Looking at RO system

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Pops52

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Jeff H Young

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I've got a Watts I think its 5 stage works great I put filters like once a year . just got a cheapie tester for tds that tells me when to change the membrane rather than guess at time .
Anyway over 10 years use and it was used before but had problems so Its been a little learning curve but works very well and taste is great.
not familiar with your brand it might be good
 
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I too am looking into an RO systems for the kitchen.
There are many RO systems out there to shop for, one tip that I received was to ensure that the system is certified NSF 58. As I call around the answer to this has been no to many of the systems I have looked at.
From what I can gather, and I am still trying to learn, so take this with a grain of salt, is that there is a formal process that identifies what a company's filtration level is. As in what ability it has to filter what out rather than a company just saying we are great but we have no certification.
A optimal membrane will filter out many of the harmful pharmaceuticals that most do not filter out.
However, the only way to truly verify this is that your RO company will pay to have their system tested and then certified, an assurance to the customer that this RO system is rated to a standard.
I will link a list of what the other values and certificates are, below. However, it seems there is not a lot of discussion on this or talk about this in the RO world, at-least from what I can tell, and the companies I keep asking are super shady about not answering this question? So I ask maybe some of the RO experts here to discuss their experience with this topic and what it means and if this tip is helpful or relevant? Please do share.
Extrapolate on the importance of this if possible.
Thanks.

The certification class for a top end RO system, NSF/ANSI 58

The many different certificate levels of water filtration
 

Plant.One

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whatever system brand you choose, make sure it uses a standard dow style membrane and standard 2x10 prefilter housings. DO NOT purchase a system with proprietary cartridges.

membrane style for reference - yes i really like the DOW ones as replacements. affordable and good quality.




the big part of the RO unit thats important is the membrane. thats where the real work happens.

the prefilters and post filters are just minor cleanup stages.

generally you're gonna be either a 3 or 4 stage system, depending if you want post RO final polishing. IMHO anything more than 4 stage is just more filters you need to service. once you get thru the membrane - theres basically nothing of significance left to come out of the purified water it produces.

some systems will add multiple carbon prefilters or multiple sediment filters on and call them extra stages, just to feature creap over the next guy (pick me! i've got 17 stages and the other guys product only has 5!). however i fail to see how multiple activated carbon filters in series can be considered multiple stages of the filteration process when they're performing the exact same process in several successive chambers pre-membrane. the only true practical 5th stage is Deionization resin, which for a drinking water system is probably quite excessive - and costly to maintain (cartridges can be $30-$60 and need to be replaced several times a year depending on usage amounts)



a standard unit the stages are going to be (in order of flow) a basic sediment (probably 5 micron), a carbon block for heavy metal removal, the RO membrane for purification, and then a post membrane carbon for taste (after the bladder tank).

drinking water system should not need a ion exchange resin (deionizer filter) as part of their filtration. your water doesnt need that level of polishing/purification. its an added expense.



defiantly make sure you invest in a system with permeate pump so that your bladder comes up to full pressure and it doesnt take forever just to get a glass of water from the drinking water tap / fridge door. without one most of the auto shut off valves will kick off well before the tank comes up to full capacity and therefore highly dimish your supply and delivery capability. they're kinda pricey, but worth every penny if you ask me.

i'm also a fan of remote mounting the RO and prefilter assembly (like in a basement, etc) and only keeping the bladder tank and post tank carbon filter under the sink to save cabinet space. this will help with delivery - minimal head pressure to overcome vs it sitting on the basement floor and having to deliver water 8+ feet from its position. RO bladder tanks dont come up to >40 psi like our wells do.

HTH
 

Beets

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I have a hydrotech RO system. It had four filters. Sediment, carbon, RO, polishing. I don't bother with the polishing filter (that really slows the flow) or the carbon filter (you will need carbon filter if you have chlorine in your water). The RO filter lasts forever. I changed it after 7 years, but I didn't note any different/improvement when I put a new filter in. I bought a cheap TDS meter online for monitoring TDS so I have some sort of assurance the RO system is working. The sediment filter is changed as needed. I have H2S in my water and occasionally the sediment filter gets fouled. It can go a month, or it can go 12 months.
 
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Wow 7 years with one membrane? No diff before or after in the TDS count? That kinda blows my mind.
I will also note here that had one of those RO Techs that work on Fish Tanks say a very similar thing to me. He was pushing way more water through his membrane that I would eve need, but he also noted how, like oil companies, there is a push to swap out cartridges way sooner than needed. So this is helpful insight. Thanks.
I think I have settled on going with a tankless set up, DOW membrane, re-mineralization post cartridge, prices have come down on these setups and are the same cost as the tank set ups. So this seems like the ticket for me. I have gone through all the pros and cons and the cons are not big enough, the cost will be about 50$ more every 24 months to maintain. Just seems like these are going to take over. Granted you need electricity for Tankless RO systems.
 

Reach4

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It would be nice to have a non-remineralized tap for cleaning and other cases where you would prefer low minerals.
 
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It would be nice to have a non-remineralized tap for cleaning and other cases where you would prefer low minerals.
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. However, Instead of drilling a hole for an additional facet up-top for this new super LOW TDS water to clean with, I was thinking of just putting a bypass for like 5$ on the last cartridge and using the same faucet. Yes this means bending down and turning a knob under the sink. I suppose that may be a drag? But I probably would use it like one time a day?
Not sure how inconvenient it will be to have to go under and turn it on and off? Open to suggestions, but I really don't want any more holes up in the quartz countertop to accommodate this ridiculous luxury option, but smart idea for sure. Thanks for the suggestion.
 

Reach4

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Unless you clean a lot, I expect you could refill your spray cleaning bottle once per month. An under-counter spigot might be handy enough. Nice for at least the final rinse on eyeglasses, and nice for windows too.
 

Alexcee

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Yes, I was thinking the same thing. However, Instead of drilling a hole for an additional facet up-top for this new super LOW TDS water to clean with, I was thinking of just putting a bypass for like 5$ on the last cartridge and using the same faucet. Yes this means bending down and turning a knob under the sink. I suppose that may be a drag? But I probably would use it like one time a day?
Not sure how inconvenient it will be to have to go under and turn it on and off? Open to suggestions, but I really don't want any more holes up in the quartz countertop to accommodate this ridiculous luxury option, but smart idea for sure. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hi, so have you assembled the system? Or you purchased the ready to go?
whatever system brand you choose, make sure it uses a standard dow style membrane and standard 2x10 prefilter housings. DO NOT purchase a system with proprietary cartridges.
This is excellent idea, thank you! Could you please recommend what would you buy as the base 5 stage RO to later just buy DOW membrane to replace? Also, what kind of first 3 stage filters are you buying as the replacement? Thank you!
 

Rmk9785e

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Hi, so have you assembled the system? Or you purchased the ready to go?

This is excellent idea, thank you! Could you please recommend what would you buy as the base 5 stage RO to later just buy DOW membrane to replace? Also, what kind of first 3 stage filters are you buying as the replacement? Thank you!
Would love to see updates for the systems chosen and if you went with a Dow style membrane as I'm also looking to replace our 15year old Hydrotec system.
 
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