[Martin ccs]

can someone run through the workings of ro please? not so much the technical side, more the practical side - like for example. how long to make water, when do i make the water? and so on.

think there is alot of us new to ro that are worried about the practical side and dont wanna spend money on something that may not work for certian needs or space ect.......

hard to get an idiots guide on this because everyone trys to help on the basis you know what they are on about and for a non expert you just get lost after a few secs.

[Ian Lancaster]

If you want a simple system, buy a 300 gallon-per-day unit from Pure Freedom (same as the one RO-man used to sell).  Preferably with a booster pump to increase pressure if your tap pressure is less than 50psi.

The pumped system will make 1000lt in approximately 16 to 20 hrs.  Less if you have good mains pressure.

Feed the water through a De-ionising vessel (look on the various suppliers websites - plastic pressure bottle you fill with de-ionising resin)  This will take the post-RO water (at anything from 2 or 3 Parts Per Million (ppm) Total Dissolved Solids (tds) up to 10-20ppm depending on your supply ppm) down to 0ppm - sometimes expressed as 0.000 and then into a storage tank (1000lt aka IBC - intermediate bulk container).  If you have this set up in your shed, make sure the IBC is up on a good solid stand, you can then either decant the water through the valve into 25lt containers (Cleantech) or straight into a tank in your van.

[Martin ccs]

If you want a simple system, buy a 300 gallon-per-day unit from Pure Freedom (same as the one RO-man used to sell).  Preferably with a booster pump to increase pressure if your tap pressure is less than 50psi.

The pumped system will make 1000lt in approximately 16 to 20 hrs.  Less if you have good mains pressure.

Feed the water through a De-ionising vessel (look on the various suppliers websites - plastic pressure bottle you fill with de-ionising resin)  This will take the post-RO water (at anything from 2 or 3 Parts Per Million (ppm) Total Dissolved Solids (tds) up to 10-20ppm depending on your supply ppm) down to 0ppm - sometimes expressed as 0.000 and then into a storage tank (1000lt aka IBC - intermediate bulk container).  If you have this set up in your shed, make sure the IBC is up on a good solid stand, you can then either decant the water through the valve into 25lt containers (Cleantech) or straight into a tank in your van.

i think i can get my head round most of that. so do i just leave my tap on 24/7 for that? and what about the waste water - how do i get rid of that?

have half my garage for space but no drain!

[Ian Lancaster]

If you want a simple system, buy a 300 gallon-per-day unit from Pure Freedom (same as the one RO-man used to sell).  Preferably with a booster pump to increase pressure if your tap pressure is less than 50psi.

The pumped system will make 1000lt in approximately 16 to 20 hrs.  Less if you have good mains pressure.

Feed the water through a De-ionising vessel (look on the various suppliers websites - plastic pressure bottle you fill with de-ionising resin)  This will take the post-RO water (at anything from 2 or 3 Parts Per Million (ppm) Total Dissolved Solids (tds) up to 10-20ppm depending on your supply ppm) down to 0ppm - sometimes expressed as 0.000 and then into a storage tank (1000lt aka IBC - intermediate bulk container).  If you have this set up in your shed, make sure the IBC is up on a good solid stand, you can then either decant the water through the valve into 25lt containers (Cleantech) or straight into a tank in your van.

i think i can get my head round most of that. so do i just leave my tap on 24/7 for that? and what about the waste water - how do i get rid of that?

have half my garage for space but no drain!

You would need either a float switch to stop production when your IBC is full, or a time switch so you can pre set it to stop when it's full.  I prefer the latter as I use a solenoid valve in the supply line controlled by a timer so the system isn't stopped under full pressure.  If you left it on 24/7 you would flood your garage!!  As to drain, I haven't got one near my shed either, so I run the waste side back into my house and into the waste pipe in my downstairs loo.

Don't forget the waste is under pressure too, so you can run a pipe up (if necessary).  My house is about 10feet higher than my shed, but the waste runs happily uphill.

[Martin ccs]

dont think the fiance would be happy with a waste pipe down the loo.

does it make waste all the time then?

its so hard to get your head round this when its not in front of you and so new to it all! i understand how the water is cleaned its just the running of it im struggling with.

i do have a gutter on my garage - could run waste pipe to that i guess

[Ian Lancaster]

Not actually down the loo

I run it through the wall and into the wastepipe from the wash basin through a washing machine type fitting.

