RODI UNIT brands

[ReefGrammie]

I have spectrapure max 5 stage. Over a year old. Very well made. No issues.

I've had this unit for years and have been very pleased with it. Whatever unit you choose, don't forget to change the filters!! Even though my TDS was reading zero, I neglected my filters one time and the silica chamber was nasty!! I'm sure that wasn't helping my water quality at all...

 

[Terry Mattson]

Here is my set up in the laundry room.

I use two 35 gallon storage containers from Fleet Farm. One for saltwater mixing and one tank for fresh ro/di used for top off. I installed floats in each tank. And purchased a spectrapure max made for pump. Psi is 80 and has auto shut off.

Last pic is my phytoplankton and pod production system.

 

[Opus]

Hmm it doesn’t sound better than 90gpd ones. Then why it is more expensive??

I plan to hook it up on laundry line and fill up two 5 gallon jugs at a time. I don’t know if I can install ASO inside each of the jugs though.

The second 90gpd membrane is the price difference. On the website you linked, the replacement spectrapure 90gpd membrane is $75, plus their is the cost of the housing to put it in.

If you are just doing 2 jugs then you need the basic 4 (or 5 if that is what you want) model without the ASO and float valve kit. I have mine in the laundry room. I try and keep 6 jugs filled.

 

[canadianeh]

Depends on the system. Normally the units sold by places like spectrapure and BRS just add a second carbon filter or if you are getting a unit to remove chloramines, they add a special filter that breaks down chloramines. The second carbon filter is just added protection from chlorine and other chemicals. If chlorine makes it past the carbon filter it will destroy the ro membrane. If you are a very cautious person, then a 5 stage may be for you. Realize, all these systems have the same basic generic hardware, so you can add a filter to the system at any time. My RO unit is over 25 years old. It started out as a 3 stage 20gpd unit back in the early 90's. It is now a 5 stage with a spectrapure 99% rejection rate membrane and a booster pump. I added a second carbon filter to mine because I'm lazy and I'm very bad about waiting more than the recommended 6 months to change the sediment and carbon filters.

The other "5" stage systems I've seen are usually not sold as a unit but put together after wards by buying the parts or as a separate kit. The 5th stage is a second di filter. In this setup, when you start seeing greater than 0 tds product water from the first di filter you remove it and move the second di filter into its spot. You then refill the di filter you removed and put it in the second spot. This way you are always getting 0 product water.

When buying your RO unit, you also need to get a tds meter. I personally like the handhelds but most prefer the convenience of the inline ones. Also, since you are in Canada, I'm assuming your tap water is fairly cold. Water temp plays a big part in the production rate. The gpd you see for these units is a rating at a temperature of I believe around 77. I've never tested the temp of my water but in the summer (north Texas) my 90 gpd unit fills my 5 gal jug in about 60 minutes. That same jug takes around 90 minutes right now to fill.

so it looks like the Spectrapure 5 stage units come with dual DI and the 4 stage units come with one DI.

Spectrapure 4 stage : water in to sediment ==> Carbon ==> membrane ==> DI to clean water
Spectrapure 5 stage: water in to sediment ==> Carbon ==> membrane ==> DI ==> DI to clean water

so what's the pro and con of having dual DI instead of dual carbon? is one better than the other? How about just one DI instead of two?

 

[Nick30G]

so it looks like the Spectrapure 5 stage units come with dual DI and the 4 stage units come with one DI.

Spectrapure 4 stage : water in to sediment ==> Carbon ==> membrane ==> DI to clean water
Spectrapure 5 stage: water in to sediment ==> Carbon ==> membrane ==> DI ==> DI to clean water

so what's the pro and con of having dual DI instead of dual carbon? is one better than the other? How about just one DI instead of two?

One DI is fine and is what people normally run. There's not really any major advantages to dual DI canisters except you can switch the depleted out with a new one, basically allowing you to be lazier with filter changes a bit. Dual carbon blocks are helpful if you have alot of Chlorine in your source water or your water has Chloramines in them. I use a BRS 4 stage and recommend their units, proven track record and affordable

 

[CuzzA]

FWIW, you can build your own with all the bells and whistles for cheaper, even at retail prices on parts. This tells me there's a significant assembly cost from retailers.

If you're willing to build it on your own they are about a 1/3 cheaper.

 

[canadianeh]

I want to connect my RODI unit to my cold water laundry line. I see two points that I possibly can hook it up to. My question is which adapter I need to buy for my specific situation? See picture.