Reverse Osmosis Water Filter

[J. Morgan]

Update, the filter produced a gallon and a half of waste water for one gallon consumed hooked to the faucet, it wouldn’t flush at all on pump pressure when another gallon was drawn.

I’m saying it wont be much good on the tank. But that’s ok with me.

[rmkrum]

One thing on RO systems. The membrane type depends on the water supply used. Found this out the hard way when I moved a nice system from chlorinated city water to unchlorinated water in a desert town, and the noice new RO element basically disintegrated totally and failed a few weeks later because of bacterial growth.

Some membranes require chlorinated water to function properly and last their rated lifespan.

The other ones are designed to handle only un-chlorinated water.

The problem is that using the other water with a given membrane can lead to rapid deterioration of the membrane.

That may not be current information, but its something to check before buying one.

It's also very true that the pre-filters are very important to operation of the membrane, and the ones that are set up for chlorinated water also typically have a carbon block filter as part of the system after the RO element to take the chlorine taste out.

I'd suggest carefully reading the specifications to determine what kind of water they are designed to take in, and stay with that...I'd also verify the working pressure needed to operate properly. Some take fairly high pressure to push water through the RO membrane.

I see it as an 'interesting problem' in our travels, because you never can be sure if the campground has chlorinated city water, or is on an un-chlorinated well system.

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

One thing on RO systems. The membrane type depends on the water supply used. Found this out the hard way when I moved a nice system from chlorinated city water to unchlorinated water in a desert town, and the noice new RO element basically disintegrated totally and failed a few weeks later because of bacterial growth.

Some membranes require chlorinated water to function properly and last their rated lifespan.

The other ones are designed to handle only un-chlorinated water.

The problem is that using the other water with a given membrane can lead to rapid deterioration of the membrane.

That may not be current information, but its something to check before buying one.

It's also very true that the pre-filters are very important to operation of the membrane, and the ones that are set up for chlorinated water also typically have a carbon block filter as part of the system after the RO element to take the chlorine taste out.

I'd suggest carefully reading the specifications to determine what kind of water they are designed to take in, and stay with that...I'd also verify the working pressure needed to operate properly. Some take fairly high pressure to push water through the RO membrane.

I see it as an 'interesting problem' in our travels, because you never can be sure if the campground has chlorinated city water, or is on an un-chlorinated well system.

It’s going to be an experiment in practice. If I remember I’ll make updates as I go.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

If the RO has to dump 10X into the waste, then the water is past hard and heading towards salty. It can only do just so much with really awful water. If the source happens to be rain water, you likely will see pretty good ratios on that. Even with well water, hardness is very much a "who knows" sort of thing. I've had well systems that produced softer water than a typical suburban water company .... (they add hardness to it to reduce the wear and tear on pipes ....).

Lots of fun !!

Bob

[Keithkleinmd]

Water is chlorinated to kill bacteria and viruses. By the time it reaches the faucet, the chlorine should have evaporated, so I'm not sure it is worth the expense to further "dechlorinate" it.

It has to be done in dialysis units as the chlorinated compounds that remain are absorbed directly into the blood stream, so they have an entirely different issue than consuming trace amounts of chlorine, if even that, by mouth.
Fluoridated water has been shown to promote healthier teeth, more so in growing children, and many studies have shown that those communities that fluoridate their water supply, have less dental caries and better teeth. But I understand it is a personal decision and some elect to remove fluoride.
The hardness from calcium is not a health threat, and in fact may be beneficial to improve your calcium intake. THe major problem with "hard" water is that it can lead to a more rapid build up of calcium salts in your plumbing in your RV and home.

For the RV, a yearly gentle acid wash with dilute acid should remove all deposits, if it proves to be a problem.
The other issue is feeling like you are still covered with soap when you take a shower with "hard" water, as the calcium forms calcium hydroxide which is similar to soap. You are not actually covered that much, but for some it is uncomfortable and softening the water will help

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by Keithkleinmd

Water is chlorinated to kill bacteria and viruses. By the time it reaches the faucet, the chlorine should have evaporated, so I'm not sure it is worth the expense to further "dechlorinate" it.

