Domestic Reverse Osmosis (RO) - Low Water Waste

chainsawpaddy

Hello,

I'm looking to install a domestic reverse osmosis system in my house. I know this has been discussed previously and I have gone through many of these, but I'm hoping things have come along from the day of dumping 4-10 litres of water for 1 litre of filtered water.

I am looking for an efficient unit and it is next to impossible to find a data sheet on any of these systems.

I was considering the Aquaphor Morion as it's claimed that its almost 50% more efficient compared to standard RO units, but I cannot find a data sheet confirming actual figures. I have come across one advertising which states the Morion has a ratio of 1:5 (1 litre drinking water for 5 litres dumped). This is not acceptable for me.

Some supplier of standard RO units are claim their systems are 1:3 and therefore more efficient than the Morion, but again nothing by means of a data sheet. And the replacement filters are cheaper too.

My water quality is most of the time ok, but due to frequent repairs on the network in my area the water is often quite turbid and sometimes develops a bad taste when left sitting or bottles to take with you. My water pressure fluctuates and may even be below a 1 bar at time I reckon. Would installing a pumped RO unit make any difference to the efficiency of the unit?

I would greatly appreciate if someone could offer advise and possibly recommend a unit and vendor of a system or systems which are:

1. Very efficient in the production of water vs water dumped.
2. Has the minimum number of stages required to deliver good quality water on a mains water supply in a rural area.
3. Unit is reasonably priced for what it is.
4. Replacement filters are reasonably priced.
5. Can be sourced for DIY install and filters are easily sourced.

Many thanks in advance.

chainsawpaddy

Any advice would be much appreciated.

syndrome777

Looking for the same thing.

Did you install any yet?

chainsawpaddy

Haven't installed one. Nearly all the suppliers I have contacted have told me their units dump three litres of water for every one litre of treated water produced (1:3), but then when asked for a data sheet they all change their figure to between four and six litres dumped for every one litre produced. So I doubt these figures are even the truth, I've heard figures of up to ten litres dumped if your only part emptying the tank.

I'm therefore assuming it isn't possible to get an efficient domestic reverse osmosis unit, pumped or not. I'm not ok with dumping up to ten litres of water to make one litre of drinking water, so I'm going to keep looking. I'll just install a single carbon filter if I can't find something soon.

If you find an efficient domestic RO unit, I'd appreciate if you could please post it on this thread.

Duzzie

I am looking to replace my unit and have been reading up on permeate pumps. These are supposed to improve the efficiency of ro units, most importantly, reducing the waste water ratio. I have not found anywhere here that does them, but have found them on the American Amazon site. YouTube permeate pumps to see how to fit them and how they work. Worth looking into

chainsawpaddy

Thanks for this, but still no hard evidence of water saving. I'm thinking that an RO unit is probably overkill for most households on a council mains water supply, so I'm thinking of going with a ceramic activated carbon filter and heavy metal filter.

I only want to remove chlorine and any organics as my water seems to turn bad when left sitting and so I think I am going to go for a Doulton Duo Undersink Filter Kit with ULTRACARB and CLEANSOFT Filters, Tap and Fittings as they can supply filters to cater for any water and they are based in the UK. All their filters are made in the UK also, so thats a little more reassuring considering most other suppliers are supplying unbranded filters.

I will likely be buying from Amazon UK as there is a saving and a much nicer tap supplied with the UK kit compared to the ugly caravan type tap being supplied with any Irish seller. I'd get over the cost saving if sellers in Ireland were supplying the nicer tap, but their not.

I'll be making a move on this this week, so if I don't come across an alternative I'll be ordering the Doulton.

syndrome777

I was looking in to getting this one


but they are not responding to my emails and they have no contact number

on the https://www.aquaphor.ie/

they are much more expensive and they don't even have this model.

I want to remove fluoride, chlorine and everything that shouldn't be in drinking water.

Has anyone ordered from aquaphor.eu?

We are unfamiliar with Irish water installation and we have a granite countertop that needs to be drilled to fit a tap so need someone to install this.

H.E. Pennypacker

syndrome777 wrote: »

I was looking in to getting this one


but they are not responding to my emails and they have no contact number

on the https://www.aquaphor.ie/

they are much more expensive and they don't even have this model.

I want to remove fluoride, chlorine and everything that shouldn't be in drinking water.

Has anyone ordered from aquaphor.eu?

We are unfamiliar with Irish water installation and we have a granite countertop that needs to be drilled to fit a tap so need someone to install this.

Have you tried contacting one of their dealers rather than them directly (https://www.aquaphor.ie/dealers/). I got a very fast response from the dealer for my area.

chainsawpaddy

@ syndrome777

Firstly, there is nothing wrong with the levels of fluoride dosed in Irish Water drinking water. It occurs naturally in many parts of the country and world and where added is done so for health benefits. Secondly, the levels of chlorine levels will fluctuate depending on your proximity to generation. Water is dosed with quantities to ensure there is sufficient levels to reach the end of the network.

