[andyM]

A quick question for 4040 users.
Apologies if I sound fick. 
If for example 1000 ltrs of pure water was required, would a 4040 produce the 1000 ltrs of pure with less waste water than a 400 gpd RO (2x200 gpd membranes)?

[Don Kee]

Depends on what you set the pure to waste ratio to.
Most 'normal' r.o's run on a pure 1:2 waste ratio, were as a 4040 you can adjust this to suit how you want it

[andyM]

Depends on what you set the pure to waste ratio to.
Most 'normal' r.o's run on a pure 1:2 waste ratio, were as a 4040 you can adjust this to suit how you want it

Yeah, let's suppose that both RO's have the waste valve set to the same ratio.
What im getting at is that I am considering buying a 4040 but want to be sure of all the benefits.
I know they will produce faster, but that is not paramount for me as a 400 gpd produces what I need to use everyday as a sole operator.
So taking into account the higher initial cost of buying a 4040, will it also be more efficient in that it wastes less water?

[SPE]

if they were both set to the same waste ratio I would have thought they would both produce the same amount of waste ?

[Spruce]

In our 450PGD RoMan type r/o we had an line restrictor on the waste which had a ratio of 3 waste to 1 pure. That was what the membrane manufacturers recommended many years ago. There was also a 5/1 ratio restrictor which was recommended for high tds applications. The flush valve by passed this restrictor.

We also process into an IBC tank and the 450GPD was fine for the 2 of us - 1 filling up at night and the other in the morning.

We have a gate valve on our 4040 which replaced the 450GPD r/o. This is set to the lowest tds output which is about 50/50 waste to pure.

We never experimented with a reduced waste on the original unit; there was no need to as it worked perfectly and the membranes lasted about 6 years.

[Spruce]

if they were both set to the same waste ratio I would have thought they would both produce the same amount of waste ?

That makes sense to me. At the end of the day the only difference between the 2 r/o's at a 50/50 ratio would be the speed it produced that water at.

[andyM]

Ok thanks for replies.
I've just been looking through some suppliers websites and doing the sums.
It seems to me that if I ordered separate items from a few different suppliers I could source individual components and build a 4040 system with one fibredyne pre-filter for cheaper than I could buy the whole system from a supplier.
Probably saving around £100, although I would have to fit everything together myself.
Has anyone else gone down this route?

[SPE]

Ok thanks for replies.
I've just been looking through some suppliers websites and doing the sums.
It seems to me that if I ordered separate items from a few different suppliers I could source individual components and build a 4040 system with one fibredyne pre-filter for cheaper than I could buy the whole system from a supplier.
Probably saving around £100, although I would have to fit everything together myself.
Has anyone else gone down this route?

yes, I did but to be honest if vyair had been selling systems at the time I would have just bought one of theirs. Worth having a look on their site and speaking to them, they can sell you a bespoke system and very easy to assemble.
When i rang them to order a new 4040 membrane i got a good tip. Make a bypass around the waste gate valve with additional pipe and an on/off tap. So when you have adjusted the waste valve to optimum you need never touch it again - simply open the bypass tap to flush -brilliant idea !

[andyM]

Ok thanks for replies.
I've just been looking through some suppliers websites and doing the sums.
It seems to me that if I ordered separate items from a few different suppliers I could source individual components and build a 4040 system with one fibredyne pre-filter for cheaper than I could buy the whole system from a supplier.
Probably saving around £100, although I would have to fit everything together myself.
Has anyone else gone down this route?

yes, I did but to be honest if vyair had been selling systems at the time I would have just bought one of theirs. Worth having a look on their site and speaking to them, they can sell you a bespoke system and very easy to assemble.
When i rang them to order a new 4040 membrane i got a good tip. Make a bypass around the waste gate valve with additional pipe and an on/off tap. So when you have adjusted the waste valve to optimum you need never touch it again - simply open the bypass tap to flush -brilliant idea !

Vyair was one of the suppliers I was looking at, aswell as Gaps and Gardiners for JG 1/2" fittings and tubing.
Vyair's 4040 membrane housing was a lot cheaper than others (Champ etc.)
I've roughly calculated I could source and build a 4040 system (not including a booster pump)for about £350.
How are you getting on with the Vyair membrane?
And what is your tap tds and what ppm do you get out of it before resin?

[Spruce]

Ok thanks for replies.
I've just been looking through some suppliers websites and doing the sums.
It seems to me that if I ordered separate items from a few different suppliers I could source individual components and build a 4040 system with one fibredyne pre-filter for cheaper than I could buy the whole system from a supplier.
Probably saving around £100, although I would have to fit everything together myself.
Has anyone else gone down this route?

Yes I did, but to be honest, I wouldn't do it again.

What you don't count on is the cost of the all the neccessary fittings and hose which quickly add up. Yes, you maybe able to  save on an extra prefilter, but on our water supply we still need the sediment filter as a first filter before the carbon block, or Fibredyne in your case. A 20" Fibredyne prefilter will suffice for 115,000 litres of water and our water has a lot of sediment in it.

I originally costed my setup at a £150 saving, but it ended up to be about £50 which wasn't worth the hassle. For example, some prefilters come with the securing bracket, others don't. You then need to source the correct screws. If the screws are too big then you can damage your housing and there's £40 wasted. The brackets didn't come with the filter housings I ordered, so I purchased them elsewhere - the bracket wasn't correct so I wasted £8.00 on that.

[SPE]

Ok thanks for replies.
I've just been looking through some suppliers websites and doing the sums.
It seems to me that if I ordered separate items from a few different suppliers I could source individual components and build a 4040 system with one fibredyne pre-filter for cheaper than I could buy the whole system from a supplier.
Probably saving around £100, although I would have to fit everything together myself.
Has anyone else gone down this route?

yes, I did but to be honest if vyair had been selling systems at the time I would have just bought one of theirs. Worth having a look on their site and speaking to them, they can sell you a bespoke system and very easy to assemble.
When i rang them to order a new 4040 membrane i got a good tip. Make a bypass around the waste gate valve with additional pipe and an on/off tap. So when you have adjusted the waste valve to optimum you need never touch it again - simply open the bypass tap to flush -brilliant idea !

Vyair was one of the suppliers I was looking at, aswell as Gaps and Gardiners for JG 1/2" fittings and tubing.
Vyair's 4040 membrane housing was a lot cheaper than others (Champ etc.)
I've roughly calculated I could source and build a 4040 system (not including a booster pump)for about £350.
How are you getting on with the Vyair membrane?
And what is your tap tds and what ppm do you get out of it before resin?

no complaints , about 250-270 from tap and was 12 after membrane but now about 15/16 after changing to a fibredyne single pre filter (should have stuck to my instincts of if it aint broke don't fix  )

[koopmaster]

I have been keeping my eye on this one.  what do you think?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221251795390?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

[Spruce]

I have been keeping my eye on this one.  what do you think?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221251795390?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

The second GAC filter will only be good for 2500 gallons of chlorine removal, so with a 4040 r/o set at a 50/50 waste to pure means their life is 1250 American gallons (smaller measure than imperial gallons.)

I would retain the sediment filter and replace the GAC and carbon block filters with one good carbon block filter such as a Fiberdyne and leave the other middle housing empty.