Reverse Osmosis

[kul]

Has anyone here done reverse osmosis? Was it effective?
I just got one quote here in LA area and it was $800. This is their fee for any sized pool. I’d like to get more bids to compare, but am having trouble finding companies that do this. Anyone here in LA who has done this and have a company I should look into?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

This is the company I called a couple years ago. It may be the company you contacted already? Price then was $699 if I recall correctly.

Reverse Osmosis for Swimming Pool Water in Arizona

Pool Water Recycling offers a sustainable and eco-friendly process of recycling pool water for residential and commercial pools. Visit us to learn more.

www.poolwaterrecycling.net

 

[kul]

This is the company I called a couple years ago. It may be the company you contacted already? Price then was $699 if I recall correctly.

Reverse Osmosis for Swimming Pool Water in Arizona

Pool Water Recycling offers a sustainable and eco-friendly process of recycling pool water for residential and commercial pools. Visit us to learn more.

www.poolwaterrecycling.net

Yup, that’s the only company I have contacted so far and 800 was their rate. Said they are going up to 875 in 2022.

 

[kul]

This is the company I called a couple years ago. It may be the company you contacted already? Price then was $699 if I recall correctly.

Reverse Osmosis for Swimming Pool Water in Arizona

Pool Water Recycling offers a sustainable and eco-friendly process of recycling pool water for residential and commercial pools. Visit us to learn more.

www.poolwaterrecycling.net

Did you use them?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that. I did not use them. I ended up doing a 65% drain and refill.

 

[kul]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that. I did not use them. I ended up doing a 65% drain and refill.

Did your plaster and pool do ok with that amount of water being removed?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Yes. As I mentioned in your other thread, I did it during rainy weather.

 

[kul]

Yes. As I mentioned in your other thread, I did it during rainy weather.

Oh right! I didn’t realize you did that- I thought you were just suggesting. Glad it worked out for you. Thanks!

 

[kul]

Update- I found what I think is a good resource for RO. I called around to the various Service Providers they have and found one in my area. Waiting for them to tell me when they can come do it and then I’ll be updating my before and after numbers! And controlling my own pool! So excited. Here’s the link in case anyone else is looking for the same thing: Reverse Osmosis and Mobile Filtration Trailer Production

 

[Newdude]

Waiting for them to tell me when they can come do it and then I’ll be updating my before and after numbers!

Sweet !!!

And controlling my own pool!

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Update- I found what I think is a good resource for RO. I called around to the various Service Providers they have and found one in my area. Waiting for them to tell me when they can come do it and then I’ll be updating my before and after numbers! And controlling my own pool! So excited. Here’s the link in case anyone else is looking for the same thing: Reverse Osmosis and Mobile Filtration Trailer Production

I wonder how they test the water to determine when they've achieved the desired levels. You may want to pick up a recommended test kit to confirm results before you cut the guys loose.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I wonder how they test the water to determine when they've achieved the desired levels. You may want to pick up a recommended test kit to confirm results before you cut the guys loose.

Disregard...I looked back and saw you already have a TF-100...good job!

 

[kul]

I wonder how they test the water to determine when they've achieved the desired levels. You may want to pick up a recommended test kit to confirm results before you cut the guys loose.

I asked about that and there’s some system they have that continuously measures some aspect - I think TDS and then once it reaches an appropriate level the machine stops the RO process. I have the T-100 so will be using that before and after to do my checks. My understanding is that for a pool my size, it should take 14-15 hours and then the next day when they come to get the RO trailer , they measure everything and add in appropriate amount of CYA and Chlorine to get to recommended levels. They also check the CH to make sure it doesn’t go too low and will add that in as well if it’s less than 200 I believe.

 

[Newdude]

Was it the same company that quoted $800 or someone else ? Same price ?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

That's great. 200 is a good starting level for CH if you can keep your CSI in range.

Have you considered adding a softened water fill line to reduce CH rise? I don't have a whole house softener system, so I installed portable RV water softener that works great.

 

[kul]

Was it the same company that quoted $800 or someone else ? Same price ?

