Rerouting RODI Waste Water back into Supply water

[Mikedawg8898]

Hey all! I was reading through some YouTube video comments and one person had mentioned they rerouted their Waste line from the rodi unit back into the supply unit, Effectively creating zero waste water. I was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on that. What are the Pros and Cons?

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

Basically you will burn through your RO membrane faster from what I understand. BRS sells a water saver kit where you cut your waste water in half by adding a second RO membrane to you unit.

 

[Johnd651]

Back into the supply, as in, back into the filters? If that's the case, they would keep concentrating that tds in the waste. At some point the system would overload.

 

[Mikedawg8898]

Basically you will burn through your RO membrane faster from what I understand. BRS sells a water saver kit where you cut your waste water in half by adding a second RO membrane to you unit.

Ah i could totally see that happening. my guess is from the added tds going into the supply right?

 

[Mikedawg8898]

Back into the supply, as in, back into the filters? If that's the case, they would keep concentrating that tds in the waste. At some point the system would overload.

That makes sense. i just saw it in the comments and was blown away. I had never thought of that before

 

[redfishbluefish]

Hey all! I was reading through some YouTube video comments and one person had mentioned they rerouted their Waste line from the rodi unit back into the supply unit, Effectively creating zero waste water. I was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on that. What are the Pros and Cons?

Do you have links to those YouTube videos or posts where it's discussed. I'd be curious how they made that connection. You don't want to pressurize the waste line coming from the unit, and I can't figure out how to attach to supply line without getting the pressure for the plumbing......or am I totally misunderstanding what's being discussed.

I do collect my waste water and use it for my washing machine....so I really have no waste right now.

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

Ah i could totally see that happening. my guess is from the added tds going into the supply right?

I have thought about doing something like this before. The only way I can figure a way to do it would be to collect the waste water and then plumb it back to the RODI unit somehow using a booster pump.

 

[Mikedawg8898]

Do you have links to those YouTube videos or posts where it's discussed. I'd be curious how they made that connection. You don't want to pressurize the waste line coming from the unit, and I can't figure out how to attach to supply line without getting the pressure for the plumbing......or am I totally misunderstanding what's being discussed.

I do collect my waste water and use it for my washing machine....so I really have no waste right now.

thats the link to the new brs rodi video where someone mentioned it in the comments. basically stating his waste line goes back into the suplly line and goes through all the filters again

 

[Mikedawg8898]

I have thought about doing something like this before. The only way I can figure a way to do it would be to collect the waste water and then plumb it back to the RODI unit somehow using a booster pump.

i wonder if that would work too? and what the pros and cons would be

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I am pretty sure they are probably talking about the water saver kit that you can add. This adds a second RO membrane and you route your waste water from the first membrane through the second one. This cuts down on the waste water, but can use up DI media faster as the TDS will be slightly more doing this. It is also not recommended for super high TDS source water. I added one of these to my system along with an auto flush kit when I was automating my RODI reservoir filling.

Dennis

 

[Tastee]

My waste water goes into my rainwater tank and then onto the garden.

 

[Krillin it]

I’m sure it would work with a booster on the waste but pretty sure it will cut the membrane life in half as your increasing the input tds

 

[homer1475]

Lets see......

I use in money(no idea what I pay per unit as I don't have a bill handy) about $30 worth of water every 3 months(We get a water bill every 3 months, so about 10 bucks a month). It costs about $25 bucks in filters(Carbon, sediment, DI). I have an outgoing TDS of 56. If i sent that back into my system I'm guessing I would be changing filters way more then once a year(yes I have super clean water @ 12TDS incoming).

I'm thinking it would cost me around 3 to 4 changes of filters once a year negating the savings cost of sending my waste back through my filters.

 

[maroun.c]

Id just collect the waste water and use it for watering garden or washing car...

 

[ca1ore]

Seems problematic. Not the least of which is you’d be putting the waste water back into a pressurized system so no water would move through the RODI without a booster pump ..... and that’d be ‘fighting’ against the house water pressure. I use the waste water for the garden in the non Winter months. Am on a well, so I figure waste will end up back in the aquifer eventually.

 

[LilysDad]

I use my waste water for my cichlid tank

 

[tharbin]

Never heard of this. I know many that use the waste water for other uses but you do not want to recirculate the waste water back through the RO unit. Doing that would significantly reduce the life of the membrane. You can run double membranes were the waste from one feeds the other and thus uses some of the 'waste' water but there is still waste water after the second membrane. But even if you cascade a hundred membranes there will still be waste.

Putting it back into the supply would entail having a pressure pump with a higher pressure than your supply pressure forcing it back into the pressurized supply lines. I'm sure it would be against code in most places. Kind of like not having back-flow valves on watering lines.

 

[Arego]

I run mine throughout our lawn under the sod and flower beds with open connections everywhere.