Mount your RODI system outside! 2 Part video on how!

[Clueless_Reefer]

After chatting with some guys in the Marine industry down here - basically all yachts and large boats all keep their membranes in the engine rooms for their desalination machines/water makers. As you can imagine - those areas are exposed to excessive amounts of heat and don't degrade the membranes as long as the rest of the system is maintained well.

I think without actual tests being run - having the RO system outside and it causing issues in heat is a red herring.

 

[atlantean]

Just finished the shelves and the RODI mount this weekend. May paint the shelves and need to tidy up the tubing but you get the idea.

 

[Clueless_Reefer]

@cives its looking great. Being in Oregon, whats your plans to keep it warm, maybe a few glass terrarium heaters along the walls?

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Yea, the only reason why I ask is coming from a construction field - in many applications I've come across RODI systems being kept outside, especially in the Bahamas. Through having a proper enclosure (most are in pump houses outside), they don't engage in any real degradation which is noticeable.

Are sure these aren’t Cation-Anion Systems ? The Chemical Resin Cartridges are outside and the rest of the system is inside. This is so the Resin can be flushing out with either a strong acid, or a very strong base solution. The Sediment Filters are inside, along with the second to last stage that is the Parallel RO membranes. They had this on a Lab at my job. You could open up a faucet and get flow, just like a non-filtered water faucet. Pretty much an unlimited pure water supply.

 

[Rubberfrog]

I have one of those plastic sheds in my back yard. I use it to store pool toys. I seriously considered doing this for my ro system, but here in Arizona, the shed gets up to about 8 million degrees Kelvin in the summer.

 

[atlantean]

@cives its looking great. Being in Oregon, whats your plans to keep it warm, maybe a few glass terrarium heaters along the walls?

I saw someone on another forum talking about the Dimplex EcoT Tubular Space Heaters. They're more of a UK item, but I found them on Electrical World. I think they'll work better for just keeping it above freezing temperatures. I'll also probably just line the inside with some foam board insulation so the heater doesn't need to run as long.

 

[Clueless_Reefer]

@SteveMM62Reef I'm not sure but having witnessed my DI resin, it seems to have had normal wear even over these hot months.

I think one suggestion is if someone is concerned about heat - doing some simple vents with at the top with grills and a grill at the bottom will create a natural air flow that pulls out the hot air from the top... and quite frankly could make the fresh air intake more effective....

 

[leeatmg]

For the Pressure Release - as long as the system disengages pressure release once or multiple times a day, you really won't be running into any issues so I think that's a real issue for most implementations. Especially mine which runs off of a direct solenoid setup which is recommended by even some guys at Neptune's office.

Can you elaborate on this part? Love this idea in general, but wondering if there's a way to connect to the outdoor water and not have to go turn on the spigot every time. Thanks for the info here!

 

[Clueless_Reefer]

@leeatmg For sure - you just leave that little spigot on all the time! Basically the ATO when using the solenoid discharges water straight from the RODI and the solenoid turns off and creates all the back-pressure for the RODI system to stop producing water. I think if you watch one of the videos I did on this you'll see the spigot literally goes into the intake for the RODI system.
Let me know if this makes sense.

 

[leeatmg]

@leeatmg For sure - you just leave that little spigot on all the time! Basically the ATO when using the solenoid discharges water straight from the RODI and the solenoid turns off and creates all the back-pressure for the RODI system to stop producing water. I think if you watch one of the videos I did on this you'll see the spigot literally goes into the intake for the RODI system.
Let me know if this makes sense.

Thanks! I thought maybe you'd rigged something at the spigot to turn the water off and on from inside. Which might be the next evolution. I'm likely going to try this over the next few months. I'm in the Phoenix area, so it'll be interesting to see how the heat impacts the RODI system. The box will be in the shade, so maybe that's enough. I'll be sure to report back when I do it. Thanks again!

 

[flyfisher2]

I’m in Florida
Had mine outside
Went through 3 membranes in less than a year
After advice here from Woodyman and others I brought it into my laundry room
Problem solved
Heat and membranes don’t work together.

