Increase RO/DI output during winters cold water

[Leroy]

As we all are aware of how slow our RO/DI water productivity decreases during the winter because of how very cold the water is as compared to how much faster we can make water during the summer. I'm experimenting with increasing the water production by having my input water before the RO/DI pass thru 25 feet of 1/4 inch hose in a 5 gallon bucket with a 100 watt heater set at 70 degrees. Good chance I can go less but I know the cold water passing thru will keep the water in the bucket cool. It'll be a trial effort to know an exact setting for the heater. I put a tight cover on the bucket to eliminate any evaporation. Before I would hear 1 to maybe 3 drops of water within 10 seconds dripping into my 55 gal container. It would take forever. Now I count 12 drops of water produced in 10 seconds. I hoping to have the 55 gal container filled with RO water in a very short time ready for my next water change.

 

[rjdudek]

Ideal temp for RO feed is 79f if you can reach it. Based on the transfer of heat you may want to set it a bit higher so the feed ends up at 79.

 

[Leroy]

Thanks for the info Rob. I will work on it.

 

[biggyclops]

i ended up having my RO/DI freezing!! so i ended up using those heating strip used for copper pipes (wrapping the hoses with the strip in insulation) .. tell you what.. that thing gets pretty darn warm! and has a thermostat built into it.. its almost like making water in the summer

 

[pvh]

Great find Leroy.

 

[Leroy]

Thanks Peter, good to see someone appreciates a tip to aid in the help of the hobby. If this was a thread about a kitty in a cute picture...the thread would go on for months.. makes you wonder sometimes ...!

 

[Sokretys]

Like a mini-furnace! good thinkin Leroy

 

[JPags]

One question, if I am able to hook my RO/DI filter up directly to my faucet, and use both the hot and cold water to feed the unit, is there any downfall to that method?

I have a sink in my basement which is right next to my heater so I have been able to make water all winter with no slow down and my TDS meter reads between 2-5ppm on the output water.

I just wanted to see if I am missing something by using both the hot and cold water for my input water.

One other question is has anyone tried a thermostatic mixing valve to mix the hot and cold water and maintain a specific temperature going into the RO/DI unit. These are used with hot water heaters to control the output temperature of the water going to the rest of the house. If I hard piped my unit in I was thinking of using one of these.

John

 

[Sokretys]

Hey has anyone else ever heard of or bought from www.thefilterguys.biz.

ive got their ocean reef miser setup and for the price it is truly amazing. requires at least 60 psi which can be an issue. but it does some serious WORK

Their customer service is first rate!

 

[Miller]

I thought about something like that....but I am far to lazy.

Nice work Leroy! Is the 5 gallon bucket sitting on a cold basement floor? If so adding some foam insulation or getting the bucket off the floor would make it more effiecent to heat.

 

[rjdudek]

Commercial systems use a temp blending valve to hold the feed water at the correct temp. They generally run about 400 for a small one. There may be other less expensive options, but I have not seen a reliable one. As you start to go over 80f the product quality will drop and as you near 100 the membrane will become damaged. If you adjust your temp manually be careful to keep it near or below 79

 

[Sokretys]

And even using a blend of hot and cold to get an ideal temp can be risky. if someone else in the house uses the cold water...scalding water can quickly fry your membrane.

 

[rusty18]

Also consider how much water it takes to make rodi, and the cost to have the water heater constantly running. This depends on you location but it is probably a lot less to run a 100w heater than the hot water heater all the time.

 

[jbishop]

Very cool.

 

[Aquaman_68]

Thanks Peter, good to see someone appreciates a tip to aid in the help of the hobby. If this was a thread about a kitty in a cute picture...the thread would go on for months.. makes you wonder sometimes ...!

Guess your not feeling the love huh!!


People like to read...but don't use the reply button in this forum as often as they should!!

don't take it personal..





I know someone who uses a mixing valve to regulate the temp before going thru the RO membrane... (hot & cold combined to get the optimal water temp to get the most production...once it is dialed in it usually works well for the winter months...

