Hey Matt! We have RO & Ham Radio in common. I just installed a ispring 7 stage with pump. I also am planning on running a line to the coffee maker and refrigerator. All the best from north Texas.
@@MattHeere oh we were almost neighbors! Haha. Dallas area here. I grew up in northern Minnesota but have worked as an engineer all my career here in Texas. Incidentally your antenna videos were what I first was drawn to. TDS of tap water is 680-720 & after ispring is 14-16. Progress!
Thanks for a well done video Matt. The remote mic is a nice touch. What I wanted to comment on is your well water. If you have any amount of iron in the water, I would suggest using an iron filter ahead of the water softener. I have worked with my rusty water for many years and after much reconfiguring I have found a nearly perfect system. A 1 cu ft iron filter and a 1 cu ft water softener followed by a large canister carbon filter. What used to require 2 or 3 40lb bags of salt a month, now takes about 5 bags a year! Gone is the constant rust removal from the water fixtures. Now I can add my iSpring RO.
About all you need is a whirly-gig, birdcage and a squirrel then you have a true Goldberg machine, haha. Great job on the components and their functions...Keep it up!!
i like the idea of the see thru pipe on the waste water black pipe, make lots of sense to see what kind of waste is coming out of those pipe, i think every State has different issues on water coming out from the original source, Vegas is worst, reduce a gallon of water to a cup, the color turns to a light brown, mud in color & has after taste of flouride,. hard water as they call it,. thanks for sharing your video very informative, & i am new to this kind of lesson,..
Nice overview and detail. Since the line is just 1/4” - any benefit to installing the tank raised up high near the ceiling (when the system is installed in the basement - for a fridge water/ice up stairs) - to help elevate pressure drop - or would that not really effect the flow pressure - because the tank is pressured!? Flow through the RO unit can/will be slow/low - but from the tank to the fridge - I’m just wondering if having the reservoir tank raised up would help keep flow pressure a little higher!?
Sure. Putting the pressure tank higher and/or closer to the usage definitely helps the flow when you go to use the water. Problem is that it works against you when filling the pressure tank. You're already ice skating uphill trying to push water through an RO filter and into a pressurized tank. The whole system is really designed to mount under the kitchen sink. It works OK for me because it's primarily the ice maker consuming that water, and so you don't notice the flow rate.
I remembered when I finally had to change the filters :) Fortunately only the final carbon filter really needs the purge, so there was no impact to the RO membrane to speak of.
Great video. Sorry to dig up old videos. I'm looking into this right now. I've heard a few complaints about water pressure of the filtered water. Do you think having your tank in the basement affects that? My kitchen doesn't have much storage so I'd like to do something similar to what you did in the basement. Thanks!!
It does, but I think it's a good trade off. Mine feed the through-the-door ice/water system on the fridge. It was slow hooked up to the main water anyway, so the difference is minimal. If it's a problem you could always add a smaller secondary pressure tank under the sink and put the rest of it in the basement.
always before get new membrane, or cartridges filter, you need to flush pre-filters by around 10 minutes, micro dust from carbon cartridge CAN DAMAGE THE MEMBRANE, line carbon (or mineral) filter after the membrane is not that important to flush it, but also can have micro dust.
Matt, I am looking to do the same thing you did -- Basement mount to a refridgerator. Only problem is that the line would need to run about 40 ft from where the RO Filter/Tank will sit in the basement. I was told there might be pressure drop because of this. Have you had any complications like this in your setup?
No, but we use it 99% for the ice maker so wouldn't really notice. You could step up the hose size if it really matters to you. I think I'd just wait the additional 2 seconds for the glass to fill. We're not talking 100's of feet here. It really won't matter that much an it isn't a terribly high pressure setup to begin with.
@@MattHeere Thanks for the reply. I am same way. We don't drink a ton of water out of the fridge. Sounds like the only issue is pressure which means we have to wait a little longer to fill up water bottles or cups, etc. Ice maker should run fine off of it? The run would be no more than 40-50 ft in our house. I figure the tank helps too. Thanks!!
Sadly Ispring To systems are 3:1 waste to clean water ratio, I like Hydrologic Stealth Ro150 or 300 better 1:1 or 2:1. Only other way to get better performance out of Ispring to is permeate pump or booster pump.
Indiana DIY If you use it for drinking, than this ratio is very good. If you flush your toilet with filtered water, then you need to reconsider the setup.
The yellow hose puts water into the tank after the R.O. stage. It then brings the water back out of the tank and through the 5th stage (carbon filter) then through the blue one to the faucet.