It has to be done in dialysis units as the chlorinated compounds that remain are absorbed directly into the blood stream, so they have an entirely different issue than consuming trace amounts of chlorine, if even that, by mouth.
Fluoridated water has been shown to promote healthier teeth, more so in growing children, and many studies have shown that those communities that fluoridate their water supply, have less dental caries and better teeth. But I understand it is a personal decision and some elect to remove fluoride.
The hardness from calcium is not a health threat, and in fact may be beneficial to improve your calcium intake. THe major problem with "hard" water is that it can lead to a more rapid build up of calcium salts in your plumbing in your RV and home.

For the RV, a yearly gentle acid wash with dilute acid should remove all deposits, if it proves to be a problem.
The other issue is feeling like you are still covered with soap when you take a shower with "hard" water, as the calcium forms calcium hydroxide which is similar to soap. You are not actually covered that much, but for some it is uncomfortable and softening the water will help

Well, whatever the pros and cons, Elizabeth will insist on having either bottled or purified water to drink and cook with so I’m going to make a run at this on board reverse osmosis thing.

I mean it’s not awful having bottled water, but running out means a trip to get more....

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by Keithkleinmd

Water is chlorinated to kill bacteria and viruses. By the time it reaches the faucet, the chlorine should have evaporated, so I'm not sure it is worth the expense to further "dechlorinate" it.

It has to be done in dialysis units as the chlorinated compounds that remain are absorbed directly into the blood stream, so they have an entirely different issue than consuming trace amounts of chlorine, if even that, by mouth.
Fluoridated water has been shown to promote healthier teeth, more so in growing children, and many studies have shown that those communities that fluoridate their water supply, have less dental caries and better teeth. But I understand it is a personal decision and some elect to remove fluoride.
The hardness from calcium is not a health threat, and in fact may be beneficial to improve your calcium intake. THe major problem with "hard" water is that it can lead to a more rapid build up of calcium salts in your plumbing in your RV and home.

For the RV, a yearly gentle acid wash with dilute acid should remove all deposits, if it proves to be a problem.
The other issue is feeling like you are still covered with soap when you take a shower with "hard" water, as the calcium forms calcium hydroxide which is similar to soap. You are not actually covered that much, but for some it is uncomfortable and softening the water will help

Ok, you made me research. [emoji4]

I was thinking that chlorine can’t evaporate until it is released to open atmosphere and atmospheric pressure....

I think that’s true, but what I accidentally discovered was that chlorine is falling into disfavor because it evaporates too quickly. Municipal water authorities are moving to chloramine which evaporates much slower and is even difficult to boil out of water.

Health concerns? I don’t know, maybe, but I suppose probably not since it is in widespread use, but it’s still something (else) to think about. [emoji4]

In my quest for knowledge one of the first articles I stumbled upon was from High Times,

It’s weedy roots aside, it is a pretty good article that is well sourced with supporting links. https://hightimes.com/grow/grow-hack...rom-tap-water/

[Keithkleinmd]

You are 100% correct that it is chloramine. I didn’t want to get too technical. As you correctly wrote,chloramine does last longer which is why it is a potential problem in dialysis units. The Dept of Water and Power in Los Angeles always keeps dialysis units appraised of any changes in concentration. I doubt that is done for RV parks.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The gotcha is that what most people object to for drinking and cooking is not what a pure RO system takes out. Taste / smell wise, the stuff that a carbon cartridge takes out is the bigger issue. If you are bothered by how much suds you get when you soap up in the shower, - that's what an RO fixes.

Bob

[PaulG_4307]

Travel Berkey Water is our solution. YouTube has plenty of details. We use it at home and in our Airstream. LOVE our Travel Berkey. About $250 on Amazon.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Since it's winterization time ....RV anti-freeze hangs around in your fresh water system for quite a while after you pull the RV out in the spring. It's the sort of stuff that probably is not good for RO membranes ( = it wears them out). It certainly will "load up" a carbon cartridge. If you are running a system the uses expensive innards, that could get exciting ....

Bob

[J. Morgan]

In six years I’ve never used anti-freeze in our Airstream.

It could be a problem someday, but the whole system I installed was only $120 lock stock and barrel.

[NYC_RVers]

Hi, I know this post was from 2018 but just curious if you (@ J. Morgan) have any follow up updates on how your RO system is working in your airstream. I was thinking of putting a Brondell relatively portable plug- and- play RO system into my 23 foot flying cloud From Costco. Thanks!