
Why does BRS recommend this?
The 150 GPD water saving upgrade kit is probably our most recommended RODI upgrade. If you have proper pressure (65+ PSI) we highly recommend installing the kit, because it will produce water twice as fast as a standard 75 GPD membrane while cutting the amount of wastewater in in half.
The BRS 150 GPD Water Saver Upgrade Kit will increase the production of any BRS 75 GPD reverse osmosis system to 150 GPD without having to use any additional water. With the installation of this kit water production will increase from approximately three gallons per hour to six gallons per hour! It does require 65psi or more into the first membrane in order to function properly and be effecient. If your home's water pressure is less then the recommended PSI do not worry, adding a booster pump is simple and only takes a couple of minutes.
Recommended Conditions:
- Minimum Water Pressure - 65 PSI
- Max Water Pressure - 90 PSI
- Recommended Water Temperature - 77°F
- Recommended Max TDS - <300ppm
Water pressure can be increased by adding a booster pump before your RO/DI system if a pressure increase is required. Low pressure will cause slow production of product water, with excess production of wastewater. Pressure over 90 PSI may cause damage to the RO/DI units filters and components.
Recommended Flow Restrictor - 550mL/min
What's Included?
- One Dow 75 GPD membrane
- Two 2.5" x 2.5" membrane clips
- Two 1/8" x ¼" 90-degree elbows
- 1/8" x ¼" 90° check valve
- RO membrane housing
- ¼" tube splitter
- 5 Feet of Red, White, Blue and Black RO Line
DOW Filmtec 75 GPD Membranes have a 96% - 99% typical stabilized salt rejection rate that can be reproduced through the following conditions;
- Source Water Pressure - 50 PSI / Membrane
- Source Water Temperature - 77°F
- Source Water TDS - 250ppm Softened Tap Water
- Recovery - 15%
- Minimum Salt Rejection - 96%
If you are purchasing a reverse osmosis unit from us at the same time as this 150 GPD Upgrade Kit please mention in your order comments if you would like us to install the unit for you.If you select this option, there may be a one day delay in shipping your order due to additional time considerations. 150GPD water saving upgrade kit is not recommended for units with high TDS* or drinking water systems**.
*High TDS - Source water with high TDS we do not recommend using the 150 GPD water saving upgrade kit. If used you may experience increased DI consumption. The system will work as intended increasing filtered water production rate and decreasing the amount of waste water, but the overall amount of TDS that comes out of the system may be slightly higher than a single membrane system. Because of that your DI consumption will increase. We do recommend using two DI canisters for 150 GPD systems.
**Drinking Water RO Systems - When filling up the pressure tank will increase the back pressure, in turn will take longer to fill and increase the waste water produced by the RO system. We highly recommend a permeate pump for these applications to minimize waste water.
SKU | 200432 |
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Product Questions
Thank you,
Ted Lacey
Have a great day!
Have a great day!
Hope this helps!
It is true that running membranes in series is a bit of a trade-off. This can somewhat shorten the life of the membrane, particularly the 2nd in series in some cases and will slightly increase the TDS of the output water, which then in turn may impact DI resin consumption. For this reason we don't normally recommend these units for use on high TDS source water (over 200ppm). For municipal water systems with relatively clean water and low to moderate TDS, the overall impact is very low and is typically worth the trade-off for the increased efficiency in water usage and production rate. This is of particular interest to many of our customers in areas where water costs can be high and efficiency is a key concern.
Thx
Would there be any bennifet to adding this upgrade to my system? Would it reduce waist and increas product water any more than what the system is currently producing?
If it would help, how many ro membranes could be used in series to reduce waist water to a minimum?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE0Dhp5DZv8
Depending on the pressure that your well pump is able to produce you may need to purchase a booster pump to efficiently run the 150gpd water saving upgrade kit. The kit does need about 65 PSI to operate, where most wells will shut off around 40 – 50 psi. The kits really help reduce the overall amount of waste water produced per gallon of product water. Usually on a well, since you don’t have to pay for incoming water, the waste is not so much of an issue as simply just the speed that water is produced.
If your current single RO membrane has a TDS leaving of 20 the second water saver membrane will have an increasing effect on the TDS as it runs off of the higher TDS waste water from the first membrane. Typically this will increase the TDS up to 30 or so and has the negative impact of decreasing DI resin quicker with your source water. The benefit is that the waste water ratio will be cut in half so less water is thrown away. Usually we recommend the 150 GPD upgrade if your TDS coming out of the first membrane is less than 10.