It goes right into the septic system. We're on a well, so I don't have to worry about concentrating chlorine into the septic - although I probably wouldn't worry about it anyway at these small volumes. I don't consider it "wasted" water either since it comes out of the ground and then goes right back into the ground.
+Brandon Shermer I didn't take pictures of the last part, mostly because where you access the fridge from my basement is in the middle of a bunch of HVAC duct work. Very hard to see anything useful (even when you're there!). The fridge itself almost certainly has a 1/4 compression fitting for the ice/water. It's really best if you can run poly tube from the R.O. unit straight to this inlet. It won't hurt anything to have 1/2" PEX or copper though. It'll just take forever to get it pressurized and get the air bled out.
+Matt Heere You are correct, I have a dedicated 1/2 pex line ran 25' to my fridge from the basement mech room. At the fridge there is a 1/2 to 1/4 shutoff valve with the 1/4 to the fridge. So I will just need a reducer at the RO system. Just want to make sure there are no issues with this.
It'll be fine. Once you get the PEX full and bled it will either make zero difference, or actually be helpful to have the larger diameter over the distance. Go for it!
The lower the input water pressure is, the slower the throughput is, and the less effective the osmotic process becomes. I don't know what the minimum cutoff is, but the stated gallons per day ratings are all for ~60psi inlet pressure. If your water pressure is significantly lower than this, and you expect to get the rated flow rates, then you need the booster pump. My water pressure ranges from 40-60psi depending on what's up with the well. But I only expect a gallon or two a day of filtered water, so I didn't need the extra pump.
The tanks have bladders and are basically like balloons. The water goes in and out the same port based on pressure differential at the t joint. When your tap is open, that path has lower pressure so the tank drains.
Hi Matt, Thank you for posting this video for customers! We would like to offer you a thank you gift for taking the time to create this great video. Could you please contact us at your earliest convenience at sales@ispringfilter.com? Thanks, Helen
+iSpring Water Thanks Helen. I really appreciate the offer! I am going to politely decline however. I do not monetize my channel in any way so as to retain my editorial freedom :) I am very happy with my filter, and I'm not reserving judgement on iSpring per se. Just a blanket policy I stick to. Thanks again, Matt
Complete misapplication. 1. You are using a softener as an iron filter, a magical one thing does it all well water filter. You must be listening to a Collagen, or Rain Soft salesman for advice on a well water filtration system. You will have nothing but issues doing this. Softeners are meant to do 1 thing REMOVE HARDNESS. They are not Iron, or sediment filters. Using them as such is a service call in the making. Rain Soft, and Collagen salesmen know this. They count on it as residual income. 2. You are trying to remove harmful bacteria from your WELL water that has IRON in it with a UV light. The Iron will cause shielding making the UV light ineffective. Chlorine injection is more reliable, and cost effective. Plus adds other benefits such as oxidation to help filter, and sulfur neutralization. With UV bulbs needing replaced annually, with cost of well over $100 and up they are little more than a cash cow of residual income for the retailer who advises their use on well water. DO NOT use Vaseline or any petroleum products on your O-Rings and Seals. Use a Silicone based synthetic grease. The TDS is probably mostly Sodium put in the water from both the Salt, and the Potassium. It is a 1 for 1 Ion exchange for every grain of hardness, and everything else you are trying to get that softener to filter out of your well water, it is exchanging that with sodium. Even the potassium is producing sodium. Sodium is what a softener needs to work. You are wasting money on more expensive, and less efficient potassium, just use a good name brand salt pellets. Anyway, because of the sodium the softener adds to the water you do not want to be drinking softened water. So it is good that you are adding an RO. Even your RO water is at 35ppm. How much of that is still sodium from your softener? EPA says 30ppm, the AHA says 20ppm sodium is safe to drink. Adding a good iron filter could help reduce the sodium the softener is adding to the water as well. Extending the lift of you RO membrane. Other than some filtration misapplication, the install it's self was great. Save you some money, and to do it right, I'd look into chlorine injection, and a good iron filter. Get rid of that costly useless UV light, and if you get the right iron filter, do away with that 10x4.5" sediment filter, and the cost of its filters as well.
The softener does a fine job of removing iron If used with the proper salt blend. This particular model is in fact aimed specifically at iron removal, and testing before and after the softener proves that it works well. Since the softener is before the UV light, there is no shielding problem - and the replacement lamps are readily available for $27 locally and last 2 years. It's a belt and suspenders setup anyway. Only one of the two wells tested positive for coliforms, and that's not the well we use.
