R.o. System

Paging @billandsuz

Cheers!

 

Get one after researching cost/replacement costs, but in the mean time buy a couple 5 gal water jugs at Wallyworld and buy RO at the store...if you brew a lot of beer a household RO unit just won't cut it by itself, imho.

 

If you don't get much feedback here, search at homebrewtalk, there are a lot of people there with RO systems.

 

Curious why you say that? My impression is that with a little bit of planning, a RO system works great for "standard" homebrew amounts.

 

I have 2 UTS RO units in my house that put out about 3 gal/day each, but I use them for everything...cooking, drinking water, ice tea, coffee, etc. I usually brew 10-15 gals of beer a month.

I suppose if you don't use your RO for anything other than beer and you don't mind "making water" constantly to have it on hand, you are good to go.

 

http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2016/0...ter-filter-by-reverse-osmosis-revolution.html

This is a pretty sweet review, and homebrew finds has a ton of links to good RO system deals if you just search RO systems in the search tab. Awesome site.

No personal experience but I'm destined to buy one eventually since I build water profiles from distilled for pretty much everything now.... and my only local option is buying distilled water 1 gallon at a time....

 

I own a dual membrane RO/DI setup from airwaterice.com. In addition to using it for all of my brewing water I also use it for a 125 gallon reef setup which uses about 40-60 gallons of new water a week. Personally, if I did not have the reef tank I probably would not invest in a RO system. The initial cost can be a little pricey for a decent system plus filter changes every few months depending on your water quality. I don't know how much you brew but I would think buying RO water somewhere would be a good option. If you do decide to go for it and purchase a system, buy one from a place that specializes in them such as airwaterice.com, bulkreefsupply.com, thefilterguys.com, etc.

 

+1 - I purchased from airwaterice for my 400 gal total water volume reef tank and thought I would use for brewing. Ended up getting my water tested and decided it was better for my beer to just use the tap water and kill the chlorine.

 

He is in Texas, much of the geology is limestone, so not good. Much of the coastal plains has poor water for brewing. I have spent too much time there.

 

Does that have consequence on how the water comes out of an RO system? Bad water would slow down the filtration or shorten the life span of the filters?

 

I know that more back flush water would be used. How the mineral load affects the life of the membranes is something I don't know.

 

Would shorten the life of the filters. Usually what we do in the salt water tank world is monitor the TDS level coming out of the RODI system and actually, many of the RODI systems have built in TDS meters. A good practice is to also swap out the pre-filters on a semi-regular basis as they are the cheapest filters in the unit and can catch most of the big stuff, saving wear and tear on your other filters in the system.

 

Sounds like moving is a cheaper solution.

 

One thing that drives me nuts (ok, a lot of things can do that) is when the filter manufacturer states the filter has a capacity of 10,000 gallons. that's total nonsense. they have no idea, it's just a guess.

technically the filter does not need replacing because it becomes less effective; it's rather the opposite. the filter becomes more effective as it gets loaded and this results in decreased output. RO membranes are extremely fine, sub micron, and become clogged quickly. the pre-filters are required to extend the life of the expensive RO membrane. a pleated paper filter is the best insurance and they are cheap. many can be washed and re-used a few times.

if you ever remove a filter that has been in use for very long you will be amazed at the amount of silt and sediment that is in your water or you.
Cheers.

 

So, the time to replace a 'regular' filter (i.e., a carbon block filter) is when the output is so slow that it is irritating?

Cheers!

 

if the flow slows down that would be a good reason. if you have a mechanical filter before the carbon, pleated sediment for example, it will greatly extend the life of the GAC.

truth is the only way to know if the filter needs replacement is to test the discharge water. and if any compound is detected it's probably too late anyway. since most of us aren't really sure what needs to be filtered except chlorine it is anyone's guess. a good solution is to use two GACs in series. after a set amount of time the first filter is tossed, the second (final) is placed in the first sump and a new one is put in place of the second. critical systems, maybe a UST leaked near a well for example and there is ppb benzene detected, those get sampled frequently.

really though, use a sediment pre filter. replace the GAC every 6 months? when you taste chlorine? if you have muni water you have virtually nothing to filter except chlorine and sediment.

I will add one more bit. the desire to use a very fine filter, say below 20 micron, is understandable. but 1, 5, 10 and even 20 micron clogs pretty quickly. especially the 9x2 filters.
Cheers.

 

I personally use test strips to monitor this aspect: http://www.hach.com/free-total-chlorine-test-strips-0-10-mg-l/product?id=7640211603

Cheers!