cdl 250 r.o.

[butters]

hi everyone, new to the r.o. world but needin a way to gain taps without creating more evap time, i like the looks of the cdl hobby 250 but was wonderin just how many taps one would dare to load it with. any input would be great thanks.

[maple flats]

I don't find any specs on the CDL 250 hobby online, but if it is similar to my 250 by Ray Gingerich, it will process 250 GPH +/- 10 depending on the sap temperature, and will remove 75% of the water in the process. As such, you can conceivably add 3x the taps. In reality, I found it best to add between 2-3X and use the extra time to find and fix leaks. I did 1200 taps the last 2 seasons (on my 250) and still had the ability to buy sap from others when they had it to sell. I actually run my sap thru a second pass most of the time and take it up to 12-14% sugar. My unit does not like sugar % over 15%, some higher pressure units handle up over 20%.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

You can download manual from CDL's website and print it out and read it.

[schellmaple]

Maple Flats,
What % are you running thru yours to get it up to 12-14% on the second pass? I have low sugar around 1% and it takes a several passes thru to get it up to that %. Are you recirculating back thru the pump with alot lower gpm on the concentrate side?

[GeneralStark]

A CDL Hobby RO will generally double your sugar content each pass. That is what it is designed to do. The effectiveness of these machines really depends upon the number of taps, the amount of sap you would like to process, and the sugar content of the sap. Based on the sugar content you are mentioning I think you would be better off with an RO that can actually raise the sugar content significantly in one pass unless you are only tapping a few hundred trees.

I too looked at the CDL 250(200) as they are easy to find used (for a reason), at least here in VT, but pretty quickly realized it wouldn't be adequate in my situation.

[maple flats]

When I get 12-14% I recirculate continuously. I run the first pass at 275 PSI which gets me to about 8% sugar into my head tank, then I just open a valve that draws from the head tank, thru the RO and back into the head tank. Then I run until the volume indicates I'm at 12-14%. I can only test to 10% on my sap hydrometer. I just do the math and estimate over that. As I'm making the recirculating part, I reduce the pressure to between 225 and up to about 260. The lower readings if I'm leaving the RO unattended for more than about 20-30 minutes, higher when I'm ready to check every 5-10 minutes. On my recirculation ROing I draw from one end and return to the other end of a 200 gal milk tank.

[schellmaple]

Thanks guys. I used my 125 unit last year on about 200 taps and it keep up easily. I will have close to 500 this year and I was just looking for some ideas on the way other guys are using their Ro's.

Maple Flats... The way you explained is pretty much the same way I ran my unit last year. I'm just adding more tanks and I'm hopping to have them all plumbed in together for a little easier operation.

[butters]

thanks everyone, still learnin about these things an would rather ask someone who has used them rather than read a book. any input on how many gallons you could run through a 250 before it needs to be rinced?

[markct]

It depends on the sap but a good bit usualy. The hobby 250 is a good machine in its class as it has a designated recirc pump thus very high flow over the membrane to help prevent premature plugging. I have run mine for as much as 28 hours straight during a good run with fresh sap of course and then when got a bit ahead on sap gave it a hot permeate rinse to be ready to keep going

[maple flats]

Thanks guys. I used my 125 unit last year on about 200 taps and it keep up easily. I will have close to 500 this year and I was just looking for some ideas on the way other guys are using their Ro's.

Maple Flats... The way you explained is pretty much the same way I ran my unit last year. I'm just adding more tanks and I'm hopping to have them all plumbed in together for a little easier operation.
My sap generally runs between 2-2.3% sugar, until late season, when it drops to about 1.8 or so. The figures I gave above were if the sap started at 2%. I have several tanks, but I rarely concentrate to any but my head tank. On a rare occasion I have recirculated in my biggest tank I'm currently using at the sugarhouse, a 550. The few times I did that I set the ro at a lower pressure, and removed water while I was gone for a while, but not over 60-75 minutes. I was usually then removing about 50-50 the way I had it set. At that rate I usually do about 275 GPH, but only remove about half that.

[markct]

Heres my setup, my 250 i added a third membrane to. Sap gets filtered and put into my 1650 gal milk truck tank which feeds to the ro. Then it goes to a 400 gal milk tank on the ground. First pass it usualy fits into the 400 gal tank. Then i will if needed recirculate to get to half the sugar content i want. Then run it thru with conc and perm equal and up to my 200 gal head tank. This works best for me as first pass easily runs more than doubling sugar with moderate pressure but second pass is a lil harder of course

[VT_K9]

We have a CDL 250 R/O in our operation. Last year we ran it with 300 taps. When we bought it the cost of the 250 over the 125 was not much different the decision was pretty easy as to which one. When talking with others about the unit, it seemed we had enough taps to run it how it should be run. When go time came, I was honestly concerned if we would have enough sap to create enough permeate to clean the R/O. I ran the estimated numbers based on our sap collection the previous year (the first year with a sap puller). It would be close. This past year I paid more attention to how others were running their vacuum and sap pullers. I ran the sap puller as often as I could when the temps were near and above freezing...we had more than enough sap to always have enough permeate to clean the R/O. This year we are in the process of expanding to up to 475 taps, but that was hampered with a torn rotator cuff over this past year. We will likely be adding 75-100 taps this year if we are lucky. We are also adding a full vacuum. We are trying to get the shack for he releaser and tank finished, but the weather is not cooperating. Good luck with your R/O. They definitely make a difference.

Mike