Pool Water Purification
- Thread starter 98Poolmaster
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,011
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Huh? What is that?
Sounds like another money transfer from pool owners to Pool Stores.
Sounds like another money transfer from pool owners to Pool Stores.
Are you talking about a RO system? A high-pressure filtration system?
It’s a trailer with a pump/filtration system that costs bank that purifies the water and returns it to the pool removes tds ch cya and purifies 80% of water it has a 40 hp pump and Waterco sand filter commercial size very expensive look up Pool Water Purification if inclined.Just wondered if anybody has used it before
Yes a reverse osmosis system/high pressure filtration system called Pool Water Purification
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,011
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
You mean...
Water Purification for Your Swimming Pool Using RO
Water Purification for Your Swimming Pool Using RO filtration gives you the ability to lower Calcium Hardness, TDS, and CYA from pool water without draining.
www.purewaterindustries.com
TFP view on RO is...
Reverse Osmosis - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
RO is usually more expensive than doing a water exchange and you wind up dumping about 25-30% of your water anyway. A RO operator posted that a decent RO will run anywhere from 5-15% waste.
For most of the country a drain and refill or water exchange are the only options to reduce CH or CYA.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,011
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
DIY Reverse Osmosis?
Seems like this topic has been covered here a little bit over the years... but, I'm interested in whether it's possible to DIY a reverse osmosis setup for occasionally dropping CYA and other levels to acceptable levels over time rather than paying $500+ for a truck to do it in 8 hours. Thoughts?
www.troublefreepool.com
Several years ago there was a local company that made the investment in that type of equipment and tried to get a different portion of his business going. He disappeared from the area. Heard he went bankrupt, machine repossessed. You have to know your market.
Thank you for that info this company says that the system they use is better than the first systems made a decade ago so was just wondering if anyone had used this particular company’s systemDIY Reverse Osmosis?
Seems like this topic has been covered here a little bit over the years... but, I'm interested in whether it's possible to DIY a reverse osmosis setup for occasionally dropping CYA and other levels to acceptable levels over time rather than paying $500+ for a truck to do it in 8 hours. Thoughts?
The basic trailer costs 150k the upgrade version is 250k-they said there are not many companies in the east that do it,mostly California I think there is one in Maryland and Arkansas.There was a guy in our area in Upland/Alta Loma who bought one in 2009 or 2010 he also did tile bead blasting and was charging like 1000 and it took 10-12 hours or more depending on size this newer company says 2-4 hrs and more money for service.I think you may get some Eco conscious people to do but most will not pay that they will just drain and refill for way less
If someone is following TFP advice, they generally won’t need a service like that so maybe not many around have experience with it?
- May 23, 2015
- 24,454
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Unless the RO membrane is being operated at 250psi or so, the efficiency is garbage. You’ll easily waste 25%. On the household side of RO systems (under sink drinking water), these show how inefficient RO is in terms of waste - pull the waste line out of saddle clamp in the drain and put it in a bucket. Then fill a 1 cup glass with RO water. You’ll collect anywhere from 8-12 cups of waste water on the drain. If you have a permeate pump that increases the pressure on the membrane, that ratio number can drop to about 5:1.
On a commercial trailer you need to spec the membrane for high TDS water because pool water has very high TDS. So the RO efficiency drops a lot even if you’re operating at high pressure. You also need a lot of preconditioning of the input water - sediment filtration and carbon block VOC removal. If you ever stood next to a commercial RO system for water purification (like the kinds the Army uses for field supply), you will go deaf very quickly from the combination of the pumps and gas generators running it.
So, the reality is that these systems for pools do “work” but they are horribly inefficient and cost of ton of money to run them which has to be put back on to the customer. So the cost is generally a lot more than just dumping the pool and refilling it. What makes the “eco conscious” people so illogical is their belief that they are somehow saving water from being “wasted”. Ummmm … planet Earth has a closed system water cycle. The stuff you dump on the ground eventually replenishes the local aquifer or evaporates and turns into clouds that will dump the water elsewhere …. unless you are ejecting water out into space, the water gets recycled.
On a commercial trailer you need to spec the membrane for high TDS water because pool water has very high TDS. So the RO efficiency drops a lot even if you’re operating at high pressure. You also need a lot of preconditioning of the input water - sediment filtration and carbon block VOC removal. If you ever stood next to a commercial RO system for water purification (like the kinds the Army uses for field supply), you will go deaf very quickly from the combination of the pumps and gas generators running it.
