+SChrisEV Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 I can't believe how fast I am burning through DI Resin!! I've made only about 110-120G of RO/DI water and I have burned through close to 2 canisters of resin (1.25 lbs / canister). My TDS meter is showing about 390 TDS going into my system. I don't remember what, or if I even measured before, but I was able to create MUCH more water when I was living in Austin on Water District #17 water before I needed to replace my Resin. Is this normal, for the area? Or do I have something else going on in my water/filter system? If it is "normal" what do you all do to lengthen the life of your DI Resin? Resin is not super expensive, but that a pain if I have to refill it that often. I use a good bit of RI/DO for top-off, cleaning etc each month. The house I am renting has a water softener, but I'm not very familiar with what a softener actually does to the chemistry of the water, secondly, I've tapped into the clothes water input line so I'm not even sure if that is water that goes through the softener. Any help/input would be much appropriated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 What's the TDS before the DI stage. That would be what I would check. High TDS water going in would exhaust it really quick. You may need a new membrane or to looking into the water saver kit from BRS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard L Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Someth'n ain't right on your RO side. DI should only need to get the last few particles your RO didn't get. I'm on Austin water and I consistently get between 5 and 8 TDS out of my RO filter (before going thru the DI resin). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 Thanks for the post, I do have the water saver kit in place. I will check the TDS before the resin stage tonight. I did that a week or so ago but don't remember what it was. My membranous are not that old, and I do use the BRS flush kit almost every time I make water, the start and end of a cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstarwiggle Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Pville water is pretty harsh. Water softener is recommended in those areas. Test water from a water spicket outside versus from a bathroom faucet. See if there is a difference in readings. Find out how old softner is? Depending on brand it is you may get 3 solid years out of softener membrane. Softneners remove some minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 That's not normal. Your RO membrane isn't doing its job. Disassemble the RO canister and make sure everything is seated properly. The water coming out of the RO should be in the neighborhood of 10-40 ppm. If it's higher than that, you've got an issue somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Possible that the membrane isn't seated correctly and the water is bypassing it if it's a new membrane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 In Hutto w/softener I was avg'g about 210. In RR near 35 / 45 w/o softener I'm getting about 220. can you move the TDS meter to between the filters and resin to see what's actually going into the resin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Water in round rock and pville is brutally hard. So it makes sense that you would blow through your DI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAM Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 For me, I find my RODI lasts way longer, double actually when I reinstall my water softener in front of my RODI unit. The water in Pflugerville has destroyed many of my appliances including my water heater!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 Well, now I'm more baffled. My DTS post membranes (pre-DI Resin) is reading 3 DTS. So it seem the two membranes are working well, right? I have in input pressure of about 70 PSI, so that seems more than enough. I don't get it. This is the BRS color changing resin. I have another 1.25 lbs canister refill, and I will pay much closer attention to how much water I produce using it, but without a doubt I am using the resin up WAY faster that I was before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 That seems very low for post RO membrane ! Something is fishy here. Have you calibrated your TDS meter ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 Well, I've never calibrated it. I have the Dual Inline TDS Meter DM-1 - HM Digital (from BRS) and it says it was calibrated from the factory. Maybe in the move it got messed up? Anyone know how to calibrate these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Those meters have a screw in the back for adjustments but it's practically useless as there is no independent adjustment for each probe. I've talked to some filter guys and they say it's trash after the calibration is off. On that note, I may have missed it but what is your TDS coming out of your resin? How do you know it is spent? Are you just relying on color change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 Well I was using the color change as a "first warning". The current canister is now showing 1 TDS after the DI Resin, and it is pretty much all yellow, or whatever color it is, not blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jconforti Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 It sounds like your meter is off, a RO system working as expected removes 90% of the TDS at a minimum. So figure out what is going into your RO, lets say its 300, a reading after your RO of 30 or less would suggest the membrane is working as expected, this would leave the last 30 to your DI. Now in practice our filters do a better job than 90%, I would suggest getting all the reading to determine whats going on. My water is roughly 330 before, 7 after RO. zero after DI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 Well short of just buying another meter, how do I test this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 let someone else or an LFS test it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emu1sive Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 