Spectra Pure RO Machine Help (90 GPD)

[Guest]

Hello friends,

I recently purchased a Spectra Pure RO Machine from my local hydro shop. It is rated at 90 GPD.

In 60 seconds I recorded the following:
75ml pure water
500ml waste water

That is a pretty bad ratio correct?

Unfortunately I impatiently adjusted the flow restrictor in the yellow tube before fully understanding the directions. The capilary tubing is currently about 6".

Based on the chart in the instructions my should be way longer as my flow rate of 75ml/min is very low.
(not even listed on the chart)


How do I correct this? Is this due to insufficient water pressure?

The house has new copper plumbing from the meter throughout. If so what type of device and where can I locate one.

Also..how do I determine the water pressure.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
PL

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

i have the same unit. i have never taken measurements of the pure to waste
ratios though.

i recomend an additional carbon filter in line just before this unit to make the maintanance easier ( if chorine makes it through to the membrane it will mess it up) so i put an additional carbon filter in.

yes your water pressure may be suspect , u would need some sort of guage
to measure it. but higher pressure seems to help these units perform better.

i just let mine fill a holding tank and the discharge stream goes down the drain. its pretty slow but overnite should make about thirty gallons on average.

 

[Guest]

That is about what I calculated .. 28.5 gallons a day. Pretty low im my opinion.

I was told water temperature could make it run slower. I just turn on my cold tap as that is what the instructions recommended. Should I possibly add a little warm?

How do I go about adding an inline carbon filter before the RO Machine? My local spot doesn't carry anything but the unit and replacement carbon, sediment, and membranes. Homedepot?

I havn't tested any of the water as my meters are elsewhere, but leaving it run all day to keep a water supply filled seems extremely wasteful at the current pure to waste ratio. I'd be wasting like 190 gallons of water a day.





peace
PL

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

i said overnite thats about ten hours!!! not 24!! your pressure must really be low!!
lowes/home depot/menards place like thst sell them and u will need some fittings tomatch the tubing size u r using

well remember u wont be runnin this round the clock 24/7 either. do you have holding tank for storage of ur RO water for use as needed?? if not think about one and how u will place it use it.
BUZZ!

 

[Guest]

mistunderstood

mistunderstood

Hey,

Sorry I misunderstood.

Well..not really sure how I should procede. I assume it is my water pressure as the RO machine is brand new. I am unsure of my water pressure..but the house does have new copper piping from the meter throughout.

The water pressure in my shower is not as powerful as I would expect it to be either.

Should I call the city as it is municipal water and see what they say? Is there a simple means of increasing water pressure to my house and throughout?


I do plan to fill a trash can to use as a water supply holder. This will top off a 25 gallon or so reservoir with a float valve. I just don't want the RO machine running constantly in order to keep the trash can supplied.

PL

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

depending on your grows demand for water you shouldnt be runnin it alot.
perhaps u purchased a unit with too small a capacity.

you can configure a float valve in your holding tank to open the tap line into the R.O. unit and closing when "full" . u dont want to valve the output of the RO just the input source to it.
u can purchase a booster pump to put inline in front of your RO but they r pricey.
perhaps a plumber her at IC can guide you thru home building one.
but how much water r you projecting to use need??
BUZZ!

 

[Guest]

Hey,

Thanks for the advice.

My system is going to recirculate roughly 50 gallons of water. The initial fill will be the biggest concern as it looks as though I'll have to run the unit for nearly 2 days straight. I could possibly cut that with tap water as it seems to be running lower then normal at 235ppm. (sometimes it is as high as 300-400). I'd rather run straight RO however because it seems to make reservoir management so much easier.

After that I am unsure of how much topping will be needed throughout the grow. I'll be flowering 16 plants under 864w of T5 Fluorescent light. Plan to use the lucas formula using his add back formula for no reservoir changes and ease.

I KNOW I could just use it as is and be fine..but really would like this thing to work properly and a bit quicker..giving me 90 GPD as its advertised. How much does booster pump run? Anyone know a cheap remedy please speak up.

Pic show where RO Machine attaches to water source:

Behind that wall is closet to house RO supply and reservoir:

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

call ur local folks who sell the water softeners and such and ask them to quote you on a booster pump for youe RO, aint gonna be cheap!!
BUZZ!

 

[Guest]

Hey there PonicallyLivin, I've had the same unit for almost 3 years.

Just for your info, you can call spectra pure directly at 1-800-685-2783. My call to them was very informative and their guy in tech support was great. When I told him I couldn't yank out the flow restrictor without fear of tearing it, he offered to replace it for free if I damaged it.

The pic shows an add-on pressure gauge that came complete with all the fittings for install. You can purchase this gauge for $14 along with other misc. items such as filters (cheapest prices around). Just do your shopping online at https://www.spectrapure.com/St_line_p3.htm

In any event, good luck with everything.

 

[Buzzsmirk!]

looks like "foggy" has the answer to ur presuure concerns, call em up and get that good service he has told u/us about!!

BTW pure R.O. water while very clean/pure has almost no buffering capacity, what i mean is when u use PH up or down in it it will move quickly and keeping ur PH in check may be a problem, if u mix it half and half w/ tap water your buffering capacity will be greatly improved but i agree that it kinda defeats the R.O. investment use, just be watchful of ur PH and see how it goes w/pure R.O. to start out with!!
BUZZ!