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Originally Posted by asylumdown
I don't measure the TDS going in, but I do know that this pre-filter went from white to burnt orange about 3X faster than it normally does. I replaced the RO membrane about 6 months ago, which is why I thought I'd get more out of it, but it really seems to be burning through DI resin now. However, I do 45-50 gallon water changes every single week plus whatever is evaporating from my tank, so I think I probably go through more water than most people.
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If the prefilter is actually discoloured then it is way past due for a changeout.
The 100gpd membranes on the market have worse rejection rates than good 75gpd membranes. Unfortunately you will burn through DI much faster than proportionally than on a 75gpd.
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And in this case, it was a sustained 22pm. I did a water change, which practically drains my RO tank, and in the process I noticed the smell. I checked the unit, (which was already starting to re-fill my RO tank), and it was at 22ppm. I turned it off, and switched out the pre-filter and carbon cartridge (my next set of DI and R/O membranes haven't arrived yet), and turned it back on. For 5 minutes it skyrocketed up to 50ppm, and then very rapidly came back down to 22. By the time I went to bed, it was reading 17ppm, but today it's showing 33ppm.
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That definitely sounds like a spent membrane man ... sorry. After about 5-10 minutes of operating mine I will get 0 out of the membrane. I'm using the DI basically to catch the residual TDS in the beginning.
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What's the best way to run the unit? For example, my auto-top off pump is in my R/O storage bin, so as it tops off my tank, the R/O unit is always kicking on to replace the lost water, but it's only ever producing tiny amounts at a time. Is that bad?
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Ohhhh. Unfortunately yes, you will kill membranes like kleenex that way. I had to learn this the hard way myself after going through 4 membranes in 2 years. One I can accept as bad luck .. two as really bad luck .. when you get to 3 or 4 though then there's a pattern.
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WOuld it be better to cut the water supply to the RO unit and let the storage tank empty a fair ways before re-filling it? I'm not sure if the way I'm running it is contributing to how quickly it's going through media, or if I'm just using more water than most and have crappy source water.
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Yes - only refill your reservoir once it gets empty and close to empty. That's exactly what happened to me. Ever since changing the way I do things (one long drawn out fill) I've gotten much much better longevity out of my membranes.