Is there a big difference between an name brand RO unit and an off brand?

[dan21]

Im looking at buying a RO/DI unit and was wondering if there was that much of a difference between a name brand unit such as Coralife, and a lesser known model that i could find somewhere else? For instance; i could buy a Coralife RO unit that makes 24gallons per day at my LFS for $150, or i could buy a RO/DI unit on the internet

[hr]
site that makes 100 gallons per day for $100. The RO/DI unit also comes with a 1yr. warranty, Which would you buy?

 

[fatboyjoe]

I bought a aquasafe from that site for under $100.00 3 1/2 years ago and it's still working great. they all use the same parts and slap their own name on it. I order filters online or buy them at home depot. some of the expensive units come with all sorts of bells and whistles that you can add to your unit yourself,like tds meters and pressure gages way cheaper.(from the same site) hey I get 0 tds coming out of my unit right now. so you can pay $100.00 to get 0 tds or pay $300.00 to get 0 tds. the choice is yours.

 

[aquatica-tech]

Originally Posted by fatboyjoe
http:///forum/post/2485114
I bought a aquasafe from that site for under $100.00 3 1/2 years ago and it's still working great. they all use the same parts and slap their own name on it. I order filters online or buy them at home depot. some of the expensive units come with all sorts of bells and whistles that you can add to your unit yourself,like tds meters and pressure gages way cheaper.(from the same site) hey I get 0 tds coming out of my unit right now. so you can pay $100.00 to get 0 tds or pay $300.00 to get 0 tds. the choice is yours.
Nice way of putting it

 

[apos]

As long as you get a warranty and the parts are quality, it should be okay. The key thing is the quality of the RO membrane, and having goo fittings. Most of the rest of the parts are pretty standard issue.

 

[anonome]

Originally Posted by fatboyjoe
http:///forum/post/2485114
I bought a aquasafe from that site for under $100.00 3 1/2 years ago and it's still working great. they all use the same parts and slap their own name on it. I order filters online or buy them at home depot. some of the expensive units come with all sorts of bells and whistles that you can add to your unit yourself,like tds meters and pressure gages way cheaper.(from the same site) hey I get 0 tds coming out of my unit right now. so you can pay $100.00 to get 0 tds or pay $300.00 to get 0 tds. the choice is yours.
I have the same unit, and I too like mine. Bought from the same site and paid about $100 with the TDS meter 3 yrs ago. Haven't had a bit of trouble with it.

 

[acrylic51]

Warranties IMO don't mean to much when it comes to RO/DI units.....there's no moving parts and really nothing to warranty......The difference between a truely good RO/DI unit and a "average" unit, is going to be the membrane.....I wouldn't purchase a unit unless it had a Dow FilmTech membrane or if it was a "tested" membrane which you can purchase from Spectrapure for it's exact rejection rate before leaving the factory.....
All the other add on stuff like TDS meters, flush systems, upgrading pressure vessels, ASOV's and such can be added to any unit, if you know where to find the parts and how they go together which isn't very complicated.....If you upgrade the membrane size of any RO or RO/DI unit the "flow restrictor" must be upgraded as well......