@@MattHeere A softener works as an iron for wells that have less than .5ppm iron. But any higher then it is a matter of how long? Softener resins should last 15 years. Using them as an iron filter will shorten that considerably. After time the first this it will stop filtering will be the iron. I have seen this cause all kinds of issues. At time the softener it's self starts storing the iron. Then when it is finally released BOOM big surge of iron in the pipes, plumbing and fixtures, effecting appliances, and causing real problems. Not to mention the softener it's self becoming iron bound. Like I said great install, I'd have just went a different direction with the filtration. But I don't know your water's lab results or have your flow rate information either. I'm glad you are not using the Coliform water, especially with just a UV light as the only means of sanitation. Any shielding is not good. No iron filter, or softener removes everything so there would be some shielding.
@@bwells6381 What brand of RO systems would you recommend? Also, curous what you think about the saltless "conditioner" tanks. I'm on city water that is fairly clean and I believe about 50ppm.
@@luminousbulb With your RO main thing is make sure the filters are made to an industry standard when it comes to size. That way you can find filters anywhere. Water conditioners as they're called do not soften water. Nothing actually removes hardness from the water except a traditional softener. I have found they do not do as they claim as well as they claim. My company quit selling them.
That's a lot of tubes! Make sure you get an under sink cabinet mat from Xtreme Mats and a water sensor to prevent any water damage from the inevitable leak at xtrememats.com.
Hey Matt! We have RO & Ham Radio in common. I just installed a ispring 7 stage with pump. I also am planning on running a line to the coffee maker and refrigerator. All the best from north Texas.
One more thing in common then - I grew up in Wichita Falls :)
@@MattHeere oh we were almost neighbors! Haha. Dallas area here. I grew up in northern Minnesota but have worked as an engineer all my career here in Texas. Incidentally your antenna videos were what I first was drawn to.
TDS of tap water is 680-720 & after ispring is 14-16. Progress!
Thanks for a well done video Matt. The remote mic is a nice touch. What I wanted to comment on is your well water. If you have any amount of iron in the water, I would suggest using an iron filter ahead of the water softener. I have worked with my rusty water for many years and after much reconfiguring I have found a nearly perfect system. A 1 cu ft iron filter and a 1 cu ft water softener followed by a large canister carbon filter. What used to require 2 or 3 40lb bags of salt a month, now takes about 5 bags a year! Gone is the constant rust removal from the water fixtures. Now I can add my iSpring RO.
About all you need is a whirly-gig, birdcage and a squirrel then you have a true Goldberg machine, haha. Great job on the components and their functions...Keep it up!!
i like the idea of the see thru pipe on the waste water black pipe, make lots of sense to see what kind of waste is coming out of those pipe, i think every State has different issues on water coming out from the original source, Vegas is worst, reduce a gallon of water to a cup, the color turns to a light brown, mud in color & has after taste of flouride,. hard water as they call it,. thanks for sharing your video very informative, & i am new to this kind of lesson,..
Thanks for taking the time to make this. It was very helpful.
Food Grade Silicone Spray will work well for lubricating the rubber seals/gaskets.
Excellent video and presence!
Nice overview and detail.
Since the line is just 1/4” - any benefit to installing the tank raised up high near the ceiling (when the system is installed in the basement - for a fridge water/ice up stairs) - to help elevate pressure drop - or would that not really effect the flow pressure - because the tank is pressured!?
Flow through the RO unit can/will be slow/low - but from the tank to the fridge - I’m just wondering if having the reservoir tank raised up would help keep flow pressure a little higher!?
Sure. Putting the pressure tank higher and/or closer to the usage definitely helps the flow when you go to use the water. Problem is that it works against you when filling the pressure tank. You're already ice skating uphill trying to push water through an RO filter and into a pressurized tank. The whole system is really designed to mount under the kitchen sink. It works OK for me because it's primarily the ice maker consuming that water, and so you don't notice the flow rate.
You are supposed to purge the first three stages first that's why it was black
exactly, probably he forget about that, so "life" of the membrane will be short then normally is...
I remembered when I finally had to change the filters :) Fortunately only the final carbon filter really needs the purge, so there was no impact to the RO membrane to speak of.
Great video. Sorry to dig up old videos. I'm looking into this right now. I've heard a few complaints about water pressure of the filtered water. Do you think having your tank in the basement affects that?
My kitchen doesn't have much storage so I'd like to do something similar to what you did in the basement.
Thanks!!
