CDL Nano RO

[dmichel]

Does anyone else think this looks like a rip-off of the RO bucket concept? I almost bought an RO bucket but shipping to canada killed it.

[PaulRenaud]

I bought the 3 membrane CDL Nano model last summer (2021) and am using it for the first time this year.

But to my horror, it is performing like the 2-membrane system, producing 1/3 permeate and 2/3 concentrate (at 4 Brix) from sap entering at 2.5 Brix when operating at 100 psi. It is as if one of the membranes is bad since this is exactly the performance of the 2 membrane system. (Yes the recirc pump is running.)

Any thoughts on how to test the membranes individually? Or other troubleshooting tips?

[LMP Maple]

Bought the Nano 3 membrane unit at bascoms pre sale. I have been pleased with it. I have a lot to learn about getting it dialed in but overall it is a nice little unit. I don't think you can go wrong with the R/O bucket the service is great from what I hear and I have yet to hear of anyone not thinking it was a great unit. I liked the looks of the nano and the extra money did not sway me. If I was trying to save money doing this I would have moved to Florida years ago. This sounds dumb but I did not want another bucket in the sugar house. I liked the look of the nano with the pressure gage and it seemed pretty foolproof. I don't get too jazzed up with the numbers. I run the sap through it and the sugar content comes out higher and it takes out a lot of water. I test the sap and test the permeate to make sure there is no sugar. When I start thinking about ratios, this to that you lose me.
As far a knocking everyone off. Yep, they all do. Leader has a small unit now basically the same thing. Leader will tell you the CDL one is awful. CDL will say the same about Leader and R/O bucket will say they both are bad. The bucket r/o guys came out with a post version like the big guys. I think this is great. They are really paying attention to the little guys because they figured out that we will spend money. You have a lot of great options.
At the end of the day I don't think you can go wrong with any of these units. I don't know what the leader one goes for but I like the looks of that one as well. Looks like it has the dials like the big boys have. Good luck! You will love it regardless.

[carls47807]

I am not going to knock the competitors, but our system is the best (kidding). Truth is they all save folks boatload of time and most people would be happy with ANY RO system.

If you are limited to 100psi, you are probably only going to get 1/3 permeate. At 50/50 flow most sap is going to run at 120-130psi. The issue is that the recirc pump on the 3 membrane nano limits overall system pressure. That is a residential water circulation pump and is not made for high pressure.
https://www.amazon.com/Youwise-Elect...ps%2C69&sr=8-8

You can run the 2 membrane nano higher than 100psi since it doesn't have the recirc pump (that pump has the lowest psi rating of anything else in the system, everything else is probably rated to 150psi or higher).

[ecp]

Lets be honest here. If it is a leader products it is most likely not going to perform against any of the competitors and will break down in 2 years.

On a side note what I would really like to see is the RO Drum. Who wouldn't want a 55 gallon drum RO on wheels?

[PaulRenaud]

After speaking with the inventor of the Nano at CDL, it is clear that the Nano-3 is not designed for single pass usage. It processes at a rate of 13 - 15 gal/hr and multiple passes are required to raise the Brix beyond 3 Brix.

Running it in batch, as he recommended, is the only way to achieve 5 - 6 Brix from sap starting at 2.5 Brix. So basically I need to run it in a batch mode for a couple of hours and then do a pass that pushes the concentrate into a separate tank so that I can take in more sap to reduce.

Too bad they market the Nano-3 as being capable of both batch and single-pass, as I would have configured by plumbing to optimize for batch intermediate processing.

[DRoseum]

Interested to know...did you buy the cdl nano, the ro bucket or build your own? How did it work out?

[Bullet]

I have had my Nano for 3 years. One can go thru all the calculations, but for me one of the the most important things is support, and this is where CDL and the Nano fails miserably. Go with Carl and the RO bucket. I've been chasing CDL for 3 years with nothing but frustration. I will ultimately give up on my Nano and intend to either do a DIY or purchase the RO bucket.

[Bullet]

"Interested to know...did you buy the cdl nano, the ro bucket or build your own? How did it work out?".....Roseum

Bought it from CDL 3 seasons ago

[fireant911]

I bought the 3 membrane CDL Nano model last summer (2021) and am using it for the first time this year.

But to my horror, it is performing like the 2-membrane system, producing 1/3 permeate and 2/3 concentrate (at 4 Brix) from sap entering at 2.5 Brix when operating at 100 psi. It is as if one of the membranes is bad since this is exactly the performance of the 2 membrane system. (Yes the recirc pump is running.)

Any thoughts on how to test the membranes individually? Or other troubleshooting tips?

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?