Ro/di no pressure

[Company101]

I am not sure if there is already a thread for this

I currently am running a brs 6 stage ro system.
when it’s on I barely get 20 psi. I have replaced the filter and medium. I have not replaced the Di membrane yet.
I barely get a trickle coming out of this thing. And also my resin holding loose water. While it running.

I added a booster pump. But it hasn’t made
Any real difference. Even the pressure gauge didn’t change after the addition. Should I replace the auto cut off valve and or the flow restrictor? Along with the membrane?
you can see in my set up. How I have everything plumbed. The pressure has risen alittle. It’s been just sitting off since this morning. As you can see in one of the pics the resin container is only half full.

 

[GBRsouth]

You can disconnect tubing one at a time between each filtration stage to check the water is flowing freely, then reconnect and move on to the next to locate the blockage.

Also check if the ro membrane is still wrapped in cellophane or if flow restrictors or non return valves are installed back to front. Also check each water tube for blockage.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

+1 above. i would remove each incoming tube from each chamber one at a time to see where the flow decreases. Once you have that figured out then that chamber is the culprit and most likely a blockage in the exit pin size hole of that chamber.
Or your pressure guage could be bad altogether.

 

[Mjl714]

I am not sure if there is already a thread for this

I currently am running a brs 6 stage ro system.
when it’s on I barely get 20 psi. I have replaced the filter and medium. I have not replaced the Di membrane yet.
I barely get a trickle coming out of this thing. And also my resin holding loose water. While it running.

I added a booster pump. But it hasn’t made
Any real difference. Even the pressure gauge didn’t change after the addition. Should I replace the auto cut off valve and or the flow restrictor? Along with the membrane?
you can see in my set up. How I have everything plumbed. The pressure has risen alittle. It’s been just sitting off since this morning. As you can see in one of the pics the resin container is only half full.

what happens when you open the flush valve (white and blue) on top of the membrane housing?

 

[Company101]

what happens when you open the flush valve (white and blue) on top of the membrane housing?

When I open that. Water shoots out of it when the booster pump is on. Also that red valve does the same thing.

 

[CK00020]

Pressure gauges are notoriously bad that’s probably where the problem is

 

[CK00020]

That doesn’t explain the drop, something has to be plugged

 

[Hop2jr]

Sounds like the restriction orifice in the tubing under the membrane flush valve is clogged take apart the tube to the big white orifice piece under the flush valve apart an see if it is clogged no water will go to the membrane if it is. If that is not clogged then change out the membrane.

 

[Company101]

I plan to take each line off to see where the issue is. I am thinking it’s something to do with the flow restrictor/ ro back flush or the auto stop.
Hopefully will find my problem tomorrow.

 

[JoshH]

So a little side note, good advice above but to answer the question about the air in the DI chamber, it's completely normal to have trapped air in the DI chamber. It does not effect production in any way shape or form. If you are concerned about it just loosen the canister while the unit is running and watch it fill up than tighten it closed when it gets close to the top.

I'm also a little confused as to why there is a 3 way valve between the carbon block filters? Does the other line go anywhere else? Where in the setup is the pressure guage plumbed in exactly? Have you tried removing it and filling the line with water then reattaching it or tipping it upside down while the system is running to remove any trapped air?

 

[Company101]

Well I can’t sleep so I went and fiddled with it a little. I went thru nearly every connection I could. And after the ro membrane it was very little pressure coming out. So I am not sure if it is good or bad. But I removed the membrane for tonight. And tried it again. And I had extremely better pressure once the membrane was removed. I have since ordered a new membrane should be here Thursday. And will see if that was the problem.
Thank you everyone For replying.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

also a booster pump is better useful after the sediment filters and just before the membrane.
This puts all pressure (PSI) on the membrane and its housing. while placing it before the sediment filters puts the pressure on the whole unit and on every chamber which may give/break over time.

 

[Company101]

So a little side note, good advice above but to answer the question about the air in the DI chamber, it's completely normal to have trapped air in the DI chamber. It does not effect production in any way shape or form. If you are concerned about it just loosen the canister while the unit is running and watch it fill up than tighten it closed when it gets close to the top.