It does, but I think it's a good trade off. Mine feed the through-the-door ice/water system on the fridge. It was slow hooked up to the main water anyway, so the difference is minimal. If it's a problem you could always add a smaller secondary pressure tank under the sink and put the rest of it in the basement.
always before get new membrane, or cartridges filter, you need to flush pre-filters by around 10 minutes, micro dust from carbon cartridge CAN DAMAGE THE MEMBRANE, line carbon (or mineral) filter after the membrane is not that important to flush it, but also can have micro dust.
Great video, Thanks for sharing.
Matt, I am looking to do the same thing you did -- Basement mount to a refridgerator. Only problem is that the line would need to run about 40 ft from where the RO Filter/Tank will sit in the basement. I was told there might be pressure drop because of this. Have you had any complications like this in your setup?
No, but we use it 99% for the ice maker so wouldn't really notice. You could step up the hose size if it really matters to you. I think I'd just wait the additional 2 seconds for the glass to fill. We're not talking 100's of feet here. It really won't matter that much an it isn't a terribly high pressure setup to begin with.
@@MattHeere Thanks for the reply. I am same way. We don't drink a ton of water out of the fridge. Sounds like the only issue is pressure which means we have to wait a little longer to fill up water bottles or cups, etc. Ice maker should run fine off of it? The run would be no more than 40-50 ft in our house. I figure the tank helps too. Thanks!!
Great vid. What type/brand softener system are you using?
It's an Aqua-Pure. Seems to work as well as any other, although I'd like to have more control of the recharge timing.
Hello, nice video. I would like to bring filtered water from basement to our kitchen. Would that work?
It will. Keep in mind that the flow rate from this setup is sufficient for filling glasses and such. It's not the same as a regular water tap.
Sadly Ispring To systems are 3:1 waste to clean water ratio, I like Hydrologic Stealth Ro150 or 300 better 1:1 or 2:1. Only other way to get better performance out of Ispring to is permeate pump or booster pump.
Indiana DIY If you use it for drinking, than this ratio is very good. If you flush your toilet with filtered water, then you need to reconsider the setup.
does the yellow tube put filtered water into the storage tank or take it from the tank to the faucet?
The yellow hose puts water into the tank after the R.O. stage. It then brings the water back out of the tank and through the 5th stage (carbon filter) then through the blue one to the faucet.
Hi Matt, did you run into any water pressure issues when connected to the fridge?
No, but then the flow rate from the fridge tap was pretty awful to begin with.
Matt Heere Cool, thank you. And thank you for making the video it's super helpful.
trouble is the amount of waste water - i'm told it should not go into septic system. what do you do with it?
It goes right into the septic system. We're on a well, so I don't have to worry about concentrating chlorine into the septic - although I probably wouldn't worry about it anyway at these small volumes. I don't consider it "wasted" water either since it comes out of the ground and then goes right back into the ground.
Do you have a picture of it installed to your fridge? Is it ok to have the ro system hooked up to a 1/2 line that goes to the fridge?
+Brandon Shermer I didn't take pictures of the last part, mostly because where you access the fridge from my basement is in the middle of a bunch of HVAC duct work. Very hard to see anything useful (even when you're there!).
The fridge itself almost certainly has a 1/4 compression fitting for the ice/water. It's really best if you can run poly tube from the R.O. unit straight to this inlet. It won't hurt anything to have 1/2" PEX or copper though. It'll just take forever to get it pressurized and get the air bled out.
+Matt Heere You are correct, I have a dedicated 1/2 pex line ran 25' to my fridge from the basement mech room. At the fridge there is a 1/2 to 1/4 shutoff valve with the 1/4 to the fridge. So I will just need a reducer at the RO system. Just want to make sure there are no issues with this.
It'll be fine. Once you get the PEX full and bled it will either make zero difference, or actually be helpful to have the larger diameter over the distance. Go for it!
Matt, when would a booster pump be needed?
The lower the input water pressure is, the slower the throughput is, and the less effective the osmotic process becomes. I don't know what the minimum cutoff is, but the stated gallons per day ratings are all for ~60psi inlet pressure. If your water pressure is significantly lower than this, and you expect to get the rated flow rates, then you need the booster pump. My water pressure ranges from 40-60psi depending on what's up with the well. But I only expect a gallon or two a day of filtered water, so I didn't need the extra pump.
Thanks, great video.
How is this considered a "whole house" RO system if it only hooks up to the sink?
It isn't. Not sure where you got the idea that it was.
If you want minerals back just add a pinch of himalayan sea salt per glass of water.😊
What type of water softener
"Great Job!"
it seems the tank would have two hoses. One bringing filtered water to the tank and one to bring tank water to the tap.
The tanks have bladders and are basically like balloons. The water goes in and out the same port based on pressure differential at the t joint. When your tap is open, that path has lower pressure so the tank drains.
