Remote starting a RO

[emericksmaple]

Is there anyone out there that starts there RO from a computer or i phone? Or do you know someone who does? I would like to get some info from them
Thanks

[madmapler]

A guy you might want to ask is Glenn Goodrich of Goodrich's Maple Farm. They have a website. He has a really big operation and I know he monitors things at his bushes by computer. He also has an ro at one of his larger bushes and he concentrates before he hauls it back to the sugarhouse. I would guess he srarts it remotely. Anyway, he's really knowledgeable and he's also a supplier so he would probably know about something if its out there.

[rchase]

I was at a big operation this sugar season. They had a ro that maple expert solutions (mes) built for them. they could start it off there iphone and it also modulated off the sap tank levels.

[ldick]

You can get stuff at Smarthome.com to turn on/off any electrical device by remotely controlling the outlet it is plugged into. I have an outlet in my shop like this. I use it mainly to plug the block heater on my tractor into. That way I don't have to leave it on all the time. Just turn it on remotely (computer, iPhone, tablet, etc.) a couple hours before I want to use tractor in the winter. The drawback is you will need to have internet access at the sugar bush for this to work. Of course you would also need to make sure you have something to prevent RO from running when no sap.

[ennismaple]

An interesting thread but I can see it being difficult to get this to work. We need to bleed the air out of the pre-filter or the cartridge filter to get the circulating pump to kick on and you can't do that remotely!

[maple flats]

I agree, I would not dare start the RO without being there. 1st it needs circulation on the feed pump, then after the feed pump gets to 20 PSI+ on mine I turn on the high pressure. Then the pressure must be adjusted. To start mine I must disable the low pressure shut off and then turn it back on after the HP pump is doing it's thing. How much can you do remotely? As I see it you would need 3 or maybe 4 remote controls and even then the pressure will not be maximized, you would have to set the HP at a lower pressure to run "until you got there".

[brookledge]

I kinda have to agree with the last few post that it might be able to be done but there are to many variables in my mind. One being that as the sugar content content changes the flows will change 2 percent sap is giong to go through diferently than 1.5. Also like Dave said when you turn on the low pressure(feed pump) you have to wait until you have good pressure before you can turn on the high pressure pump. I would not want to be in a situation where something went wrong and I was unable to respond to the location that the RO is at.
But bottom line I'm sure it can be done
Keith

[Mark]

Some of the top line RO's that are computer run and have actuators on the valves can run on their own. They can even adjust to the brix you want and then rinse when programed. Never priced one because I would expect it to be out of my price range.

[jrgagne99]

This season, I experimented with running my small-scale (15 gph) homemade RO on an outlet timer. The kind you use to turn the lights on each day to make it look like someone's home when you're away on vacation. Often times, with the RO running, I would set the timer to turn off at a certain time either to prevent it from running dry or to terminate the rinse cycle. Occasionally, when I needed to leave for work early, and I knew it was going to be a bumper day, I would set it to turn the RO on at say 1pm so that by the time I got home at 5pm, I had plenty of concentrate to start boiling. When I did this, I would do a 10-minute pre-run before leaving for work, to confirm that the valve settings were good and everything was good-to-go when the outlet power switched to on.

But my homemade system is pretty simple. I'm not sure I would feel comfortable doing this with bigger, more expensive systems. Also, I don't know if they make outlet timers for 220V?

[Amber Gold]

You're supposed to start the pressure pump at low pressure (100 psi), then adjust the pressure to where you want it (say 300psi). How would you do this remotely? Or just start it at high pressure? My RO only has one start button...feed pump starts then pressure pump a few seconds later. I wouldn't want to start it remotely though.

[Mark]

You're supposed to start the pressure pump at low pressure (100 psi), then adjust the pressure to where you want it (say 300psi). How would you do this remotely? Or just start it at high pressure? My RO only has one start button...feed pump starts then pressure pump a few seconds later. I wouldn't want to start it remotely though.

Computer operates the actuators on the valves, fully automated.

[Buffalo Creek Sugar Camp]

Mark, are you reffering to the airblo touch screen ro machines

[Mark]

Yes, they have one that has actuators on each valve. Don't know much about it but the catalog says it will even do a caustic wash on it's own. The catalog is on my website.