1:1 RO waste/ product ratio?

I have a 100 gpd coralife pureflow 2 RO unit. I changed out the membrane to a 90 gpd spectrapure. Coralife tells me that this unit has a self-adjusting flow restrictor. But I do not need to restrict my rejection, I need more rejection. Can anyone help me wrap my head around this?

 

Did you buy the capillary tube flow restrictor to go with the new RO membrane?
Depending on your water hardness and TDS you will want to trim the capillary tube for a 4:1 waste ratio if you have normal to hard water, 3:1 if your water is somewhat soft to moderately hard water and as low as 2:1 if you have very soft water and lower than normal TDS.

You will remove and toss the Coralife restrictor, insert the capillary tube in the waste line untrimmed, measure your flow according to the included instructions and trim the capillary tube to the suggested length using a sharp razor blade.

Despite what Coralife says, their restrictor is not self adjusting, and is rarely what it should be

 

AZ, I thought that a flow restrictor on the waste line would decrease waste, not increase it?

 

If you have a 1:1 ratio presently you have a restrictor in the waste line now. It could be in the 90 degree elbow. If you did not have a restrictor everything wuld be going out the waste line and nothing through the membrane.

Photos of your plumbing would help.

 

Forgive me for having a hard time wrapping my head around this. Could it possibly be an issue with the membrane and some water is bypassing it, increasing the product water? Because the flow restrictor decreases water waste. I want more waste.

 

Pictures of your plumbing.

Did you remove the old restrictor? If not do so now.

It is possible the membrane is not seated properly or that an O ring or seal rubber is rolled. Did you clean the housing well with soap and water, lubricate the O-rings and rubber seals with a thin film of silicone grease and insert it all the way in the housing, they go in further than you think.
Measure your TDS on the treated and waste lines and also measure you waste and treated flows using a measuring cup for exactly one minute. What are all 4 of these readings or amounts?
What is your water temperature and your water pressure?

A 90 GPD membrane at 60 psi should give you about 7-8 ounces or water in 1 minute from the treated side, what are you getting? If it is more then it is possible the membrane is not seated or bypassing

 

That is a distinct possibility about the membrane not being seated properly. I just took out the old one and replaced it; I did none of the extra steps you mentioned. I'll try that and report back.

Edit: I can't try that right now, I can't unscrew the cap, I'm not strong enough. Will have to ask a neighbor for help.

 

Got the canister opened and re-seated the membrane, although it seemed fine. In doing so I located the flow restrictor but it was on the product line, not the waste line. What is up with that?

 

Thats why I asked for a description and photos of the plumbing. Getting lines crossed is a very common problem when changing filters or the membrane. This is why better vendors like Spectrapure color code all their lines.

 

All my lines are color-coded. Yellow in, red waste, blue product. The elbow that the restrictor is in is also color-coded (sort of) with the opaque elbow being the one with the restrictor. I'll take pics tomorrow. I'm sure I did not cross the lines.

But just to help wrap this around my brain, the restrictor should never be in the product line, right?

Thank you for your patience, AZ.