R/O Units - gimme the skinny

[madfox]

Things like how often you have to change the cartridges, how much you're paying for each of the different types of refills, etc. What's your favorite company/model. Anything at all you want to add.

The water here is town water, 7.4-7.6 pH, 9+ kH, 13+ gH, and I don't even have tests for all the crap I'm sure is in it. I was using the API Tap Water Filter with moderate success, but finding the cartridges for it has been like finding a needle in a haystack. Oh, you can find places online that have them, or at least USUALLY have them, but they all seem to be on backorder. And the PuR filters on my tap are getting pretty tired pretty quick! All that does, though, is whatever activated carbon does - smell, chlorine, chemicals, etc. - it doesn't do anything about the pH or the hardness.

I don't need a high GPD (until I get bigger tanks! :evil_lol: ). With weekly (sometimes more often, depending on how ugly things are looking) water changes, I'm probably doing about 11 gals of change total per week. (2x 20, 2x 2.5, 1x 1.5).

Your opinions are appreciated!

[Star_Rider]

it really depends on the water.

I have low kh/gh so I don't have to replace the membranes often but there are other cartridges involved
I use the filterguys as my source very happy with the service and product.

are you just supplementing (mixing) or using ro for top offs?

[yourchoice]

Your tap is similar to mine,I`m sure it works out to under 5 cents per gallon per filter changes.Might be something like every 5000 gallons.I bought the cheapest 100gpd 6 stage off ebay works fine.If u get one use plumbers tape on the threads.The whole thing can be Tricky to fiqure outat first.
Can use an adapter (screw on type)to fit standrad faucets.The tap will be running at about 10% or less of the tap pressure because the hoses are really small.Need a Tds meter.I also got a pressure gauge but never have used it.If you don`t need the 5 gallon storage tank u can save money.If storing water for future use best to keep an airstone running or run an airstone type thing for 24 hours before putting it in the tank.

[BWI]

lol yea thats the magic question we get daily, how often should i change my filters. Every tank and house water supply is different so the answer is different everytime.

[jrvs23]

I'm using a Culligan rental ro system w/ a attached TDS sensor. I've had the system over a year and haven't needed to replace the filters yet. I use about 15-20 gal. a week dependening on top offs. Renting was cheaper then buying the water at a store on a weekly bases w/ cost of water, gas , and time. I believe Culligan will change the filters for free when they need to be changed.