R.O wash on springtech elite 600

[blissville maples]

so am somewhat new to r.o and wash and i read a lot about ph, and over-use of soap,acid etc. i understand that wash is to be done after 4-6 hours or so of r.o'ing, and rinse is to be done after every use to concentrate. do most use acid annually, or typically only when a performance decrease is noticed?? im wondering about the Ph test and this portion of the process as we started with new fimtec last year and in the midst of being late never did an initial ph test or flow test. im wondering if now we wont know when performance changes for the membrane??.. last year on good sap 2.5% at 475 psi were seeing 10-12%, 2% and less 8-10%. we had to replace feed pump last year which messed up while i was trying to wash near end of season, the wash water would not reach proper temp kept tripping b/c motor was overheating, so that night never ende dup finishing wash correctly, got new motor day later and continued. that's end of season when sap sugar got low and was seeing the 8-10% at 475 psi- was this due to sap quality or the wash mishap??. im worried this may have affected something...any thoughts on this, thanks??

[sugarman3]

I have had mine for 8 yrs and have never had to do an acid wash,average run time for me is about 6 hrs,rinse every day and a soap wash every other time i run it.One thing is i never run my pressure that high,usually about 280-300 is all i run-2% to 10%.Sounds like if you are concerned call leader evaporator and ask for Mike,ro tech, who is super and knows ro's inside and out.he is a great person,i have had a couple problems and he helped me out immensely over the phone.Hopefully your ro is not hurt in any way,good luck

[blissville maples]

that sounds consistent with what ive heard as far as acid use. your routine sounds good to me, do u ever check PH?? so your getting 10% at 300 psi?? hmm that seems very good, as far as i can see pressure relates directly to Concentrate %. i remember backing down to 300ish and concentrate went down to 6- 8ish so i went back up to 450 to keep it at 11%, maybe you have a more efficient membrane than i do but i thought filmtec was a good membrane? i did talk to mike last year, when we put membrane in we had wrong size adapter, talked to mike-he is the man for springtech elites for sure- he said never over 500 psi, nothing wrong with 450 constant he said. although i have heard from others the higher you run pressure in membrane you can rupture outer vessels, if become plugged and are forcing too much pressure. i take this as if you have membrane dirty with biofilm, may want to back her down or may rupture, but if its old then a new one wouldn't be bad anyways.

i don't think its damaged, hoping not anyways. im a worry wart, and has been on my mind lately, hoping not to have any performance issues at start-up. i believe experience precedes all if it comes from a knowledgable person, so i thought id ask someone as yourself.

thanks for the info and any other

[blissville maples]

sugarmann- what type of soap do you prefer or find any difference? i see theres a few types.