First batch of RDI

[Djmike]

Made 10 gallons today after work and was extremely surprised as to what was filtered out of my water. Achieving a TDS reading of zero was my goal and thats exactly what I got. Woo hoo. I started out with 127 from the tap. I just wonder if I should consider hooking a water filtration system up to my house. Is this excessive for only about 20-25 gallons of filtered water?
Mike

 

[kschweer]

By the sounds of things I would guess you're on a well? If so its probably high co2 in the water. The fix is to run your water through all stages besides the di, aerate this water with an air pump and airstone for 24 hours and then using a small pump run it through the di.

 

[Djmike]

I am actually on a Village chlorinated water system.
Mike

 

[jsker]

That might be a wise choice. What kind of water are you filtering? Hook a everpure filter into your system.

 

[kschweer]

Hmm. More info is going to be needed such as tap tds and tds right before the di. @AZDesertRat is the man to talk to about all things rodi.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Never rely on color changing resins, they can be very inaccurate.
Use your ATC temperature compensated handheld TDS meter to test your tap water, RO only before the DI and final RO/DI water on a regular basis.
Seems like a lot of color change but it could be several things, did you flush each filter individually before adding the next when you started your RO/DI and did you make 3-5 gallons of RO to waste to cleanse the membrane before installing the DI? How fresh is the DI and was it shipped vacuum sealed in a mylar foil bag?
What is your RO only TDS?

 

[AZDesertRat]

Never rely on color changing resins, they can be very inaccurate.
Use your ATC temperature compensated handheld TDS meter to test your tap water, RO only before the DI and final RO/DI water on a regular basis.
Seems like a lot of color change but it could be several things, did you flush each filter individually before adding the next when you started your RO/DI and did you make 3-5 gallons of RO to waste to cleanse the membrane before installing the DI? How fresh is the DI and was it shipped vacuum sealed in a mylar foil bag?
What is your RO only TDS?

 

[Djmike]

This was brand new out of the box. I flushed each filter and then ran it for about 3 gallons before the DI. My readings right now are as follows:
Tap 127
Before DI 11
After DI 0
the DI was in a vacuumed sealed plastic bag.
This is an AquaFx Barracuda system.
Mike

 

[Djmike]

Sorry the RO Membrane was in a vacuum packed plastic bag. The DI was installed in the unit from the factory.

 

[AZDesertRat]

The RO TDS should come down more as the membrane seasons or breaks in. At least it should.
Since the DI was preinstalled it may have dried out and lost some of its electrical cation and anion properties. Monitor how long it lasts then when you buy a replacement make sure it is fresh and vacuum sealed. Don't order too far ahead of time and keep it sealed and in the refrigerator until it's ready to install it. I'm not a fan of bulk resins for this reason, unless you split it up in 20 oz portions and use a seal a meal type device to vacuum seal it then store it in the refrigerator you will
end up tossing some of it out due to exhaustion even though you never installed it. Resin has a shelf life of about 6 months when properly sealed and stored and less when it is opened or not stored in a dark, cool place.