The membrane can be flushed for around 5-10 minutes before and after each use. Feel free to let us know if you have any further questions!
Thanks,
With less pressure your system will still have improved performance however the second membrane will be under less PSI and not keep it at a 2:1 ratio most likely closer to a 3:1. Feel free to let us know if you have any further questions!
Thank you.
This kit will actually only add another 75 GPD membrane and not switch the membrane meaning your flow restrictor will be the same as you currently have (550).
Will the BRS 150 GPD Water Saver Upgrade Kit work on the apec 50gpd system?
In order for the 150 gpd upgrade kit to work you would need to change your current membrane to a 75GPD membrane and the flow restrictor to 550mL. After these adjustments have been made you can add the kit on.
This will include a 75 GPD membrane and as they are different sizes the unit will either need another 50 GPD membrane instead to match the current flow restrictor or the flow restrictor and current 0 membrane will need to be changed to work with a 75GPD.
The flow restrictor will remain the same as the water flowing through both membranes will still need to be the same. The 550mL flow restrictor is recommended.
Th 150 GPD upgrade kit should not be used on the drinking water systems as it will not reduce the amount of waste water being produced. The pressure will have the same ratio as a single membrane. Additionally the Tank will have a short life span. The TDS from the second membrane will increase allowing for a higher amount of TDS into the drinking water. Feel free to let us know if you have any further questions!
If you were to plug in a float valve on the waste water and the container was completely full and no waste water would come out it would cause damage to the membrane as that is now the only exit for the water. This will result in much lower quality water making its way through the membrane. Feel free to let us know if you have any further questions!
I have included a link below to our instruction videos. This will walk through the process. Feel free to let us know if you have any further questions!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE0Dhp5DZv8
In short the second membrane has a negative impact on the pressurized tank and causes issues in the system and pressurized tank. In addition the second membrane is running off of the waste water of the first membrane and will inherently have a higher TDS. Feel free to let us know if you have any further questions!
2. I have the 5-stage 75 GPD drinking water unit, but do not use the spigot or water tank that came with the system. Would the recommendation to avoid using the 150 GPD upgrade for this drinking water system still be valid?
The water saver upgrade will cause issues with pressure on the tank and drinking water section. In addition the second membrane will have inherently higher TDS from running on the waste water of the first membrane. This would still effect your drinking water. As an alternative the single membrane may be switched to a 150 GPD membrane while also changing the flow restrictor to the correct size for a single 150 GPD restrictor.
Thanks,
Tim
Great question. It is certainly possible to switch from a 90 GPD membrane to a 75 GPD by switching the membrane (The housings are the same size) and switching the flow restrictor on the waste water line to our 75 gallon (550mL) flow restrictor. The reason the water saver upgrade is not recommended is there is an issue with actual water being saved when installed with a pressurized tank, The back pressure from the tank will cause the waste water ratio to remain the same as with a single membrane. So the water saving aspect of the membrane is neglected when used in conjunction with the tank. It will still function and even speed up the process of filling just not reduce the waste water. Feel free to let us know if you have any further questions!
Thanks so much,
Shara Armstrong
You would need the kit plus the 100 GPD membrane. in addition the flow restrictor from your current units waste line will need to be moved to the waste water of the second membrane. The new membrane will need to be flushed as with the original. Feel free to let us know if you have any further questions!
No booster pump would be necessary here. The only real concern would be the TDS levels. With the TDS that high you may see a noticeable difference in the rate of DI consumption after adding the unit. You will still get 0 TDS water out of the DI resin though, it just won't last as long.
You will not have to remove it. You will just move it like you would the flow restrictor on a normal unit and then it will function to flush both membranes.
Anyway, is that gauge before or after the first membrane? I'm trying to figure out if I'll need to get a booster pump with this.
That is the acting pressure on the membrane (which will be the same between the last carbon block and the flow restrictor). No bosoter pump is needed :)
I'm sold on the need for this RO upgrade kit for my BRS 75 gal RO DI filter but my hesitation comes from plumbing in my membrane flush kit. I think I understand how membrane flush kit will be plumbed in, though not real clear on it. None of the videos seem to address this. Can you explain the hook-up for me? Thanks!
