Bpb Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 My whole time in the hobby, I've kept my RODI unit in a rubbermade tote and stored it indoors. I haven't ever had it hard plumbed into the water lines in the house, I've just always hooked it up to the garden hose and filled my buckets once every couple weeks, and then putting it away when finished. Well. These buckets take up a ton of space in the garage, and the wife is sick of seeing what she calls "the meth lab" taking up so much storage space. Not to mention all the gallons I waste when I forget to switch over buckets and they overflow. I need a better system Questions. So this part of the country gets hot. Real hot. That a given. Do any of you store your RODI units in a garage or outdoors at all? I know membranes and di resin have optimal operating temperatures, which is why I've never stored my RODI filter outside. I'm considering mounting it on the wall in the garage and putting a brute can on my work bench with a bulkhead and spigot at the bottom and just having that as my water storage. Tired of always lifting and moving the RODI, and managing 10-5 gallon buckets all the time. Will I damage my membrane and di resin if it's subjected to the 90 degree temps the garage sees in the summer? Or the 30 degree temps we get in the winter sometimes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I've kept mine in the garage for 4 years now with no issues. I'm no RO/DI system expert, but I think as long as it doesn't freeze, the membrane shouldn't be affected. I do notice that it will be less efficient when colder outside but otherwise, never had an issue. I used to store my RO/DI water in a 25 gallon brute trash can as well and stored it in the garage, full of water, without issue too. I'm sure there may have been some possibly phosphate leaching into the water but not in any concentrations that my system didn't process anyways. Again, just purely user experience. I never did any research on any of this. How it helps at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Only issue I've run into is one year when mine did freeze and cracked some fittings which wasn't to big a deal to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) Thanks Ty and Tim. Just needed one person to verify it's alright. To the garage it goes. Now I wonder if i should mount it close to the outside where the spigot is closer, or if running it 20 feet away closer to the house will reduce the pressure too much coming to the unit. If weather freezes I can bring it inside when wrap the pipes Edited October 24, 2014 by Bpb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Kept mine in the garage for years. You should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99taws6 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 You'll be fine. Just make sure to get a float valve and you can have it make water whenever it gets low and stop when full. I'd build a cheap 2x4 stand so you don't lose your work bench though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nano Reefer Ky Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 No problem keeping your RO in the garage. RO membranes do not like drying out so keeping it wet will increase the life of the membrane. Leaving it in the garage is a much better option then disconnecting it and letting the membrane get dry. The water in your holding tank will be obviously hot/cold during different times of the year. I've installed many RO units in garages and hot water heater closets with no problems at all. The temperature of the input water effects the purity of output water. So the first little bit of water it makes will have lower purity but the temperature quickly drops as cold water from the tap moves in. Don't forget to check TDS between the membrane and DI. Lot's of people don't think about doing that until the DI is exhausted. Just a friendly reminder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 Good pointers. I know keeping it wet is ideal. I may install a valve on the product and waste lines at the end just to prevent it from siphoning out when not in use. I'm a bit fan of flush kits and use mine religiously. I can't say I've ever NOT used one but it's helped me to have unusually long 0 tds life on my membrane and di resin. If it ain't broke don't fix it. I'll be replacing my membrane and di resin for the first time ever this December Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nano Reefer Ky Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Very nice. Sounds like you know what your doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 I definitely don't want to give that impression! I pretty much wing everything 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nano Reefer Ky Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 ... Or do a lot of research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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