Ro Booster pump worth every penny!

FcSteve777 · Dec 9, 2015

For anyone thinking about it do it especially if you are on a well. It was 110$ well spent. The well system where i live runs about 40PSI for a cut in so my ro was barely a trickle coming out. The booster pump has at least tripled my output and the waste water is higher in TDS so i know its working more efficiently. If you are on city water at 60PSI already you probably wont see as much of a difference but for me it was huge.

klesel · Dec 9, 2015

Good to know that what I'm going to get when I buy my rodi unit I have a well and had a ro before and had same problem.thanks for info

jerseypete · Dec 10, 2015

They work well. It seems my output is higher then the unit is rated for. Getting about 200gpd out of a 6stage 150gph unit. Booster made it 90psi.

indyjaco · Dec 10, 2015

I've wondered about adding a booster pump or adding another 75 GPD membrane. My house runs at 65 to 70 PSI.

FcSteve777 · Dec 10, 2015

Id go with the pump first to get the most efficiency and life out of what you have and see if its enough. Also be sure to flush your membrane periodically.

AZDesertRat · Dec 10, 2015

An Aquatec 8800 booster pump is the better choice versus two membranes. You can easily boost the pressure to 80-100 psi and produce 125-150 GPD out of a single membrane but the biggest advantage is when you increase the pressure the rejection rate or removal efficiency jumps way up. I run a booster at 95-100 psi and am getting 135+ GPD at 99.43% rejection rate where when I had a dual membrane system at 68 psi house pressure I got about the same GPD bu the rejection rate was just under 98% due to the waste from the first membrane being sent to the second membrane at a higher TDS. That extra 1.5 to 2% efficiency doubled my DI life so costs less to produce a gallon of water.

Flush membranes is a waste of time and more a warm fuzzy feeling than actually doing anything. I have yet to see a documented study showing it actually has value other than to the vendors to help lighten your wallet. Keep the waste ratio where it should be and use softened water and you are doing the best things possible for the system.

FcSteve777 · Dec 10, 2015

Interesting. I didnt pay for a flush system i just put a valve on it. The RO systems on ships have flush cycles so im sure its doing some good. Probably far less important as we are not dealing with seawater here.

805reef · Dec 10, 2015

My house runs at 55psi and I asked several places that sell rodis/booster pumps and they said a booster pump is not recommended for me because it would not be worth it. I bought one anyways and it made such a big difference and I feel it was totally worth it.

AZDesertRat · Dec 10, 2015

The way municipal, commercial and industrial membranes flush and backwash is very different from a homeowner system. They employ things like chemical treatment to break up solids, air burst or scour and pumps that can produce 2 or 3 times the normal operating pressure and volume to cleanse the membrane. We can't do any of those and the flush kit was an attempt at doing something but it really doesn't.

Soft water is the absolute best thing you can do for a membrane and a booster is a close second. All systems would benefit from a good booster unless you have 100 psi at the tap already.

markshimala · Dec 11, 2015

The booster will help make your DI resin last longer also.....that stuff isnt cheap if you have to replace after only 50 gallons of filtration.

cdness · Dec 11, 2015

I will have to agree on the booster pump is the best investment you can make. My municipal water runs from a well at a normal pressure of around 50 psi. I boosted it to 75 psi per the recommendation of the system and it has reduced the waste ratio and increased production. I run a Spectrapure 90 GPD membrane at the moment so maybe I can boost it a little higher.

It did not increase my DI life though. I have high CO2 content in the water so I burn DI faster than I can replace it. I now basically run my tank on RO because the DI stage is too expensive to keep filters in it.

AZDesertRat · Dec 11, 2015

Boost it up to 100 and the rejection rate will improve even more. Membranes are rated at 150+ psi so 100 won't bother it as long as you have good UPC and ANSI/NSF rated housings and components which are rated at 125 psi working pressure and around 3 times that burst pressure. I'm at 99.43% rejection rate, softened tap TDS of 560-620, RO only TDS 2 to 3 and boosting from 68 up to 95-100. Been running it that way for over 8 years now and zero issues with tremendous DI life even though we do have measurable CO2 levels in Phoenix water.

TheEngineer · Dec 11, 2015

cdness said:
I will have to agree on the booster pump is the best investment you can make. My municipal water runs from a well at a normal pressure of around 50 psi. I boosted it to 75 psi per the recommendation of the system and it has reduced the waste ratio and increased production. I run a Spectrapure 90 GPD membrane at the moment so maybe I can boost it a little higher.

It did not increase my DI life though. I have high CO2 content in the water so I burn DI faster than I can replace it. I now basically run my tank on RO because the DI stage is too expensive to keep filters in it.

I've been trying various degassing methods to remove the CO2 from my well water. I've had improvements to my DI consumption. Still faster than it should be, but no where near where it was when I started.

Buckeye Hydro · Dec 13, 2015

Consider installing your booster pump AFTER all prefilter housings. We've been recommending this configuration for years.

Russ

FcSteve777 · Dec 21, 2015

Phew Desert Rat! I remember having a planted FW tank when i was in Phoenix and how outrageous the TDS was. Fortunately that house already had an RO system. I may go ahead and boost mine up some more, As you have said efficiency is just gonna go up.

gus6464 · Dec 21, 2015

The pressure is poo in my new house. What exact parts do I need to run the Aquatec 8800 pump? I also use my RO/DI system to make RO drinking water and have a john guest 2 way diverter installed before the DI canister if that matters.