I just moved to pflugerville and think I am about to have the same issue. The water softener in the house isn't even hooked up. I made about 50 gallons total since I moved in and the di resin is now spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted July 28, 2016 Author Share Posted July 28, 2016 Yep, I burn through a lot, I've done one thing that has helped me, but I don't think it's changed much in saving the resin, it helps me from the perspective of being able to make more water before having to mess with the DI... I added a second DI Resin canister to my water making system. I did at one point test some other things and I believe the issue is CO2. There is a pretty easy solutions, but it take up a good bit of room. Before your DI stage, after RO, hold the water in a container, with a air pump, circulate the water for a time (need to find the sweet spot), then using a very low flow pump. pump that water through your DI resin. I played with this, and it seems to REALLY make a big deference in the "burn" rate. It would be considerably cheaper in the long run than just buying DI resin in bulk like I am now. If you try this please report back your findings. I am thinking about doing this for my next "build" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Yep, I burn through a lot, I've done one thing that has helped me, but I don't think it's changed much in saving the resin, it helps me from the perspective of being able to make more water before having to mess with the DI... I added a second DI Resin canister to my water making system. I did at one point test some other things and I believe the issue is CO2. There is a pretty easy solutions, but it take up a good bit of room. Before your DI stage, after RO, hold the water in a container, with a air pump, circulate the water for a time (need to find the sweet spot), then using a very low flow pump. pump that water through your DI resin. I played with this, and it seems to REALLY make a big deference in the "burn" rate. It would be considerably cheaper in the long run than just buying DI resin in bulk like I am now. If you try this please report back your findings. I am thinking about doing this for my next "build" wow...An SChrisEV sighting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted July 28, 2016 Author Share Posted July 28, 2016 Yep, I burn through a lot, I've done one thing that has helped me, but I don't think it's changed much in saving the resin, it helps me from the perspective of being able to make more water before having to mess with the DI... I added a second DI Resin canister to my water making system. I did at one point test some other things and I believe the issue is CO2. There is a pretty easy solutions, but it take up a good bit of room. Before your DI stage, after RO, hold the water in a container, with a air pump, circulate the water for a time (need to find the sweet spot), then using a very low flow pump. pump that water through your DI resin. I played with this, and it seems to REALLY make a big deference in the "burn" rate. It would be considerably cheaper in the long run than just buying DI resin in bulk like I am now. If you try this please report back your findings. I am thinking about doing this for my next "build" wow...An SChrisEV sighting! nice to be back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Yep, I burn through a lot, I've done one thing that has helped me, but I don't think it's changed much in saving the resin, it helps me from the perspective of being able to make more water before having to mess with the DI... I added a second DI Resin canister to my water making system. I did at one point test some other things and I believe the issue is CO2. There is a pretty easy solutions, but it take up a good bit of room. Before your DI stage, after RO, hold the water in a container, with a air pump, circulate the water for a time (need to find the sweet spot), then using a very low flow pump. pump that water through your DI resin. I played with this, and it seems to REALLY make a big deference in the "burn" rate. It would be considerably cheaper in the long run than just buying DI resin in bulk like I am now. If you try this please report back your findings. I am thinking about doing this for my next "build" I should just create a flyer for all my clients from ARC that buy in Pflugerville... you have high CO2 content water, please make water into a brute trash can, aerate with an air pump and an air stone, then pump it from there through the DI stage. I can't believe you just threw money at it SChrisEV! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 I installed a permeate pump on mine, doubled daily output and seems to extend the life of the membrane. TDS before membrane 250-270, after 7-10. I use about 1/5 DI canister per 50gals. when canister 1 gets exhausted, i rotate canister 2 in 1's place and put new DI on #2. when using regenerated DI resin, virgin stuff on canister2, regen on 1... go through 1/2 canister per 50gals (ie.... not worth the regen *lol*) (round rock water bill, but in brushy creek MUD... so may be brushycreek MUD water) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 It may not be c02. Chloramines = chlorine + ammonia Ammonia is very hard on your system. You should be running 20" of carbon with a 20 minute contact time to break down the chloramines and scrub the ammonia out. I have 250tds water and have 2 coming out of my membranes and use a DI canister every 400-600 gallons of made water. When I first start my system up the first burst of what're when I close the flush valves on my membranes will come out upwards of 150tds. Usually after 5 minutes of run time I'll be at 3 TDS, 10 minutes 2 TDS. Somewhere in there I stop sending my water down the drain and start running through my DI resin. My System overview Sediment _cat carbon_3 BRS carbon blocks 1 micron_2 75gpd Dow membranes running in parallel_2 DI resin canisters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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