Small Purpose Reverse Osmosis Filter

[kwikness]

So I got my water report results back today. I knew I had some hard water, but check those carbonate level

I've been getting by with dripclean and less than optimal results, but it's clear that I need better water.

I'm looking at reverse osmosis filters, but I don't want the complication of running a wastewater line out. Are there any options where I can just pour some water into the thing and empty it out every so often?

 

[kwikness]

*bicarbonate level

 

[Snook]

just saying> the smaller the amount of GPD an RO filter (4 stage) filters, the fewer PPM of anything will remain in the filtered water. I run a 50GPD filter and make about 20 Gallons of ro a week that finishes at 7-9 ppms.. PPMs of what?? don't care.

 

[redlaser]

If you were only filtering 10 gallons of water you could have the waste water line empty into a barrel and bail out that barrel later. The R.O filter can produce around 2-4 times as much waste versus clean water, so you would have to be careful not to over produce waste water and flood something. You could get a float valve to turn off the R.O, I only run mine when i'm around to watch it or overnight because it wont fill a trash can in less than nine hours. I added a booster pump to the r.o. to make it produce faster as well as more efficient/less waste water.

I use RO water to get rid of 490ppm chloride, from the well it is 790ppm TDS and after filtering it is around 18ppm.
I have to get water delivered a couple times a year and that is treated water that is 550ppm TDS and after filtering gets down to 11ppm.

 

[kwikness]

If you were only filtering 10 gallons of water you could have the waste water line empty into a barrel and bail out that barrel later. The R.O filter can produce around 2-4 times as much waste versus clean water, so you would have to be careful not to over produce waste water and flood something. You could get a float valve to turn off the R.O, I only run mine when i'm around to watch it or overnight because it wont fill a trash can in less than nine hours. I added a booster pump to the r.o. to make it produce faster as well as more efficient/less waste water

This could work. I use less than 5 gallons of water a day. I know next to nothing about these things and I had no idea you could turn them off. I'm not sure what a float valve is though. You don't mean the ones for toilet tanks do you? What are you doing in your case to turn it off while you're away?

I use RO water to get rid of 490ppm chloride, from the well it is 790ppm TDS and after filtering it is around 18ppm.
I have to get water delivered a couple times a year and that is treated water that is 550ppm TDS and after filtering gets down to 11ppm.

Wow that's some hard water, man. Can I ask where you are? Also, why are you getting water delivered if you still have to RO it?

Thanks for the suggestion; this is definitely an option.

 

[RockinRobot]

I have my RO unit outside. I keep a 55 gallon barrel full and take water inside in 5 gallon buckets as needed. I run the waste line to the garden.

 

[redlaser]

The RO just needs a water line from somewhere to work. I just turn off the water source, in front of my r.o. there is a string sediment filter to get a longer life out of the four stage r.o system. on top of that you can turn off the water source, either that or a gate valve of some sort in the water line.
A float valve is the same as a toilet float valve, r.o. systems use their own smaller sizes. I just got one but haven't installed it yet.

Where I'm at it's been a drought for almost five years and it doesn't get a lot of rain anyway. Kind of a Mediterranean climate at a few thousand feet elevation.
The water delivery is because the well can't keep up sometimes and it gets filtered just to be safe since I don't want to test every delivery. Took me a while to test the water, lost plants once they hit 3 months twice before testing happened.

The excess chloride is probably made worse by a short supply of water, concentrating the bad stuff possibly.

@RockinRobot, how is that garden doing where the ro waste hits it? Don't think I could use mine like that even though I hate the wasting of it.

 

[RockinRobot]

Garden does fine with the waste water.you can also use waste for other things as well. Have friends in the marine aquarium hobby that run their waste to washing machine. Works fine for laundry

I run 2 12g rez. I average 4g/day of water I have to replace. 2g/rez. I have a 100g/day RO. I fill the 55g drum when it gets about 3/4 empty. Use a small pump to pump water into a 5g bucket when needed. Only end up running the RO unit every couple weeks to refill the barrel.

 

[mojave green]

This will work for small volume. Have one on a stool in the front room for drinking.
4 Gallon Countertop Water Filter - Transform Tap Water to Premium Alkaline Mineral Drinking Water https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002F5732Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_8XbYxbD67TVXH