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Advice? RODI units

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Mike, Mar 10, 2018.

  1. Mike

    132
    Urbandale, IA
    Ratings:
    +9 / 0 / -0
    Hey guys. I have a general questions about people's RODI units. I have an AWI Typhoon III Extreme 150 system. It is supposed to be a good system, but it seems like it doesn't stay at 0tds very long. I swapped out the filters on it just a few weeks ago and have only done one water change since then. It does feed my ATO which triggers about once an hour for 30 seconds or so. I just checked my TDS and it is showing 7 already.

    I replaced the membrane about 4 months ago as well.

    Not real sure what I should do here. Do I need to scrap awi and try a different brand? Or is there something I could be doing wrong?

    Gotta think of something though because I don't want to have to replace filters every 6 weeks to maintain 0 TDS.

    Thoughts?
     
  2. DNW

    79
    Jesup, IA
    Ratings:
    +14 / 0 / -0
    How often does your RO/DI run? When not in operation the tds balances out throughout the membrane. This requires a small purge at every startup that should be diverted before your di canister.
     
  3. blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Ratings:
    +738 / 5 / -0
    You have a top quality system, what you're seeing has nothing to do with it. Its all just plastic housings anyway.
    Filter quality matters. Make sure your RO membrane is working efficiently. What is your incoming TDS? What is the TDS after your RO membrane?
    The better your water is before hitting your DI resin, the longer that will last.

    CR has good water quality. My TDS is <1 after the membrane and I've had DI resin last for a year with 0 TDS output. That was making probably 50+ gallons a week of water.

    The other thing is it sounds like your RODI is only running for short periods of time for your ato? That isn't really a good way to run them. The water sitting in the lines and in the membrane is "dirty" so essentially you're constantly blasting that high TDS dirty water into your DI chamber every hour.
    The RO filter really needs water flowing across if for longer periods of time to work like it should.

    You should really looking at getting a holding tank, and running your RODI for longer periods to fill the tank. Pump your ATO from the holding tank.
     
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  4. sjones

    54
    Marshalltown, IA
    Ratings:
    +22 / 0 / -0
    I agree mine has the flush kit I'll run that for 20 to 30 seconds or so then let the water run down the drain for 5 to 10 minutes then start to collect the water. It also has auto shut off when container is full. The tds meter shows 0 or 1 while collecting I haven't paid any attention to it at the beginning tho sorry.
     
  5. blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Ratings:
    +738 / 5 / -0
    I have the same system as the op, they have a flush kit, auto shut off, dual TDS meter, pressure gauge. All the bells and whistles you can get with an RODI setup. I didn't use the flush much at all. But again I have pretty good water to begin with and always ran my filter for extended periods of time.
    I never worried about dumping the initial water because I would make minimum 35 gallons at a time. So the couple minutes worth of water that went in as the TDS came down wasn't an issue for the volume of water. Making a few gallons or 5, that initial high TDS water is going to be a much bigger deal.

    OP if you do get a storage container make sure you have a float valve on the thing. Never trust that you will remember to turn off your RODI because you won't LOL. Everyone without a float valve, or some kind of mechanism that shuts it off has flooded there container. I pretty much guarantee that.
     
  6. stew Well-Known ReefKeeper GIRS Member

    519
    Ankeny, IA
    Ratings:
    +72 / 0 / -0
    Been there, done that. Wife was not happy. LOL
     
  7. blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Ratings:
    +738 / 5 / -0
    It was several times for me before I got smart and fixed my setup. It was all in the unfinished basement so not a huge ordeal to clean up, but one time was overnight. :rolleyes:
     
  8. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,818 / 14 / -0
    I use an RO Buddy pressure booster which automatically purges for 15 seconds on start-up and then again every 30 minutes

    Really the only sure-fire way to keep your water 0 TDS, IMO, is to manually purge/flush for a few minutes before making water. I then prefer to allow the RO water to drain out for a minute before taking it to the DI but that's me, and the RO Buddy doesn't allow you to do that easily (you have to hijack it) so I don't worry about that.

    I too have flooded the floor in the storage room on more than one occasion. I set my phone timer now.
     
  9. Mike

    132
    Urbandale, IA
    Ratings:
    +9 / 0 / -0
    Hey everybody. Thanks to all for responding. All great info!

    My incoming TDS shows around 50-80 depending on the day. Now sure what "good" is coming in?

    I ended up replacing the filters to bet back to 0 TDS and then used that to fill my 30 gallon reservoir. Previously the RODI filled that automatically with a float switch on it, and that reservoir supplied my top off.

    My solution (as recommended above) is to simply shut off the flow from the RODI to the reservoir and manually turn the valve to fill it as it gets low. My top off will continue to pull from there, .it the RODI would only run once or twice a week. And I will also flush the system before use.

    Thanks all for the advice!
     
  10. DNW

    79
    Jesup, IA
    Ratings:
    +14 / 0 / -0
    Just make sure the flush water is being diverted after the ro but before the di canister. You can find push connect three way valves that you can install so it’s just turning a valve instead of trying to unhook lines.
     

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