[johnny bravo]

Ive been searching  on here for recent postings regarding this RO System,
Looking at the tds readings etc  coming out  from ro    it seems a gamble for me to purchase to produce more pure quicker and not so often.
ive been meaning to change but atm with my 300RO,  Theres  no expense really. water coming out is 3 ppm But i do need more pure made
Your views please will be a great help,

My water input will be around 130 / 148   , my tap pressure is around 25 pressure, i know i will need a bigger booster pump

But the views ive been reading regarding  PRF RO,  Looks suitiable for my needs.
im  needing around 2000 litres of pure a week.

So what other items will i be needing to create a good set up,   this will be my next big investment to step up from the small RO , ive just got too stuck in my easy mode  But 300 ro has to be on every day
Are any of you using the Pentair PRF RO atm,     is it a good investment for me.  any views  good & bad please

[alanwilson]

The prf is a merlin. We had one many moons ago, it was a good enough ro but just became too small for us.

Prf on a booster pump with twin 11ltr Di vessels in series and you will be sorted.

[johnny bravo]

i wouldnt need 2 x 11 litre di vessels surelly,      water going  in is 148,    with a booster this should come out under 10       or am i mistaken, or just diluded in thinking this,   One chap says his water is 300 going in,   coming out @ 3 / 5 with the PRF RO.

[Spruce]

i wouldnt need 2 x 11 litre di vessels surelly,      water going  in is 148,    with a booster this should come out under 10       or am i mistaken, or just diluded in thinking this,   One chap says his water is 300 going in,   coming out @ 3 / 5 with the PRF RO.

With a Merlin? More chance of falling pregnant by wind pollination than getting 99% efficiency from a Merlin -  now PFR.

[p1w1]

i wouldnt need 2 x 11 litre di vessels surelly,      water going  in is 148,    with a booster this should come out under 10       or am i mistaken, or just diluded in thinking this,   One chap says his water is 300 going in,   coming out @ 3 / 5 with the PRF RO.

With a Merlin? More chance of falling pregnant by wind pollination than getting 99% efficiency from a Merlin -  now PFR.

[Den68]

i wouldnt need 2 x 11 litre di vessels surelly,      water going  in is 148,    with a booster this should come out under 10       or am i mistaken, or just diluded in thinking this,   One chap says his water is 300 going in,   coming out @ 3 / 5 with the PRF RO.

With a Merlin? More chance of falling pregnant by wind pollination than getting 99% efficiency from a Merlin -  now PFR.

Lol

[AuRavelling79]

I've got one.

I change the membranes at about a year old.

Input is usually about 350. Tap pressure is about 70/75. Output starts at about 005 for a week then over the next month creeps up to about 10 and then over the next nine months gradually goes up to about 10/14 and at about a year up to 16/18. I always change the membranes before 20.

I just stick a small resin 1 litre chamber before my holding tank and change the resin when it gets to about 006 after a week or two.
 

[Don Kee]

How much are merlin membranes, £100?
Merlin from Gardiners is what, £350?

So after 3 years with you buying a membrane once a year, you’ll have spent £550 ish (not including prefilters) on an RO that, contrary to what a person or two think, is not as efficient as a 4040; not even close according to some peoples figures.

4040 membrane on average for most (baring the odd one) seems to last 3 ish years, so its the same costing over 3 years but much more efficient, less resin used as a result.

Same long term costs (ish), ones more efficient than the other, uses less resin, flow adjustable, you can flush to prolong the life of a membrane, can produce more water faster etc etc... and the other isn’t/doesn’t...

I’m no RO expert as I’ve said before, but why do people buy a merlin again? Just so they can ‘save’ a couple of hundred on initial outlay or because they feel compelled to only buy from Gardiners?

[Steve Newres]

How much are merlin membranes, £100?
Merlin from Gardiners is what, £350?

So after 3 years with you buying a membrane once a year, you’ll have spent £550 ish (not including prefilters) on an RO that, contrary to what a person or two think, is not as efficient as a 4040; not even close according to some peoples figures.

4040 membrane on average for most (baring the odd one) seems to last 3 ish years, so its the same costing over 3 years but much more efficient, less resin used as a result.

Same long term costs (ish), ones more efficient than the other, uses less resin, flow adjustable, you can flush to prolong the life of a membrane, can produce more water faster etc etc... and the other isn’t/doesn’t...

I’m no RO expert as I’ve said before, but why do people buy a merlin again? Just so they can ‘save’ a couple of hundred on initial outlay or because they feel compelled to only buy from Gardiners?

Someone got up out of the wrong side of the bed. It's Christmas! Take it easy. 

