[andrew hamshare]

Received my second hand RO unit today and after plumbing it in all I get is a puny dribble!  The 'waste' water seems to be flowing okay but not having any experience of these things i don't know what it should flow like?

When I switch the inboard tap to 'flush' it comes out pretty fast so I reckon the issue is just on the pure water side.

Any advice etc greatly appreciated as I've got my first wfp jobs starting next week.

Hamster.

[Banbury Window Cleaning]

what RO is it? How old are the membranes and pre filters? whats your water pressure like?

[bobplum]

you may need a booster pump as well
make sure its connected ok

[andrew hamshare]

Water pressure is good, connected right near the mains inlet.

It's a Ro-Man and has seen better days.

The flow from the green pipe which exits the 2 vertical pots flows rely fast.

Ive narrowed it down to the bit that lays along the top which I believe has the membrane in it.  Is it possible to flush these in reverse?

[d s windowcleaning]

any chance you can put a pic up , if not how many membranes dos this have ? if theres only one the unit will most likely be a 75 gpd unit and with this you wont get much pure at all .

[Spruce]

Sounds as though you only have 1 horizontal thingy on the top. This is where your membrane/s is/are.

To start with you need to identify what your waste to pure ratio is. With the unit running you need about a 3:1 ratio - ie 3 litres of waste water to 1 litre of pure.
You have a flush valve - does it also incorporate a restrictor or some method of throttling/restricting the waste. The water needs pressure to work the membranes properly.

This is what we have. http://www.ro-man.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=flushkit&product_id=308

There are several different membranes that fit into these housing that produce different amounts of water, 36gpd, 50gpd, 75gpd, 100gpd and 150gpd.

The RoMan unit we have has 3 membrane housings with 3 x 150GPD membranes. We found this just sufficient to produce enough water to keep 2 of us going with seperate vans every day. We process water into a 1000 IBC tank and draw what we require.

Since October last year, we have a 3rd part time member in our team so water usuage must now be carefully planned. In winter the problem is worse as the tap water is colder.

Spruce

[Banbury Window Cleaning]

the RO should be flushed regularly i do mine every week for a hour
 your membranes my be shot!! a booster pump will help as has already been said!!
My water pressure is high but i still got a booster pump and it has helped dramatically.
Where did u get the RO from? how many gpd is it? if its only a 75gpd then the output pure might be right??

[Spruce]

any chance you can put a pic up , if not how many membranes dos this have ? if theres only one the unit will most likely be a 75 gpd unit and with this you wont get much pure at all .

ditto

He can upgrade it though, although costs start to mount.

[Spruce]

the RO should be flushed regularly i do mine every week for a hour
 your membranes my be shot!! a booster pump will help as has already been said!!
My water pressure is high but i still got a booster pump and it has helped dramatically.
Where did u get the RO from? how many gpd is it? if its only a 75gpd then the output pure might be right??

Andrew says it's second hand, so what's inside is anyones guess. Ours started off with 75 GPD membranes fitted to my Peter Fogwill trailer, but sometimes it didn't produce enough water overnight to fill my 3 x 125 litre tanks. Changing membranes and buying an IBC tank and rigging up an automatic on/off system solved those problems 6 years ago.

When Andrew says he gets a dribble then maybe that's OK. Even with 3 x 150gpd membranes it takes about 30 hours to completely fill the 1000 litre IBC tank. We also get a dribble. Our water pressure is at 60psi and my system is not pumped.

Spruce

[andrew hamshare]

Sounds as though you only have 1 horizontal thingy on the top. - Yep, just the one.


This is what we have. http://www.ro-man.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=flushkit&product_id=308 - Identical to yours.

Spruce

Just removed the elbow connector on the pure outlet, the one with the tiny 1 way valve in it, and like a heavy handed eejit I broke it half way along the thread. Doh!  tbf though, there was some ptfe tape covering the valve a little bit. 

Now I need to buy another elbow OR can someone recommend a supplier in SE Kent where I could buy a replacement unit today? 

If I just replace the elbow I'd worry that there might still be issues but I'll keep it for a spare at the very least.

Hopefully get my DI vessel on Tuesday assuming the courier is reliable.  This means I will have to do the jobs lined up on Wednesday at the earliest.

Hamster

PS
Googling frantically but others knowledge appreciated.  Ta

[Banbury Window Cleaning]

I have a 300 gpd unit i could sell? membranes abt 7 months old but no pre filters!! and i am in oxfordshire so a bit of a trek for ya lol

[andrew hamshare]

I have a 300 gpd unit i could sell? membranes abt 7 months old but no pre filters!! and i am in oxfordshire so a bit of a trek for ya lol

I'm supposed to be clearing a garden today but mrs h is away for the weekend so my get up and go has got up and gone.  I need to prioritise this ro thing anyway.

Yep, Oxford way too far unfortunately, thanks for the offer though and out of interest what price should I be expecting to pay for a decent new or second hand unit?

I am happy to drive within 30-40 miles of home ie anywhere in Kent.

[andrew hamshare]

I have a 300 gpd unit i could sell? membranes abt 7 months old but no pre filters!! and i am in oxfordshire so a bit of a trek for ya lol

Out of interest, how much are you asking for the unit please?

[Roy Cauldery]

Hi Andrew
If it all gets out of hand by the end of the weekend and you got no water for work monday-give me a call and you can come and get some from me in Ashford
Hope that helps?
might also be able to give you a steer on your membrane of you bring it up(but if its second hand,sounds like it could be shot already)

regards
Roy
07500 862 571

[Banbury Window Cleaning]

I am open to offers!! My num is 07730474216 if u wanna
Call or txt. Cheers

[andrew hamshare]

Hi Andrew
If it all gets out of hand by the end of the weekend and you got no water for work monday-give me a call and you can come and get some from me in Ashford
Hope that helps?
might also be able to give you a steer on your membrane of you bring it up(but if its second hand,sounds like it could be shot already)

regards
Roy
07500 862 571

Roy, that gardening job I am supposed to be doing today is in Hamstreet.  If I got off my lazy backside would you mind me popping over later today? 

I have made numerous calls and searches on the internet and there appears to be no-one in our area who supplies suitable units or spare parts. 

By the way, the unit was a bonus as it came with the trolley so can't really grumble, but added to the current probs the inline TDS meter is u/s....I have one on order so, again, not that big a problem.

Andrew

[johnny bravo]

buy a booster pump around £45 - £100  will speed things up,    if not give up., try a new ro  around 3140 200 RO SYSTEM

[Roy Cauldery]

Andrew ,please call in-be good to met a fellow windie in the area
Please ring me first though as i might be out with the dogs

Roy
07500 862 571

[Paul Coleman]

All I would add is, if you change the membrane(s), change the pre-filters at the same time.  It's just possible that the membrane is shot because the pre-filters are old.

[andrew hamshare]

Thanks for the advice Paul (and others).  Nice site for friendly chat and advice.

Roy, I have left a message on your voicemail.