R,O, systems 4 stage or 5 stage

[dontknownuttin]

Water here at the store averages ,85 a gal. I am looking into R.O. systems (the table top models) is a 5 stage enough to provide me low PPM numbers? I live in a retirement area. People here buy lots of Distilled water for medical device use. Sometimes the store is sold out and I have to travel out of my area to buy grow water.

[Jeg]

I'm curious why more people don't use rain water. It's free and mine is perfect ph. Is rain water bad?

[Jeg]

I don't. I know my place in this forum and it's not my technical prowess! Wait, what is my place again!? Thanks for the clarification though. 9fl, have I ever told you how much I liked your pot idea, such a good one.

[9fingerleafs]

thanks jeg, im guessing you talk about plastic pots fill with holes and a fabric interior. it works pretty well but demands daily attention and waterings, great for young plants

[Jeg]

I've learned that they dry out faster. I made my own version. Crude but functional

[dontknownuttin]

I'm curious why more people don't use rain water. It's free and mine is perfect ph. Is rain water bad?

My area gets 3-8 inches rain A YEAR!

[Jeg]

Oh my bad. I guess that's one reason. I personally have like a dozen 2liter bottles filled up waiting. It rained a lot this week. I dumped out two of those 55liter tubs cause I ran out of bottles. Do you think rain is ok?

[BuddMarsh]

Rainwater is great to use, so use it if you can.

[BuddMarsh]

You could filter your own water instead of using RO water. http://www.clear2o.com/ Filtering your own water means you are not throwing away water and it is faster and cheaper to make.

[dontknownuttin]

Expense is of no concern at this end. 0 ppm water is a concern at this end. I need to produce 0 PPM water at home how many stage filter do I need.

[9fingerleafs]

My only advice is get a cheap water filter to pre-filter the water before the RO system. This will keep clean the ro filters for longer and it will help a lot reduce ppm

[BuddMarsh]

The amount of dissolved solids in water produced by reverse osmosis is approximately a constant percentage of those in the feed water. The rate is 90-95% of the feed water so the lower the incoming PPM of the water the lower the output water is. To get 0 PPM you will need to go to a Distilled water system.

[Nsky]

Dontknownuttin sorry to digress, just have to say best n most adorable profile photo EVERRRR. Oh those chubby cheeks!!! Too sweet n cute.

[dontknownuttin]

Now, back to my question. Is a 5 stage RO needed if so best on counter model and required stages for lowest PPM.

[9fingerleafs]

Like buddmars said. It's going to depend on the water you are starting with. Just remember water close to 0 ppm is practically useless and you cannot even measure it with a tds meter. Somewhere around 0.1 - 0.2 it's the minimal EC you should work with

[GreenDragonRon]

What is your source water like? If you have lots of Chlorine, you may want to have a couple carbon filters before your membrane as Chlorine can damage the RO membrane. If want to get to 0 PPM, you either need fairly good source water or a DI stage after your membrane.