tds going up after DI unit

fuelman · May 6, 2020

i have a five stage Olympian ro unit & a two stage BRS DI unit i replaced both stages of di with new mixed bed resin i just got from brs. now i'm getting tds readings of 6 after the ro 11 after the first di stage & 13 out of the 2nd di stage. i have replaced all 5 stages of the ro unit, both stages of the mixed bed di resin twice, the sponge at the cap of the di cartridge's, the battery's in the tds meter, cleaned the probes for the tds meter with alcohol, & made sure they were sideways in the line like brs shows they should be. i have talked to brs & we are both at a loss to figure out how this is possible. anyone ever have this happen before???

ShepherdReefer · May 6, 2020

I had a similar issue with my RO unit and I did figure it out. do you have pictures?

Uncle99 · May 6, 2020

That might happen if the water was either side streaming (not making full contact) or there is a leak in that unit

Miller535 · May 6, 2020

If DI is not packed properly, water can "channel" around it and essentially bipass it. If it is not that, then I would think your TDS meter has something wrong with it.

fuelman · May 6, 2020

fuelman · May 6, 2020

Miller535 said:
If DI is not packed properly, water can "channel" around it and essentially bipass it. If it is not that, then I would think your TDS meter has something wrong with it.

ya i pack it pretty tight putting a little at a time & tapping it on the table to compress it in the cartridge i don't think it's channeling. i have had the unit over a year & never a problem till just now.

Miller535 · May 6, 2020

fuelman said:
ya i pack it pretty tight putting a little at a time & tapping it on the table to compress it in the cartridge i don't think it's channeling. i have had the unit over a year & never a problem till just now.

I am guessing a problem with your tds meter then, if you swapped out the DI and it's going up after each stage. Those meters are kind of cheap junk

fuelman · May 7, 2020

ShepherdReefer said:
I had a similar issue with my RO unit and I did figure it out. do you have pictures?

can you share what the problem was with your set up thanks.

mann1139 · May 8, 2020

1. Swap the meters around. Write down what you get. See if the readings match for each meter.

2. How many gallons have you pushed through each cartidge?

fuelman · May 8, 2020

mann1139 said:
1. Swap the meters around. Write down what you get. See if the readings match for each meter.

2. How many gallons have you pushed through each cartidge?

I didn't think of that lol. Thanks, after changing out both of the DI cartridges maybe a few gallons got crazy readings, then changed them both again to see if it was the resin, so the current di has maybe 2-3 gallons through it. The unit itself has about 1,600-1,800 gallons of usage sense new.

mann1139 · May 9, 2020

fuelman said:
the current di has maybe 2-3 gallons through it.

You might still be in the break-in period for the resin.

DaneGer21 · May 9, 2020

Check to make sure the cartridge is installed properly, meaning it’s right side up! I had this issue on my last filter change. Somehow, I put my DI cartridges upside down. It drove me nuts, finally, my wife actually suggested it. I’ve done the change at least a multiple dozen times over the years, but for some reason I goofed up this last time

Miller535 · May 9, 2020

One other thing, not sure if anyone mentioned this, but you can buy calibration fluid for the tds meter to. The fluid is even made by the manufacturer of the tds meter.

I know brs sells it btw

homer1475 · May 9, 2020

Why is there a sponge on the bottom of the DI canisters? You either assembled them wrong, or they are upside down. The sponge should be on the top of the DI, not on the bottom.

mann1139 · May 9, 2020

Ok, now that we have all looked more closely at the pictures, is one of the DI cartidges plumbed backwards? One looks Front->Back, and the other Back->Front.

fuelman · May 9, 2020

DaneGer21 said:
Check to make sure the cartridge is installed properly, meaning it’s right side up! I had this issue on my last filter change. Somehow, I put my DI cartridges upside down. It drove me nuts, finally, my wife actually suggested it. I’ve done the change at least a multiple dozen times over the years, but for some reason I goofed up this last time

Miller535 said:
One other thing, not sure if anyone mentioned this, but you can buy calibration fluid for the tds meter to. The fluid is even made by the manufacturer of the tds meter.

I know brs sells it btw

homer1475 said:
Why is there a sponge on the bottom of the DI canisters? You either assembled them wrong, or they are upside down. The sponge should be on the top of the DI, not on the bottom.

mann1139 said:
Ok, now that we have all looked more closely at the pictures, is one of the DI cartidges plumbed backwards? One looks Front->Back, and the other Back->Front.

i have calibration fluid on the way just hasn't showed up yet. what looks like the sponge is the filter material that's permanent in the DI cartridge the screw on cap & sponge are at the top of the cartridge in the pic. i didn't even realize you could put them in upside down lol. i work nights & just got up, i just went out after reading the comments today & pulled the cartridges out & the rubber seal on the cartridge is at the bottom "not" at the top of the unit so i flipped them around turned the unit back on & now i'm getting tds of 3 after the ro 0 after first stage 0 after 2nd stage. so i must have had the cartridges in upside down. thanks for helping the handicapped lol. 1 1/2 years of using this di unit i must have put both cartridges in upside down. no more reefing while i'm half asleep.

Miller535 · May 9, 2020

fuelman said:
i have calibration fluid on the way just hasn't showed up yet. what looks like the sponge is the filter material that's permanent in the DI cartridge the screw on cap & sponge are at the top of the cartridge in the pic. i didn't even realize you could put them in upside down lol. i work nights & just got up, i just went out after reading the comments today & pulled the cartridges out & the rubber seal on the cartridge is at the bottom "not" at the top of the unit so i flipped them around turned the unit back on & now i'm getting tds of 3 after the ro 0 after first stage 0 after 2nd stage. so i must have had the cartridges in upside down. thanks for helping the handicapped lol. 1 1/2 years of using this di unit i must have put both cartridges in upside down. no more reefing while i'm half asleep.

Glad you figured it out. We all make mistakes that we can't believe we made.

fuelman · May 9, 2020

Miller535 said:
Glad you figured it out. We all make mistakes that we can't believe we made.

Ya that's where I'm at, can't believe I put them in upside down lol. But you guys made short work of figuring it out thanks a million!!!!!!

homer1475 · May 9, 2020

We all make stupid mistakes sometimes, it happens. No sweat!

Took me 2 days to figure out I put the output of my DI canister where the inpout should have been when I took it all apart and moved it. Changed filters twice, and couldn't figure it out. My wife looked at a diagram, looked at the unit, and it was an DUHHH moment.

fuelman · May 9, 2020

Ya I guess we're all human lol. I just drained both storage barrels & they are now refilling with 0 TDS water, it just feels good to be back in business, thanks for the help.