Hi Matt,
Thank you for posting this video for customers! We would like to offer you a thank you gift for taking the time to create this great video. Could you please contact us at your earliest convenience at sales@ispringfilter.com?
Thanks,
Helen
+iSpring Water Thanks Helen. I really appreciate the offer! I am going to politely decline however. I do not monetize my channel in any way so as to retain my editorial freedom :) I am very happy with my filter, and I'm not reserving judgement on iSpring per se. Just a blanket policy I stick to.
Thanks again,
Matt
Hi Matt,
I respect that and please let us know if there is anything we can do for you in the future. Have a great day!
Thanks,
Helen
Complete misapplication.
1. You are using a softener as an iron filter, a magical one thing does it all well water filter. You must be listening to a Collagen, or Rain Soft salesman for advice on a well water filtration system. You will have nothing but issues doing this. Softeners are meant to do 1 thing REMOVE HARDNESS. They are not Iron, or sediment filters. Using them as such is a service call in the making. Rain Soft, and Collagen salesmen know this. They count on it as residual income.
2. You are trying to remove harmful bacteria from your WELL water that has IRON in it with a UV light. The Iron will cause shielding making the UV light ineffective. Chlorine injection is more reliable, and cost effective. Plus adds other benefits such as oxidation to help filter, and sulfur neutralization. With UV bulbs needing replaced annually, with cost of well over $100 and up they are little more than a cash cow of residual income for the retailer who advises their use on well water.
DO NOT use Vaseline or any petroleum products on your O-Rings and Seals. Use a Silicone based synthetic grease.
The TDS is probably mostly Sodium put in the water from both the Salt, and the Potassium. It is a 1 for 1 Ion exchange for every grain of hardness, and everything else you are trying to get that softener to filter out of your well water, it is exchanging that with sodium. Even the potassium is producing sodium. Sodium is what a softener needs to work. You are wasting money on more expensive, and less efficient potassium, just use a good name brand salt pellets. Anyway, because of the sodium the softener adds to the water you do not want to be drinking softened water. So it is good that you are adding an RO. Even your RO water is at 35ppm. How much of that is still sodium from your softener? EPA says 30ppm, the AHA says 20ppm sodium is safe to drink. Adding a good iron filter could help reduce the sodium the softener is adding to the water as well. Extending the lift of you RO membrane.
Other than some filtration misapplication, the install it's self was great. Save you some money, and to do it right, I'd look into chlorine injection, and a good iron filter. Get rid of that costly useless UV light, and if you get the right iron filter, do away with that 10x4.5" sediment filter, and the cost of its filters as well.
The softener does a fine job of removing iron If used with the proper salt blend. This particular model is in fact aimed specifically at iron removal, and testing before and after the softener proves that it works well. Since the softener is before the UV light, there is no shielding problem - and the replacement lamps are readily available for $27 locally and last 2 years.
It's a belt and suspenders setup anyway. Only one of the two wells tested positive for coliforms, and that's not the well we use.
@@MattHeere A softener works as an iron for wells that have less than .5ppm iron. But any higher then it is a matter of how long? Softener resins should last 15 years. Using them as an iron filter will shorten that considerably. After time the first this it will stop filtering will be the iron. I have seen this cause all kinds of issues. At time the softener it's self starts storing the iron. Then when it is finally released BOOM big surge of iron in the pipes, plumbing and fixtures, effecting appliances, and causing real problems. Not to mention the softener it's self becoming iron bound.
Like I said great install, I'd have just went a different direction with the filtration. But I don't know your water's lab results or have your flow rate information either.
I'm glad you are not using the Coliform water, especially with just a UV light as the only means of sanitation. Any shielding is not good. No iron filter, or softener removes everything so there would be some shielding.
@@bwells6381 What brand of RO systems would you recommend? Also, curous what you think about the saltless "conditioner" tanks. I'm on city water that is fairly clean and I believe about 50ppm.
@@luminousbulb With your RO main thing is make sure the filters are made to an industry standard when it comes to size. That way you can find filters anywhere.
Water conditioners as they're called do not soften water. Nothing actually removes hardness from the water except a traditional softener. I have found they do not do as they claim as well as they claim. My company quit selling them.
@@bwells6381 Thank you for the tips! I ended up going with US Water Systems for the RO.
That's a lot of tubes! Make sure you get an under sink cabinet mat from Xtreme Mats and a water sensor to prevent any water damage from the inevitable leak at xtrememats.com.
RO wastes a lot of precious water.
Not here. We're on a well and septic. What the RO discards goes directly back into the ground from where it came.