RO/DI brand and installation

[larryndana]

I'm going to get a ro/di unit, is there much of a difference between brands.
Where should it be installed, undersink?
if anyone has pics of there setup please post. thanks.

 

[npage]

I have an "airwaterice" Typhoon III. I love it.

It was a snap to set up and Don went above and beyond for customer support. I have very high water pressure here and they walked me through regulating it.

I tapped mine into one of the copper lines running through my basement. I have a float switch set in a 35g Brute garbage can and the waste line running in the drain on the floor.
BTW, all the pvc in the photo is the houses. Has nothing to do with the RO/DI.

 

[f14peter]

I went the quick-n-dirty route.
Here's my Typhoon III mounted in our laundry area, a source and drain right handy . . .

Here's a close-up of the source and drain arrangement. A simple Y-fitting for the faucet feeding the washing machine, and the waste-water hose is just stuck down the washing machine drain . . .

I put an exterior waterproof cover over the electrical outlet for obvious reasons, although I'm batting around the idea of having the outlet moved. Although I knew due to past experience that the bricks don't even get warm at all during a fire (Hence the stuff sitting on it), because of the proximity to the brickwork I built the most rip-roaring fire I could and checked throughout the night . . . the bricks didn't even get warm (it is pretty thick, several layers of brick).
Like NPage, I have a Brute trashcan as a resevoir, equiped with a float-valve. Right now I have to pump the water out of the resevoir with a PH, but I think I'm going to put it on a stand and install a valve on the bottom . . . someday.
BTW, the mounting holes in the frame aren't exactly on 16-inch centers, they are close enough so that I was able to use two good sized woodscrews going into studs to hold it up.

 

[larryndana]

Thanks for the reply's. Great information.
I'm going to look into the typoon III. Is there any difference in the typhoonIII and typhoonIII extreme?
I was looking at a SpectraPure.

 

[npage]

Originally Posted by larryndana
Is there any difference in the typhoonIII and typhoonIII extreme?
I copied this from their site...

You get all of the features offered with the famous Typhoon III
Plus this incredible Array of TDS monitoring devices
The TDS alarm a red light flashes to remind you to do maintenance
The Hand held digital TDS meter for testing your feed water quality, and any other source of potable water.
The Dual probe dual reading digital in-line tds meter reads membrane and DI water tds
And the frame mounted PSI gauge (0-100)
With this combination of psi gauge and tds equipment you will never be at a loss about how the system is functioning.

Fyi, the regular TyphoonIII includes a handheld TDS meter too.

 

[maelv]

Originally Posted by NPage
Fyi, the regular TyphoonIII includes a handheld TDS meter too.
So does the compact reefkeeper....and it is $60 cheaper....also a Air Water Ice unit. That is the one I am actually looking at. I can't quite see the difference between that and the Typhoon III....
And I plan on usin the same set up as F14Peter....connecting to my washer hookup....
Only difference is I want to place the unit in my fish room so I will have to run the tubing about 8 feet or so...and I want to use it as my top off unit..mainly....(if I am making sense)

 

[larryndana]

Yeah i was looking at the features. i don't think i need two tds meters, just a handheld one should be fine. unless someone can change my mind. The only thing i don't know is about the psi gauge it the extreme comes with. Don't know if i need it or not? Any thoughts?

 

[larryndana]

yeah i saw the compact reefkeeper, there is also a 5 stage reefkeeper that looks just like the typhoon III.
gpd, gallons per day. what does this actually mean?

 

[maelv]

Originally Posted by larryndana
yeah i saw the compact reefkeeper, there is also a 5 stage reefkeeper that looks just like the typhoon III.
gpd, gallons per day. what does this actually mean?

My understanding is that is how much DI water the unit will produce a day....so a 75 gph unit will create roughly 3 gallons an hour....
I think I am going to call these people up tomorrow and walk through my needs and see what they recommend....if it is pretty much the same unit, minus a couple of extra parts I really don't need...the compact reefkeeper may be the way to go for me...

