Reverse Osmosis filters

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JimmyJam

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I recently bought a house and it has a reverse osmosis system hooked up to the fridge water line. Unfortunately its been some time and it seems to be clogged as the water coming from the line is minimal. I had checked this by removing the line from the refrigerator pump and there was minimal to no water flow. I checked the line before the RO system and it has adequate pressure there as well. With this being said, I have been researching trying to find replacement filters and have been coming up short as there is very little documentation out there for the brand system I have in place. I was curious if anyone can point me in the direction of which filters to purchase to replace the ones existing in the system today? I know very little about RO systems and am hesitant to purchase replacements without some sort of guidance.

I have attached two pictures which will hopefully assist in this effort. Any information is appreciated greatly!
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Bannerman

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The housing marked with 'TFC" on the cap is the one containing the reverse osmosis membrane. That type of housing will typically hold one of a range of various capacity standard membranes. The rating plate indicates the original membrane had a very low throughput capacity of only 5 gallons per day.

Searching online for Macclean H208C reverse osmosis or 5 gpd TFC membrane did not provide results.

Here is a link to a high quality 'Filmtec' 50 gallon per day membrane which you probably could use within that housing. Any change to the membrane's capacity would also require changing the flow restrictor flow rate. The restrictor controls the amount of drain flow as that flow flushes away debris that would otherwise clog the membrane. Such membranes and parts are available at most water conditioning equipment dealers.
https://www.amazon.com/Filmtec-TW30-1812-50-TFC-Membrane-1-Pack/dp/B00BSDQYVW/ref=pd_sim_60_2/164-1374626-8696737?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00BSDQYVW&pd_rd_r=MSA5EES65D9AFJJEC11R&pd_rd_w=vqrI4&pd_rd_wg=UaWVJ&psc=1&refRID=MSA5EES65D9AFJJEC11R

The other housings will contain filter material, usually a sediment filter followed by carbon to remove chlorine and other contaminants prior to the membrane as TFC membranes do not tolerate chlorine exposure. There is typically a further carbon filter on the unit's out flow so as to 'polish' the water immediately before use. In addition to the membrane, those filters should all be replaced, usually every 6 - 12 months whereas the membrane will usually only need replacement every 2-3 years.

The output from the membrane is generally stored in a small storage tank so as to provide a volume of R/O water when needed. Since you have the unit, you could install a faucet beside your kitchen sink so as to easily obtain R/O water for cooking and other consumption.

Here is some additional information.

https://www.espwaterproducts.com/reverse-osmosis-system-types/
https://www.espwaterproducts.com/how-to-sanitize-a-reverse-osmosis-system/
 
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ditttohead

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Considering the age of the RO it really should be replaced. This type of filtration system is highly susceptible to leaking after many years of service and the deductible for the insurance claim will far outweigh the cost of simply replacing the unit. The system needs to be completely rebuilt/sanitized etc... replacing it makes much more sense.
 
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