ro/di unit from ebay

[scrmom]

Well my husband hooked up unit last night. He put the unit in basement and then hooked it to a pipeline which went up wall and into our laundry room sink faucet. We go to turn it on and it only drips. So of course he said I told you we should have ordered the pump.(blah, blah, blah) We ordered the pump last night, it's the one at the same website for $85.

Have anyone of you had to use the pump with it? If you're not sure what system I am talking about, then you can pull up a previous topic regarding ro/di that I started. We will continue to use distilled water for the time being.

 

[afishyonados]

How long does it take to make a gallon?

 

[scrmom]

I think the box said 100gpd? Until we get the pump, we aren't going to use it. It only drips from the facuet, so it would take forever to get a gallon.

 

[afishyonados]

Assuming that the prefilters were flushed properly, as well as the membrane, it normally takes hours of running to get up to optimum speed. (If they were not, there could be some clogging...)
I understand your water pressure may be too low. This, however, may not be a bad thing. The fastest way to kill an R/O unit, is to let it sit for long intervals between uses. The prefilters become biologically active, and notwithstanding the nitrite related byproducts that are potentially released, the carbon will not perform well. As it is clogged with bio-film from being stagnant, the carbons pores become clogged. This lessens it's ability to remove chlorine. If chlorine makes it into the Thin Film Composite membrane, it's functional life is over.

 

[afishyonados]

If you could get a little more out of it, and keep it running nearly all the time, the membrane would last longer.

 

[scrmom]

Thanks, I will put a five gallon bucket under it tonight and let it run. I seriously doubt it will overflow during night. Would that water be safe to use in aquarium tomorrow?

 

[afishyonados]

Maybe.

When you first run a new unit, prefilter or membrane, you must properly flush them first.
To flush prefilters, remove the water inlet side of the membrane and allow the prefilters to flush for about five minutes. I typically use an extra long hose between the prefilters and the membrane to make flushing the new cartridges easier.
A new membrane is covered with a nasty anti-microbial that must be flushed thoroughly; at least three hours. Seriously avoid touching the anti-microbial sauce, lest you have life changing Monteczuma's revenge!

If all of the precautions were followed, yes, the water is ready.
If you are making this in the laundry room, two things:
1) Do not use spray starch in the same room as the water storage containers,
2) If you are experimenting with only a five gallon bucket, with sleep involved, place the bucket on top of you washing machine. If the bucket overflows, the drain line from the washing machine will save the day!

 

[scrmom]

I was going to have the bucket sit in the sink so if it overflows it goes right down the drain. I may wait til morning, so my husband can read the info you typed about removing the water inlet, etc... Thanks.

 

[afishyonados]

Best of luck!