Thoughts on a hobby size RO

[VTnewguy]

So we have quickly reached the point where our hobby needs a RO or a bigger evaporator. I don't really want to go with a bigger evaporator. The ROs I'm looking at are the Leader micRO 2, CDL 250, or possibly a NGMP 180. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these? The price on the Leader is good but the CDL might be a bit more capable long term. Any thoughts?

[VTnewguy]

Anybody? Thoughts?

[maple flats]

My thoughts lean to doing some planning first. The first question is, how many taps do you envision next season? How about in 5 years?
Then build towards your 5 year. I see you are at about 400 taps now on a 2x6. If you only see 500 taps next year any of those RO's will work, if you see 1000+ in 5 years, you want a better RO. 1st the NGMP RO is good but it has limitations on how much water it can remove. However a 180 NGMP next year would do fine on 500 taps but not on 1000 taps. In fact it would surely help even on 600 taps but it would be slower than you really want.
A 2x6 can do a lot of taps but you need an RO that can get the concentrate to a higher sugar %.
I deal with this issue myself. I have a Deer Run 250 RO, it works fine but has it's limitations. It will only take 2% sap to 7.5-8% concentrate in one pass, depending on the sap temperature. I then recirculate from my head tank and regularly get to 10-12% and sometimes even 15% but my RO can not do that high in one pass and while I can remove about 3 gpm permeate in the first pass if the sap is at 37-38 F it will only remove about 2.6 gpm if the sap is at 34 F.
The better RO's will get you there much faster, but for a much bigger investment.
Which ever RO you decide on be planning with the 3-5 yr out in mind. That said, a NGMP for next year and then a bigger one a year or 2 after can be a good plan too, a used RO in good shape can command a good price, sometimes close to what you have in it or for that matter the Micro or the CDL too, any will get good money back when resold if in good condition.

[VTnewguy]

Ty Dave, your insights are right on. A feature I really like on CDL is the ability to drain it as we don't have a heated space. Probably will add on to sugarhouse in some shape to keep everything insulated. Now I just need to pony up the bucks.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

We’ll be looking at a drainable hobby RO in the next couple years. There are a lot of used ones out there as people are continually upgrading. I’m planning to go that route.

[mol1jb]

Last year when I was looking for a RO I was also thinking used. However I found Deer Run Maple RO and I am glad I did. Ray makes his units with similar flow rates as the name brands but at a much better price. I would add that to your list.

[VTnewguy]

Last year when I was looking for a RO I was also thinking used. However I found Deer Run Maple RO and I am glad I did. Ray makes his units with similar flow rates as the name brands but at a much better price. I would add that to your list.

Thanks, I'll take a look at it. Did you get a model with the motor with it?

[Russell Lampron]

Of course I don't know how much you can spend or how much you want to spend. You are on the right track thinking RO not bigger evaporator. If you want to make the purchase once go with a professional RO, not a hobby RO. Professional RO's like the Lapierre Turbo's and CDL's can be run at higher pressures without blowing end caps off of the pressure vessels. The recirculation systems on them keep the membranes cleaner and maintain flows for much longer periods of time,something that's important when you've got a lot of sap and very little time. With my Lapierre Turbo RO I can sweeten to 13% in a single pass and over 20% on the second pass. I have 725 taps on vacuum and a 2x6 evaporator and my 250 RO is the perfect size. If I was going to do 1,000 or more taps I would want a bigger RO to be able to keep up.

[VTnewguy]

Of course I don't know how much you can spend or how much you want to spend. You are on the right track thinking RO not bigger evaporator. If you want to make the purchase once go with a professional RO, not a hobby RO. Professional RO's like the Lapierre Turbo's and CDL's can be run at higher pressures without blowing end caps off of the pressure vessels. The recirculation systems on them keep the membranes cleaner and maintain flows for much longer periods of time,something that's important when you've got a lot of sap and very little time. With my Lapierre Turbo RO I can sweeten to 13% in a single pass and over 20% on the second pass. I have 725 taps on vacuum and a 2x6 evaporator and my 250 RO is the perfect size. If I was going to do 1,000 or more taps I would want a bigger RO to be able to keep up.

How big of membranes do you have? 2" x 40?

[maple flats]

Just guessing, but it may be a 2 membrane 4"x40". They are common in the 250 size.