Deionizers

[jjgallow]

I noticed that Kent Marine has stand alone deionizers and the specs look good to me at least.

http://www.kentmarine.com/di200.html

200 gpd with no waste water. I understand that they have to be changed more frequently, but don't RO units have to have their filters changed every 3000 gallons anyway?

Does anyone use standalone DI units or is RO required to get soft water?

(i have liquid rock tap water)

[RandalB]

JJgallow,
I'd check the prices on that unit before I bought one. Also check how much those DI cartriges are going to cost. If you have the "Liquid Rock" you mention, it's going to cost you a fortune very quickly in DI especially at Kent's prices. Those 10" cartriges are rated for 400 gallons each on kent's website. They are good for up to 2000 gallons each after an RO unit. Foster/Smith sells those babies for $32.99 each. So do the math: for 4 days of water @ 200GPD, it will cost you: $131.96 + Shipping (which ain't cheap these babies are heavy!) That's more than a 5 stage 75GPD RO unit. That's also assuming that your water's dissolved solids are at or below what those DI cartriges are rated for.

I know people that use stand alone DI for small quantities of water. It is just too expensive in the long run, Especially if you have real hard water.

You may have to replace prefilters on an RO unit after 3000 Gallons if your water is very hard. They are rated at 5000 Gallons (Sediment) and 10000 Gallons (Carbon) (depending on the manufacturer) respectively. But even if you have to replace them that often, the total cost for a typical 5 stage RO unit (2 poly Pre-filters and 1 carbon block) is around $14.00. Much cheaper than $32.99 for each filter. RO membranes are usually good for 2 years.

HTH
RandalB

[jjgallow]

Thanks, RandalB!

I will definitely stay away from deinoizers.

:o

[RandalB]

JJ,
Don't get me wrong, DI has it's place but that is after an RO unit. You might actually need one after an RO unit if your feed water TDS is bad, your water pressure is low or water is cold. I know people that get 65+ PPM TDS after their RO water due to poor conditions. If you have chloramine in your feed water, DI is a good idea then too.

HTH
RandalB