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Booster pump needed..?

Suhrly

Well-known member
Messages
722
Location
North East
Hi guys. I have a Pure Freedom van setup. When I first got it my tap TDS was 80ppm. Now, in the last few weeks, for God only knows what reason, it has shot up to as high as 450ppm! Anyways, I'm looking to get it down as much as possible as I'm obviously burning through a lot more resin. Firstly, my RO (4040) seems to be operating at only around 90% bringing 450ppm down to around 45ppm after the RO. Is this maybe due to my tap pressure, which is 35psi when it hits the RO...? Is this pressure too low and is that why the RO is only operating at 90%?

 
My little 300gpd unit works much more efficiently with boosted pressure (75psi). I get about .005 out.

At mains pressure (40psi) it's more like .010 with much higher waste to pure ratio

 
@spruce is your man or @doug atkinson what size is your RO I spent £123 on a booster pump only to find its only good for 300gpd and lower and mine is a 450gpd but a booster pump may help.

Have a look at my post on production nightmare as you could use your wfp delivery pump for a max of 2 minutes to see if it increases pure production also take tds readings 

 
My booster pump was about £300, but works well on my 600gpd, brings tap pressure up from 20psi to 70psi. But you can’t run it continuously, have it in a timer switch. 

 
@spruce is your man or @doug atkinson what size is your RO I spent £123 on a booster pump only to find its only good for 300gpd and lower and mine is a 450gpd but a booster pump may help.

Have a look at my post on production nightmare as you could use your wfp delivery pump for a max of 2 minutes to see if it increases pure production also take tds readings 


I'll be honest mate I don't know what my RO is as it is a Pure Freedom van system but I THINK it's a 450gpd. It's this one for what it's worth:

https://purefreedom.co.uk/product/1000-litre-delivery-system-two-person/

 
Most ro s are designed to run at an optimum pressure of 100 psi so generaly speaking a booster pump will benefit anyone with mains water pressure less than that 

 
I am no expert mate unfortunately Spruce is your man. Just checked my tap tds and it's dropped to the 57ppm I had a panicked on when you said 450ppm

County Durham Lad
 


@Iron Giant You're very lucky mate I have no idea how or why mine is so high cos I'm in the same neck of the woods as you! I'm in Shotton Colliery so not a million miles away right? Like I said it was 80ppm back in February when I first stared WFP, and slowly but surely it's been going up and up. Very annoying!

 
Don't know what size tank you have but I've got the 650/ PF RO van system with a booster pump fitted in the van and I can fill mine in 2 hours on a good day and 2 and a half on a bad one. 


Mines the same mate, 650ltr system. Think I might be taking a trip back down to get one fitted into my system. Filling a tank in 2 hours sounds good to me. I was also thinking about getting another DI vessel fitted into the system to do the double DI setup as well. Is this a valid option?

 
 
[mention=3115]Iron Giant[/mention] You're very lucky mate I have no idea how or why mine is so high cos I'm in the same neck of the woods as you! I'm in Shotton Colliery so not a million miles away right? Like I said it was 80ppm back in February when I first stared WFP, and slowly but surely it's been going up and up. Very annoying!
Only 13 miles away as I am in Ferryhill the highest mine has ever being was 79ppm this week.

If you have checked my other post connect your garden tap to the inlet on your wfp pump then the hose from the outlet connect to your ro and run it flat out and see if production increases for your RO and take a tds reading, you may need a big booster pump which costs £200 or more.

County Durham Lad

 
Mines the same mate, 650ltr system. Think I might be taking a trip back down to get one fitted into my system. Filling a tank in 2 hours sounds good to me. I was also thinking about getting another DI vessel fitted into the system to do the double DI setup as well. Is this a valid option?
I currently don't do this but will do when I get my next van

 
Only 13 miles away as I am in Ferryhill the highest mine has ever being was 79ppm this week.

If you have checked my other post connect your garden tap to the inlet on your wfp pump then the hose from the outlet connect to your ro and run it flat out and see if production increases for your RO and take a tds reading, you may need a big booster pump which costs £200 or more.

County Durham Lad
 


Does doing that have any impact on ya battery?

 
 
Does doing that have any impact on ya battery?
It's a 2 minute test mate that's all. If you need a booster pump you will be able to fit one yourself as for a Di vessel I have a 11-15ltr not sure on the size in the garage which is like new collecting dust £81.50 new if 11ltr I'll take £40.00

County Durham Lad

 
It's a 2 minute test mate that's all. If you need a booster pump you will be able to fit one yourself as for a Di vessel I have a 11-15ltr not sure on the size in the garage which is like new collecting dust £81.50 new if 11ltr I'll take £40.00

County Durham Lad
 


OK mate I'll bare that in mind

 
@Iron Giant You're very lucky mate I have no idea how or why mine is so high cos I'm in the same neck of the woods as you! I'm in Shotton Colliery so not a million miles away right? Like I said it was 80ppm back in February when I first stared WFP, and slowly but surely it's been going up and up. Very annoying!


