Lets talk RODI booster pumps. Didnthey make the difference

[Saltysocks]

Rodi. We NEED it. Well low and behold I had a water main break in my street, they "fixed" it but now the water pressure going into my rodi system is terrible (I don't have an actual pressure #, aka no gage) I mean I'm talking like 3 hours for 2 gallons. My water bill is gross. So, I'm looking for recommendations on a booster pump for a 4 stage system. (Sediment, carbon, ro, resin) and wondering how much of a pain it'll be to get this where I need it. I'll also be looking to add a gage onto the system if possible. Thanks!

 

[Woodyman]

Rodi. We NEED it. Well low and behold I had a water main break in my street, they "fixed" it but now the water pressure going into my rodi system is terrible (I don't have an actual pressure #, aka no gage) I mean I'm talking like 3 hours for 2 gallons. My water bill is gross. So, I'm looking for recommendations on a booster pump for a 4 stage system. (Sediment, carbon, ro, resin) and wondering how much of a pain it'll be to get this where I need it. I'll also be looking to add a gage onto the system if possible. Thanks!

Booster pumps will improve your efficiency, and adding another RO will help with waste water as well if so pay more for your water.

Get the gauge as well, booster pumps can be adjusted (the good ones at least). This way you can get optimal pressure supplied to the membranes to maximize production and minimize waste.

Now for a recommendation I would say the Aquatec 8800. You may be able to go with a lower model like 6800 but without knowing specifics of your system the 8800 is a great all around pump.

Aquatec 8800 Booster Pump Kit for up to 200 GPD RO Reverse Osmosis water filtration system for both standard and manifold type systems 8852-2J03-B424 PSW-340 Made in USA

 

[Saltysocks]

Booster pumps will improve your efficiency, and adding another RO will help with waste water as well if so pay more for your water.

Get the gauge as well, booster pumps can be adjusted (the good ones at least). This way you can get optimal pressure supplied to the membranes to maximize production and minimize waste.

Now for a recommendation I would say the Aquatec 8800. You may be able to go with a lower model like 6800 but without knowing specifics of your system the 8800 is a great all around pump.

Aquatec 8800 Booster Pump Kit for up to 200 GPD RO Reverse Osmosis water filtration system for both standard and manifold type systems 8852-2J03-B424 PSW-340 Made in USA

Thanks for the reply! Yeah the waste water is really what's killing me. I mean you should hear how much water is just running down the drain. So I'd be better with 2 ro's at that point? I'm definitely gonna shoot for the booster pump, and I'm only running a 20 gallon system that's been running for a little over 2 years now. I'm gonna have to watch a YouTube video on the gage but I'm assuming that's an easy one. Thank you so much for the recommendation as well! Certainly gonna look into that one. Looking to buy one by the end of the day so really, thank you!!

 

[FiddlersReef]

Booster pumps will improve your efficiency, and adding another RO will help with waste water as well if so pay more for your water.

Just curious, when you say "adding another RO", do you mean a second RO membrane, so a 5 stage would become 6 like:
Sediment ->Carbon ->Carbon->RO->RO->DI

Or do you mean another complete RO system so it would be something like:
[rodi #1] Sediment ->Carbon ->Carbon->RO->DI -> [rodi #2]Sediment->Carbon...etc.

 

[Woodyman]

Thanks for the reply! Yeah the waste water is really what's killing me. I mean you should hear how much water is just running down the drain. So I'd be better with 2 ro's at that point? I'm definitely gonna shoot for the booster pump, and I'm only running a 20 gallon system that's been running for a little over 2 years now. I'm gonna have to watch a YouTube video on the gage but I'm assuming that's an easy one. Thank you so much for the recommendation as well! Certainly gonna look into that one. Looking to buy one by the end of the day so really, thank you!!

You can get RO housings with gauges built in, and yes a second RO plumbed in series will eliminate some waste water, do you know your incoming TDS? If it's high in series might not be worth doing, but TDS would be the determining factor.

 

[Woodyman]

Just curious, when you say "adding another RO", do you mean a second RO membrane, so a 5 stage would become 6 like:
Sediment ->Carbon ->Carbon->RO->RO->DI

Or do you mean another complete RO system so it would be something like:
[rodi #1] Sediment ->Carbon ->Carbon->RO->DI -> [rodi #2]Sediment->Carbon...etc.

First option. sediment-carbon-carnon-RO1-RO2-DI

 

[Woodyman]

2" x 12" Membrane Grip Cap Housing w/ Pressure Gauge - HSG-M-2x12-GRIP

2" x 12" Membrane Grip Cap Housing w/ Pressure Gauge - HSG-M-2x12-GRIP-FP

spectrapure.com

You could buy one of these and plumb this as the first RO it could then work as your pressure gauge and with the booster pump referenced you could adjust it to the appropriate pressure.

 

[hllb]

I use the aquatic life booster and it seems quite good. We are on a well and our water pressure isn’t great, though I haven’t measured it. I have a 100gpd unit and it used to take several hours to get 5 gallons and now it’s a little under 2 hrs. I get close to 3g per hour, or probably 65gpd. Still not optimal but works for me.

 

[Saltysocks]

2" x 12" Membrane Grip Cap Housing w/ Pressure Gauge - HSG-M-2x12-GRIP

2" x 12" Membrane Grip Cap Housing w/ Pressure Gauge - HSG-M-2x12-GRIP-FP

spectrapure.com

You could buy one of these and plumb this as the first RO it could then work as your pressure gauge and with the booster pump referenced you could adjust it to the appropriate pressure.