 

[larryndana]

yeah, i saw that same reference. Was unsure, so if it runs all day a steady stream it would produce 75 gallons. Wonder how much dirty water is drained out during the process? i'll have to do some more reading in the morning if anyone doesn't know the answer.
if they say anything interesting, come back and post it.
NPage and/or F14Peter, do you mix your salt in the brute can or transfer it to something else.

 

[joncat24]

i use the coralife 4 stage ro/di.50 gpd..can be found for 129.00 inline. I have 0 tds . I use two brute cans, one for ro and the other for mixing salt in, with a 600 gph pump to fill up the tank after water changes. Awesome unit and coralife has great customer support

 

[maelv]

I am more than likely not going to be using a 30 gallon tub or storage container. Will probably just run the unit on Saturdays, monitor it, put the salt and mix over night... and then do my water changes on sundays.....but what i am wondering...
I know it comes with the ASOV which they (Air Water Ice) refer to as the auto top off....Will I need to get the float valve as well if I am going to primarily be topping off in the sump?
And the DI bypass....will I need to use this bypass everytime I go to turn the unit on for top offs or is this for when membranes are changed?
Also I think I have decided on the Typhoon III as well.

 

[geridoc]

The ASOV cuts the flow when the float valve closes and increases the back pressure, so, yes, you will need a float valve to use the auto shut off feature. AWI recommends that the DI bypass and fast flush be used for a few minutes if the unit has not been used for 3 days or more. Otherwise, just use the water it makes.

 

[maelv]

Originally Posted by GeriDoc
The ASOV cuts the flow when the float valve closes and increases the back pressure, so, yes, you will need a float valve to use the auto shut off feature. AWI recommends that the DI bypass and fast flush be used for a few minutes if the unit has not been used for 3 days or more. Otherwise, just use the water it makes.
Thanks GeriDoc......I appreciate the information....but now I have another question...they sell a float valve....but it is one that is for use with a bulkhead...I am not going to drill a hole in my sump for this and I am not familiar with these items (float valves)....will anyone do? Where could I find one? Lowes, Home Depot? What should I be looking for?

 

[npage]

Originally Posted by larryndana
Wonder how much dirty water is drained out during the process?
NPage and/or F14Peter, do you mix your salt in the brute can or transfer it to something else.
Depending on the quality of your source water there is a 4 or 5 to 1 ratio of waste water to clean product water. So one gallon of clean water will take about 5 gallons.
I mix my salt in a 6 gallon bucket and leave the Brute can clean for topoffs.
I know I should have a larger reserve of saltwater for an emergency. I just need to make room for a second Brute can. Maybe I'll get to that this weekend.

 

[npage]

Originally Posted by maelv
Thanks GeriDoc......I appreciate the information....but now I have another question...they sell a float valve....but it is one that is for use with a bulkhead...I am not going to drill a hole in my sump for this and I am not familiar with these items (float valves)....will anyone do? Where could I find one? Lowes, Home Depot? What should I be looking for?
The float valve is placed in your water receptacle. It works just like the shutoff float in a toilet tank. When the water level rises to the level of the valve it will raise the bulb of the valve and close the flow.
I don't think you can find them at any home center. They are designed to work with the 1/4" tubing of the unit. Where ever you buy the ro unit from should have a float valve for it.

 

[larryndana]

Originally Posted by maelv
Also I think I have decided on the Typhoon III as well.

Why the change?

 

[maelv]

Originally Posted by larryndana
Why the change?
A couple of the features that don't come on the compact reefkeeper like:
the R/O only valve that comes with it. I can make drinking water
Comes with DI by pass ($15 extra on the compact)
But mainly for the drinking water....we spend entirely too much on bottled water.

 

[dskrezyna]

Sorry for the heist, I saw the Typhoon III (Seller: AWI) for $224.94 (s/h incl.) on that one site. Anyone find it cheaper?

 

[npage]

Buy it direct from AWI for $199.00.
Shipping to Illinois was $24.95.
Total = $223.95
I beat ya by .99!

Actually what you saw on the big E was buying it directly from AWI. I don't think they have any resellers.