New to RO'ing few questions??

[maplenutter butter]

I just bought a 600gph h2o RO. Ive never used one or been around one while they are operating. The guys I bought it from explained how to plumb it and operate to some degree. Of course no book. My question is what pressure do most run at? How often do you test the permeate water to make sure there is no sugar being lost?? What do you use to test the permeate and concentrate? The place I bought the ro from wanted me to buy a 500 dollar tester. I couldn't justify it. Maybe I'm wrong?? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[JoeJ]

I have a Lapierre RO and usually start the daily concentration with the pressure set at 350 PSI. As the membranes foul, the pressure will increase to 375-400 psi. I do not run my machine at over 400 PSI. I concentrate to 15%, one pass.

I test the permeate for sugar during the first sap concentration of the season and then maybe two more times during the season. In 12 years of RO use, I have never had a membrane pass sugar. I use a sap hydrometer and a refractometer to check the permeate. You can buy a refractometer for a lot less than $500.

Joe

[maplenutter butter]

Thanks Joe. I planned on useing a sap hydrometer as well. I do want to buy something a little better like a refractometer.

[Russell Lampron]

I run my RO at 250 psi and adjust the flows so that they are about equal. Unlike JoeJ I do more than one pass to get it sweet.

You can get a refractometer on Amazon for around $20. Get one that will read to 32 Brix. I test my permeate at the beginning of the season and again at about mid season. Boil some permeate down to concentrate the sugars if there are any when you do a test.

[maple flats]

If you boil a half gal of permeate down to a pint, any sugar in it will be x4. That will help you find if sugar is passing thru use a long sap hydrometer for a more accurate read. If you find a little, try turning the pressure down some.