Small used RO prices

[michiganfarmer2]

IM looking for an RO for next year. Im thinking 100 galons per hour. I see a lot of 200gph, 300 gph, Both for around $5500.

Is there such a thing as $3000 100-150 gph used ROs out there that are in good condition with many years of service left iin them??

Id buy one of these 300 gph for $5500, but my dad says we dont need to spend the money on something that big. I listen to his advice because sometimes I get a little excited and make some rash decisions, lol and he has run a few successfull business. He has a good head on his shulders.

Im running 800 taps on vacuum, and can increse to probably as many as 1100 taps.

[Kev]

I am leaning towards buying membranes and canisters and building my own.
its not that I resent the profit someone makes by putting them together. Its more of a budget driven thing.:D

[Russell Lampron]

With the amount of taps that you have and plan to have you do want a 300gph or larger RO. I have a similar number of taps as you and my 150gph RO has a hard time keeping up sometimes. You want one that will at least produce enough concentrate in one pass to stay ahead of the evap rate of your evaporator.

[Bucket Head]

I recently bought an Airablo RO for three thousand. Its an older one, but it works fine. It actually processes quite a bit more sap than its rating. (Not sure why, but I'm not complaining!) Nice used machines are out there. I was "this close" to building my own, but this unit popped up and I decided to go with this one. I agree with Russ, you really should think about a larger unit with the number of taps you have. And what about in the future? Its tough, but with maple equipment you have to try and visualize where your going to be down the road. Good luck with your search and let us know what you get.

Steve

[Dill]

I wish I was handy enough to trust myself on building my own. But I'm not. So I'm really hoping the waterguys units make it through the season well.

[danno]

I wish I was handy enough to trust myself on building my own. But I'm not. So I'm really hoping the waterguys units make it through the season well.

If you want to make your own, go look at somebody else's RO (manu or homemade). I did not make my own, nor thought I would be able to, but frankly, looking at mine, they really are not that complicated.

[backyardsugarer]

If you want about 100 gallons per hour buy a waterguys ro model 2500. I start out around 120 gallons of water per hour and drop down to about 60 gallons at 8-9%. Do not believe that you do not have to wash them everyday. I made that mistake and ended up with a plugged membrane. If you wash and rinse after every use they are nice little machines that are cheap and simple. I have 800 taps with 700 of them being on vacuum and I have made over 225 gallons of syrup so far. I only boil on a 2 by 8 so without my RO I could not make half that syrup in a year.

Chris

[Dill]

Chris I'm really interested to see how the rest of season goes for you and the other "Alpha testers" of the waterguy's units.

[backyardsugarer]

Honestly I love RO. I have a small problem with Bio-slime that I am going to post about. My guess is that I am keeping the RO too warm and allowing the bacteria to grow. I have hurt my performace some but I am still getting rid of 90 gallons of water per hour when I fire up. if I am boiling at the same time I am getting rid of 130 gallons of water an hour. Much better than just straight boiling. Now the question is how well will these units hold up over the years?????? It has already paid for itself twice over in production this year.

[michiganfarmer2]

very intersting