CDL Nano RO

[whatever]

For what it's worth, any good ro setup properly maintained is a huge advantage. we have used the cdl nano ro for two full seasons now. we consistently have raw sap between 1.8 - 2.2 we adjust the pressure on the ro to maintain ~ 50/50 permeate to concentrate ratio. We dont get too caught up on the pressure on the gauge as we have found 1-2 psi change greatly affects the output volume of the the two lines (perm and conc.) Ours usually ends up running around 95-96 psi. (every gauge isnt going to read exactly the same). if we crank up to 100 on our gauge the conc. flow effectively stops)
we boil ~ 10 gallons / hr. and the ro conc. almost perfectly matches that rate feeding our pre heater. The conc. comes out 3.6 - 4.0. and we only run single pass. It works perfect for us. Set the pressure so both lines are close to same flow, cuts sap volume in half ( boil; half as long) and carry on. After all for us small guys most of us only look to decrease or time spent boilng. so half the time is good regardless of the flow rates , ratios , sap conc. etc.etc. We have found also that if the tank that the ro is drawing from is closer to the level of the ro it seems to produce better. we have the ro mounted ~ 6' off the floor and draw from a barrel directly below it. we try to keep the barrel 1/2 full or more because if it gets towards the bottom it seems to slow down ( not likely but thats what we have in our heads now, lol). The other main thing thats true of all ro's is proper maintenance, follow the instructions and dont skimp on flushes and washes of the membranes and replacing the sediment filter if so equipped.

[Bullet]

PaulRenaud,
My brother-in-law just recently bought the CDL Nano three-membrane system for the 2024 season. Due to our somewhat strange syruping window in Upper Michigan this year, he only set it up and tried it this past weekend. There was 150 gallons of sap to process that tested at 2.0 Brix. I came by to see this machine in operation and was immediately shocked to see how small the ratio of permeate to concentrate was produced! - it was much less than the 1/3:2/3 you experienced. Without precisely measuring, it was more in the neighborhood of 1/5 permeate to 4/5 concentrate. The concentrate, as you can easily imagine, was less than 3 Brix (while running at a pressure of 100 psi). Each bucket of 'concentrate' was re-run at least once and ...finally... we saw a maximum of 4.0 Brix. The recirculation pump was running in auto and all other parameters looked fine yet he experienced these rather disappointing results for a not-so-inexpensive setup. The RO machine that I built and operated by a maple novice (me) easily out-performed this Nano system. My brother-in-law was not happy with his results.

In the time that has passed since you reported your disappointment, has anything changed/improved with the Nano 3's performance?

I also have the Nano and my experiences have been identical to yours. Disappointing.

[fireant911]

Bullet,
Thanks. Yes, this is disappointing; however, it does somewhat ease the pain and frustration to know that my brother-in-law in not the only one that is experiencing these poor performance issues.