Need help with an RO unit
- Thread starter Nizza
- Start date
I messaged them a week ago and they said they were sorry and they would send out the unit very “shortly”
Renfro
Well-Known Member
Sorry to hear about that. On a positive note, my 350 GPD Weco has been running on a set of filters since 4/3/2019 and still going strong. I use about 50 - 60 gallons of RO water per day. My log shows my input PPM is between 227 and 136 PPM during that time and the output remains steady at 2 PPM. So 7 months at say 50 per day it's produced about 10500 gallons of RO on that set of filters so far. I couldn't even get through a 70 day run with a 300 GPD Stealth RO filter set and I was NOT using the stealth plug that reduces waste water and shortens membrane life. lol So I am very pleased with my Weco filter system. I love the PPM meter that at the push of a button shows the current input and output PPM. You can get those cheap and add them to any RO filter.
Renfro
Well-Known Member
Some pH pens have replacable probes. The EC meters may still work with new batteries and calibration.
Nizza
Well-Known Member
I've had them rehydrating since that post so about a month and are about .7 off from either ph pen after the calibration which i did after a 3 day soak in tap water.
The pens at first were within .2 of eachother and over the month it is now about .7
I plan on re-calibrating them and testing them vs some old drops I have
I was hoping the drops will help me find out what is really accurate, because the calibration solution I have is just as old as the pens.
I also cleaned up my PPM meter and it seems to work. I got mega crop and I wanted to find someone who uses it to see if I can add 1 TSP or something to a gallon of water to see if I have a similar PPM increase.
My tap water is about 110 its saying. I will spend money on meters if I have to but it sure would be nice to save a few hundred bucks if I can check to see if these work.
I msged weco again today I hope they send me shipping info soon cause i ordered on oct 20th lol. Really getting excited to have a controlled soil grow and eventually go towards hydro!
These are bluelab pens that don't have replaceable probes as far as i know
The pens at first were within .2 of eachother and over the month it is now about .7
I plan on re-calibrating them and testing them vs some old drops I have
I was hoping the drops will help me find out what is really accurate, because the calibration solution I have is just as old as the pens.
I also cleaned up my PPM meter and it seems to work. I got mega crop and I wanted to find someone who uses it to see if I can add 1 TSP or something to a gallon of water to see if I have a similar PPM increase.
My tap water is about 110 its saying. I will spend money on meters if I have to but it sure would be nice to save a few hundred bucks if I can check to see if these work.
I msged weco again today I hope they send me shipping info soon cause i ordered on oct 20th lol. Really getting excited to have a controlled soil grow and eventually go towards hydro!
These are bluelab pens that don't have replaceable probes as far as i know
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TravisG13
Well-Known Member
Damn I just spent the extra amount to get the gold water whatever certified RO system and you guys say they arent worth the extra money... My input water was usually around 300ppm and now my output is around 40ppm.... You get steady 2ppm! Should I be worried mine is as high as 40?
Renfro
Well-Known Member
I guess it depends on what that 40 PPM is. I doubt it's terrible shit but I dunno what got past it. Thats pretty effed up man. You could always see if you can get the weco replacement filters / membranes for your setup. Maybe just cheap chinese RO membrane and pre filters on the system you have. The housings are standard.
TravisG13
Well-Known Member
Alright i'll look into that, my nitrates were 14.95 mg/L and apparently anything above 10 can cause nitrate poisoning... Hopefully most of that was taken out lol
JohnDee
Well-Known Member
Trav...I recall reading that higher output RO units can allow a bit more "leakage" of dissolved solids. Not sure where I read that. I've only used cheapo units that left maybe 30 to 40ppm which really, is no problem.
JD
Renfro
Well-Known Member
A little tip to boost output.
Permeate booster pump.
It uses the pressure of the brine waste water to boost the pressure of the output side of your filter. This is big when you have any resistance to the flow like a pressure tank or float valve. I won't run an RO filter without it because it saves SO much waste when your filter is encountering any back pressure. So say you have a float valve and its barely open asking for water, the RO filters weak output takes forever to top off the reservoir and all that time water is going down the drain. This solves that.
Permeate booster pump.
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It uses the pressure of the brine waste water to boost the pressure of the output side of your filter. This is big when you have any resistance to the flow like a pressure tank or float valve. I won't run an RO filter without it because it saves SO much waste when your filter is encountering any back pressure. So say you have a float valve and its barely open asking for water, the RO filters weak output takes forever to top off the reservoir and all that time water is going down the drain. This solves that.
Nizza
Well-Known Member
Got my shipping notice! I will be getting the unit next Wednesday. I plan on finding a tailpiece for my sink that will accept the drain for this and my dishwasher drain. I am so happy to get an American product too and not have to buy water from the store anymore. Thanks for everybody’s, help I am going to work on my ph/ppm Pens now.
I figure first I’m going to buy new calibration and cleaning kits for my old one to see how accurate they are and if they aren’t I’ll get new bluelab pens
I figure first I’m going to buy new calibration and cleaning kits for my old one to see how accurate they are and if they aren’t I’ll get new bluelab pens
Nizza
Well-Known Member
I received the RO unit today and installed it!
