Which spectrapure would you choose

[JOKER]

Looking to upgrade my RODI unit. I now have a BRS 6 stage but looking for something better. I hear that spectrapure makes the best units. My water storage will be around 120 gallons, 60 fresh and 60 salt. What unit would you buy?

 

[joshkirkland83]

Looking to upgrade my RODI unit. I now have a BRS 6 stage but looking for something better. I hear that spectrapure makes the best units. My water storage will be around 120 gallons, 60 fresh and 60 salt. What unit would you buy?

Dont buy another unit, just swap the filters and membranes like i did.

 

[Downbeach]

If your hardware isn't leaking, why not just get their replacement filters and membrane. What's your water pressure, maybe a booster pump would be helpful.

 

[JOKER]

I want more than 75 GPD, im thinking maybe 180 GPD or somewhere close. That way I can run my water up in a shorter period of time. My water pressure is right at 100 PSI city water. TDS is around 150 coming in so its not terribly dirty water from the start.

 

[Jlobes]

spectrapure makes great products. I have the maxcap 180GPD, and it makes water pretty darn fast. I store about 50G at a time, 25 for RODI top off and 25 for WCs. its a great unit and makes water quick.

 

[Jlobes]

double post.

 

[JOKER]

I was actually looking into that unit. I have to check and see what the differences are. I think the spectrapure will also save water which is one reason I was thinking of changing.

 

[twilliard]

@AZDesertRat

Thanks!

 

[AZDesertRat]

At 100 psi a single Spectrapure 90 gpd membrane will produce 125 to 150 gpd depending on water temperature. My temp is around 60F and I get close to 150 at better than 99.4% rejection with 95-100 psi. Really no need for two membranes so I sold my MaxCap 180 for a MaxCap UHE100.

 

[Jlobes]

At 100 psi a single Spectrapure 90 gpd membrane will produce 125 to 150 gpd depending on water temperature. My temp is around 60F and I get close to 150 at better than 99.4% rejection with 95-100 psi. Really no need for two membranes so I sold my MaxCap 180 for a MaxCap UHE100.

great info!! ive actually been thinking about downsizing to a UHE100. as I dont have as many tanks as I used to, and the 180 is almost too much. I also have fairly high PSI from the tap.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Russ at Buckeye Hydro has a really neat calculator at the top of his webpage that shows what can expect from a membrane at any given pressure and/or temperature. For the Spectrapure use the 75 gpd size and note at 60 psi and 77 degrees it equals 90 gpd.

 

[Jlobes]

how do you like the UHE model? worth the upgrade? living in CA, currently in a pretty big drought, the extra efficiency would be nice.

 

[AZDesertRat]

I have one of the first units they produced and it is over 8 years old and still performing at 99.4% rejection rate on the original membrane. I can honestly count my sediment, carbon block and DI replacements on my 10 fingers. That's in Phoenix with 650+ TDS and a 100g reef with 30g sump and a 16g nano so use quite a bit of water.
It has paid for itself several times over in that 8 years and is by far the best investment I have made in this hobby with my AI Sol Blue LEDs a close second. One saves water and the other energy.

 

[Jlobes]

dang. 8 years on the original membrane??? didnt think that was even possible!

 

[twilliard]

I have one of the first units they produced and it is over 8 years old and still performing at 99.4% rejection rate on the original membrane. I can honestly count my sediment, carbon block and DI replacements on my 10 fingers. That's in Phoenix with 650+ TDS and a 100g reef with 30g sump and a 16g nano so use quite a bit of water.
It has paid for itself several times over in that 8 years and is by far the best investment I have made in this hobby with my AI Sol Blue LEDs a close second. One saves water and the other energy.

Thank you for coming in

 

[AZDesertRat]

The UHE is very different from any other RO/DI on the market, it uses stored DI water to flush the membrane on a timed cycle the on shutdown double flushes the membrane then pickles or stores it in DI water so it is always flushed clean and does not suffer the effects of TDS creep. There was a lot of research, development and beta testing went into the systems before they were ever offered for sale. I was lucky Spectrapure helped sponsor my local reef club at the time and asked a few of us local club members to help with the testing in their first year of service. I understand they did the same with reef clubs in New York City when they were developing their 0.2 micron absolute ZetaZorb filter cartridges since NY has very high suspended solids despite having low TDS. I also know they have DI beta testers around the world testing their resin blends. They are truly innovators and not imitators in the RO industry with over 30 years doing just that. I'm on my third Spectrapure system after owning 4 others before that and would never go back to any of the others, I'm anal about water quality and cost of ownership and keep logbooks and records to document my replacements and cost savings.

 

[JOKER]

Will the spectrapure work at 100 PSI with no problems? BRS recommended no more than 80 PSI.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Strictly liability. Membranes are rated at 150 psi or higher, its off brand or non ANSI/NSF and UPC rated housings and fitting you need to be wary of like found in eBay quality systems. Reputable vendors usually use good components since their reputation depends on it.
I've been running at 100 psi for 8+ years without so much as a drip.

 

[JOKER]

Strictly liability. Membranes are rated at 150 psi or higher, its off brand or non ANSI/NSF and UPC rated housings and fitting you need to be wary of like found in eBay quality systems. Reputable vendors usually use good components since their reputation depends on it.
I've been running at 100 psi for 8+ years without so much as a drip.

Thanks. BRS said it would damage the membrane. How long do the filters last on the UHE 100? It is a little more costly than what I was looking for but may be worth it in the long run. I know everyone who has a spectrapure unit seems very happy.

 

[AZDesertRat]

As I mentioned earlier, in 8 years in can count the replacements on my 10 fingers. Filter life is amazing since you are only running about 1/4 as much water through them with the 1:1 waste ratio and still the original membrane good as new. On my old Typhoon 3 system I would be on my my 5th RO membrane. The MaxCap DI cartridge lasts right at a year and the SilicaBuster is lasting 3 years. Incoming softened TDS is between 550 and 830, averaging 560-620 most of the time and RO only TDS is between 2 and 3 using a HM Digital COM-100 handheld meter. DI lasted 150 measured gallons with the old system so a huge difference.