The tds varies from like 50 to 80-90 ppm. Do you think it's more of a pressure issue if you had to guess? I'm gonna have to route that out and figure if I should get a second ro. If so the one you linked is probably gonna be the way I go. Thanks for everything thus far!

 

[Saltysocks]

I use the aquatic life booster and it seems quite good. We are on a well and our water pressure isn’t great, though I haven’t measured it. I have a 100gpd unit and it used to take several hours to get 5 gallons and now it’s a little under 2 hrs. I get close to 3g per hour, or probably 65gpd. Still not optimal but works for me.

3 gallons per hours sounds like fantasy. I'm so jealous

 

[hllb]

3 gallons per hours sounds like fantasy. I'm so jealous

I picked the aquatic life booster because it’s sitting in my laundry room and looks nicer because of the housing around the pump. It should definitely help you and with the low TDS of your water, I wouldn’t think you’d need another membrane. The booster pump is probably all you need.

AQUATICLIFE Smart Buddie Booster Pump for 50-100 GPD Reverse Osmosis Water Filter Systems RO/DI Units, White, 12 Piece Set (540292)

 

[Woodyman]

The tds varies from like 50 to 80-90 ppm. Do you think it's more of a pressure issue if you had to guess? I'm gonna have to route that out and figure if I should get a second ro. If so the one you linked is probably gonna be the way I go. Thanks for everything thus far!

Without knowing your incoming pressure I can't make any recommendations on whether or not the booster is truly needed.

However, most people even if they have enough pressure for an RO system still benefit from installing a booster pump. So unless your fees pressure to your RO is already 70+ psi it would help you.

With a TDS of ~50-90 a second membrane will work fine for your setup. It'll help you reduce your waste water.

 

[rob taft]

I use the Aquatec 8800 and it was worth the money. I have it in my garage as it is where my RO unit is and I have the waste and feed piping plumbed into my garage sink. My TDS from the wellhead is about 350PPM and I have a high sulfur content which is mitigated by a large settling tank located in my pump house.I have roughly 50 Psi from my well pump and with the pump it is at 80Psi. I can make about 45 gallons in a 8 hour period. Now with the quality of my incoming water, I waste about 50% and I go through filters and membrane about every six months.

 

[Auquanut]

AQUATICLIFE Smart Buddie Booster Pump for 50-100 GPD Reverse Osmosis Water Filter Systems RO/DI Units, White, 12 Piece Set (540292)

^^This. I have awful source pressure. I've been using the Smart Buddie for about 2 years. Thomas did a product review on BRS, and everything he says is absolutely true. Couldn't possibly be happier. I'm not one for product endorsement, but if mine were to completely die on me today, I'd get another in a heartbeat.

 

[Saltysocks]

^^This. I have awful source pressure. I've been using the Smart Buddie for about 2 years. Thomas did a product review on BRS, and everything he says is absolutely true. Couldn't possibly be happier. I'm not one for product endorsement, but if mine were to completely die on me today, I'd get another in a heartbeat.

Thanks for that! And the link! 2 thumbs up!

 

[JoshH]

Rodi. We NEED it. Well low and behold I had a water main break in my street, they "fixed" it but now the water pressure going into my rodi system is terrible (I don't have an actual pressure #, aka no gage) I mean I'm talking like 3 hours for 2 gallons. My water bill is gross. So, I'm looking for recommendations on a booster pump for a 4 stage system. (Sediment, carbon, ro, resin) and wondering how much of a pain it'll be to get this where I need it. I'll also be looking to add a gage onto the system if possible. Thanks!

I would first purchase a gauge and get some real numbers. Did you purge your lines after the water main break? Sometimes during repairs a bunch of sediment and other contaminents can get into the system and clog filters prematurely.

And your Incoming TDS is between 50 and 90 TDS? That is fairly decent so you shouldn't have issues running dual membranes as long as you have enough pressure to support dual membranes.

 

[Saltysocks]

I would first purchase a gauge and get some real numbers. Did you purge your lines after the water main break? Sometimes during repairs a bunch of sediment and other contaminents can get into the system and clog filters prematurely.

And your Incoming TDS is between 50 and 90 TDS? That is fairly decent so you shouldn't have issues running dual membranes as long as you have enough pressure to support dual membranes.

That's the plan for now. Stupid question but where should the gage be measuring the psi from? I actually put a new carbon and sediment filter in but still the same result sadly

 

[Auquanut]

I would first purchase a gauge and get some real numbers. Did you purge your lines after the water main break? Sometimes during repairs a bunch of sediment and other contaminents can get into the system and clog filters prematurely.

And your Incoming TDS is between 50 and 90 TDS? That is fairly decent so you shouldn't have issues running dual membranes as long as you have enough pressure to support dual membranes.

@Josh H. makes a very good point. You will definitely want a pressure gage to definitively determine your source pressure and track your pressure when/if you add a booster.

 

[Auquanut]

That's the plan for now. Stupid question but where should the gage be measuring the psi from? I actually put a new carbon and sediment filter in but still the same result sadly

The pressure gage should be situated at the input to the RO membrane. You can add another gage before the sediment filter and carbon block to determine if they need to be changed. If there is a significant difference between the two, change out the prefilters.
I personally just eyeball the sediment and carbon filters and change them out regularly.

 

[Oregon Grown Reef]

I've been using the brs 200gpd water saver 7 stage pro rodi unit for a couple of years now. A booster pump is necessary to use it. I can fill a 44 gallon brute container in 5 hours. I have it running at 95psi and it's cranking out the water. Filling 5 gallon ato containers takes 30ish minutes. Before that, it would take 12-14 hours to fill the same brute container. I'll never not have something at least equivalent to this.