Aquasafe RO system working correctly??

I recently purchased an Aquasafe 6-stage RO/DI unit and I'm wondering if its working right because it seems to be producing a LOT of waste water. I timed it and measured a little less than a quarter gallon of RO water being produced in an hour, should I be getting more than that?? Also in an hour it produces about 3 gallons of waste water. Thats 72 gallons a day, and I have to leave it running because of the small output of RO water. Is this normal for a unit of this quality?? What can I do to increase RO output and decrease waste output??

Thanks!

 

the waste to good water ratio is usually around 4 to 1. if its a 75 GPD unit it should be making a little more than 3 gallons per hour, and wasting 9. my RO has a flush built in that washes water over all the filters and straight out the drain. does yours have anything like this that could be on?

~Will.

 

I knew something was screwy. Mine does have a flush lever but its not open its def closed. It also has an auto-shutuff attachment that is supposed to stop the waste water flow after the storage tank fills up if the RO water output tube is closed. The storage tank never fills and the waste water never stops coming, regardless of whether the RO water output tube is open or closed. Could it have something to do with the PSI in the storage tank or maybe something else? Thanks btw

 

Do you have a pressure gauge on the system? Most RO/DI units require a min 40psi input pressure to work correctly. If the pressure is not high enough it will vent most of the water out the waste drain since it can’t force it thru the RO membrane.

 

No I don't, but it sounds like I'm going to have to get one. Do they sell handheld gauges or will I have to install one? If my pressure is too low, what are my options to increase it?

 

RO output is dependent on two things, water temperature and water pressure. Dow Filmtec says 77 degrees F and 50 psi to produce the rated output. GE Water and Applied Membranes say 77 degrees also but 65 psi to produce the rated output. I believe the unit you have comes with a 100 GPD GE membrane so at 77 degrees water temp it will produce 75 GPD at 50 psi, 90 GPD at 60 psi and 100 GPD at 65 psi. I will say that most households in the US do not have 65 psi available at the tap so Dows numbers of 50 psi are more realistic. Its also unusual to find 77 degree tap water unless you are in the southwest or south.
You will laos produce less that the rated amount when you are pumping into the pressure tank intended for drinking water since it now has backpressure on it. When using the pressure tank waste flows will also be higher for the same reason and possible get as high as 20:1 before the auto shutoff valve shuts the system down.

If it isn't already i would try and seperate the DI making part from the RO/drinking water making part with a ball valve so you are basically pumping to atmosphere or open discharge when you are making DI, this way it will work a little faster and waste less water at 4:1 or so.

40 psi is the absolute bare minimum they will operate at and the efficiency will be at its lowest. If you can get it closer to 65-80 psi it will work much better and 90 is better still. I operate my system at 100 psi and get well over 120 GPD at 99+% efficiency. You can buy a pressure gauge and hose bib adapter at HD or Lowes for less than $10 or get a John Guest tee, a couple inches of 1/4" RO tubing, a John Guest 1/4"x1/4"FIP adapter and pressure gauge and install it inline after the prefilter and carbon like some better units come with. You can find the gauge as I described at www.buckeyefieldsupply.com and other RO vendors. If pressure is 40 psi or lower a booster pump is in order and they run about $100 and up.
While you are at www.buckeyefieldsupply.com , take a look at the calculator at the top of the page. Plug in different pressures and temperatures and it will tell you what you can expect to get out of your system, pretty cool and very accurate.

 

Got it fixed! It did have to do with the water pressure coming from my cold water supply. I just didn't have the connector open all the way so I wasn't getting maximum pressure. I feel kinda stupid that it took me so long to figure that out, but then again I'm just glad it was such an easy fix. Thanks for the help guys!