Gingrich RO Questions

[PerryFamily]

I have been considering looking into a Gingerich RO instead of a big name manufacturer. I have a few questions:

Does the Gingrich units have a recirc pump? Is there an option for one?

Is there any automation on these units? High / low pressure shut off ?

Has anyone had an issue with parts for the Gingrich units? If parts were needed will he ship them to you?
The distance from me is a bit of a draw back, I can be in Swanton or St Albans in four hours.

Trying to make an educated decision and any info in aprechiated.

JMP

[sirsapsalot]

Firetech has a thread over on sugarbush about them.
http://www.sugarbush.info/forums/showthread.php?t=292&page=2

[jmayerl]

well, im researching them all right now and it seems like the people that have them like them but there are many drawbacks. no recirculate, no shutoffs, no wash tank. dont know about parts on them. seems like forr the money they work good and I would get one for myself, but I am helping a commercial operation get up and running so we need to pony up and spend the big bucks for a laperrier.

[500592]

He does not hav the record pump like big name ones do so you have to recycle the concentrate to get it up think I read hat the first pass you bring it up to 5% then on th second pass it will bring it up to the 8% that for example a springtech would do that in one pass.

[Butcher]

I just purchased a d@g 1000 high brix and it will take 1.5%to 12 without beatin the crap out of it.the output does depend on sap temp obviously cold sap runs slower.

[PerryFamily]

Thanks for the responses. I have yet to see a negative experience with the Gingrich. This is the reason why I am still considering one. If I can get sap up to 6-8% in one pass I would be happy.

[Butcher]

I was thinking about gettin one to put in abox truck so when we pick up our roadside taps we can go all day without having to unload,that way we could put out and collect 4000 taps for what it would have cost me to put out 2000 taps with the labor and fuel .that really adds up since most of our roadsides are 30 miles away,i thinl it would easily pay for itself the first season as long as it wasnt like year.if u had 4000 gallons to pick up by the end of the day u would have a 1000 gal already somewhat concentrated in one trip.

[500592]

If you want get up to 6 or 8% you are gonna wanna get a name brand one probably but i do think that Gingrich makes quality ros but without some fancy equipment I don't think he would be able to add the recirc pumps inside the housing

[500592]

Butcher I don't think you would want to keep concentrate all day I think the general rule of thumb is to bool it within four hours

[Butcher]

Depends on the temp if its warm out it will probably make dark syrup anyway.but if the box is a reefer problem solved,keep it at 38degrees.

[Brent]

I've been on this rant before, so appologies if you've seen it.

Almost all the components of an RO are bought out at commercial prices.
The pump(s), the membranes, the electric controls, the valves, the hoses, the filters etc.
Each individual builter only adds the frame, the wash tank ( if there is one) and the membrane vessels.
So the value of the builder's input is a relatively small part of the total cost and price.

The bottom line therefore becomes .... you get what you pay for.

The comment above about not seeing anything negative about a certain brand is pretty hollow.
Running your RO for hours and only getting 4 to 5% on the pass isn't negative ????
Most everyone wants the target range of 8%. Many want higher. Starting the RO at noon
and hitting 8% at 8:00 o'clock at night ???

You get what you pay for. If your budget is half that of a real maple RO, you'll still save a ton of time and dump a
lot of water. Then go for it. If you can afford a better one, you'll be rewarded for the investment too !

[PerryFamily]

My point with the Gingrich machines is that basically they do what they say they will do. They seem like a well built machine for the money, without the bells and whistles and name brand price tag. If all manufactures use "off the shelf" parts what justifies nearly double the cost? Must be something right? In my opinion it looks like a recirc pump and a brand name. They do have the high and low pressure safety features as well. My big hang up is replacement parts. I can be in Swanton or StAlbans in 4 hours if needed. Cant do that to Ohio. Anyway, just looking for the biggest bang for the buck, and make a educated decision. But if I can spend half the money for most of the features I just might go for it.

[Bucket Head]

I'm not taking sides on RO's here, just sharing thoughts. As for parts on the Gingerich unit from what I saw, other than the membranes, vessels and flow meters, all the rest of the parts could be ordered from Northern Tool & Equipment. Or purchased just down the road if your town has a Grainger distributer or a Tractor Supply Store/farm store in it. Everything else is basic plumbing and electrical items. The feed pump is just a belt driven water pump and the pressure pump looks to be a pressure washer pump. All things you could probably come up with without driving to Ohio. Overnight shipping will eliminate drive times also. It all comes down to the price of a machine and its performance. What are you willing to, or could pay ,and how quick do you want or need to process sap?

[PerryFamily]

Well said, point taken.

[jrgagne99]

Running your RO for hours and only getting 4 to 5% on the pass isn't negative ????
Most everyone wants the target range of 8%. Many want higher.

When talking about RO efficiency, I'd point out that sap concentration numbers can be somewhat misleading. For example, if you take 2% sap to 4%, you've removed 50% of the water. When you take it to 8%, you're only removing another 25% of the water- up to 75% total. At 16%, your marginal removal is even smaller, only 12.5% more, to 87.5% total. So if you think that 8% is twice as good as 4%, you would be fooling yourself. It merely represents another 25% of the total water that you need to remove.

I guess we deal with concentration % because it's easy to measure with a hydrometer. But as far as RO is concerned, I think the hydrometer tickmarks should be re-labeled to indicate "% of water removed". The scale would not be linear, but it might help people decide which RO gives the most bang for the buck. Everything else being equal, I for one, am too Yankee (read "cheap") to spend three times as much on an RO that removes 75% of the water in one pass (8% output) vs. one that removes 50% (4% output). Just my two cents...