This is a different company on the list. Price was the same. I don’t know about pricing in other areas of CA or other states, but for Los Angeles, it seemed to be the going rate. There aren’t very many people who do it, but maybe once there are more RO pool businesses, prices will come down. Not sure. It certainly costs more than a drain/fill, but I feel good about saving the water and not having to worry about possible plaster trouble/pool popping out (even though these seem rare).

 

[kul]

That's great. 200 is a good starting level for CH if you can keep your CSI in range.

Have you considered adding a softened water fill line to reduce CH rise? I don't have a whole house softener system, so I installed portable RV water softener that works great.

I didn’t know those existed. Do you find it helpful? Can you attach it to your hose or something? Is it easy to set up? I just did a brief search on Amazon and see there are so many choices.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Just know the RO is only about 80% efficient and the rejection water (waste) goes down the drain. So that would mean for every 10,000 gallons of water treated, 8,000 gallons goes back in the pool and 2,000 gallons will be discarded. You will have to make that discarded water up from your house water. And that assumes their equipment is working properly and gives you max efficiency. They will also likely plug their filtration equipment into your house outlet to use your electricity to run their pumps.

It is cheaper to drain and refill and if you look at the TFP Wiki on how to do an “exchange drain” then the water level in your pool will never change. You will simply setup the drain and refill so that higher TDS water (which is more dense) is exchanged for lower TDS fill water. Done correctly, an exchange drain will not drop the level of the water. There is also the “tarp method” of draining a pool but TFP doesn’t recommend that in most cases as it can be a bit tricky.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I didn’t know those existed. Do you find it helpful? Can you attach it to your hose or something? Is it easy to set up? I just did a brief search on Amazon and see there are so many choices.

Here is a post describing my purchase. Scroll up for info from other forum members.

RV water softener for auto-fill line

Any do's/don'ts for plumbing rv water softener in water fill line? I want it easy to remove as I think they all require manual regeneration.

www.troublefreepool.com

I plumbed the softener into my auto fill line, but it could simply be attached to a garden hose. The units do require manual regeneration which is nothing more than draining the softener, adding salt, and running water through it for a few minutes (times vary based on the model).

The Park Model I installed reduced my fill water CH from 125 to less than 10 ppm. Using a simple $15 flow meter, I determined 1,800 gallons of fill water was added to the pool during the months of September and October. This equates to about 10% of my pool's volume. According the estimated capacity of the unit, I should be able to get somewhere around 4,000 gallons of water between regen cycles. I recently did a 30% drain/refill to drop my CH level. I added about 5,200 gallons of softened water to the pool and reduced my CH by close to the same percentage. I did regen the softener before, during and after the refill.

These units are available on Amazon and directly from the manufacturer. Lots of good info on the manufacturer's website. I purchased mine from Camping World. It was a better value since I had no use for salt dispenser offered by the manufacturer.

 

[kul]

Just know the RO is only about 80% efficient and the rejection water (waste) goes down the drain. So that would mean for every 10,000 gallons of water treated, 8,000 gallons goes back in the pool and 2,000 gallons will be discarded. You will have to make that discarded water up from your house water. And that assumes their equipment is working properly and gives you max efficiency. They will also likely plug their filtration equipment into your house outlet to use your electricity to run their pumps.

It is cheaper to drain and refill and if you look at the TFP Wiki on how to do an “exchange drain” then the water level in your pool will never change. You will simply setup the drain and refill so that higher TDS water (which is more dense) is exchanged for lower TDS fill water. Done correctly, an exchange drain will not drop the level of the water. There is also the “tarp method” of draining a pool but TFP doesn’t recommend that in most cases as it can be a bit tricky.

Yes I’m aware that 10-15% of the water will need to be replaced and is done during the RO process. I’m comfortable with that replacement. Regarding the electricity, they have an onboard generator that they use so it’s all on their own power.
I recognize and agree than drain/fill is cheaper, but it’s more important to me to conserve water and not have to worry about the plaster being dry at any point. I still haven’t received a date for the RO procedure. If it doesn’t pan out a drain and fill will be my only other (less preferred in my case) option.