And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
What Steve S. said. There are many other good systems out there that do just as well as the RO systems without the waste. Conservatism isn't just politics.
I have a 1:1 waste water RO system that supplies my drinking and other purposes. It is good for 500 gallons a day. We may use just 20 or 30 at the most.
The maintenance will wear you out. As Bob said, the filters get expensive. Not sure what maintenance is involved with that RO. We have a well at our FL house and a softener and whole house filter that back flushes weekly.
We have the triple rig like above here on our hoosier house but I disconnected it after the first year (15 years ago). Filter cost, leaks, and pressure drop. Ever since, for drinking/cooking water, we have a large Brita pitcher filter and use the Walmart brand filters at about $7 each, change them about every 3 months. Alot of it has to do with the quality of the water as it comes out of the pipe. The dirtier the water the more the rig has to do. Generally such things are better purchased on a regional basis rather than 1 size fits all. Get your water tested first before you decide/purchase.
I have exactly that system under the kitchen sink. One only needs to replace three of the filters once a year, and the r/o membrane every two years. It brought our will water from 428 ppm down to 5 ppm. An icemaker accessory is available as well, which I also installed. I used to drive 40 miles to fill our 15 5 gallon jugs every couple of weeks...no more. Replacing the filters can be messy with water spillage, but plenty of towels takes care of that...worth every penny.
RO efficiency is measured in TDS reduction. Total Dissolved Solids.
The best unit you can buy is a Kinetico K5. More expensive, but more efficient. Much less rejection. Filters are good for 500 gallons and the membrane for 10 years minimum. 10 year warranty. Filters out way more stuff than anything else, including bacteria, arsenic, heavy metals, etc, etc.
Your satisfaction might depend on the source water. We've had one for a dozen years. The water tastes great, really, and we run it to the fridge as well - crystal clear ice. RO process does capture water through a flow, so you will hear a trickle running in your sink drain while it replenishes the volume tank - but then it stops. It's worth it for us. I've never had a leak and filter replacement is about once per year, and not hard. Culligan offers the service if you want to take it in that direction, less than $40 per month. And you can add a mineral cartridge to add back trace minerals that you need for electrolytes and so on.
Have the 5 Stage by iSpring with mineral cartridge and UV with a pressure pump using well water. Great tasting water. Reduced PPM from 440+ to `7. Change filters yearly, recommended at 4K gallons. $75 a pack of filters. HAd Ozarka delivery prior at $80 a month.
I'd say they're probably talking about the reduction in NaCl, in ppm, because that's commonly a problem that requires monitoring by municipalities and people with hypertensive / diabetic conditions being careful with their salt intake. The best commonly-available unit of measure to use for this kind of water purification is probably turbidity units.
When I lived in Anderson I used a Brita pitcher and filters from Costco for the coffee maker and drinking water; didn't worry about the water for other uses. Never thought about it in Redding because Westwood Manor had it's own wells.
I just installed one last week for a friend. Here is where I get my filters. Only $39.99 https://www.amazon.com/LiquaGen-Replacement-Reverse-Osmosis-Membrane/dp/B01KYBQEQS
When people are talking PPM, they are probably referring to hardness. I haven't tested the output of my RO system. However, the sodium from the water softener is filtered out as well as the sulfates and iron in the water. Where I am at near Bandera, Texas we have hardness between 800 ppm and 900ppm along with very high sulfates and iron. We also have high natural fluorides in the water; guess we will have good teeth.
PPM is parts per million. The dude is correct. I should have said TDS...total dissolved solids. Out here, shallow wells have more minerals in them than deeper ones. Ours is around 400 ft deep. The water is loaded with sulfur leaving a very smelly water, especially when run through the water heater. A water softener compensates for that. Our r/o system is not whole house; just drinking water and ice making. The water is safe out of the well, just not very palatable.
Always a good idea. Filters expensive but a lot cheaper and cleaner than bottled water.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that you waste just as much water as you get with one of these units.....would be willing to hear of others experiences.
ReplyDeleteHow is it being wasted?
DeleteTypically 3:1 waste water to filtered. The waste water is what flushes the contaminants from the filter membranes and goes down the drain.
DeleteWhat Steve S. said. There are many other good systems out there that do just as well as the RO systems without the waste. Conservatism isn't just politics.
