Off-The-Shelf Reverse Osmosis System

[Mark B]

Found this one on eBay the other day. Stainless

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F152719175598

[needmoremaples]

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Menards (hardware store chain based out of wisconsin) or fleet farm (I forget) for 4ish dollars. 1/8th inch mpt by 1/4" tube.

Took 11 turns to fully close valve from open position.

[hodorskib]

Last year I started using a pressure by-pass valve much better control - a little pricey though
http://www.sprayerdepot.com/Shop-by-...ves/AA11014300

[Mark B]

I saw that valve in one of your updates. Just couldn't justify the additional cost this year. However I will have my ro reassembled shortly and plumbed with 3/8s based on your design. I going to run 3x 400 gpd membranes in parallel. It will also feature a 1/4 recirc line thru a 300 ml. restrict. Thanks to all here for designs and thoughts. Mark

[Mark B]

Newly built Reverse Osmosis for sapping this year. Hoping to remove 2/3 to 3/4 of the water from my sap with this RO. Pump is an Aquatech 8852 with 3/8 outlets and is a 1200 gpd pump paired with 3 x 400 gpd ro membranes. The membranes are plumbed in parallel with a 300ml recirculation line. Hoping to process about 50 gallons of sap per hour at about 7-8%, (but hopeful for as much as 60). Revised.

I had this laid out once before, but I came across a dry sink cabinet for free. I've reorganized and plumbed it to fit the cabinet. Ill be building a cart base on the cabinet this week and hinging this to the open back.

I've got about $500 in this build.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...00000295385959

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[wobbletop]

How is that plumbed?
You have the concentrate going through a 300ml restrictor, back to the input of the pump?
Is that a needle valve or ball valve with the large black knob?

[Mark B]

The unit is plumbed in 3/8 to facilitate better incoming flow. The membranes (3) are 400 GPD and are plumbed in parallel. The concentrate line and the recirculation are plumbed in 1/4 and yes that is a stainless needle valve that I found on eBay for five bucks. The recirculation dumps back into the intake side of the pump. Where I may not be able to process some of my early season sap warmer than low to mid-thirties temperature we thought that it would be good to have a recirculation line.

[Mark B]

Per other conversations it's become apparent that my expectations of this unit maybe a little high due to my misunderstanding of Brett's original post and his statement of how much he could process. You can see the conversation in the small-scale RO thread. No matter what the capacity I will still be happy to boil concentrated sap from this build.

[Mark B]

Had to do a little moving around of components on the board to make it all fit better, but here it is mounted and in the dry sink cabinet. The back opens for better access. The whole unit is on wheels for ease of movement.0113181638a.jpg0113181639.jpg I plan to put a 40 to 55 gallon drum on its side on top with a spout to gravity feed to the pump.

[Kippster]

Nice job on your setup Mark!! I have been reading everything I can about small scale homebuilt RO machines. I plan to build one over the coming summer to expand my operation next season. For now, I'll be satisfied with 115 buckets and my old 2x6. Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and experiences.

I'm now confident that I can build something that would work, with guidance from you guys.
My goal is to be able to process 30-50 gallons of raw sap per hour and be able to remove 50% of the water in a single pass. Any suggestions on how to achieve this rate would be greatly appreciated. Thanks !!