Just hooked up my RO/DI unit... Q? about drain line

[guitarded]

i got my ro/di filter (from filtersdirect - ebay). i just hooked it up and i got a question about the drain line.

1) the drain line seems to drain a lot of water (a LOT more than the output line) and the water drains constantly. is this normal? should the drain line constantly drain water? if this is the case, then it seems that a lot of water is wasted. the output line just dribbles water while the drain line has a steady flow.

 

[tmcpeek]

Yes it will drain faster than it will fill. It usually takes 4-5 gallons drain water to make 1 gallon of RO/DI Water.

 

[guitarded]

wow, holy smokes! so those people using it for drinking water are putting a lot of water down the drain. i guess i could save the drain water for watering the garden.

 

[darb2]

gardening, laundry, dishes, are basically what my waste water goes for.

 

[lando]

I fill up 5 gal. buckets in my laundary sink and use the waste water for the flowers in the yard. Seems like a big waste of water though. I have never tested my waste water from the RO/DI unit, could it be used in my FW tank?

 

[tmcpeek]

I tested my waste water with a tds meter and it was 280 ppm. My normal tap water is 290-300 so I just use my waste to water my plants.

 

[guitarded]

i went to another SW forum and i saw that this topic actually started a flame war that got kinda nasty (if your interested... http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/sho...3ed0eb8810&threadid=129907&highlight=ro+drain). too bad.

at any rate, like some others, i am concerned about "wasting water" so i will re-use the waste water as others have suggested. its still a win-win situation. i get to fill my tank with good clean water (even make some drinking water to put in the frig) and i can use the waste water in my garden and water the lawn!

i am not really sure why the flamers got so uppity![/url]

 

[Heineken]

lol guitarded. They got pretty mad on that forum huh? I think a lot of people take water for granted, and that's why they say and do what they did. Like yourself, I come from Hawaii and treasure the quality of water there. I'm in Los Angeles now for college, and boy does this tap water taste horrible. Also, I remember paying a fortune for running water in Hawaii. Now that I'm renting here in L.A., water is free ( could it be that no one would ever pay for this junk! (j/k)

Anyway, I bought the same R/O filter that you did on ebay. I haven't installed it yet, but plan to soon. I was amazed at how much "waste" water it wastes. Laundry is a good idea, and watering the lawn, or even washing your car.

Be sure to post some pics when your tank is up and running!

p.s. Did Tim Chang break the record yet? I was watching the Boise State - UH game and boy was that horrible. Hope they can turn the season around!.

 

[guitarded]

heineken,

great idea... washing the car with the waste water.

Tim Chang finally broke the record this past weekend. he broke it on a touch down pass. UH does great at home, however, they can't do it on the road.