waste line) and black (inlet line from water source). On your model, the flow restrictor is inside the yellow tubing. It looks like you used the yellow tubing as the inlet instead of the waste line. There should have been a plastic piece like this stuck inside one end of the yellow tubing https://www.purewaterproducts.com/img/fr100.jpg Edited March 28, 2019 by parvo99 Added pic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
householdofpayne Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 4 hours ago, parvo99 said: The flow restrictor is required for your RO to work properly. Looking at the pictures, it looks like you hooked it up incorrectly. If I’m not mistaken the clear line coming out of the RO canister is your waste line. Not sure where you got the clear tubing, but there should have been yellow (waste line) and black (inlet line from water source). On your model, the flow restrictor is inside the yellow tubing. It looks like you used the yellow tubing as the inlet instead of the waste line. There should have been a plastic piece like this stuck inside one end of the yellow tubing https://www.purewaterproducts.com/img/fr100.jpg I got the unit 2nd hand and the yellow was already the inlet. I have cut the end going into the RO unit on the yellow tubing. I will take the other end out of the shut off to. Make sure it’s not installed on the inlet side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 (edited) 9 hours ago, householdofpayne said: So I moved where my RODI unit was located and now I am getting 60psi at the inlet. The production has increased but still quite a bit of waste. Would you still recommend getting a fast flush, or maybe a 2nd DI membrane? My next thing I would like to set up is a float switch for my storage container. I'm having trouble finding the solenoid that stops the waste water as well could you point me in the direction in what I would need for that? Is there any cons to keeping RO water heated? Was thinking this would make it faster to mix water in case of an emergency, but didn't know if it increased chance of bacteria or something. Good to see that pressure come up! Have you measured/timed your waste vs product? Ideally your waste should be 3 or 4:1 (lots of factors including water quality/system/pressure/etc affects this). You should get the fast flush for flow restriction. I dont think any issues should arrise from heating the water as long as your storage container is clean. Just be a bit of a waste of energy is all but that’s your call. i don’t use any floats or anything on mine so can’t help out there (garage flood pro LOL). Edited March 28, 2019 by Blue Z Reef 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.