So, the reality is that these systems for pools do “work” but they are horribly inefficient and cost of ton of money to run them which has to be put back on to the customer. So the cost is generally a lot more than just dumping the pool and refilling it. What makes the “eco conscious” people so illogical is their belief that they are somehow saving water from being “wasted”. Ummmm … planet Earth has a closed system water cycle. The stuff you dump on the ground eventually replenishes the local aquifer or evaporates and turns into clouds that will dump the water elsewhere …. unless you are ejecting water out into space, the water gets recycled.
That’s why I ask all at TFP,I know I will get a true opinion and if it’s worth anybody’s time. My intuition was correct about the RO process the cost of the equipment is freaking crazy with unknown percentages of the real outcome being varied quit substantially Thanks all for the input as always issues/questions answered in a super timely way!!Unless the RO membrane is being operated at 250psi or so, the efficiency is garbage. You’ll easily waste 25%. On the household side of RO systems (under sink drinking water), these show how inefficient RO is in terms of waste - pull the waste line out of saddle clamp in the drain and put it in a bucket. Then fill a 1 cup glass with RO water. You’ll collect anywhere from 8-12 cups of waste water on the drain. If you have a permeate pump that increases the pressure on the membrane, that ratio number can drop to about 5:1.
On a commercial trailer you need to spec the membrane for high TDS water because pool water has very high TDS. So the RO efficiency drops a lot even if you’re operating at high pressure. You also need a lot of preconditioning of the input water - sediment filtration and carbon block VOC removal. If you ever stood next to a commercial RO system for water purification (like the kinds the Army uses for field supply), you will go deaf very quickly from the combination of the pumps and gas generators running it.
So, the reality is that these systems for pools do “work” but they are horribly inefficient and cost of ton of money to run them which has to be put back on to the customer. So the cost is generally a lot more than just dumping the pool and refilling it. What makes the “eco conscious” people so illogical is their belief that they are somehow saving water from being “wasted”. Ummmm … planet Earth has a closed system water cycle. The stuff you dump on the ground eventually replenishes the local aquifer or evaporates and turns into clouds that will dump the water elsewhere …. unless you are ejecting water out into space, the water gets recycled.
kul
Bronze Supporter
- Oct 1, 2021
- 1,253
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I did RO a couple years ago. It was via one of those trailers and I believe the cost was $600. It worked for my needs since I needed a fresh start and didn’t want to drain my pool and risk it popping out and I was not super comfortable with that much water waste. Either way, whatever option you go with is your choice and I don’t think one is much better than another- depends on what you are looking for and what risks you are willing to take and if you are ok with paying.
Totally understood each situation is different,that price is pretty consistent with what I have heard recently.The company that initially did one of our customers in 2009 or 2010 was new to the process and the pool was 69,000 gallons residential in Glendora,California I believe they charged him 1000 back then.
I had RO treatment done on my SoCal pool done at the end of 2021 (high point of the drought and pool refilling ban).
I believe it was the same trailer system as the link posted.
Water used in the process was approximately 25% of the volume of the pool.
I believe it was the same trailer system as the link posted.
Water used in the process was approximately 25% of the volume of the pool.
Do they have a method to keep processed water seperated so they don't need to process the complete pool volume a few times?
I am not completely sure but I don’t think so I believe it’s 20 percent that is lost in the process,this newer version of the process(high pressure filtration )states it’s down to 5-10 percent that is what the company is claiming but that is debatable they say that can lower tds to 100-200 and remove CH and CYA I think it’s better to just drain and refill unless the area restricts it some cities in So Cal were trying to make people get permits to drain and refilll
- May 23, 2015
- 24,454
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
RO works by intaking the high TDS water, prefiltering it (suspended solids and VOC removal as well as dechlorination), and then passing it on to the RO membrane filter. The pressure of the fluid across the membrane dictates how much water passes through (permeate) and how much water is sent to waste. The waste water exists the system and goes to ground (either sewer or ground dispersal). The permeate is returned to the pool. Unfortunately the way these systems are run, there is the continuous dilution effect caused by mixing of the “contaminated” water with the clean permeate water. No setups I have ever seen send the permeate to a holding tank as there would be no way to do that efficiently. So the RO setups will typically monitor the TDS on the intake water which lowers over time. As soon as they hit their desired TDS target, they shutdown the system and the process is complete. Customers are typically charged a service fee and then an hourly rate if the process runs longer than the time specified in the contract (usually the service covers the first 24 hours or so of the process as well as adding any chemicals to rebalance the water). These units also use the homeowners electricity to run the pumps as well as a spigot to add makeup water. So you pay for the service as well as any utilities used.
Sounds like a win win for them they use your electricity and water.Our company looked into purchasing one recently and decided to pass the cost was astronomical it would take a decade to pay for itself not to mention an employee and insurance and any maintenance on the equipment-doesn’t make business sense to buy the setup
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