Revers Osmosis System Advice Needed

[Becca]

Originally Posted by smweaver

...I have three ten-gallon buckets in the garage that are filled with RO water.

Where would I find ten-gallon buckets? I have found 5-gallon buckets, but I must keep in mind I would need to scoop or poor the water from the buckets since I am using s/h culture. I hate to have 10 one gallon milk jugs sitting around my house all the time, and my garage is not heated, so the water would either freeze or get to cold to use for watering if I kept it there during winter & early spring. I could probably lift my 5-gallon bucket if needed to poor from it, but it would be on the heavy side for me, so I don't think I could lift a 10-gallon bucket. Any idea's? I guess either way, whether I use a huge bucket or small one gallon jugs, I have to find a place to store the water so I will have to do some thinking.

[Ross]

Becca, how many plants do you water? A 5-gallon pail or two should do most modest collections. There's a little misinformation here (or really poor specs). The membrane should rarely be replaced. the filters should not need changing more frequently then annually. My water runs through a whole house softener before it gets to the RO unit so the RO unit needs to remove all the sodium in solution. I have yet to need a new membrane and I push the unit to deliver a minimum of 4 gallons per day but often I draw 7-10 gallons per day. The filters get replaced annually for free and the technician checks the "rejection rate" which is how much solids are being rejected in the water. Mine runs 97-98% rejection which is excellent. By the way, the big tank under your sink cannot fill completely with water because there is an air bladder in there pressurized to push the water up to the faucet. As the tank fills it compresses the bladder which then serves as water pressure. That's why it dribbles out toward the end of drawing the water.

[Becca]

Ross I water approximately 50 - 60 plants, the majority are in s/h culture so of course it takes allot of water to fill the pots and let them drain. I will start off with the 5 gallon bucket and see how much water I go through.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

Ross I water approximately 50 - 60 plants, the majority are in s/h culture so of course it takes allot of water to fill the pots and let them drain. I will start off with the 5 gallon bucket and see how much water I go through.

The containers sold in most grocery stores with steam distilled water are usually 2 1/2 gallons and come with a top. I replaced the tops with red tops from milk jugs. These might be easier to store, and less un-sightly, than 5-gallon buckets. Since you'll be pouring the water through the pot anyways, these might work? BTW, I water 60 +/- plants, but nearly half (24) are in the orchidarium.

[smweaver]

You can find buckets in the 10-gallon size at Lowes (or, I would imagine, any other hardware store). Look in the aisles with the paint and you'll see lots of sturdy buckets of various sizes. You could also have a large 30-gallon plastic trash can somewhere in your garage or out behind your house (if you have the room for one). The ones that have plastic lids attached to them would probably work well. In the winter just warm up a pot of the RO water on your stove and mix it with cold water that's stored outdoors in the larger can before you water your plants. Just a couple of ideas... Also, now that Ross mentioned it, I'm going to stop replacing the filters on my unit twice a year and save a little money. The water that goes through the RO is also processed through the water softener first. I've been changing the filters twice a year due to my paranoia that I might be watering the orchids with salt water. I'll call the company I got the RO unit from and see if they would be willing to send a technician out once or twice a year to check the water quality. Thanks, Ross! :-)

[flhiker]

Originally Posted by rsfrid

Becca, how many plants do you water? A 5-gallon pail or two should do most modest collections. There's a little misinformation here (or really poor specs). The membrane should rarely be replaced. the filters should not need changing more frequently then annually. My water runs through a whole house softener before it gets to the RO unit so the RO unit needs to remove all the sodium in solution. I have yet to need a new membrane and I push the unit to deliver a minimum of 4 gallons per day but often I draw 7-10 gallons per day. The filters get replaced annually for free and the technician checks the "rejection rate" which is how much solids are being rejected in the water. Mine runs 97-98% rejection which is excellent. By the way, the big tank under your sink cannot fill completely with water because there is an air bladder in there pressurized to push the water up to the faucet. As the tank fills it compresses the bladder which then serves as water pressure. That's why it dribbles out toward the end of drawing the water.

Hi Ross, I agree that the your membrane will last longer due to your water softener. But I do believe that it is very important to change your membrane. The prefilter and carbon filter removes chemicals and kills bacteria but the membrane remove solids and the older the membrane the less water that will seep thur. Your gallons per day will drop and more likely to carrie some solids into your finished water. Kind of like a vacuum cleaner the bag get so dirty that it will not pickup anything.

[katierkincaid]

Becca, which ones do you have growing in s/h ?

[Ann Oaks]

I have been growing around 120 orchids in a 12 by 16' greenhouse attached to our house for about three years and need help with a ro system. Our well water is drawn from an area rich in lime stone and is as hard as a stone. We have had a water softener for 40 years and, of course, I cannot use treated water on my orchids. I have been collecting rain water in three 60 gal barrels, but ran out by late March this spring. We also have a problem with low humidity and high heat in the summer-- the exhaust fan and vents help, but I would like to mist to bring down the temp and raise humidity.

My only option seems to be a reverse osmosis system to remove the salt etc from treated water. Our plumber installed a faucet in the greenhouse -- so we do have a water source. I know nothing about these systems -- can someone help me?