Hi,

I would try to find some local and get a second reading on your tap tds levels. The only guys locally who 'cry' are the windies processing water in Hartlepool. Last time I heard their tap water tds was 550ppm. (I understand there is a 'crescent' the council supplies water to that stretches inland toward Darlington, but Shotton Colliery is too far north of that to get their water 'tainted' by Hartlepool supplies.)  

Ours fluctuates between 79 and 150 depending on which reservour they are drawing water from. Ours was 123 last week but is 108 today so maybe its being mixed with water from Kielder which seems to be softer.

Its a good bet that PF have fitted an HF4 membrane as they are cheaper. This membrane needs a higher water pressure.  35psi is too low for an HF5 membrane let alone an HF4. You could phone PF and ask them what membrane they fitted. Each of their units has a serial number with the purchasers details. I would expect they would have other info regarding the system as well.

Boosting the pressure is probably your only solution atm.

As regards looking for an alternative way to purify water, I would recommend you confirm exactly what your tds actually is before Iooking for alternatives.

If you have a van system I would look at how you are getting water from your tap to the van. I would also check the flow rate from the tap. Some outside taps are plumbed into the household mains using a coupling that punches a small hole in the pipe work. If that applies then you will need to have a better connector fitted.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi,

I would try to find some local and get a second reading on your tap tds levels. The only guys locally who 'cry' are the windies processing water in Hartlepool. Last time I heard their tap water tds was 550ppm. (I understand there is a 'crescent' the council supplies water to that stretches inland toward Darlington, but Shotton Colliery is too far north of that to get their water 'tainted' by Hartlepool supplies.)  

Ours fluctuates between 79 and 150 depending on which reservour they are drawing water from. Ours was 123 last week but is 108 today so maybe its being mixed with water from Kielder which seems to be softer.

Its a good bet that PF have fitted an HF4 membrane as they are cheaper. This membrane needs a higher water pressure.  35psi is too low for an HF5 membrane let alone an HF4. You could phone PF and ask them what membrane they fitted. Each of their units has a serial number with the purchasers details. I would expect they would have other info regarding the system as well.

Boosting the pressure is probably your only solution atm.

As regards looking for an alternative way to purify water, I would recommend you confirm exactly what your tds actually is before Iooking for alternatives.

If you have a van system I would look at how you are getting water from your tap to the van. I would also check the flow rate from the tap. Some outside taps are plumbed into the household mains using a coupling that punches a small hole in the pipe work. If that applies then you will need to have a better connector fitted.


Thanks for chiming in @spruce Firstly, my outside tap is one of those DIY ones from Screwfix I fitted myself where in basically punches a hole in your existing water pipe. Not ideal but it gave me a quick option for an outside tap.

Regarding my water TDS. It's a really strange thing...I checked my TDS at around 12.30pm today and it was 80ppm! Brilliant I said to myself and immediately started to fill my tank to make the most of it. Checked it an hour later....450ppm! Now, it done EXACTLY the same thing last Saturday too at exactly the same time! What is going on? I'm using a 'good' TDS meter BTW from Gardiner as well as a 'cheapy' one from eBay. 

I'm most likely gonna ring Pure Freedom and ask them some questions, but yeah, it's looking like I'm gonna need a booster fitted.

 
Also check hozelock fittings as a small drip from hozelock fittings can also effect water pressure to the RO as air will be getting in, all fittings need to be 100%

County Durham Lad

 
Thanks for chiming in @spruce Firstly, my outside tap is one of those DIY ones from Screwfix I fitted myself where in basically punches a hole in your existing water pipe. Not ideal but it gave me a quick option for an outside tap.

Regarding my water TDS. It's a really strange thing...I checked my TDS at around 12.30pm today and it was 80ppm! Brilliant I said to myself and immediately started to fill my tank to make the most of it. Checked it an hour later....450ppm! Now, it done EXACTLY the same thing last Saturday too at exactly the same time! What is going on? I'm using a 'good' TDS meter BTW from Gardiner as well as a 'cheapy' one from eBay. 

I'm most likely gonna ring Pure Freedom and ask them some questions, but yeah, it's looking like I'm gonna need a booster fitted.


These are well known for restricting the flow of water. The pressure might start great, but if the water to waste is bleeding away quicker than the inlet will replenish it, then the water pressure on your membrane will drop. I would sort out the tap takeoff first before thinking about adding a booster pump. If your pipework can't supply enough water for the booster pump to work properly, then it could end up sucking the pipework before it flat and wrecking the pump.

 
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