HTH you with other ideas as well...


BTW...you have to be careful not to go too hot...or you will damage your membrane!!

 

[cujo6984]

leroy how did it work 4 you did you ever check the temp of the water in the bucket im asking because i tryed it and it droped to 55 is within 30 mins and that is with 125 watts 2 heaters a 100 and a 25 its all i had for extras im guessing i would need at least 300 watts to maintain 75 degrees in the bucket i have a 100 gpd unit so its like about 15 gallons an hour of 50degree water flowing through the bucket i just dont see the 300 watts for 10+ hours being worth it ????

 

[Shenlung]

The RO/DI setup I just got is setup thusly:

The feeder hose comes from the outside faucet through a window to a 5 gallon bucket.
In the bucket is 50+feet of 1/4" hose coiled up with 3 100w(ish) heaters, bucket filled with water.
Hose comes out and to the ro/di. Water temp tested coming to ro/di is +/- 70 F with the three heaters set at max and pressure at 60 PSI +/-5, it'll fill up a 7 gallon bucket in about 2 hours, but that was when the system was warming up... might go faster now. If I get it shifted to the basement, I'll go with 3 or 4 55 gallon buckets with pvc overflows from one to the next so I can turn it on and let it go for a bit...add an ATO setup to the sump with one spare bucket to pre-mix SW for water changes, and I think I might not have to touch the thing ever unless I'm changing out filters or turning it off.

On a side note, anyone got 55 gallon buckets laying around? j/k


....and yes, I'm an engineer, this is how my mind works

 

[Leroy]

Guess your not feeling the love huh!!


People like to read...but don't use the reply button in this forum as often as they should!!

don't take it personal..

Nah, rattle a cage now and then, just sharing some simple info for cheap money to build. What’s the doggy thread replies up to……lol

 

[Leroy]

leroy how did it work 4 you did you ever check the temp of the water in the bucket im asking because i tryed it and it droped to 55 is within 30 mins and that is with 125 watts 2 heaters a 100 and a 25 its all i had for extras im guessing i would need at least 300 watts to maintain 75 degrees in the bucket i have a 100 gpd unit so its like about 15 gallons an hour of 50degree water flowing through the bucket i just dont see the 300 watts for 10+ hours being worth it ????

I increased the 100 watt heater up to 80-85 and my water temperature in the bucket is at 72. All I wanted to do is raise the water temp going into the RO system so I can make more water during the winter. It’s helped so now I was able to do a water change for two 90 gal tanks and still have water for auto top off.

The RO/DI setup I just got is setup thusly:

The feeder hose comes from the outside faucet through a window to a 5 gallon bucket.
In the bucket is 50+feet of 1/4" hose coiled up with 3 100w(ish) heaters, bucket filled with water.
Hose comes out and to the ro/di. Water temp tested coming to ro/di is +/- 70 F with the three heaters set at max and pressure at 60 PSI +/-5, it'll fill up a 7 gallon bucket in about 2 hours, but that was when the system was warming up... might go faster now. If I get it shifted to the basement, I'll go with 3 or 4 55 gallon buckets with pvc overflows from one to the next so I can turn it on and let it go for a bit...add an ATO setup to the sump with one spare bucket to pre-mix SW for water changes, and I think I might not have to touch the thing ever unless I'm changing out filters or turning it off.

On a side note, anyone got 55 gallon buckets laying around? j/k


....and yes, I'm an engineer, this is how my mind works

Dude I was just keeping it simple, K.I.S.S., if you came up with an idea in the men’s room would they find the layout and schematics on the stall walls…….j/k. I worked with someone that had to follow an engineer and he’d formulate his ideas on walls. The worker was responsible for cutting the walls with the info and handed over to designers to work from.::

 

[nickyblase]

Cool idea. I think someone else was doing something kind of similar - maybe Liam? - where they were running the elongated RO/DI input tube through the sump or frag tank or something to get the ideal temp. It saved $ by not having to use a separate heater, and conversely could probably be used in the summer for a cooling affect as well.