Aquatec 8855 durability?

[deepwoods]

I'd like to reduce my firewood consumption this year by using a small RO system. This will be for about 75 taps on sap bags and batch boils with a 2x4 pan. I plan to concentrate collected sap overnight to boil the following day. I'm also looking forward to shorter boil times.

I'm planning a portable system with 5x150 or 3x400 membranes. From digging through the forums here, it looks like the Aquatec 8855 is the recommended pump to produce the flows/pressure required for such a system. My question- are people using this pump happy with it? The only reviews I can find are from Amazon and they aren't encouraging...

The info for this pump states the following- NOTE: This pump assembly is a intermittent duty, not a continuous duty. If you need to run the pump more than 4 hours non-stop, you can use a timer to turn on one hour and turn off for 1/2 hour to cool down the pump and transformer, or you can put a fan to blow air into the pump assembly to cool it down. Either is possible, but I like to keep mechanical things as simple as possible.

Is there another pump available that will do what I need and be more dependable?

Thanks for the wisdom found here!

[bowhunter]

You could use a small ProCon Rotary Vane pump but I wouldn't run it unattended at night. These pumps are extremely durable and easy to use but you can't run them dry. That's why most folks use the little Aquatech's...you can run them dry and it won't hurt them. I know there are many people on this forum that use the Aquatech's and let them run overnight. Maybe someone else will confirm.

[DRoseum]

I use an 8852, which is continuous duty, but lower flowrate than the 8855. At the necessary 100 psi its flow rate will support two 400 GPD membranes in parallel. Be careful about too many membranes in series as the flowrate gets cut in half at each one and it might become too low for the operating specifications of the membrane and cause quick fouling.

I run 2 in parallel, feeding to a 3rd in series with optional bypass directly to the 3rd membrane (a 2 stage setup)

20200107_182504.jpg
RO_Membrane_One_Two_Stage.jpg

[deepwoods]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will stay with an electric diaphragm pump, they seem a bit more forgiving of operator error. Carl at RO Bucket has one with similar capabilities to the 8855, but with a continuous duty cycle. D. Roseum, I will plumb the setup so I can compare a 2 stage system with a series system.