DeleteI have a 1:1 waste water RO system that supplies my drinking and other purposes. It is good for 500 gallons a day. We may use just 20 or 30 at the most.
DeleteThe maintenance will wear you out. As Bob said, the filters get expensive. Not sure what maintenance is involved with that RO. We have a well at our FL house and a softener and whole house filter that back flushes weekly.
ReplyDeleteWe have the triple rig like above here on our hoosier house but I disconnected it after the first year (15 years ago). Filter cost, leaks, and pressure drop. Ever since, for drinking/cooking water, we have a large Brita pitcher filter and use the Walmart brand filters at about $7 each, change them about every 3 months. Alot of it has to do with the quality of the water as it comes out of the pipe. The dirtier the water the more the rig has to do. Generally such things are better purchased on a regional basis rather than 1 size fits all. Get your water tested first before you decide/purchase.
It all depends on the water you have work with, if you really NEED that filter then you do. If the Brita pitcher or a Berkey filter is enough...
ReplyDeleteI have exactly that system under the kitchen sink. One only needs to replace three of the filters once a year, and the r/o membrane every two years.
ReplyDeleteIt brought our will water from 428 ppm down to 5 ppm.
An icemaker accessory is available as well, which I also installed.
I used to drive 40 miles to fill our 15 5 gallon jugs every couple of weeks...no more.
Replacing the filters can be messy with water spillage, but plenty of towels takes care of that...worth every penny.
ppm of what?
DeleteRO efficiency is measured in TDS reduction. Total Dissolved Solids.
DeleteThe best unit you can buy is a Kinetico K5. More expensive, but more efficient. Much less rejection. Filters are good for 500 gallons and the membrane for 10 years minimum. 10 year warranty. Filters out way more stuff than anything else, including bacteria, arsenic, heavy metals, etc, etc.
Your satisfaction might depend on the source water. We've had one for a dozen years. The water tastes great, really, and we run it to the fridge as well - crystal clear ice. RO process does capture water through a flow, so you will hear a trickle running in your sink drain while it replenishes the volume tank - but then it stops. It's worth it for us. I've never had a leak and filter replacement is about once per year, and not hard. Culligan offers the service if you want to take it in that direction, less than $40 per month. And you can add a mineral cartridge to add back trace minerals that you need for electrolytes and so on.
ReplyDeleteHave the 5 Stage by iSpring with mineral cartridge and UV with a pressure pump using well water. Great tasting water. Reduced PPM from 440+ to `7. Change filters yearly, recommended at 4K gallons. $75 a pack of filters. HAd Ozarka delivery prior at $80 a month.
ReplyDeleteppm of what?
DeleteI'd say they're probably talking about the reduction in NaCl, in ppm, because that's commonly a problem that requires monitoring by municipalities and people with hypertensive / diabetic conditions being careful with their salt intake. The best commonly-available unit of measure to use for this kind of water purification is probably turbidity units.
DeleteRun the 'waste' water out to the garden or some trees.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Anderson I used a Brita pitcher and filters from Costco for the coffee maker and drinking water; didn't worry about the water for other uses.
ReplyDeleteNever thought about it in Redding because Westwood Manor had it's own wells.
I just installed one last week for a friend. Here is where I get my filters. Only $39.99 https://www.amazon.com/LiquaGen-Replacement-Reverse-Osmosis-Membrane/dp/B01KYBQEQS
ReplyDeleteWhen people are talking PPM, they are probably referring to hardness. I haven't tested the output of my RO system. However, the sodium from the water softener is filtered out as well as the sulfates and iron in the water. Where I am at near Bandera, Texas we have hardness between 800 ppm and 900ppm along with very high sulfates and iron. We also have high natural fluorides in the water; guess we will have good teeth.
ReplyDeletePPM is parts per million.
ReplyDeleteThe dude is correct.
I should have said TDS...total dissolved solids. Out here, shallow wells have more minerals in them than deeper ones. Ours is around 400 ft deep. The water is loaded with sulfur leaving a very smelly water, especially when run through the water heater. A water softener compensates for that.
Our r/o system is not whole house; just drinking water and ice making.
The water is safe out of the well, just not very palatable.