It's a tough location. Barrier island on the Gulf of Whatever you call it. The highest point on the island is about 3 feet above sea level. I think they are using the RO water for showers, laundry, etc. Drinking water is all bottled. But they have 5 ice makers, so I'm not sure where that comes from. Efficiency wasn't considered when it was built.
Jason Szumlanski Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP) Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956 Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208 On Fri, May 9, 2025, 11:33 AM Dana Orzel via RE-wrenches < [email protected]> wrote: > Suggestion : > > I start with a thorough water test: I have used these folks at National > Testing Labs for 20+ years. Excellent service! > > @ (440) 449-2525 https://watercheck.com/ > > > > Multipage test results for lots of different stuff in water talk with them > about what you have and what test they would suggest. > > > > If you want, contact me off list glad to send a copy of my house well test > for your perusal. > > > > With the data they provide you from can narrow down what it is that you > are wanting to be rid of & this opens up the options for treatment & > filtration. > > > > I filter for 2 specific items: very light arsenic [1 refillable cartridge > for this] & sulfur dioxide [we have hot springs down 600’ below the surface > & at high water times of the year slight sulfur smell turns out a carbon > filter eliminates this]. 2 issues & 2 filters, done. > > > > I hope this helps & does not muddy the water, Ha! > > > > _________________________________________________________ > > Dana Orzel GREAT SOLAR WORKS! > > C – 208.721.7003 E – [email protected] > > W - www. greatsolarworks.com www.solarwork.com > > *“Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988!”* > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Dana Orzel via RE-wrenches <[email protected]> > To: RE-wrenches <[email protected]> > Cc: Dana Orzel <[email protected]> > Bcc: > Date: Fri, 9 May 2025 18:10:24 +0000 > Subject: [RE-wrenches] Off-Grid Whole House RO > > I really have not been following this but: IMHO RO off grid is wasteful & > not appropriate. > > > > 1. There are RO systems that use a lot less water than other RO > systems. All RO systems are not equal. > 2. There are many filtration systems that can do what RO does without > wasting any water at all. You will go thru filters though. > 3. I understand the brackish/salt? Issue I have done large house sized > RO systems to a 2,500-gallon tank in CO. > 4. The challenge with most water filtration companies is they are used > to the grid - lots of power & unlimited waste. > 5. Haul or get delivered water? Had a few folks back in the day with > solid rock under there place with no water under the rock. > 6. **. Assuming the RO system doesn’t need rhe 1.25hp pump ( i am > assuming the RO goes into a tank and much then has a pressure pump to > supply the house. If it doesn’t I would recommend installing said design) > I’d install a smaller motor and pump head to better match the RO flow rate. > You could look at getting a high efficiency DC pump or 3 phase with > vfd. > Sun pumps has such things. > 7. I like #6 so far… > 8. Maybe Ro at a few locations for drinking & a lesser filtrated water > for shower etc? > > > > > _________________________________________________________ > > Dana Orzel GREAT SOLAR WORKS! > > C – 208.721.7003 E – [email protected] > > W - www. greatsolarworks.com www.solarwork.com > > *“Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988!”* > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches <[email protected]> > To: RE-wrenches <[email protected]> > Cc: Jason Szumlanski <[email protected]> > Bcc: > Date: Fri, 9 May 2025 17:53:55 +0000 > Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Off-Grid Whole House RO > That is what I was thinking, that the RO booster pump doesn't need a lot > of pressure on the inlet side. There is a lot of wastewater, but I have not > calculated the ratio. My visual analysis is that is it more like 6:1 or > more. The production level is very low, perhaps 1-2 gallons per minute. I > would love to not have a well pump running at all when producing RO, > pumping raw water into a holding tank in advance of RO production. I don't > think the owner is opposed to managing this manually, but it could also be > set up on a solar direct DC pump or on a smart load output of the inverters > if using an AC pump. > > The house does have rainwater catchment that is great in the summer, > producing 100% of its needs. However, the property is more heavily used in > the dry winter months. So the rainwater system doesn't align with the use > case for the home (vacation/second home in the nice season in Florida). > > Jason Szumlanski > Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group > NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP) > Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956 > Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208 > > > On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 3:22 PM Jay via RE-wrenches < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Jason >> >> What’s the actual water output from >> The RO? We had one at our house before I took it out and replaced the >> house water with rainwater catchment. 3 yrs and counting in the high >> desert. >> I couldn’t live with the 2-3 to 1 loss ratio. >> >> A few options as I suspect the actual RO output is closer to 1-2 gpm. >> 1. Use a 1/3hp well pump into a large pressure tank with relatively low >> pressure switch. You might even get away with a small sump pump. The RO >> should t need but minimal input pressure >> >> 2. Assuming the RO system doesn’t need rhe 1.25hp pump ( i am assuming >> the RO goes into a tank and much then has a pressure pump to supply the >> house. If it doesn’t I would recommend installing said design) I’d install >> a smaller motor and pump head to better match the RO flow rate. >> You could look at getting a high efficiency DC pump or 3 phase with vfd. >> Sun pumps has such things. >> >> Jay >> >> >> >> > On May 8, 2025, at 12:38 PM, Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> > >> > >> > Water pump is not my strong suit. I usually leave that up to the >> experts around here. Unfortunately, the experts are clueless when it comes >> to off-grid living. I have a client with a setup that is pretty unworkable. >> I'm trying to give him some general guidance. >> > >> > The setup uses a brackish water (might as well be salt water) very >> shallow well. It is about 3 ft underground for the water table. The RO >> system installer has a 1 HP 1.25 SF Century centrifugal surface pump >> drawing water from the well and pressurizing the inlet of a StaRite 1.25 HP >> booster pump designed for about 10 GPM at 150 PSI to run water through the >> RO system. >> > >> > Both of the pumps run simultaneously and continuously when producing >> water, and the water production is ridiculously low. I understand that RO >> production is going to be slow, but the amount of power these pumps are >> using is pure insanity. I have advised the client that, at a minimum, this >> system needs to be on a smart load circuit to run only when there is >> adequate battery capacity. The startup surgery is not a concern, but it >> does flicker the lights and it makes quite the racket. >> > >> > My thoughts are that the well pump is drastically oversized. The >> booster pump only needs 10 gallons per minute, and it has a suction head of >> 15 ft. I don't even know if the well pump pressurizing the booster pump >> inlet is required. I'm thinking we should be slow pumping water into an >> interim holding tank at least at the height of the booster pump. At a >> minimum, the well pump should be on a pressure switch with pressure tank so >> it can cycle. >> > >> > Can anyone give me some general guidance, and perhaps a VFD pump that >> does not have the startup surge and is maybe more efficient? During times >> of heavy use, the RO system can easily eat up half of the PV produced >> during a day at this site. >> > >> > >> > Jason Szumlanski >> > Florida Solar Design Group >> > _______________________________________________ >> > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >> > >> > Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org >> > >> > List Address: [email protected] >> > >> > Change listserver email address & settings: >> > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> > >> > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try >> the other: >> > https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >> > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> > >> > List rules & etiquette: >> > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >> > >> > Check out or update participant bios: >> > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >> >> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org >> >> List Address: [email protected] >> >> Change listserver email address & settings: >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the >> other: >> https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> List rules & etiquette: >> http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >> >> Check out or update participant bios: >> http://www.members.re-wrenches.org >> >> _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org > > List Address: [email protected] > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > >
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