 

[leeatmg]

I’m in Florida
Had mine outside
Went through 3 membranes in less than a year
After advice here from Woodyman and others I brought it into my laundry room
Problem solved
Heat and membranes don’t work together.

I'm expecting that but logistically, I don't have a lot of options. No place for the RODI system other than outside or the garage, which is the same temperature. I've been using it in the garage for a year, and so far so good. If I have to replace some membranes, it's still a better option for me under the current circumstances. We are at a bit of a space premium here.

 

[flyfisher2]

Eating Up RO Membranes

Eating Up RO Membranes​

I'm expecting that but logistically, I don't have a lot of options. No place for the RODI system other than outside or the garage, which is the same temperature. I've been using it in the garage for a year, and so far so good. If I have to replace some membranes, it's still a better option for me under the current circumstances. We are at a bit of a space premium here.

I'm expecting that but logistically, I don't have a lot of options. No place for the RODI system other than outside or the garage, which is the same temperature. I've been using it in the garage for a year, and so far so good. If I have to replace some membranes, it's still a better option for me under the current circumstances. We are at a bit of a space premium here.

good luck and avoid direct Sun as much as possible
Heat and algae

 

[flyfisher2]

Eating up ro membranes

Eating Up RO Membranes is my thread on this​

Hope it helps

 

[leeatmg]

Eating Up RO Membranes

Eating Up RO Membranes​

good luck and avoid direct Sun as much as possible
Heat and algae

Yeah, that's about all I can do. It'll be inside the shaded box, and that box will be in shade all day in the summer, so that helps. It's an experiment (an imperfect one) to see if I get better, worse, or same results as my garage, which is insulated but not air conditioned (so it's theoretically the same temperature as it would be "outside" in the box. We will see.

 

[flyfisher2]

These guys Know what they’re talking about
Several who helped me have already responded on this thread. Again, good luck and maybe a broom closet?
Just enough to store ONE container of collection water.
Use a Brute on wheels for mixing and pump into system
How much do you need weekly?

 

[leeatmg]

As it is, I have a 20 gal brute on wheels (with lid) that I store next to the tank, out in the open, with the ATO pump inside of it because that's the only place I have for it. I'm told it's not a lovely sight in our living room, visible from the front door. I'm replacing it with an acrylic ATO box that is more attractive, but smaller due to space considerations. I go through about 6-7 gallons a week (evaporation is high here in low-humidity Arizona) and therefore have to run the RODI system to refill about every 2-3 weeks.

 

[Clueless_Reefer]

@flyfisher2 please explain if you could what is happening to your membranes. I'm not noticing any degradation from either my old ones (which were outside for about four months) or my new ones. I think using the blanket term of having membranes get eaten up by heat is a misconception. The Marine Industry has membranes in the engine rooms of boats for their water making machines; and lets be honest, those rooms get much hotter than even our friend @leeatmg who is in the desert.

Not trolling but I'm thinking something else must be affecting your membranes and not the heat. We do a lot of work on boats and...yea.

@leeatmg I was actually thinking of putting a second solenoid for pre-RO, just off of the spigot for extra safety of the solenoid was to fail in an ON position (which seems unlikely). Is that why you were asking for something that would manipulate your spigot?

 

[flyfisher2]

I see your predicament.
I’m not coming back with any great ideas other than maybe finding a way to keep the membrane in a climate controlled area
I read a little about the marine use membranes and those are a whole different ball game, rated at 800 PSI vs the ones we use at under 100.
I’m sure others can better explain the differences in more detail.

 

[flyfisher2]

After a lengthy ordeal where I contacted the Membrane manufacturer and spoke with several very helpful reefers here on the forum. We narrowed it down to excess heat or age. being that the membranes were all purchased new as they failed age was not a factor other than the membrane canister itself.
Here's a link to the thread.
I read a little on the Marine Membranes earlier today. It would seem that that's like comparing oranges to apples. They are made to filter salt water and withstand a PSI of 800? The membranes we use are not made to handle hot water. And exceeding certain temps will void the warranty if you want to call it that.
As an FYI I'm producing 60 gallons weekly and the system is running for 3 months without incident or any perceivable decline in performance.
Eating Up RO Membranes