Decrease in RO production

[[email protected]]

Hello all....

I have a 75 gpd 4 stage RO unit. Until recently, it had been producing
about 3 gallons per hour of 2 ppm water. Over the last month the
amount of water produced in an hour has decreased to about 1.5
gallons. TDS is still at 2 ppm. I have replaced the particulate and
carbon filters. The DI and RO parts have not been changed. The unit
has been in use for 13 months. I open the purge valve for a few
minutes about once a week. Is it time for a new RO membrane ? Anything
else that might be causing it ?

TIA.

D.T.

[Marc Levenson]

Water temperature can affect output as well. How cold is your source water now?

Marc


wrote:

> Hello all....
>
> I have a 75 gpd 4 stage RO unit. Until recently, it had been producing
> about 3 gallons per hour of 2 ppm water. Over the last month the
> amount of water produced in an hour has decreased to about 1.5
> gallons. TDS is still at 2 ppm. I have replaced the particulate and
> carbon filters. The DI and RO parts have not been changed. The unit
> has been in use for 13 months. I open the purge valve for a few
> minutes about once a week. Is it time for a new RO membrane ? Anything
> else that might be causing it ?
>
> TIA.
>
> D.T.

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[[email protected]]

Marc...

Ground temp remains about 55 degrees year round here, though I haven't
measured it lately. I'll have to put a loop of tubing through a bucket
of warm water to see if that makes any difference. Thanks for the tip.

D.T.

On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 05:45:53 GMT, Marc Levenson >
wrote:

>Water temperature can affect output as well. How cold is your source water now?
>
>Marc
>
>
wrote:
>
>> Hello all....
>>
>> I have a 75 gpd 4 stage RO unit. Until recently, it had been producing
>> about 3 gallons per hour of 2 ppm water. Over the last month the
>> amount of water produced in an hour has decreased to about 1.5
>> gallons. TDS is still at 2 ppm. I have replaced the particulate and
>> carbon filters. The DI and RO parts have not been changed. The unit
>> has been in use for 13 months. I open the purge valve for a few
>> minutes about once a week. Is it time for a new RO membrane ? Anything
>> else that might be causing it ?
>>
>> TIA.
>>
>> D.T.

[Steve Sells]

While My R.O. unit died after over 10 years of good service, I had to change
the filters too.

I had a 1.5 gal per day unit. This 4 stage had 2-Carbon (pre and post) 1
mechanical and 1 R.O. membrane. I rarely got more than one year out of
them before output dropped off. The 2ppm you stated should remain a
constant, because the openings in the R.O. membrane do not get bigger,
rather they fill up. so they in effect allow less water to pass through.
The carbon after some time will stop adsorbing, and later re-release some
chemicals back into the water if not changed.

Steve



> wrote in message
...
> Hello all....
>
> I have a 75 gpd 4 stage RO unit. Until recently, it had been producing
> about 3 gallons per hour of 2 ppm water. Over the last month the
> amount of water produced in an hour has decreased to about 1.5
> gallons. TDS is still at 2 ppm. I have replaced the particulate and
> carbon filters. The DI and RO parts have not been changed. The unit
> has been in use for 13 months. I open the purge valve for a few
> minutes about once a week. Is it time for a new RO membrane ? Anything
> else that might be causing it ?
>
> TIA.
>
> D.T.

[Patrick]

Another thing that could affect output is if the flow restrictor on
your RO membrane is going bad. It is there to hold a certain amount
of pressure across the membrane - if it is going bad and the working
pressure against the membrane drops, so will your output. I had this
happen to me...