The supply water runs through the pre-filters into the RO-unit.  There it is split so that about 2 thirds simply wash over the surface of the RO membrane to remove the filtered solids to waste and then out through the 'waste' pipe.  The purified water passes through the membrane and out through the 'product' pipe.  The unit will make waste water all the time it is running.

There will probably be too much waste for your garage gutter, unless it feeds direct into a drain.  Be careful, I thought mine ran to a drain, it didn't, it just went into a 'french' drain - aka a soakaway.  After a couple of days my lawn started to flood.

If you have a large(ish) garden you could just let the waste run on to it, that way you can claim a rebate on your sewage charge if you're on a meter.

[Martin ccs]

looks like i cant do either then! may have to go di only with 300 tds - not good!!

i have a fully stoned garden not lawn.

i see you can buy industrial ro units,

static ro system upto 200L/hour. are they good?

[Ian Lancaster]

looks like i cant do either then! may have to go di only with 300 tds - not good!!

i have a fully stoned garden not lawn.

i see you can buy industrial ro units,

static ro system upto 200L/hour. are they good?

All you need do is locate a convenient waste pipe (kitchen sink/bathroom/cloakroom) and plumb the RO waste into it - no one would even know it was there.  If you have an outside drain close to the house you could just direct it down there.

As to industrial units, why would you need one?  And you would still have the problem of the waste.  If you need more than 1000lt a day, a 4040 (the figures refer to the dimensions of the membrane, it is a cylinder 4 inches in diameter by 40 inches long) system will produce far more water in a day than you can use.  I have a pumped 4040 and it will fill two 1000lt IBC's in about 6 hours.

[Martin ccs]

i was curious about the bigger ro's thats all.

i cant run a waste pipe through my house!

no drain near by cuz of road!

im gonna struggle aint i? 

[GB Window Cleaning]

i like this thread because im in axecally the same boat as you martin!
keep posting pro's hehe

george.

[Ian Lancaster]

The waste from my RO is normal garden hose ( it fits exactly over the half inch John Guest type pipe from the RO)  I drilled a half inch hole through the house wall into the downstairs loo.  The waste pipe goes through the wall and into the wash basin waste - you can't see it from the inside.  Is your garage alongside your house? Is there an external drain from your kitchen? I think with a little ingenuity you may be able to arrange to get the waste water from your RO to the house waste somewhere.

[Martin ccs]

The waste from my RO is normal garden hose ( it fits exactly over the half inch John Guest type pipe from the RO)  I drilled a half inch hole through the house wall into the downstairs loo.  The waste pipe goes through the wall and into the wash basin waste - you can't see it from the inside.  Is your garage alongside your house? Is there an external drain from your kitchen? I think with a little ingenuity you may be able to arrange to get the waste water from your RO to the house waste somewhere.

i see what you mean but no downstairs loo! kitchens at front of house and garage is about 20 yards away at bottom of garden! 

[G Griffin]

I don`t have a set up but couldn`t you use a smallish tank/water butt to collect waste and keep emptying it?
   Not ideal but if you`re really struggling  .

[Ian Lancaster]

The waste from my RO is normal garden hose ( it fits exactly over the half inch John Guest type pipe from the RO)  I drilled a half inch hole through the house wall into the downstairs loo.  The waste pipe goes through the wall and into the wash basin waste - you can't see it from the inside.  Is your garage alongside your house? Is there an external drain from your kitchen? I think with a little ingenuity you may be able to arrange to get the waste water from your RO to the house waste somewhere.

i see what you mean but no downstairs loo! kitchens at front of house and garage is about 20 yards away at bottom of garden! 

It wouldn't matter how long the waste hose was - if you could lead it discreetly around the edge of your garden - along the base of a wall/fence etc - the waste would still flow through it, the only problem would be preventing it from freezing in the winter.

[EZclean]

solution is to put the RO under the sink, plumbed into a Y splitter with the washing machine feed, the waste pipe pushes down the same waste pipe that the washer goes down. (or dishwasher). then either you or someone you know drill through the pointing of the outside wall and feed the product/pure pipe into a water butt outside.

problem solved.

[GB Window Cleaning]

sounds good ezclean thanks for the idea

[ccmids]

solution is to put the RO under the sink, plumbed into a Y splitter with the washing machine feed, the waste pipe pushes down the same waste pipe that the washer goes down. (or dishwasher). then either you or someone you know drill through the pointing of the outside wall and feed the product/pure pipe into a water butt outside.

problem solved.

that is a good idea .