RO water production rates over distance? Help!

[wonderer99]

Hey all

OK so without all the boring details I have a 1000 litre tank in the garden that I transfer the water from into the van each morning. My outdoor tap is next tot this tank and I also have plug sockets there. My RO system is in the shed which is about 15 foot away. So to make my water it has to travel about 18 foot through regular garden hose into the RO system and then back along smaller hose from the RO into my tank to fill. So effectively we are talking a combined distance of about 36-37 foot of hose.

As winter approaches and my RO filters and membranes need replacing anyway I am looking and how to increase water production. I was wondering what difference, if any, it would make bringing the RO system outdoors next to the take and making it so that the water has to maybe only travel 10-12 foot or so into the tank. It made sense when I set it all up to just keep the system in the shed nice and warm and safe but if I can house it dryly next to the tank and it makes a big enough difference to water production rate then I would do that.

I should say I already use a booster pump now which pushes it out faster obviously than tap pressure alone but looking for advice on how much difference, if any, it would make reducing the hose lengths and distance travelled with and without the booster involved?

Thanks all.

 

[Part Timer]

I would think the only difference would be the distance from the booster pump to the R/O, assuming you can alter the booster pump pressure. If that is close to the filters now, then the distance to it, and from the R/O to the tank wouldn't matter.
Without the booster pump then the distance from tap to R/O will affect the pressure and therefore the production rate

 

[wonderer99]

I would think the only difference would be the distance from the booster pump to the R/O, assuming you can alter the booster pump pressure. If that is close to the filters now, then the distance to it, and from the R/O to the tank wouldn't matter.
Without the booster pump then the distance from tap to R/O will affect the pressure and therefore the production rate

Ok, cheers. So lets take the booster out of the equation and go on tap pressure alone. Are you saying that distance alone has little affect? So if it was tap pressure alone reducing the distance of the RO from the tank and therefotre cutting maybe 70% of the hose needed would have little affect?

 

[ched999uk]

The longer the hose from tap to RO the lower the pressure and flow but the lengths you are talking about would make minimal differences.
Are you having an issue that the RO can't keep up with your requirement for pure?
If it is keeping up with your requirements and is nice and warm in your shed I would just stick with what you have.

Just a thought, you mention winter is coming so you will be replacing pre filters and RO, most people normally replace pre filters fairly frequently (depending on their through put of water) and then monitor the rejection ration of the RO membrane to see when it needs replacing. Are you saying your rejection ratio is starting to go up or just that you are thinking or changing the RO as it might help quantity of pure produced? What flow rate is the RO? If it's just one of the small RO's then changing to a 2040 or a 4040 would increase your pure production but you would probably need to replace your booster as well as a bigger RO.

 

[wonderer99]

The longer the hose from tap to RO the lower the pressure and flow but the lengths you are talking about would make minimal differences.
Are you having an issue that the RO can't keep up with your requirement for pure?
If it is keeping up with your requirements and is nice and warm in your shed I would just stick with what you have.

Just a thought, you mention winter is coming so you will be replacing pre filters and RO, most people normally replace pre filters fairly frequently (depending on their through put of water) and then monitor the rejection ration of the RO membrane to see when it needs replacing. Are you saying your rejection ratio is starting to go up or just that you are thinking or changing the RO as it might help quantity of pure produced? What flow rate is the RO? If it's just one of the small RO's then changing to a 2040 or a 4040 would increase your pure production but you would probably need to replace your booster as well as a bigger RO.

Oh ok so maybe its not as much of an issue as I thought regarding lengths. As for replacing membranes its done frequently and water purity is always fine. I just meant they are due to be replaced as normal but with winter coming I might had had a complete overhaul. The less hose laying around the less to potential to freeze. But if the hose lengths I have have little effect on production then it just mmakes sense to keep the RO in the shed where it is.

Thanks guys, saved me some work. Now to find that perfect, magical "keep the equipment in the van from freezing" solution that seems to elude me every year.

 

[ched999uk]

Now to find that perfect, magical "keep the equipment in the van from freezing" solution that seems to elude me every year.

I used some of that silver foil coated bubble wrap and lined the back of my van as much as I could, which seemed to help plus I have an oil filled rad that I use on a very low setting if it looks like it's getting below about 3 deg C.

 

[wonderer99]

I used some of that silver foil coated bubble wrap and lined the back of my van as much as I could, which seemed to help plus I have an oil filled rad that I use on a very low setting if it looks like it's getting below about 3 deg C.

Yeah I have the radiator as well which is the best option I guess. I just hate leaving it on of a night with an extension. I'm just one of those people who thinks somehow my van is going to catch fire the second I go to sleep, the fire will run alone the cable and then burn my house down too

 

[Scrubsy]

@wonderer99 I only use as a small RO, but I stopped using garden hose and use the 6mm piping instead. I did it to neaten things up in my garage as I have a tap there, but for some reason I found it's been better than the garden hose - it might be a figment of my imagination though as I was just pleased to tidy everything up . This is indoors though and I disconnect it when not in use, so I'm not sure how weather might affect it if it was outdoors.

 

[ched999uk]

Yeah I have the radiator as well which is the best option I guess. I just hate leaving it on of a night with an extension. I'm just one of those people who thinks somehow my van is going to catch fire the second I go to sleep, the fire will run alone the cable and then burn my house down too

Just make sure the extension cable is uncoiled. I only use mine on 750watt setting. Fingers crossed it's worked so far but I am about half a mile from the sea so we tend to have mild weather.