Reverse Osmosis system recommendations?

[cyrus]

Just curious if there's a preferred brand for small, cheap, below the sink RO systems currently on the market. I am getting tired of lugging gallon jugs of distilled water, and my local store is selling less and less of the distilled stuff and more of the "spring water" or filtered water. I have city water which is fine btu I still use distilled for final rinses. I was considering the less than $300 price range. It seems to me that the systems are mostly the same save for quirks like how easy it is to change filters etc.

[Jim Noel]

There are several vendors who sell or lease these. Most of them filter constantly and dump the excess down the drain. I finally bought one through Culligan which only filters upon demand and am very pleased with it.

[Harley Goldman]

I have not yet pulled the trigger on getting one, but I have done a little bit of internet research. The one sold by Costco seems to get pretty good reviews, takes out the nasties like chromium 6 if you have it in your water and is reasonably priced. I plan to get one in the near future. It is the Premier.

[Ari]

There are many RO systems on eBay for about $150; they mostly seem to be of good quality, the main difference being the size of the tank.

[cyrus]

Wait, if it is constantly draining water, it may be a broken autoshutoff valve or a leak thats not letting sufficient pressure buildup to shut it off.

[cyrus]

There are many RO systems on eBay for about $150; they mostly seem to be of good quality, the main difference being the size of the tank.
Yeah but Ive heard about the quirks that set them apart. One model requires you to disconnect the pipes to change filters for example, another has cheap plastic valves that crack if tightened and then leak.

[Bill Burk]

I break into a cold sweat every time I replace the filters on mine. I got one from Canada on eBay with lots of spare filters etc. They started putting o-rings in instead of expecting you to seal the plastic connectors with pipe-fitting compound, makes it a little less stressful to change... I don't mind having the whole unit in the Garage (near the darkroom too). But under the sink inside the house used to scare me, I'd always be concerned about a leak running for a long time before getting caught and fixed.

[Pete Watkins]

Over here I use de-ionised water. It's the stuff that's used for car batteries. I get 25 litres at a time (5 gallons, about) and the empty containers are great for storing home produced wine/beer cider.
Pete.

[AtlantaTerry]

Have you looked into a home distillation system?

https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=mw#hl=en&q=distill+water+at+home

[Peter De Smidt]

Don't drink de-ionized water. It will leach minerals from your body. At least that's what the folks who sell de-ionization systems for reef aquariums say. Also, be careful about RO water an bacteria, since you're taking out all of the chlorine.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Don't drink de-ionized water. It will leach minerals from your body. At least that's what the folks who sell de-ionization systems for reef aquariums say. Also, be careful about RO water an bacteria, since you're taking out all of the chlorine.

Those two things are true, but drinking de-ionized or distilled water occasionally won't hurt you, so don't freak out if you have a drink of it. Just don't make it your main supply of water. Cooking with it can diminish some of the value of the food, too.

Distilled water becomes acidic because it sucks carbon dioxide from the air, but I've never had a problem with photo chemistry.

I am left wondering how many commercial beverages are made using deionized water, and if soft drinks (or heaven forbid, beer) is made of it.
.

[cyrus]

Have you looked into a home distillation system?

https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=mw#hl=en&q=distill+water+at+home

Yes, too loud and small capacity

[Brian C. Miller]

Don't drink de-ionized water. It will leach minerals from your body. At least that's what the folks who sell de-ionization systems for reef aquariums say.

De-ionized water doesn't leach out minerals, it just doesn't bring any minerals in with it. Also, it doesn't "taste good" because it doesn't contain minerals. At home I use ConcenTrace drops (http://www.supersup.com/trace-minerals-research-concentrace-trace-mineral-drops-8-oz-liquid-237-ml-878941000058), and one of its selling points is, "Ideal For Improving the Flavor of Distilled, Reverse Osmosis & Purified Waters."

[Pete Watkins]

I never suggested that anybody should drink the stuff! I just suggested that he should try de-ionised water as a replacement for (expensive) distelled water. It works for me in the D-76H, the Agfa Neutral fixer (sometimes TF3) and the final rinse. We get good well water out of the tap, why the heck would I want to drink de-ionised?

[Tim Povlick]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the link about the drops. I drink distilled water in addition to using to develop. The taste is fine but I suspect the added minerals will improve it. For developing, I've noticed PMK looks less tan with distilled then filtered water. Here in So. Ca. the water is very hard with calcium from the cement aqueducts. After making a few gallons the boiler looks like someone sprayed fine concrete cement into it. An RO should remove the calcium from what I recall of my research. I've read that one should boil the water before use which the distillation does.

An RO is good but my preference was distillation. Now back to photography....

Best R's,

Tim

[Jac@stafford.net]

I drink distilled water in addition to using to develop.

RO should suffice. Remember that distilled water rapidly becomes acidic which can effect chemistry, and your body.

[natelfo]

I installed a Whirlpool RO system, model WHER25, in my darkroom and love it. My house is plagued with very hard water and this thing has been worth it's weight in gold. The tank is not very large, but I keep several 2 gallon jugs full in the darkroom at all times and use only the jug water for film developing. I wash by soaking, not by running water, so I can stretch 2.5 gallons to do 12 4x5 (rotary), 6 4x5 (inversion), 2 120, or 3 35mm with no issues. I will use running tap water for RC prints, followed by a few soak sessions in RO water for final rinse, no issues there either. RO is the best investment I have made for the darkroom.

[Peter De Smidt]

Be careful with the water at first. Most RO systems have carbon filters. At one time, I installed some carbon filters on the water going to my darkroom. The filters gave off a very fine particulate that glued itself to film during development. I might've had some bad filters.... In an case, whenever you make a big change to your process, such as changing the water supply, make sure to run a test before committing important film to the new process.