RO/DI Filter questions

Hello, It's me again.

So, I was looking at the SpectraPure 5 Stage RO/DI filter, and with the sale that they are having, the total was like $290 Shipped.

I went into the LFS, and they had a 4 Stage Vertex RO/DI filter for the same price.

My Question is, should I just buy the Vertex and support Local Business, or should I buy the Spectrapure.

Thanks for the help!

 

hey, this is my kind of topic. I'm going to join up for the ride and get an education myself. Hope you don't mind hitchhikers.

 

You're probably looking at a better quality unit with the Spectrapure. Lower TCO, better rated prefilters, better DI resin.

The chief advantage I would give the Vertex would be the inclusion of a booster pump.

Now, if I were you, I'd go out and buy a pressure gauge from Home Depot or Lowes. Hook it up to your faucet/garden hose outlet, and check your pressure. It doesn't matter where in the house you do this, the pressure will be within 1-2 PSI through the whole house.

If it's 50+, I would go with Spectrapure. If it's under, I would consider either unit, and then maybe consider a Spectrapure CSP-DI (not the MaxCap you were looking at before) with a booster pump.

 

Well,from my previous ro/di thread there was an overwhelming input about the quality and difference of the spectrapures.I'll bump my thread up,theres alot of great reading in it(i don't know how to post a link so i'll just bump it back up on the homepage)

 

Isn't the maxcap better. as its more stages, and is the booster pump seperate?

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

In my own experience, it doesn't matter how many stages you have if the membranes inside are not very good. I bought a Coralife a while ago and because of the TFC membrane not getting the proper amount of water through it, it killed my DI resin resin quickly. Long story short I replaced all the membranes with Spectrapure and got the proper flow restricter and my water is awesome! I would suggest Spectrapur because they test all their TFC membranes.

 

The Vertex units are vely low quality and poorly designed. Having torn one apart for inspection I was very disappointed with the quality.

Spectrapure is easily the Cadillac of the industry, they would not be in business for 25 years in the same AZ city if that were not the case. Most high end LFS use Spectrapure systems as do several of the famous coffee houses. When I bought my first MaxCap system the list price was around $389 so the $249 sale price is s steal.

Don't concern yourself with the word "stages" this is an old ebay trick to make crappy units sound good. They stuff a bunch of worthless things in a small hollow tube, call it a stage and then tout "stages". What you do want to look at is what they contain, not how many.
The MaxCap contains a 0.5 micron absolute rated prefilter. a 0.5 micron near absolute 20,000 gallon Chlorine Guzzler carbon block, an individually 100% hand tested and guaranteed in writing to be better than 98% rejection rate 90 GPD RO membrane, a custom blended based on lab testing results MaxCap DI filter that will make the SilicaBuster outlast all other DI cartridges on the market, again guaranteed.
It also uses a capillary tube flow restictor not a fixed one so you can fine tune the waste ratio for your exact water conditions, not someone in Chinas. Then ith as two dual inline TDS meters for 4 TDS readings and a n inline pressure gauge.

They don't come any better.

 

AZDesertRat is on target as always. SpectraPure is just hard to beat.

Mark

 

Take into mind the cost of the replacement filters

 

No actually worry less about the cost of the replacements and more about the quality. Settle on the quality you feel suits your needs first, then shop price.
Remember the prefilter and carbon block are what protects the RO membrane which in turn protects the DI resin. Some prefilters are about as effective as a screen door and some carbon last as little as 300 total gallons, thats on 60 treated gallons and 240 waste gallons. Price is not where it is at, shop quality first. Learn the difference between an absolute rated prefilter and a nominal rated prefilter like most vendors use. Learn how carbon and its billions of tiny pores adsorb chlorine and organics and why the carbon must be protected by a high quality, low micron prefilter or it then becomes a secondary prefilter rendering it useless for chlorine. Many low end vendors get units and filters straight from China, with no ANSI/NSF or UPC certifications, ratings or testing so they have no idea how well they work nor do they care. They often do not have a storefront and deal strictly over the web where they can be sheltered or hidden and close up shop at a moments notice. Yes they can advertise low prices, they have no overhead and are usually passing off an inferior product. They may look the same but with RO/DI you really truly do get what you pay for. Shop quality not price and you will tahnk youself for years.