[Spruce]

Johnny has been contemplating an r/o upgrade for a long time now.

He has 2 problems; low water pressure and low flow rate from his taps.

The problem is that if he fits a bigger r/o with a booster pump, the booster pump is going to suck every drop of water from his supply and create other issues.
He needs to get to grips with why he has so little water delivery from the water board. Most of us in the same area get twice that amount.

.

[AuRavelling79]

The OP asked for views. I'm just explaining the results from mine.

I didn't get a Merlin/PRO "again" - I replaced my 300 gpd with the one I have. I also shop around for membranes, resin and filters.

It's plug and play and easy and works well enough with no booster pump and 70 psi tap pressure for me and Dan - who contributes to it's cost running 50/50 (so I bought it but we go halves on filters, membranes and resin).

So if I buy a bag of resin a year, get through 8 filters and a pair of membranes I stump up how much - £360 plus vat? That's what? A pound a day - 50p each  for two window cleaners? Chargeable to tax?

As for buying the original from Gardiners - well I know their stuff works and their service is second to none. I mean what other director of a company is going to answer my damn fool questions and spend a couple of hours advising luddite central what pipes and connectors  I need to buy?

If I paid by the cubic metre for water I'd look at other options - but I don't.

Happy happy me.

[johnny bravo]

im going to contact the water board and queery my tap pressure,  Spruce    what is your water pressure

[Steve Newres]

Just to add, June at Gaps reckoned more waste with a 4040. I’ve never measured but it was suggested that the usual ratio is 2/3 waste to 1/3 pure.

[Spruce]

im going to contact the water board and queery my tap pressure,  Spruce    what is your water pressure

50 psi.
You can run a 4040 with 150ppm tap water at 1 to 1 ratio.

[Spruce]

Just to add, June at Gaps reckoned more waste with a 4040. I’ve never measured but it was suggested that the usual ratio is 2/3 waste to 1/3 pure.

June's probably right from a supplier answer.

The water we have in Teesside is pretty good. Ours fluctuates between 79 and 130 depending on where they are drawing water from. We have a lot of local dams supplemented by Kielder in the Scottish boarders.  I'm not sure where Middlesbrough draw the bulk of their water from but they are also linked in with Kielder.

My HF5 4040 r/o is now 51/2 years old and still using the original Axeon membrane producing at 98% without a booster. Waste to pure ratio is 50 - 50.

I had a 450gpd before this and wish I had upgraded years before I did.

[dd]

Johnny has been contemplating an r/o upgrade for a long time now.

He has 2 problems; low water pressure and low flow rate from his taps.

The problem is that if he fits a bigger r/o with a booster pump, the booster pump is going to suck every drop of water from his supply and create other issues.
He needs to get to grips with why he has so little water delivery from the water board. Most of us in the same area get twice that amount.

.

That is why IMO he would be better with a 300gpd or 450gpd RO with a booster pump. In theory it should work better because the pump has not got to feed the RO as much water as it would a 4040. I have run a 300gpd RO for years and have not had problems with either tds of product water or volume produced (my psi is around 52-55).

[johnny bravo]

So the fact is  im wasting my time looking to invest in a 4040 or 4021 RO System untill i can see if i can get my water pressure up.
 
or is there one which i can use with low pressure which will be a decent system for me to invest in.



or just  get a 450 ro

[dd]

To get decent performance from any RO you need pressure around 50psi (a bit higher is better). If you produce water more slowly it is easier to achieve this with a booster pump as less volume of water i.e litres per minute, is required.

If you really want to use a 4040 RO you would probably need to use a break tank - fill a tank with water and use it to feed a pumped supply to the RO. The break tank would be plumbed in to the water supply and be refilling whilst feeding the RO.

[Spruce]

So the fact is  im wasting my time looking to invest in a 4040 or 4021 RO System untill i can see if i can get my water pressure up.
 
or is there one which i can use with low pressure which will be a decent system for me to invest in.



or just  get a 450 ro

A 450 gpd will produce 50% more water than you are now, but you won't see much of a difference. If you want to fill the van tank directly then you need a bigger r/o. Before the bigger r/o you need more water.

I also wouldn't be making to much of a scene with the water board as to why you want for pressure as they could want to fit you up with a water meter but do nothing to solve the pressure problem. Your problem is low water pressure and you need to know what they are going to do about solving the problem.

In fact when they come around get rid of the r/o and the stickered van.

[johnny bravo]

taken on board,
so spruce   it  wouldnt be any use  thinking about a 4040 or similar untill i tried to obtain more water pressure from my home tap first.
as you say a bigger booster pump will drain the water too fast. causing problems,      my pressure was around 23 / 25   very low for a big ro setup.