Waterguys RO or not

[SugarHill]

Am looking at purchasing our first RO, and have been looking a little at the Waterguys unit. I would need their largest model for our operation. I have read the other posts about them but wanted to get some more opinons. Would you reccomend this unit, or maybe looking at a used model by a different manufacturer. Am unsure about the waterguys having 3 membranes on thier largest model vs a 600gph by someone else that has only 1 membrane. It seems Bill builds a good product, just not sure it would be the best route to go for myself.

[sapman]

Personally, I like the idea of one membrane. A used RO doesn't scare me. Mine was 4yo when I bought it, and haven't had any problems, aside from a new membrane last year, which of course isn't a huge expense if you buy from the right place.

[delivron]

If you are purchasing an RO you want to consider how much water you want to remove.
You will find that The Water Guys typically have limited capabilities to about 8 Brix at best.
Better designed units can easily do 16 Brix or more. The can make a huge difference on fuel costs.
Also if you need their biggest unit and are increasing your taps you may be buying the wrong machine.

[Russell Lampron]

An expandable 600 from Lapierre or CDL is what you should be looking for. The Waterguys doesn't have recirculation on their membrane towers and that is what the difference is between real maple RO's and theirs. The recirculation makes the membrane easier to clean and increases the flow when concentrating.

[SugarHill]

Talked with a few guys who are running these machines and they really seem to like them, even without the bells and whistles. Seems the biggest selling point to most is the cost, a smaller producer can afford to purchase one of these and get the benefits of running a RO. I do agree that a 600gph machine is probably the best way to go. To be honest I am a little skeptical though to go spend $$$ on a brand new machine with the way the weather has been this year. Hope this year turns out better then I am expecting?

[Brent]

Check out the used equipment on Leader's site. I looked at it a few days ago and as I recall they had one or two 600 GPH rigs.

I have not yet seen comments from anyone who has experience with the Waterguy's and a "real" maple RO. I myself don't believe
there are any shortcuts. If they don't recircultate, I think you will see the membranes foul up faster and you'll have to shut down to clean
more often. Then there's the issue of a wash tank, heating the wash water, and an automatic shut off at high temp so you don't ruin your
membranes by letting it get too hot. I'm sure there are guys out there that like them, especially first time small users. If you need a 600
gph rig, I would go with one of the tried and tested real maple builders. There is a reason they're priced the way they are and there is a reason why
thousands of Quebec sugar makers have bought them year after year, and keep buying them.

[gmcooper]

I have a Waterguy RO. It worked very well and performed better than I expected know it does not have all the bells and whistles. I also knew in a couple years I would out grow it and move to a 600 gph unit or larger. With 2000 taps I think you would be better to start with a 600 gph. Last time I looked H2O Inovations had a good price on a 600 gph RO.