RODI Issues

[crew]

I recently purchased an Aquatic Life RO/DI unit and I think I might be having issues.

Here is my problem. The unit is the Deluxe 60gpd (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&authuser=0&q=aquaticlife+rodi&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1600&bih=775&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12533176353760158483&sa=X&ei=j90CTomXDIuhtwfPkeHOCg&ved=0CDMQ8gIwBA">http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&authuser=0&q=aquaticlife+rodi&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1600&bih=775&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12533176353760158483&sa=X&ei=j90CTomXDIuhtwfPkeHOCg&ved=0CDMQ8gIwBA</a>) but it isn't putting out 60gpd, it's putting out around 120gpd (5 gallons takes me just about 1 hour)

I bought the unit brand new and all of the filters (sediment, carbon, mixed bead) came in packaging so I know none of the filters are used. The membrane also came wrapped, but from what I have read, a used membrane slows down, not the other way. I have checked and rechecked the way to put the filters in and the instructions show that with the first 2 the direction doesn't matter and with the 3rd, the arrow should point towards the cap (it does)

My membrane also has no direction associated with it.

With all of that being said, I have also assumed that maybe I was keeping the waste water on accident. 1. The lines are color coded 2. I traced them to make sure someone assembling it didn't screw up and the lines are correct. What I have noticed is that my water is coming out at basically the exact same speed for the waste and for the filtered water... I tried turning down the pressure on my faucet (how the RODI is connected) but no matter how high or how low it is turned, the water comes out at the same speed for both outlets... What am I doing wrong, I have tried everything. There is no way my 60gpd filter should put out water this fast.

I'm going crazy :bash2:

 

[crew]

Edit: The membrane does have a direction, but I have it installed correctly. I double checked and it matches the picture exactly.

 

[jennm]

Is the flow restrictor correctly installed? There are a couple of different kinds of flow restrictor, but frequently it's a small plastic "insert" that goes into the waste line, right off the membrane. It controls the amount of water going through the unit. If it's improperly installed or absent, that might account for your problem.

Jenn

 

[acroholic]

Do you know the TDS of the product water? I know it is coming out fast, but if the unit is producing O ppm product water, then it is working. If there is an issue, you should be getting some bypass with the product water still showing a TDS reading.

 

[hnguyen]

I had the same thing happen to me when I bought my first ro/di unit. It was only rated at 25 GPD but I was making around 75 GPD. I knew something was wrong so I took apart the di membrane and made sure everything sat properly. It turns out that something in the di membrane was misaligned and I was able to fix it easily. It started to work properly after that and I was getting about 5 gallons every 5 hours!! :yuk:

I can't tell you how happy I'am to see it. Now I make 5 gallons every 5 minutes!!

 

[crew]

JennM;658941 wrote: Is the flow restrictor correctly installed? There are a couple of different kinds of flow restrictor, but frequently it's a small plastic "insert" that goes into the waste line, right off the membrane. It controls the amount of water going through the unit. If it's improperly installed or absent, that might account for your problem.

Jenn

There is something in the waste line that says "flow" on it that I think is the flow restricter, but I'm not 100%, on a side note, I can't imagine what else it would be so that must be it

Edit:

Acroholic;658950 wrote: Do you know the TDS of the product water? I know it is coming out fast, but if the unit is producing O ppm product water, then it is working. If there is an issue, you should be getting some bypass with the product water still showing a TDS reading.

I have no idea, I don't have a TDS meter

Edit:

Hnguyen;658955 wrote: I had the same thing happen to me when I bought my first ro/di unit. It was only rated at 25 GPD but I was making around 75 GPD. I knew something was wrong so I took apart the di membrane and made sure everything sat properly. It turns out that something in the di membrane was misaligned and I was able to fix it easily. It started to work properly after that and I was getting about 5 gallons every 5 hours!! :yuk:

I can't tell you how happy I'am to see it. Now I make 5 gallons every 5 minutes!!

I wish something was out of alignment, but everything is as it should be.

 

[jennm]

If there's a wider plastic piece on the waste line that says FLOW with an arrow, that's your flow restrictor. If that's installed correctly that blows my theory.

You'd best get your water tested with a TDS meter.

Jenn

 

[acroholic]

JennM;659058 wrote: If there's a wider plastic piece on the waste line that says FLOW with an arrow, that's your flow restrictor. If that's installed correctly that blows my theory.

You'd best get your water tested with a TDS meter.

Jenn

If you are able to get the TDS of your water tested, try to test it on product water coming out of the RO, but before it gets to the DI chamber. IME, a typical RO membrane will leave 1-4 ppm still in the water before it gets to the DI resin. The DI resin gets the rest. You'd get a more accurate picture of the RO membrane function testing this way.

 

[jennm]

You'll also want to have your untreated tap water tested too, so you can find out what the incoming TDS is. That will tell you how much of the dissolved solids in the water are being removed.

 

[crew]

I tested my water with my test kits at home.

The tap water had a little chlorine in it as well as high alkalinity and phosphate.
The waste water tested really hard, no chlorine, high alkalinity and high phosphate.
The filtered water tested 0 everything. The TDS meter registered 0 filtered, 50 tap... I feel like this shows it is working. I also talked to Don at Marine Fish and he said that with this unit, it isn't uncommon to have high flow.

I "raced" the filtered and waste water and its a 2:1 ratio meaning the waste is twice as fast as the filtered.. maybe it is working??

Thank you for everyones help so far

 

[acroholic]

Good job. You definitely want to make sure there is a problem before you try to fix it!!!

 

[crew]

So I guess I am just lucky that it's producing water faster than it should be?? I just wanted to make sure I wasn't breaking anything or using my filters up too quickly