RO/DI unit

[Boxster]

I am looking at 3 different unit out there,
1. AquaFX
2. RO6100+DI 6 stage from Water General
3. Aquasafecanada 6 stage RO/DI

Anyone have any experience in these 3 units? What disadvantage/advantage with the self-piercing valave vs T-valve?

 

[loganj]

I think the Aqua FX is top of the line and that's not just because I sell them. Although you may find a unit with equal quality, I really do not believe you'll find the customer support and tech support that Aqua FX offers anywhere else.

The piercing valve is easier to install and doesn't require cutting a line. The T valve does. Either one is reliable if installed properly. I use the piercing valves here and at all my aquarium maintenance customers who have RO units. I have never had a problem with them. I don't like the faucet adapters though...they tend to blow off the faucet at like 3am or when you're not at home...never happens when you're standing there looking at it. JMHO.

 

[fishfreek]

The piercing valve also assumes you have soft plumbing like PVC or copper. Hard plumbing like galvinised will not work for a simple piercing setup.

 

[loganizzi]

I just purchased the Water General, and am very satisfied with it. It installed in about 30 minutes and I like the non-piercing valve on the intake. I've dealt with the piercing valve on my whole-house humidifier and I had a big problem with leaking. I didn't want to go that route again.

The waste output is a piercing connection but that is on PVC pipe and would be much easier to replace then copper if I ran into problems.

 

[Boxster]

So with the Water General RO unit, do you need to cut the copper pipe to install the T-valve? What is the TDS reading after the DI?

 

[captivereefs]

I would go with a garden hose or sink adapter if it wee me. I just do not like piercing my pipes.

 

[loganj]

It's really going to boil down to what kind of plumbing you have as Fishfreek said. There are several options available depending on whether you have galvanized, PVC, or copper. My unit is located next to a utility sink so I used the piercing valve on the cold water line going up to the faucet. An advantage to doing it this way is the faucet lines are not very expensive if you mess it up. Also, you should have a shut off valve where the line comes out of the wall/floor so you can cut it off easily if there ever is a problem. Most of these shut off valves are compression on top where they hook up to the faucet line. You could change the valve to one that is NPT on top. Then put a tee on top of the valve and use a brass compression fitting to connect your faucet line back up. The open end of the tee could have an adapter with a Jaco or a regular compression fitting to connect up the RO unit. That way, you don't cut/pierce anything. The only problem I ever had with a piercing valve was one that I didn't check the gasket on. It wasn't seated properly and leaked. I removed it, fixed the gasket, and it has never leaked since. That one is on my icemaker and has been there for 10+ years. If you do end up using a regular compression fitting to hook it up, be sure you get the little sleeve that goes inside the plastic line to stiffen it. Plastic has a habit of collapsing under the ferrule and blowing out of the fitting if you don't sleeve it.

 

[pecan2phat]

I recently bought the Aqua FX Barracuda 4 stage 100 gpd R/O-DI for my water changes & a Aqua-Safe Canada 5 stage 100 gpd R/O only drinking unit for my kitchen. IMO, the Aqua FX is superior to the Aqua-Safe, but the Aqua-Safe is cheaper in initial cost & cartridge replacements.
The Aqua FX is a DI unit so I'm not comparing the DI replacements. This unit has the clear canisters vs the solid white canisters in the Aqua-Safe. You can visually see the sediment cartridge turn brown & you of course need to see the DI cartridge exhaust. Even though I don't have the 6 stage Aqua-Safe Reef unit, it didn't look like the DI canister was clear so I guess you would need to test for phosphates to see if the DI is exhausted.
Aqua Fx uses a Dow membrane & Aqua-Safe uses another company that uses Dow material.
I have the Aqua-Fx pierced clamped to my cold water & the discharge drilled & saddle clamped to the drain pipe. No problems or leaks here. For my fishes, I just opted for a garden hose attachment. Since this was in the slop sink area, it was a very easy install, not the 5 hrs for the kitchen unit. I just bought a good brass y garden hose connector (don't use the plastic ones) and split the cold water washing machine connection. The unit is mounted about 18" above the sink, so the discharge tube is just placed in the slop sink with a soap holder dingy that holds it in place.
As for TDS, initially I thought the Aqua Fx was better, (just R/O output without DI) but it really goes by the incoming TDS. I realized that when I tested the Aqua-Safe, the incoming TDS was @ 111 ppm, with an output of 27 ppm. Then when the TDS dropped to 71, it gave me an output of 11 ppm. When I tested the Aqua Fx after the initial flushing of the membrane without the DI attached, I had incoming water with a TDS of 54 ppm and an output of TDS with 1 ppm.
What I did like about the Aqua-Safe vs the Aqua Fx is that they had an easy membrane flush valve/flow restrictor attached to the unit. Very easy to use where as the Aqua Fx uses an inline capacitor type flow restrictor for proper back pressure. If you read up on R/O units, flushing the membrane at least once a month or after a large make up of water is important to extend the membrane life. With the Aqua Fx, you cannot do this unless you buy the option for $19.99.
I also don't like the inline type of DI units vs the clear canister cartridge type. With the inline you also need to unscrew the quick disconnect fittings each time you need to change the DI.
Sorry for the long post, just my $.02

 

[muzanji]

aquasafe RO/DI 6 stage

I purchased the AquaSafe one over the holidays and just hooked it up. I (and my fish) very happy now that RO/DI water is entering the tank and not that nasty tap water crap. Anyways, the piercing bit was a little sketchy for me (mostly due to user error), but once I figured it out, it was a breeze to get going. I find the extra (3.2 gallon) storage tank that the AquaSafe unit comes with very handy. So far I've only put top off water into the tank as I haven't done a water change yet, but all-in-all, I am pleased with the inexpensive unit.

 

[Boxster]

Thanks for all the response. The setup I envision is that I want to have RO water for drinking, and RO/DI for the tank. In this case, I need a T-valve between the RO and DI cartridges right? Also, since I have 2 water output, do I need to have 2 storage tank, one for RO and one for RO/DI? Normally, I just saw the system only comes with 1 tank.

Also, if I am using the in-line Adapter for the cold water pipe, do I really need to cut the copper pipe to fit in the in-line adapter? What is the advantages of using Garden Hose adapter?

Sorry for asking so many questions, I really need your help. I am not similar with all these.

 

[BONESTOCK]

Can someone show me some RO/DI units that I may possible purchase online....I have a 75 gallon and will most likey hook it up to my kichen sink faucet. Thanks!