[Griffus]

I bought a WC van including full system in March 2012.   No idea what resin was in the DI but the reading stayed at zero for over a year.   Knowing what I know now this was something of a miracle.

To be fair this was an occasional use van, max one week per month on average.

I had to replace the resin a while back as the TDS started creeping up.  I tried the pre-filters firstly but no joy.  After changing the resin I had a reading worse than before the change.   Turned out I had put a bit too much in and the water was only following one or two channels through the resin and so the DI wasn't able to do its job properly.   I emptied out some of the resin, gave the canister a good shake and hey presto - zero TDS.

Since then I have replaced the RO Membrane as the reading in the tank was creeping up.  This resolved the issue straight away.

I noticed last week the the TDS reading out at the pole was creeping up again, only 1 or 2 so nothing to urgent.  The thing is that it's not been that long since I changed resin, not in comparison to the previous.

Anyway, checked again yesterday and it was higher, 15 ppm.  Today, after filtering much slower into the tank (TDS of 12 in the tank at the minute) the weirdest thing, 12 in the tank, 19 after the DI.

Obviously the resin needs changing but it has left me wondering: -
1)  What life expectancy do you guys generally get out of your resin?   Our tap water is around 400 ppm, after the RO it's about 20 - 25 ppm.

2)  Has anyone else had such a quick deteriation in the performance of their resin?   

3)  I last bought Tulsion 115.   Is there anything better out there as to be honest I haven't really been impressed.   

[jk999]

What to system you using

[Griffus]

What to system you using

Brodex - It's a great system and obviously I need to change the resin but I was hoping for answers / opinions from others.

[Mike #1]

With a tds of 20-25ppm and lets say you are using 1200 ltrs of water a week and the Di vessel is 11ltr then your resin should last about 6 months at a guess .

But without  the full details you cant expect an informed answer without all the facts from you  . Mike

[Spruce]

I bought a WC van including full system in March 2012.   No idea what resin was in the DI but the reading stayed at zero for over a year.   Knowing what I know now this was something of a miracle.

To be fair this was an occasional use van, max one week per month on average.

I had to replace the resin a while back as the TDS started creeping up.  I tried the pre-filters firstly but no joy.  After changing the resin I had a reading worse than before the change.   Turned out I had put a bit too much in and the water was only following one or two channels through the resin and so the DI wasn't able to do its job properly.   I emptied out some of the resin, gave the canister a good shake and hey presto - zero TDS.

Since then I have replaced the RO Membrane as the reading in the tank was creeping up.  This resolved the issue straight away.

I noticed last week the the TDS reading out at the pole was creeping up again, only 1 or 2 so nothing to urgent.  The thing is that it's not been that long since I changed resin, not in comparison to the previous.

Anyway, checked again yesterday and it was higher, 15 ppm.  Today, after filtering much slower into the tank (TDS of 12 in the tank at the minute) the weirdest thing, 12 in the tank, 19 after the DI.

Obviously the resin needs changing but it has left me wondering: -
1)  What life expectancy do you guys generally get out of your resin?   Our tap water is around 400 ppm, after the RO it's about 20 - 25 ppm.

2)  Has anyone else had such a quick deteriation in the performance of their resin?  

3)  I last bought Tulsion 115.   Is there anything better out there as to be honest I haven't really been impressed.  

With a tds of 20 and a tap water tds of 400 means that your membrane is only 95% efficient. I presume you have a 4040 r/o. If you do then your r/o isn't performing as efficiently as they are known to.

Tulson 115 resin is a popular choice among window cleaners, and I have had no issue with it. Saying that though, I shared a bag with a fellow window cleaner once he said it was rubbish - but he 'forgot' that he was supplying water to another windie and he was running a very inefficient Merlin.

The reason why you are going through resin is that your pure water tds is high. The more water you use the shorter the life of your resin.

We have a 4040 with HF5 membrane, 50 psi water pressure, no booster and we get a tds of 2 on the pure with an input of 115.

Its important to replace your prefilters regularly. The chlorine block filter is very important as chlorine kills membranes.

As the water quality deteriorates after the di it is being diluted in a tank of water in your van that is more pure having been produced at a lower tds from an earlier fill.

[Mike #1]

In hard water areas i think you need to change your pre filters every 3 months . Mike

[Griffus]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.

I am in the process of purchasing a static system with a 4040 HF5 membrane but will still use the van system too so wanted to get a better understanding.

Will change resin and pre-filter tomorrow.

Only one pre-filter on the system I have: -

http://www.brodexbms.co.uk/presentation/images/E250RO.jpg

[chez]

I have the Brodex 650 ltr van mounted R/O system for 4 years. If I can give any advice I would be glad to help.
Cheers Chez

[Griffus]

I have the Brodex 650 ltr van mounted R/O system for 4 years. If I can give any advice I would be glad to help.
Cheers Chez

Thanks Chez.

I'll see how things settle after tomorrow and drop you a line if still having problems.

[chez]

Just to get you going with some help. My system when I bought it had one pre filter. This seemed adequate for a while, but you really do need a carbon filter to stop the chlorine damaging the r/o membrane, and sediment. I swapped over to the fibredyne filter which does both. Left it in for 4 or 5 months and was still going good but felt it was long enough. You can get them from Gardeners website. My tds is 240 in the summer and so the resin lasts me about 6 to 7 months with using 2 to 3 tanks per week. The r/o gets it down to about 12 ish which I'm happy with. Make sure you flush your membrane after every tank full for 15 mins or so - helps the resin last longer. When you are flushing disconnect the pipe that goes into the resin so as the flushed water does not go in the resin. Direct it down the drain. Or water butt  
Hope it helps.
Cheeses Chez

[chez]

I have the Brodex 650 ltr van mounted R/O system for 4 years. If I can give any advice I would be glad to help.
Cheers Chez

Thanks Chez.

I'll see how things settle after tomorrow and drop you a line if still having problems.

Ok no worries, let me know
Cheers