Rays ROs

[PACMAN]

Well, Im sending Ray the money for a new 250 gas powered ro with high and low shut offs, No more dumping sap and 1am nights for me. He said I would get it in October.

[maple flats]

Good move. Ray makes a nice 250 gph RO without breaking the bank. When you plan the plumbing, I suggest you run a suction line from your raw sap tank, and tee into it with a suction line from your concentrate tank. Then run another suction line to your permeate tank and tee into the other 2. Then just by closing one valve and opening another, you can switch from any of 3 sources, concentrate, re concentrate or permeate (to clean the RO.) PM me your email and I can send you the owner's manual. Ray has a hand written one that is hard to read, I broke it down sentence by sentence and printed it on my computer. Check with West Virginia Mapler first, he was going to do up a new manual for Ray, with pictures and all, to see if he has gotten it done yet.

[TRAILGUY]

working on ray's 250 set up. used last year in garage now moving to sugar house. tanks outside and a small building for ro. looking for tips pluming and storage as hard to move into cellar in the house. worked great

[MISugarDaddy]

We have one of Ray's 250 gas units and it is one of the best purchases we have made. Ray suggested building a small "garage" to roll the RO into when we are not running it and put a light bulb in it to keep it from freezing. His idea works great for keeping it well above freezing. We made our "garage" by building a skeleton framework of 2 by 6's with a plywood floor and 1 inch styrofoam on the walls and top. When we finish with it each day we just roll it in there and plug in the light using a thermostat type plug that turns on the light if the temps get cold enough for it.
Gary

[maple flats]

That is basically what I did in one corner in the sugarhouse except I used 2" foam sheet insulation. I might suggest one thing, use 2 or better 3 lights. That gives some safety against a bulb blowing. I started mine with 2 bulbs at 100 watt ea., but after having a bulb blow I added a third light. They are controlled by a low them line volt wall mount thermostat. I set it for about 40-42 degrees. I have now bought a 8000 BTU direct vent wall mount heater that I will install this fall. It will run off my bulk propane tank, but I'll still leave the 3 bulb set-up as a safety, just set the propane at 45 and the lights at 40-42. It took me a while to find a direct vent unit that was this small in btu's. It is a HOUSEWARMER HWDV081BP-1 w/blower, I got it thru Northern Tool & Equipment for $429.88 late winter last year, I see they now have it for $479.99. This needs no electric power, just a good propane supply.

[PACMAN]

Im also going with the propane heater. Im going with a blue flame and also going to build a small ro shed for it out of 2 by 4s and osb. I will use 2 inch foam for insulation. Dave as soon as one of my boys have time I will have them pm you with my email. I dont know it. That way you can send me those directions.

[maple flats]

OK, I'll PM you my email address, can you send an email? If yes, I can then just reply with the manual attached.
Dave

[maple flats]

If you go with a propane heater, make sure it is direct vented. Otherwise you will get too much moisture in the RO room, when propane burns, one by product is water. It also depletes the oxygen. If you use a vent stack, you will also need a small air inlet, with direct venting the air in pases thru the outer wall of the vent pipe while the exhaust passes thru the inner.

[Robert K]

Good discussion, I am also planning a ro purchase and rays is top on my list. Thanks for the info on a small garage for ro. Are there any other things that would be advisable to add to Rays ro when ordering it?
I am thinking of having him add a fitting to the wash tank so I can add a heater. The unit I am looking at is the 125 expandable.
Thanks
Robert :D

[MISugarDaddy]

Robert,
I use a bucket heater to keep the water hot in the wash tank and found that it works great. If you don't, the cold metal will lower the water temperature significantly when you place hot water in the tank to do an end of the day rinse or wash. One suggestion is to place some dense foam between the wash tank and the frame of the RO to reduce vibration between the two. You will not regret getting one of his units, they work great.
Gary