How to minimize waste water?

[Rp8]

Is there an addition I can get to add pressure or something to minimize waste water? There are 4 people in my house, plus me making water. water company said I have used 8k gallons this month and 10k the last. I have a 150 total volume and make 20 gallons/wk. seems extremely excessive. it’s an older system, new membranes and filters. The filter guys ocean reef 1.
Any ideas? I am still searching for leaks in my plumbing.
thanks in advance

 

[Gtinnel]

You can get a booster pump to increase the pressure. You can also install a water saver kit that basically adds another membrane to the waste water line.

Water Saver Upgrade Kit

Why does BRS recommend this? Water Saving Upgrade Kits are probably our most recommended RODI upgrade. If you have proper pressure (65+ PSI) we highly recommend installing the kit, because it will produce water twice as fast as a standard 75 GPD or 100 GPD membrane while cutting the amount of...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[PeterC99]

You can get a booster pump to increase the pressure. You can also install a water saver kit that basically adds another membrane to the waste water line.

Water Saver Upgrade Kit

Why does BRS recommend this? Water Saving Upgrade Kits are probably our most recommended RODI upgrade. If you have proper pressure (65+ PSI) we highly recommend installing the kit, because it will produce water twice as fast as a standard 75 GPD or 100 GPD membrane while cutting the amount of...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

This is definitely the way to go. After installing booster pump and additional membrane, I make RODI water twice as fast and significantly less water going down the drain.

 

[KStatefan]

If you are running the standard 4:1 you are only using 100 gallon per week. If you went to the dual membrane you could reduce that to 60 gallons per week.

There are people that have removed the membrane and just use sediment-carbon-DI to reduce water consumption. Jake at reefbuilders only uses sediment and carbon filters

 

[Malcontent]

Isn't per capita water consumption something like 100 gal/day/person?

100 * 30 * 4 = 12,000 so you're probably fine.

 

[LeftyReefer]

If you are only running 20 gallons of RO/DI per week, then the RO/DI system isn't the source of your water usage, nor is that usage considered extremely excessive. 80 - 100 gallon per day is normal usage for Americans. Between flushing toilets, daily showers, running sinks, teeth brushing, dish washers, laundry, cooking/drinking, etc... 100 gallons per day per person is completely normal.

 

[Rp8]

Ok thanks guys. I’ll look into that

Isn't per capita water consumption something like 100 gal/day/person?

100 * 30 * 4 = 12,000 so you're probably fine.

Sorry, it’s not about the water, it’s about the Benjamin’s lol. Well kinda about the water too. That’s a lot of water

 

[blaxsun]

Sorry, it’s not about the water, it’s about the Benjamin’s lol. Well kinda about the water too. That’s a lot of water

Tell the women to cut back on their shower time.

 

[Gtinnel]

Ok thanks guys. I’ll look into that

Sorry, it’s not about the water, it’s about the Benjamin’s lol. Well kinda about the water too. That’s a lot of water

I did the calculation once on how much water my rodi wasted and the cost was pretty insegnificant as in it would take months to break even on buying the water saving kit.
Did your water usage go up significantly after installing the rodi or are you just guessing that it's wasting too much water?

 

[Rp8]

I did the calculation once on how much water my rodi wasted and the cost was pretty insegnificant as in it would take months to break even on buying the water saving kit.
Did your water usage go up significantly after installing the rodi or are you just guessing that it's wasting too much water?

Just these last 2 months our water bill and consumption has doubled. We did recently just move here. But it’s the same system I had in Omaha compared to here in Charleston. I am starting to lean to a leak somewhere. But I still have to do the math and find the leak. The good water vs waste water difference is dramatic. The good water takes 2 hrs to fill 5 gallons. The waste water is a strong stream, haven’t measured it. But will today when I get home

 

[Kazumi]

The standard seems to be 4:1 waste to produced water. So for every gallon of water you make, it puts 4 gallons down the drain. I just went to dual membranes lately, and have it down to about 1:1. They are 100 GPD membranes, so I can make 1 gallon in 5 minutes. At that high of water usage, I would think there is a leak somewhere, but another thing to look at is to make sure that your auto shut off is actually turning your RO off.

 

[blaxsun]

Um, guys? @20 gallons a week, even with a 4:1 waste to RO water that's still only 400-450 gallons everymonth. The guy is using 8-10k (as in thousand). Adding another RO membrane while good and everything is still only going to save a few hundred gallons every month.

 

[ragequit.exe]

Did you remember to reinstall the flow restrictor on your wastewater line from the RODI to the drain?

Sometimes they are inline cylinders but sometimes almost invisible inserts in the waste line and if you changed the lines while moving it may have been discarded.

 

[Rp8]

Did you remember to reinstall the flow restrictor on your wastewater line from the RODI to the drain?

Sometimes they are inline cylinders but sometimes almost invisible inserts in the waste line and if you changed the lines while moving it may have been discarded.

I only have what came with my system. Everything was put back the way it came off.

 

[Rp8]

Um, guys? @20 gallons a week, even with a 4:1 waste to RO water that's still only 400-450 gallons everymonth. The guy is using 8-10k (as in thousand). Adding another RO membrane while good and everything is still only going to save a few hundred gallons every month.

Thanks for that

 

[Opus]

How does you water company charge for water? Everywhere I've lived they charge per 1000 gallons so if you use 2001 gallons or 2999 gallons, you get charged the same amount. Last time I looked it was only $3 or $4 per 1000 gallons so even if the RO waste was taking you to the next 1000 gallon level it wasn't much money.

You might make sure they are actually reading your water meter and not just doing an estimate reading. Before we had digital meters here they would only actually read your meter every few months, the other times they did estimates based on your prior usage and time of year. Also, if you have a sprinkler system they can use more water than you think.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Do you have old, non-water saver toilets? I changed mine out, to Kohler Highline Comfort Height Toilets, and noticed an immediate drop in my Electric Bill, I’m on a well. Even though they are not dual flush, if you hold the lever down, for a second, they act like dual flush.

 

[Weasel1960]

Check for obvious leaks as well. Toilet that seems to refill on its own has a leaky flapper valve. Garden hose Bibb outside dripping or maybe the neighbor is using your water on his lawn

 

[outhouse]

The good water vs waste water difference is dramatic.

Sounds like it. Extra membranes are cheap, but you can only use them if your incoming water has low TDS or your defeating the purpose feeding your second membrane water to high in TDS meaning you will go through DI resin like crazy. My incoming is 37tds so I can run 3 membranes in series for water savings. You have something jacked at your current rates. I would probably get a 100gpd membrane in your shoes and play with the restrictor to tune your system. Sounds like you have no restrictor. Using a booster pump helps maximize performance and I love mine.

 

[outhouse]

I only have what came with my system.

Better post some pics, cause its not right, and your usage amount says you dont have a restrictor connected