Dumping the first few batches of water should take a while. I also got my ph/ppm calibration and cleaning kit.
To my surprise, the PPM Meter is on point. I cleaned and re-calibrated it, and it was only 40 PPM off on the x500 scale. Now it is reading calibrated and I will test it in a month or so to see how bad it loses calibration.
The ph meters I decided to clean and then soak in the KCL solution per @Renfro recommendations. After at least 2 days I will attempt to re-calibrate them, and see how they are. One of the pen bulbs wicks inside the glass is brown with clear liquid around it, and the other one is much darker. I wonder if there is a way to tell just by looking at these glass probes if they are bad or not. I know they dried out.. definately. Blue lab says when it dries it dies... we will see.
Thank you all so much for the recommendations and help. This is going to save me a TON of hassle... Still need to add a tee for before the calcite filter, for watering my plants ,and may also add a secondary storage tank to increase the holding capacity from 3 gallons up to 6 gallons or so.
I decided not to install the UV filter. I figure since its town water there shouldn't be bacteria in it especially cause I'm pretty sure there is chloramine and or fluorides in it. Does anyone think I should install the UV filter?
The unit did have a booster pump , which is plugged in and running now.
I got this unit, but it was 280$ when I bought it I think there was a sale. https://www.wecofilters.com/hydra-75uvalkpmp.html
thanks again!
Dumping the first few batches of water should take a while. I also got my ph/ppm calibration and cleaning kit.
To my surprise, the PPM Meter is on point. I cleaned and re-calibrated it, and it was only 40 PPM off on the x500 scale. Now it is reading calibrated and I will test it in a month or so to see how bad it loses calibration.
The ph meters I decided to clean and then soak in the KCL solution per @Renfro recommendations. After at least 2 days I will attempt to re-calibrate them, and see how they are. One of the pen bulbs wicks inside the glass is brown with clear liquid around it, and the other one is much darker. I wonder if there is a way to tell just by looking at these glass probes if they are bad or not. I know they dried out.. definately. Blue lab says when it dries it dies... we will see.
Thank you all so much for the recommendations and help. This is going to save me a TON of hassle... Still need to add a tee for before the calcite filter, for watering my plants ,and may also add a secondary storage tank to increase the holding capacity from 3 gallons up to 6 gallons or so.
I decided not to install the UV filter. I figure since its town water there shouldn't be bacteria in it especially cause I'm pretty sure there is chloramine and or fluorides in it. Does anyone think I should install the UV filter?
The unit did have a booster pump , which is plugged in and running now.
I got this unit, but it was 280$ when I bought it I think there was a sale. https://www.wecofilters.com/hydra-75uvalkpmp.html
thanks again!
Renfro
Well-Known Member
If you have it use it. lol
Renfro
Well-Known Member
Thing about UV us it only works on what the light hits. So in a DWC setup you will still have growth in your sites and such as the UV is only in the filter part. So only the moving water is cleaned. Does that make sense? So using it in DWC isn't really gonna do much for ya.
Nizza
Well-Known Member
Cool dude thanks!
The only reason i got it was cause it was the same price as the unit without it at the time
I appreciate the guidance with this renfro. when I get around to it please help me design a hydro system for my micro cab setup !(the 36-hbxb)
I was thinking it would be nice in a R-DWC because the water is constantly circulated through it, so it would actually hit all of the water
The only reason i got it was cause it was the same price as the unit without it at the time
I appreciate the guidance with this renfro. when I get around to it please help me design a hydro system for my micro cab setup !(the 36-hbxb)
I was thinking it would be nice in a R-DWC because the water is constantly circulated through it, so it would actually hit all of the water
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Nizza
Well-Known Member
It turns out the Ph/PPM pens are good. The PPM pen was only off by 20 PPM!
the PH pens take a little while to stabilize but provide similar readings, and testing back to the calibration solution they read within .1 pH.
Now I need to find a good way to fill and store water for my grow off of my RO unit.
@Renfro
I want to do your recommendation of adding a Tee before my calcite filter and after my holding tank. Off of the tee I could do just a ball valve but it would be nice to have some sort of float switch setup so I can just have it fill a 5 gallon bottle that I have left ( the poland spring BPA free bottles)
I would assume there is a way I can add a fill/float setup that will operate some sort of valve? I could just add a second holding tank to increase the capacity from 3 gallons to 6 gallons, but was hoping i could try some sort of fill /float setup if theres something easy to buy or DIY
the PH pens take a little while to stabilize but provide similar readings, and testing back to the calibration solution they read within .1 pH.
Now I need to find a good way to fill and store water for my grow off of my RO unit.
@Renfro
I want to do your recommendation of adding a Tee before my calcite filter and after my holding tank. Off of the tee I could do just a ball valve but it would be nice to have some sort of float switch setup so I can just have it fill a 5 gallon bottle that I have left ( the poland spring BPA free bottles)
I would assume there is a way I can add a fill/float setup that will operate some sort of valve? I could just add a second holding tank to increase the capacity from 3 gallons to 6 gallons, but was hoping i could try some sort of fill /float setup if theres something easy to buy or DIY