DI Exhausted

PSU4ME

Well-Known Member
Moderator
BRS Member
I’ve run about 200g through my new BRS 5 stage water saver unit. DI cartridge is waxed. I’m in town water in Hopkinton MA which as I understand has good water..... first sediment stage isn’t even a tinge of brown.

Yet the DI is gone. When running at 80 psi, the RO going in is 4 TDS.

I’m “assuming” I’ve got a CO2 issue but I’m not sure.

Anyone with thoughts or knowledge? 2018 water report is here:

 
I get years out of my DI down here. I also get 0-1 TDS into my first DI stage, which is probably why.
 
I guess I never expected it to go that quick, my last 2 water sources (houses) I changed my DI once a year and not because it was exhausted but because it wasn’t changing color and I was worried..... likely just good water.

I don’t mind changing it often if I have to but wanted to make sure it didn’t indicate that there was something wrong with the unit or if there was something I could do to counteract the CO2. I watched the BRS video and I’d rather blow the DI vs having to manually gas off the water before it goes to the DI.
 
I just changed my ro membrane and all my filters. They looked brand new yet my DI was a bright golden brown instead of the original blue/black color. Maybe next time I'll just change the DI resin.
 
2F9A8321-ED40-4D91-862A-F2F15CD07FD0.jpeg
 
Mine was all brown, all blue brand new.

If your tds going into the DI is good (under 10tds?) then I’d prob just swap out the DI.

With a booster pump I expected to get to 2 tds in but I was only getting 4 which makes me wonder if it was set up right. My first stage is pristine white after 200g which seems odd to me.

BFC91E9A-FB42-495E-8669-834EA726888C.jpeg
 
I've had some DI last 2-3 years when the TDS going in was 1. When it moved up to 4, the DI seemed to go much faster...like a few months. I don't have any actual data, but the DI seems to expire much, much faster with TDS moving up a couple points.
 
It makes sense, i'm just not sure why a 5 stage unit, that's brand new can't get down to 1-2 TDS with pressure at 80 psi! Something is off and while I totally understand the CO2 thing, i'm not sure thats it and i'd like to avoid buying a $40 kit for a single use!
 
Plumbing the source water straight into the DI stage, the meter says 136 tds which I think is fair and it being town water I would think that all the moving around it does that it would have a chance to gas off.
 
It makes sense, i'm just not sure why a 5 stage unit, that's brand new can't get down to 1-2 TDS with pressure at 80 psi! Something is off and while I totally understand the CO2 thing, i'm not sure thats it and i'd like to avoid buying a $40 kit for a single use!
That does seem strange. Did you flush the system on start-up like you're supposed to?
 
So since this is the water saver unit with 2 membranes, the second membrane is dealing with the waste from the first which pushes the tds up. The product water from each combine and doing the calcs, it seems that a tds out of the RO should be 3.3 tds. I was fluctuating between 3-4 so I think the RO is working.

Cold water, old DI and CO2 are what I’m looking at now.

Or just continue to buy DI!
 
I would call BRS. 3-4TDS out of the RO on a new unit seems too high, but I could be wrong. The RO membranes can be damaged multiple ways, or defective. I have not measured the TDS of my tap water, but I have a 5 micron sediment filter that I replace about every 6 weeks because it's soaked in brown crud.
 
BRS says the water savers do push higher tds out, 10-15 is where “Chad” said he’d be concerned but 0-6 is what they expect. I’m at 4 and while that’s higher than 2, it’s still pretty good.

I’m going to order the CO2 test so if anyone else needs it let me know. That or stale DI do we will see
 
Upcoming Events

April 21, 2024
Paul B
Club Meeting

Back
Top