I was thinking of getting one of those Aquaphor Morion's, but I'm just not comfortable with dumping from 5 and up to 30 litres of water to produce one litre of drinking water is not right, when in reality full RO on an Irish Water public supply is not needed. Unless your on an old network with lead pipes or in an area where there is a cryptosporidium risk the vast majority of Irelands public water is of a high quality.

I've come to the conclusion that its because its just odour and taste I want to improve on, a system with high quality carbon filter and scope for an additional filter which can remove many other contaminants is the job for me. That's why I'm going to go for the Doulton. And I'm more comfortable with the fact the filters are made in the UK.

syndrome777

chainsawpaddy wrote: »

@ syndrome777

Firstly, there is nothing wrong with the levels of fluoride dosed in Irish Water drinking water. It occurs naturally in many parts of the country and world and where added is done so for health benefits. Secondly, the levels of chlorine levels will fluctuate depending on your proximity to generation. Water is dosed with quantities to ensure there is sufficient levels to reach the end of the network.

I was thinking of getting one of those Aquaphor Morion's, but I'm just not comfortable with dumping from 5 and up to 30 litres of water to produce one litre of drinking water is not right, when in reality full RO on an Irish Water public supply is not needed. Unless your on an old network with lead pipes or in an area where there is a cryptosporidium risk the vast majority of Irelands public water is of a high quality.

I've come to the conclusion that its because its just odour and taste I want to improve on, a system with high quality carbon filter and scope for an additional filter which can remove many other contaminants is the job for me. That's why I'm going to go for the Doulton. And I'm more comfortable with the fact the filters are made in the UK.

I was born and lived for 27 years in a county that does not fluoridate their water supply. I just cant stand the taste of the water here. For 7 years now I have been buying Lidl's bottled water (bottled in Luxembourg and not fluoridated).

I wouldn't mind paying for a better quality water here. But since that is not an option I don't mind dumping 5 to get the 1 I will be able to drink. I know it sounds wasteful but so is buying bottled water.

H.E. Pennypacker wrote: »

Have you tried contacting one of their dealers rather than them directly (https://www.aquaphor.ie/dealers/). I got a very fast response from the dealer for my area.

I can't find supplier for Aquaphor in Dublin.

H.E. Pennypacker

syndrome777 wrote: »

I can't find supplier for Aquaphor in Dublin.

Try the dealer third across on the top row - he covers Dublin:


https://www.aquaphor.ie/dealers/

chainsawpaddy

Without knowing the country your referring to I cannot say whether public fluoridation is necessary in the water supply because levels are naturally high enough (e.g. Finland, Sweden, China), or if your country chooses to dose their population via higher dosed fluoride in toothpaste or even in your salt and/or milk.

Its a medical fact that if children do not get access to fluoridated water (either natural or artificial), these children suffer far higher rates of tooth decay with rotten teeth at near third world levels in developed countries. All you need to do is start using Google Scholar instead of Google for your research and you will see the reason nearly every national dental association recommends dosing water with fluoride where levels are not high naturally.

Personally I'm delighted that my government chose to protect my and the nations children with safe, effective dosing of fluoride. I'm an engineer in a plant for the biggest soft drink maker in the world and if you saw what goes into your can of pop, or the stuff that goes into preserving food it would churn your stomach. Do you drink beer or wine or eat smoked foods. Trust me, these are what you should be worried about, not some populist nonsense. We have seen the effect of this kind of nonsense and the MMR vaccine with an explosion in measles outbreaks. Parents who don't dose their children with the MMR should be arrested.

I've lived in New York and we have a place in Italy and I can assure you I'd drink old bath water from an Irish tap before I'd drink tap water from these places. Not to mention when you go on holiday to many parts of mainland Europe the water is considered not safe to drink from the tap.

Anyway I'm digressing. If it's just a taste issue with your water, then a high quality activated carbon filter will suffice for you and full RO is totally unnecessary. Dumping 5 to make 1 is best case and could be up to 30 depending on your supply pressure. There are negative aspects with RO also you know.

syndrome777

chainsawpaddy wrote: »

...

I am from Croatia, and apart from some of our islands and very remote coastal villages water supply and the way water is purified is there is quite good/high standard.

I don't want to offend anyone, but Ire is one of the only few countries in Europe that puts fluoride in to their water and Irish people have one of the worst teeth I've seen. (could be due to how expensive/bad the dentist are, but could also be due to fluorosis).

Anyway not the topic of this thread

deandean

If it's just water for drinking, you could try a distillation unit, it sits on your countertop and has a 4 litre vessel, e.g.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Water-Distiller-Stainless-Make-Pure/dp/B07M6JBF4B/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=water+distiller&qid=1558541329&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1