When you install the kit you move the whole waste water assembly to the new membrane housing. The flush kit and flow restrictor go along with the tube. If you have a flush kit it will continue to work and will flush both membranes. As far as installation goes, just follow the instructions as if it isn't there, it doesn't change the process any :)
Thanks George
adamdg61@aol.com
Unfortunately it has to be a 75gpd system because the membranes have to match. If used with a different sized membrane the flow restrictor would be a mismatch to one membrane or the other.
Thanks.
Unfortunately it would not. The membranes need to be the same size otherwise the flow restrictor would be mismatched to one membrane or the other.
Thank you
Does this link to the installation video work for you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBkFi_4kiDk
Video is really the easiest way to do this but if your computer does not have the ability to play YouTube video's just let us know and we will get you figured out.
That is true. Assuming you have enough water pressure (65psi) and water temp, the kit would allow you to produce twice as much product water for the same amount of waste water (ie, cut your waste water in half).
Fortunately you will not. Both membranes operate off the same flow restrictor and thus only the existing flush kit is needed.
If you split the incoming water going going into the membranes then you basically just have two RO/DI units and would have double the amount of waste water. In that situation it would actually just be better to swap it out for a single 150gpd membrane because you would have lower replacement costs in the future.
Keep in mind that while the waste water feeding the second membrane is higher in TDS then the first membrane, because of the waste water ratio its really not that much of a difference. If for example you had 100TDS going into the first membrane, the waste water coming out and going into the second membrane would likely be around 120-130tds. Assuming the membranes get there normal 98% rejection rate, that means the first membrane would produce water at 2 tds and the second membrane would produce water at 2.6 tds (so the average total tds being 2.3. As you can see, not much of a difference.
The reason we only suggest this unit for systems with relativly low TDS to begin with though is that this effect is amplified the higher the TDS, at 500 tds your actually getting into the range of a few TDS instead of fractions of a single TDS, though even at 500 TDS your looking at 10 out of the first membrane, ~12 out of the second for an average of 11 (and a difference of 1).
RO membranes run better at higher pressures though you shouldn't exceed the 80psi maximum on the unit itself. I would double check the number on the incoming water pressure though as the 150 might have been a different unit of measurement then PSI. Its certainly not impossible to see numbers that high in some areas but 150psi is into exploding pex, toilet, refrigerator, and washing machine territory :-) In fact I think plumbing code in most places is 80psi maximum or your required to have a pressure regulator (may be different in your area though).
It sure would. It also wouldn't make any difference to whether you choose to bypass the DI (or just disconnect the DI altogether).
Does this kit come with a flow restrictor?
If not would I need the 75 gpd or the 150 gpd flow restrictor.
Thanks
Glenn
It does not but you actually don't want to switch your floor restrictor. You want to stick with the same 75gpd restrictor you have.
With the drinking water add-on you will have a lot more back pressure which would make the dual system a lot less efficient. If your goal is to reduce waste water you would likely be better served by a permeate pump. The permeate pump uses the pressure from your waste water to reduce the effect of the storage tanks back pressure. This will make your existing membrane more efficient and allow you to get more pressure in the tank as well. Its compatible with systems up to 100gpd.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquatec-permeate-pump-clip.html
The 150gpd water saving upgrade kit requires 65psi. If your unit only has 43psi then you would need to increase the pressure to 65psi to add the kit so a booster pump would be necessary.
It depends on what your main goal is. The 150gpd upgrade kit is better for waste water but will technically create slightly worse quality of water (though unless you have very high TDS to begin with it would be unmeasurable difference to most). If you do have high TDS though we wouldn't recommend the 150gpd upgrade kit.
For an auto flush valve/flow restrictor you would want the proper size for the membrane(s). If you use the 150gpd membrane you want the 150gpd size, if you are using 75gpd membrane(s) then you would want the the 75gpd size.
Robb
Its true that artificially restricting the amount of waste water (which is really flush water) a membrane receives will likely reduce the membrane lifespan and increase the TDS of the out-coming water which will decrease the lifespan of the DI resin as well, though it shouldn't have any sort of negative effect on the prefilters themselves.
Its important to note that this is NOT how the 150gpd upgrade kit works though. The 150gpd upgrade kit adds a second membrane to reprocess the waste water of the first membrane. With the kit each membrane actually continues to get the minimum amount of flush water (actually one of them even gets extra flush water).
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