Still problems with Maxxima RO/DI unit

[ndimuzio]

I have been trying to get this unit to work for some time now.. when I take the DI unit out of the mix.. the TDS out reading drops from 120 to 43.. any ideas?

 

[ChrisRD]

I'll put a copy of this in the DIY forum as it's really an equipment-related question...

How much water have you run through the DI at this point?

 

[ndimuzio]

well last night I left it running without the DI media in for about 1.5 hours.. the DI media cartridge looks weird.. there is white rings inside that seperate the media and they seems to have shifted partially vertical

 

[ChrisRD]

So how much water have you actually put through the DI media?

 

[jazztown]

You want to make sure to have the water drain into a glass or something clean to take the tds reading,if you take the reading from the water holding tank and if there has been any salt mixing in it at any time it will have a high reading.
Bill

 

[Unresistible Blue]

Assuming you are taking the readings correctly, and your meter is reasonably accurate, then it appears your resin is adding TDS to the water. This happens with thoroughly exhausted resin. How long has the resin been in use?

 

[ndimuzio]

It hasnt been used at all... I have yet to get the system running properly.

The TDS meter is inline.. one probe for Out and one for IN..

 

[ChrisRD]

I'd try putting a few gallons of RO water through the DI media before taking another reading. See if it drops down after it's well flushed...

 

[cdeakle]

If this is a new unit it needs to run for some time before it is ready for use. I have the same unit and his has been running flawlessly for 2 years now with minimal effort.

I also agree with jazztown, I made that same mistake once before :wink:

 

[ndimuzio]

Ok.. I bypassed the DI unit... and just used the 2 RO canisters.. the TDS now reads 11 out... 155 In... does this mean I ruined my DI cartridge?

 

[tangir1]

11 TDS from your RO actually is not that bad. But what confused me is that it seems to implies that:

150 (tap) -> 11 (RO) -> 43 (DI) :?

So is the DI output still at 43 even if you run a couple gallon of RO thur it?

 

[ndimuzio]

No.. the DI throws the numbers all off.. big time! I bypassed the entire DI part of the system and now I get 11 on the out.

 

[tangir1]

I remember that the DI is about 1/4 used up or something like that, from the way you descripe the color of the resin... right?

Maybe you want to put in another cartidge, and see if you can get the TDS to go down to about 1 or "0" ... DI filter is pretty much fool-proof, you know... :?

 

[ndimuzio]

I guess I will have to get a new cartridge... :[ Where is the best place?

 

[tangir1]

I had got my SpectraPure cartidge from MarineDepot, and I had order bulk resin and DIY my own cartidge. Both works well. Look around, and see if you can find good deal...

(Your old cartidge may be still good... try to flush 1 or 2 gal of RO water thru it and then take TDS reading....)

 

[ndimuzio]

Looking at mine.. there are dividers inside it that are turned sideways.. now all the media is mixing up.

 

[tangir1]

Commonly, there is a fiber/foam "divider"/filter that they put in there (shameful scam to put less resin into the cartidge...). It does not really do much anyway. If you push water thru it slowly, it should still works.

If you are lucky to have a removable lid on the DI cartidge, try to repack the media/resin... otherwise, do what I said above. DI resin is not cheap, esp. if you don't regenerate it...

 

[ndimuzio]

it seems to be a sealed cartridge... should I order a new one?

 

[tangir1]

>... a sealed cartridge...
To a DIYer, nothing is sealed

Seriously, if it still give you higher TDS reading than staight RO, I think you should get a new one since you had spent way to much time on this than it worth. (oops, I think I just uttered a sacrilege in a DIY forum...) However, save it in a ziploc bag with some RO water to keep it moist... you may find a use for it later, say if you want to recharge it.

 

[ndimuzio]

Thanks... I will order one today..