Anyone having condensation problem with thier R/O units?

[MC Lighting]

This may be related to teh fact that I need to runa dehumidifier in my place but does anyone else have a problem with thier r/o unit sweating when running water though it? The water here has been really cold but I mean this thing sweats like crazy the lines the fittings the canisters everything...

 

[csababubbles]

mine does every once in a while. i called up some of the vendors and they all said they were stumped but prolly nothing to worry about because it is most likely caused by the temp difference

 

[trido]

Its just like a single pane window. Moisture in a warm room is attracted to cold surfaces.

Yes, I set my RO unit in a cake pan under the sink. If I dont open the doors to let the cabinet breathe it tends to get quite musty and stinky under there. Winter is typically worse than summer because the water entering the house is colder. RO units also perform worse due to the colder water in the wwinter.

 

[MC Lighting]

interesting I understood that the colder water actually makes for better filtration hmm

 

[chadmace]

I only run into that while mine is on. When its off the ambient temperature in the house heats up the water in the lines, and unit so it stops. You could always look into some sort of insulation.

 

[Scooterman]

interesting I understood that the colder water actually makes for better filtration hmm

When you have to pass it through the membrane cold it slows down production & increases waste, so in that aspect it doesn't help.
I think you would benefit with fresh air coming into the room like from an exhaust fan, might not help the humidity problem but will the PH. With so many tanks running a dedicated AC unit w/fresh air in the room may also be an option over a humidifier as A/C's are really a de-humidifiers in the first place but they exhaust the heat outside via exchanger (condenser) thus making the room air much cooler & doing it more efficiently.

 

[MC Lighting]

well thats true about the a/c the only reasn I have not stuck the window a/c unit on a shelf and just run it is its not mean to drain off the moisture quite the same way most now reuse that water for coil cooling and it would be hard to control where the water goes... Also I do not need to run a/c year round I still have to run heaters even with the multi thousands of watts of hallides :-( The dehumidifier will probably help with the condensation though since it will pull a lot of the moisture out of the air which is probably a battle of the tanks evaproating more to make up for the loss of humidity.

 

[Scooterman]

True, I forget we're always hot & high humidity down here, it must be a fight between cold air & hot humid tanks.

 

[apollothesun]

im running through the same problems. could insulating your water pipes with foam help from sweating? thinking about doing that in the next couple weeks. went underneath the house and looked at my water pipes.

 

[mmn_usn]

I know that at work, the RO units heat the water to around 70 before sending it through the first pass membrane.

You could just insulate the pipes.. or even run a coil heater around the pipe going to your RO filter and that would prevent your RO from condensing the moisture out of the air onto your floor.

 

[krisfal]

The dehumidifier will probably help with the condensation though since it will pull a lot of the moisture out of the air which is probably a battle of the tanks evaproating more to make up for the loss of humidity.

You are right regarding that battle. I started using a de-humidifier this winter and found I was evaporating a lot more water out of the tanks, so we moved the dehumidifier upstairs which helped with less water loss from the tanks, but the downstairs front door was showing condensationand it is a wood door. So the humidifier is now downstairs again and I added a bigger ATO storage container.

My RO/DI unit also sweats, the de-humidifier definately helps with that. But pre-heating the water is probably a bettter option for this problem if you do not need the de-humidifier for other reasons.

 

[apollothesun]

I know that at work, the RO units heat the water to around 70 before sending it through the first pass membrane.

You could just insulate the pipes.. or even run a coil heater around the pipe going to your RO filter and that would prevent your RO from condensing the moisture out of the air onto your floor.

thats a good idea. im gonna try insulating first to see how that goes, then try a coil heater. where do you get a coil heater, lowes, home depot?

 

[trido]

IMO insulating the pipes under the house wont do much good in the PNW. The water coming from the street is just cold to begin with.

 

[ziggy]

I stumbled on to this the other day. Im going to try it on my in-coming RO line and in the drivers seat of my work truck.

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/16290/product.web

Cheap & worth a try
Chad #2

 

[sarmo]

"insulating the pipes under the house wont do much good in the PNW. The water coming from the street is just cold to begin with."

i agree. insulating the pipes will keep the water cooler. it will prevent condensation from forming on the pipes but if you want to prevent condensation from forming on your RO unit you need to remove humidity or warm the incoming water into the RO unit. IMO

 

[mmn_usn]

Lowes, HD or any hardware store should have the heating wire. I think that here in the PNW that would be the best choice.
Let us know how it goes.

 

[danno14]

I know that at work, the RO units heat the water to around 70 before sending it through the first pass membrane.

How about using the cold from the supply line to fight our other battle - heat in our tanks! Run the supply (looped) through the sump to warm it and cool the sump. No electric energy used!

 

[DonW]

Coils and heat tape are a waste of time, Ive already tried it. To make 5 gallons of rodi water you need a coil capable of holding 20+ gallons of water. A mixing valve works great but the wasted energy from the hot water going down the drain is not worth it. The easiest solution to condensation is a drip pan connected to the drain much like a air conditioning system.

Don

 

[mmn_usn]

I think you may have something danno

 

[apollothesun]

Coils and heat tape are a waste of time, Ive already tried it. To make 5 gallons of rodi water you need a coil capable of holding 20+ gallons of water. A mixing valve works great but the wasted energy from the hot water going down the drain is not worth it. The easiest solution to condensation is a drip pan connected to the drain much like a air conditioning system.

Don

hey don, do you think the insulation foam on the cold water pipe will help?