wrote in message >...
> Marc...
>
> Ground temp remains about 55 degrees year round here, though I haven't
> measured it lately. I'll have to put a loop of tubing through a bucket
> of warm water to see if that makes any difference. Thanks for the tip.
>
> D.T.
>
> On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 05:45:53 GMT, Marc Levenson >
> wrote:
>
> >Water temperature can affect output as well. How cold is your source water now?
> >
> >Marc
> >
> >
> wrote:
> >
> >> Hello all....
> >>
> >> I have a 75 gpd 4 stage RO unit. Until recently, it had been producing
> >> about 3 gallons per hour of 2 ppm water. Over the last month the
> >> amount of water produced in an hour has decreased to about 1.5
> >> gallons. TDS is still at 2 ppm. I have replaced the particulate and
> >> carbon filters. The DI and RO parts have not been changed. The unit
> >> has been in use for 13 months. I open the purge valve for a few
> >> minutes about once a week. Is it time for a new RO membrane ? Anything
> >> else that might be causing it ?
> >>
> >> TIA.
> >>
> >> D.T.

[CapFusion]

How about your water pressure or what your gauge indicate?
RO result of 2ppm is still consider pretty good. Sound like your pressure is
low.

Lower pressure will slow down the production but if pressure is around 65 -
80 should be ideal. You might need to check if there any clog or cleaning.

CapFusion,...

> wrote in message
...
> Hello all....
>
> I have a 75 gpd 4 stage RO unit. Until recently, it had been producing
> about 3 gallons per hour of 2 ppm water. Over the last month the
> amount of water produced in an hour has decreased to about 1.5
> gallons. TDS is still at 2 ppm. I have replaced the particulate and
> carbon filters. The DI and RO parts have not been changed. The unit
> has been in use for 13 months. I open the purge valve for a few
> minutes about once a week. Is it time for a new RO membrane ? Anything
> else that might be causing it ?
>
> TIA.
>
> D.T.

[Michael Di Domenico]

Speaking of pressure gauges, does anyone know where I can get a pressure and
flow gauge for my recently inherited 2-stage ro system? I looked in home
depot/lowes locally and couldn't find one and I'm not sure where to look
online.

Thanks


"CapFusion" > wrote in message
...
> How about your water pressure or what your gauge indicate?
> RO result of 2ppm is still consider pretty good. Sound like your pressure
is
> low.
>
> Lower pressure will slow down the production but if pressure is around
65 -
> 80 should be ideal. You might need to check if there any clog or cleaning.
>
> CapFusion,...
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hello all....
> >
> > I have a 75 gpd 4 stage RO unit. Until recently, it had been producing
> > about 3 gallons per hour of 2 ppm water. Over the last month the
> > amount of water produced in an hour has decreased to about 1.5
> > gallons. TDS is still at 2 ppm. I have replaced the particulate and
> > carbon filters. The DI and RO parts have not been changed. The unit
> > has been in use for 13 months. I open the purge valve for a few
> > minutes about once a week. Is it time for a new RO membrane ? Anything
> > else that might be causing it ?
> >
> > TIA.
> >
> > D.T.
>
>

[Marc Levenson]

I saw them listed on DallasMarine.com's site a few days ago.

Marc


Michael Di Domenico wrote:

> Speaking of pressure gauges, does anyone know where I can get a pressure and
> flow gauge for my recently inherited 2-stage ro system? I looked in home
> depot/lowes locally and couldn't find one and I'm not sure where to look
> online.
>
> Thanks
>

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[CapFusion]

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_

&MID=9876&pos=n11

Copy the whole URL if warped.
Water pressure gauge from HomeDepot

You can request a special order if your local does not have them or in
stock.

CapFusion,...


"Michael Di Domenico" > wrote in message
...
> Speaking of pressure gauges, does anyone know where I can get a pressure
and
> flow gauge for my recently inherited 2-stage ro system? I looked in home
> depot/lowes locally and couldn't find one and I'm not sure where to look
> online.
>
> Thanks
>

[Raymond]

"Michael Di Domenico" > wrote in message >...
> Speaking of pressure gauges, does anyone know where I can get a pressure and
> flow gauge for my recently inherited 2-stage ro system? I looked in home
> depot/lowes locally and couldn't find one and I'm not sure where to look
> online.
>
> Thanks

Try:
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=RO1331