Aquatic Life RO Buddie Three Stage Reverse Osmosis

[TheHappyHopper]

Does anybody use one of these?
Aquatic Life RO Buddie Three Stage Reverse Osmosis
I just ordered mine - water chemistry is the next thing I am going to focus on in improving my beer. Up until now I have been just using my local tap water, which fits the "acceptable" levels for brewing (based on the EZ water spreadsheet), and has tasted fine for darker beers, but my lighter beers have had this harsh after taste that I have been having trouble fixing.

I didn't want one of the big, expensive systems - I don't need it for my whole house, the water out of our tap actually tastes just fine - so my plan is to just run my brewing water through this and then tweak minerals as needed. The only downside I see so far is that it can only put out 50 gallons a day (approximately 2 gallons an hour), so I will have to remember to collect my water the night before I plan on brewing, or start brewing later in the day.

Anyone else have experience with this (or similar) models?

 

[Otis1031]

Make sure you look at your cost of replacement cartridges and availability to get or utilize other brand cartridges.

 

[TheHappyHopper]

Make sure you look at your cost of replacement cartridges and availability to get or utilize other brand cartridges.

Good point - I noticed on the product description it said that "Sediment and Carbon cartridges are up-front and easy to replace - Membrane Housing accepts standard 11-3/4 inch TFC Membrane Filter Cartridges" - I have never used this type of thing before, so I don't know how easy it really is to find those replacements. Doing a quick search on Amazon, the first thing that comes up are the same filters from the same company - but they seem to be reasonably priced.

My concern is how long the filters will last. At least a couple of the reviews said that they didn't last more than a few months, but they didn't elaborate on what their typical usage was. I will only be getting 5-10 gallons every 2-3 weeks (depending on batch size, style, etc.), so I would hope the filters would last at least a year or more for me (roughly 200 gallons or so).

I will make sure to update this thread as time goes on with my results on this system.

 

[mabrungard]

The membrane is standard and the same as any other home system. However, the use of those little sediment and carbon cartridges are going to bite you. You don't have to worry too much about the sediment cartridge since it typically takes a long time to clog with typical water supplies. The carbon filter is another issue. You must keep it in good shape or you will fail to remove the chlorine compounds from the feed water and they will prematurely destroy the membrane. Having the bigger 10" carbon and sediment filters really shouldn't cost that much more than the little filters in that unit.

I suggest that this was a case of: 'penny wise, pound foolish'. It will still work for you, so don't worry too much. Another thing that would be nice is to have the auto-shutoff valve so that you could have then used some sort of float valve in a big bucket to collect your RO water while you are away. The way the system above works, you will have to monitor it for quite a while to avoid overflows.

 

[bja]

My concern is how long the filters will last. At least a couple of the reviews said that they didn't last more than a few months, but they didn't elaborate on what their typical usage was. I will only be getting 5-10 gallons every 2-3 weeks (depending on batch size, style, etc.), so I would hope the filters would last at least a year or more for me (roughly 200 gallons or so).

How long they last depends on how "clean" your tap water is and how much you run through it. If you have decent water to begin with, they'll last for several years at the rate you'll be using it.

Get a TDS meter and a chlorine test kit so you can monitor how well it's working.

 

[TheHappyHopper]

The membrane is standard and the same as any other home system. However, the use of those little sediment and carbon cartridges are going to bite you. You don't have to worry too much about the sediment cartridge since it typically takes a long time to clog with typical water supplies. The carbon filter is another issue. You must keep it in good shape or you will fail to remove the chlorine compounds from the feed water and they will prematurely destroy the membrane. Having the bigger 10" carbon and sediment filters really shouldn't cost that much more than the little filters in that unit.

I suggest that this was a case of: 'penny wise, pound foolish'. It will still work for you, so don't worry too much. Another thing that would be nice is to have the auto-shutoff valve so that you could have then used some sort of float valve in a big bucket to collect your RO water while you are away. The way the system above works, you will have to monitor it for quite a while to avoid overflows.

How long they last depends on how "clean" your tap water is and how much you run through it. If you have decent water to begin with, they'll last for several years at the rate you'll be using it.

Get a TDS meter and a chlorine test kit so you can monitor how well it's working.

Good to know - I am just hoping that the whole system lasts at least a year at the rate that I brew before I have to replace any parts. If it ends up being garbage, I will be sure to update this post so other people don't waste their money on this product. How do you know when it is time to replace one of the filters or the membrane? Do you just have to change out all of them at that point? Or is there a way to figure out that, say, the carbon filter is shot, but the membrane and sediment filter are still good?

 

[bja]

Good to know - I am just hoping that the whole system lasts at least a year at the rate that I brew before I have to replace any parts. If it ends up being garbage, I will be sure to update this post so other people don't waste their money on this product. How do you know when it is time to replace one of the filters or the membrane? Do you just have to change out all of them at that point? Or is there a way to figure out that, say, the carbon filter is shot, but the membrane and sediment filter are still good?

If the sediment filter goes bad, it'll simply plug up and reduce flow. If the carbon filter goes bad, chlorine levels will rise. If the membrane goes bad, TDS levels will rise and/or it'll plug up.

 

[kpr121]

Subsribed as I'd like to see how this turns out.

 

[mabrungard]

If the sediment filter goes bad, it'll simply plug up and reduce flow. If the carbon filter goes bad, chlorine levels will rise. If the membrane goes bad, TDS levels will rise and/or it'll plug up.

He nailed it.

The bad part is that there isn't a sample port on the line between the end of the carbon filter and the inlet of the membrane chamber. That is where you want to measure for residual chlorine compounds. It is easy enough to insert a valved tee in that line.

As always, any RO user should have a TDS meter to check the quality of their treated water. Whether you buy at the store or have your own machine, you need a TDS meter. It is cheap insurance against a failing RO machine.

 

[TheHappyHopper]

Just an update on this -

The RO system arrived, I picked up some 1/4" OD tubing from the hardware store ($3 for 20') and got it all hooked up. I also ordered a TDS meter from Amazon.

The instructions said that if you had leaks in the system, to add teflon tape to the connections - I went ahead and did them all beforehand as a precaution.

Followed the manufacturer's instructions for flushing the carbon filter and then flushing the whole system for an hour.

My tap water going in registered 272 ppm (which is better than my city water report - it lists like 330 ppm).

I collected 2.5 gallons last night for my brew day today. I have a TDS reading of 8 ppm. It put out about +/- 10 gallons of waste water.

So far I am pretty happy with the results...I will see how this thing holds up over time.

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

Those little inline taste and odor filters really aren't intended to be used as a prefilter. Remember that ALL your water, including the "waste water" go through that couple of handfuls of GAC.

We've thought about adding a little RO like this to our lineup as some people want them, but... We have to sleep at night and we don't feel comfortable selling these systems to unsuspecting customers.

Russ