The R O bucket

[Jolly Acres Farm]

Has anyone tried this yet, the R.O. Bucket RB-15, http://www.therobucket.com/index.htm?

If so, are you satified, how was performance, is it worth the cost vs. A build yourself R.O.. Would you buy it again?

[ecolbeck]

I bought the rb15 kit which you assemble yourself and is a little less expensive. It has been great for me this season. I concentrate simultaneously to boiling so I dial it in at lower than max capacity so that it keeps up with my evaporator. Even with cold sap I get about 5 gal permeate per hour. I may add the low pressure shutoff next year so that I can concentrate sap overnight or while I’m at work.

[to100]

I have the RM5M I have used it all season about 13 days. Yesterday with cold sap I got 4 1/2 gallons/hour at about 50/50.
Then I preheated sap and then got 7.5g/h total conc and perm. I am in a shed with no heat but have cooktop to preheat and finish near.

[RedMapleCreek]

I bought the RB-15 this season and it has been great. I use it to draw from my outside sap tank and send the concentrate to my head tank that feeds my Mason 2x3 XL. I start the RO an hour or so before I fire the evaporator and then run them simultaneously. Removing half the water with the RO has greatly reduced my boil times and wood use. I would definitely buy it again.

[RedMapleCreek]

Also, I added a pressure gage between the pump and filter, and flow meters with built in needle valves in the permeate and concentrate lines. I removed the small needle valve that came with the RO bucket and instead use the concentrate flow meter needle valve to dial in the balanced flow between permeate and concentrate. The needle valve on the permeate flow meter is left wide open. Flow meters with a suitable range for such low flow are hard to find, I ordered these from amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Thread.../dp/B00EZ3T1GM

[antelope76]

I bought the 10gal/hr unit this year and it has been great. Saves time on boiling and firewood used.

[Jolly Acres Farm]

Thank you for all the replies. I appreciate all the information and testimonials on this R.O. that I can get. Im considering the RB15 build it yourself kit. Would like to get 15 gph of concentrate with at least 50% water removal.
What % of concentration are you getting up to, and is this with a single pass or how many passes?

[ecolbeck]

I think it’s rated at 10gph of concentrate at 50%. I don’t measure my sap or my concentrate so I’m not sure about that aspect.

[to100]

They do not recommend more than 1 pass at 50%. It can clog membranes, i tried at first was slow.
You may have to flush more permeate. I had a clogged membrane with no flow of permeate, I had to run several gallons of well water warmed up to free up sugars in membrane, this happened twice and is why I heat sap up and flush.
I think doing this finally got back to normal, Carl was thinking failed membrane.
I am going out now to start up a new run.

[RedMapleCreek]

Would like to get 15 gph of concentrate with at least 50% water removal.
What % of concentration are you getting up to, and is this with a single pass or how many passes?

I doubt you can get 15 gph of concentrate at 50% water removal with the RB-15. Today I was processing 1.4% sap to 8 gph of 2.8% concentrate with my RB-15. The sap was under 40F since it had a skim of ice on it in the tank when I started. It will process sap that is warmer than 40F at a higher rate, but not 15 gph of concentrate. To me, removing 50 percent of the water is a big savings in boil time and does not run the risk of fouling the membranes.