RO Test Run

[Amber Gold]

I'll be putting my RO through a test run either this weekend or next and I have the following questions.

Is it OK to put tap water through the RO? I want to make sure water's going where it's supposed to when I turn valves.

Should I run a benchmark? These are used membranes and Leader told the previous owner they are in the 180 gph range.

At this stage, can I tell if they'll pass sugar? They were slightly frozen before I relocated them to the house.

Do I need to put the membranes in to do a test run?

What do I need to drain when I'm done? I will not be heating the room until maple season. I'm guessing the membrane housings and piping...do the pumps have drain plugs on them? Is there anything else?

Thanks

[maplwrks]

Josh---I would wait until you are a little closer to the season to test your RO. It will be a major pain to drain the RO and repack it to keep it from freezing.

You can run tap water through your RO---just not town water
You need your membranes in to test
You need to keep the room warm once you put fluid to the machine
you can not test for sugar passage without sap going into the RO

Are you going to the Middlebury school this weekend?

[Amber Gold]

The machine was run before I bought it and it finished the season in working order...guess it's just me wanting to make sure I don't get any surprises closer to the season.

I will be at Middlebury with Chipa and others from Loudon, NH. I'll also be at Bellows Falls as well.

[Breezy Lane Sugarworks]

that's interesting mike.... when we asked cdl what to use for my test run last fall, they said to use town water as that is what they use to do their washes with.

[wiam]

I have been told no chlorinated water and no hard water for rinse or wash.