I'm also a little confused as to why there is a 3 way valve between the carbon block filters? Does the other line go anywhere else? Where in the setup is the pressure guage plumbed in exactly? Have you tried removing it and filling the line with water then reattaching it or tipping it upside down while the system is running to remove any trapped air?

I couldn’t agree more. I have wondered about the red 3 way ever since I got it. If I turn it on it seems to bypass the last carbon stage and goes right into the black waste line. I believe the pressure gauge is installed after the last carbon stage. From what I can see. I think I might try and see if I can take that red 3 way out of line. But I have to figure out what it goes into before the black waste line. It’s an older model brs unit. So there had to be a reason why.
As with the last DI chamber. It does fill up. But I think because my ro membrane was bad. It looses water. Along with flow. Once I have everything back in place I will watch that last chamber and see what happens. I am used to a little air. But it seems when I turn on the valve to get water. The both chamber drain pretty significantly.

 

[JoshH]

Well I can’t sleep so I went and fiddled with it a little. I went thru nearly every connection I could. And after the ro membrane it was very little pressure coming out. So I am not sure if it is good or bad. But I removed the membrane for tonight. And tried it again. And I had extremely better pressure once the membrane was removed. I have since ordered a new membrane should be here Thursday. And will see if that was the problem.
Thank you everyone For replying.

Was the membrane seated correctly? When your unit is running how much water is it producing?

 

[JoshH]

I couldn’t agree more. I have wondered about the red 3 way ever since I got it. If I turn it on it seems to bypass the last carbon stage and goes right into the black waste line. I believe the pressure gauge is installed after the last carbon stage. From what I can see. I think I might try and see if I can take that red 3 way out of line. But I have to figure out what it goes into before the black waste line. It’s an older model brs unit. So there had to be a reason why.
As with the last DI chamber. It does fill up. But I think because my ro membrane was bad. It looses water. Along with flow. Once I have everything back in place I will watch that last chamber and see what happens. I am used to a little air. But it seems when I turn on the valve to get water. The both chamber drain pretty significantly.

The 3-way valve is a great thing to have, it's just installed in the wrong place. It should be after the RO membrane but before the DI. It's used to bypass the DI stage to rid the water of TDS creep before you start producing water. Also depending on how your system is set up, it's normal for water to drain out of the DI stages after shut off...

 

[Company101]

also a booster pump is better useful after the sediment filters and just before the membrane.
This puts all pressure (PSI) on the membrane and its housing. while placing it before the sediment filters puts the pressure on the whole unit and on every chamber which may give/break over time.

I have read that on here before. Once I replace the ro membrane and it seems to be working better I might go ahead and move it to there.

 

[Company101]

Was the membrane seated correctly? When your unit is running how much water is it producing?

The unit is seated correctly. And when I started this. It was taking about 6 hours to fill a 5 gallon bucket. It was barely a few drops at a time. When the valve was
Closed and
The pressure built in the unit. Once I opened the valve I had good water flow
For about 2-3 minutes. Then went to just dripping.

 

[Company101]

The 3-way valve is a great thing to have, it's just installed in the wrong place. It should be after the RO membrane but before the DI. It's used to bypass the DI stage to rid the water of TDS creep before you start producing water. Also depending on how your system is set up, it's normal for water to drain out of the DI stages after shut off...

The way it’s set up is how it was when I purchased the unit years ago.

 

[JoshH]

The way it’s set up is how it was when I purchased the unit years ago.

When did these problems first start? Or has it always been this way? How old is the current membrane?

And I'm sorry for the million questions, just trying to cover all the bases....

 

[Company101]

When did these problems first start? Or has it always been this way? How old is the current membrane?

For some reason I think it’s always been that way. But I just contributed it to my old house I lived in before as to not having good water pressure. Honestly I am not sure how old the membrane is. I just recently set everything back up in a new home and I put in all new plumbing and a new whole house pressure valve. And the house has good water pressure. I replaced everything. Before I set it up. Well I forgot to order a meme brand. But I didn’t think much about it at first. I was still getting 0 tds coming out. When I first installed the unit I had it on a clamp valve / refrigerator ice maker thing. I took that out and put in an actual valve. And still had the same
Problem. He seems the booster pump.
My goal is to set up a water station and make my own salt ( currently have a 75 gallon display ). As I live about an hour away from any local stores. And was gonna run a line directly to my auto top off.