RO Flow Restrictors

[bowhunter]

I'm thinking about an RO for next year. I'm new this year and started with a half pint. I've tapped 72 trees, but can probably tap 100 so it's tough to keep up on higher flow days. Has anyone tried the Flow Restrictors on a home made RO unit? I think I prefer the flow restrictors so I don't have to tinker as much with a needle valve etc.

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

Fresh Water Systems make flowmeters look at AFM 055 & PMF 055

[DanE.]

it all depends on the size of ro you are using and what you are trying to accomplish. short answer is yes they work. but with a needle valve and a pressure gauge you can adjust it to the way you want. for exaple less flow and higher %brix concentrate or more flow and with less pressure on your membranes or that happy spot that works for your set up. and then you can open the valve completely to flush your membranes. they are cheap and even lowes carries them for the small home units.


Dane.

[Snowy Pass Maple]

Ditto on the needle valve / flowmeter, or a flowmeter with integrated valve. If you stay below 100 psi, there are numerous options available for an integrated valve/flow unit; if you want to operate in the 100-150 psi, gets a little trickier and you may find cheaper solution is to do a SS needle valve and separate flowmeter body. Dwyer makes some inexpensive flowmeters.

You may also want to go with acrylic over polycarbonate if you have a choice - some sources suggest polycarbonate can be an problem with strong NaOH washes; others say OK at the dilutions we run to wash - esp. in non-continuous exposure. I have used a polycarbonate meter without incident with base washes up to pH 12.

e-bay is a great source for both needle valves and flowmeters - each can be had regularly under $20.