Any experience with CDL Hobby 250 RO?

[NhShaun]

Hello again, It's been a while since my last thread. I have found myself in the market for an RO and i finally have enough cash to afford one.
Has anyone had experience with this specific model? I'd like to keep it around $3000 and was originally looking at NGMP 100gph, Leader Micro 1 or 2, or the MES dolly 100. I came across a used CDL 250 horizontal RO model used for 3 or 4 seasons and comes with new membranes for around my price range, Bascoms quoted me at $6600 for that model new. Buying used tends to scare me a little bit, but if i can get an RO that is nearly double the speed for the same price i can sleep a little better. The system may be a little large for my current set up, but i have learned my lesson about this hobby and i will always plan for expansion going forward. If i run short on permeate i may just switch it to a single post until i up my tap count.

I searched the forum and a few others and haven't found much info on actual experience with this RO. Hoping a few people on here can share their thoughts, Thanks!

Also wondering what kind of lift and head i can expect from an average RO system to pump to and from tanks(Preferably into my head tank about 8 feet up)

[VT_K9]

Our first RO was a CDL Hobby 250. We just sold ours last year. We now have a CDL 600 expandable.

We bought ours after a year of running a sap puller on 375 taps and boiling on a 2x6. It was a nice combination and worked very well at reducing boiling time. It is a simple machine...parts are readily available and there is good support from local dealers and the factory.

We ran into a small issue with the high pressure pump. Ours failed and we ended up with a rebuilt unit which had vanes which deteriorated quickly with ice. The dealer we worked with replaced them at no charge because they were used for just a few hours. I strongly recommend keeping the little filter on the intake hose (we drew from the bottom of the tank and did not have the little filter on it.

We also replaced a pressure sensor, may not have been a problem after all when we learned about the high pressure pump vane issue.

We pumped from the woods to a 260 gallon tank. Ran that through the RO to a 160 gallon tank. Ran that through the RO to a 100 gallon tank which fed the evaporator. When the sugar content. was low enough we recirculated the the concentrate in the 160 gallon tank until it was just shy of 4% sugar. Our evaporator did best with 8% or so sap.

At the end of the day we would flush the membranes with about 125 gallons of permeate. Then we followed the wash cycle and used warm wash. After 30 minutes or so we started to pull some of the wash solution off to the side and warm it slowly until it reached the shut off temp (84 degrees I think). This would give us a 45-60 minute wash cycle. Then we rinsed the membranes with 125 or more gallons of permeate. If you have more permeate don't be afraid to increase the rinse cycles.

Overall we were happy with ours. We have since stepped up our tap count and looking towards 1,000-1,200 taps, a 600 gph RO, and 3x10 evaporator. FYI raw sap through the 3x10 was processed at about the same at the 2x6 with 250 gph RO. We did have a chance to run our 250 with the 3x10 once before selling it. We did not have enough taps (or sap) to run the new RO. The 250 RO still helped with the 3x10.

If it is in your price range I'd give it some consideration. Especially if you will be selling it and upgrading. You'll loose less when you sell it. Also I we used the 20" filters and cut them down. Feel free to reach out with questions or if you want some pics let me know.

Mike

[pete3046]

I'd also suggest there is a Lot of value in new pumps and membranes, potentially beyond the cost of used. You can buy a two membrane Leader Micro for under $3,000. Also, you may not want too much RO capacity as you need to generate enough permeate to clean the unit and if you don't have enough sap, that's not great.

[Mead Maple]

Pete brings up a good point but given the fact that you're looking at a 250 you could also wait an extra day to be sure of having enough sap to process (create permeate for rinsing.) That would be well within your needs of having enough liquid to create permeate. I think 8' is more than capable with the CDL 250 with regards to head ability. From what I read the CDL 250 is capable of sitting on a tank and drawing at least 3' but remember it's much harder on a unit to try and prime itself above its source rather than having liquid above it and flowing naturally into it. I did some calling around to my local friends who had a CDL 250 and they were very happy with the unit, they commented that the pump issues you hear/read about tend to be related to feeding the unit. Said much of those problems can be attributed to having the unit above the liquid source as opposed to liquid being at the same level or above the unit allowing it to instantly have liquid upon turning on.

[BAP]

Is the 260 taps listed in your signature the maximum amount you are going to have or do you plan to add more? If it is the maximum amount, you might be disappointed with a 250 RO because you are having to wait for enough sap to run it some days versus a 100, where you will have enough to run many days.

[Mead Maple]

BAP that's probably true, only given the OP's signature I'm assuming he probably has a day job like most of us and spend one month a year running on 2 hours of sleep:cool:

As I've gone back and forth on RO sizes myself, I figure since I can't process daily like many, having a larger RO will allow me to wait a couple days to have more sap to process to effectively run the larger RO. If I don't, I will short the RO on permeate for wash cycles. Benefit to this is as you grow you will have more capability and secondly I can't process daily even if I wanted to. Just something to think about as we ponder all the variables. Nothing like buying things twice as we all know we've done in the past.

[Robert K]

CDL 100 ( the little brother)
We have used the smaller version or single membrane for the last 4 years, it performs as advertised and has saved lots of boiling. I would caution against leaving it in a unheated area as this has been our only issue to date. The design does allow for it to be stored in a unheated area , however that is if everything is 100% drained properly. As many of us know the season can get hectic at times and forgetting 1 drain plug or a severe flash freeze while boiling can cause issues (putting it politely). Altogether I am happy with the machine but a separate insulated room with a heater and backup heat source allows for better sleeps when there is time to do so.

[NhShaun]

If it is in your price range I'd give it some consideration. Especially if you will be selling it and upgrading. You'll loose less when you sell it. Also I we used the 20" filters and cut them down. Feel free to reach out with questions or if you want some pics let me know.
Mike
Thank you for the info and photos you shared Mike. Good call cutting down the 20” filters as well.


Pete brings up a good point but given the fact that you're looking at a 250 you could also wait an extra day to be sure of having enough sap to process (create permeate for rinsing.) I did some calling around to my local friends who had a CDL 250 and they were very happy with the unit, they commented that the pump issues you hear/read about tend to be related to feeding the unit. Said much of those problems can be attributed to having the unit above the liquid source as opposed to liquid being at the same level or above the unit allowing it to instantly have liquid upon turning on.
I was a bit worried about not having enough sap to use the 250. Originally thought I could re plumb it and just include a single post for now. Thanks for calling around and finding out some info from a regular 250 user. I will now install the sap and permeate tanks above the Ro to allow gravity feeding. Hopefully that helps extend the life of the pump and reduces any priming issues.


Is the 260 taps listed in your signature the maximum amount you are going to have or do you plan to add more? If it is the maximum amount, you might be disappointed with a 250 RO because you are having to wait for enough sap to run it some days versus a 100, where you will have enough to run many days.
That was a big concern of mine. 260 was my max last season before the RO. This season I’m up to 320 so far with another 120 or so to tap this week. I still may need to save sap for a few days to make the 250 work out for me. Will always plan to add taps over the next few season as well.


CDL 100 ( the little brother)
Altogether I am happy with the machine but a separate insulated room with a heater and backup heat source allows for better sleeps when there is time to do so. Thanks for the info, I can imagine having an insulated RO room with 2 heat sources would help me sleep better. Did your 100 come with a pre filter/screen on the suction hose before the pump?

[Robert K]

Yes there is a small stainless half moon screen that prevents ice from coming in to the machine, your new tap count would make more sense to have the 250. Hope you have a good season.