Slow Osmosis: Just How Many Levels?

I often get asked by friends and customers alike, "how many stages do I want in my Reverse Osmosis (RO) system?"It is a great question that often gets mentioned and as there are more and more programs available with 5+ stages it's very important to understand what the various stages do and if they're a investment.In order to best understand this it's a good idea to quickly understand what a basic RO system is and how it works.The many basic Reverse Osmosis only need 2 stages. The first phase, a carbon block does a few things. It filters down to a certain micron status (a micron is a dimension of size, when someone is discussing filtering down to a certain micron stage, they are referring to how small a particle would need to be to get through the filter) and it also removes chemicals through chemical response (chemicals in the water relationship onto the carbon block and get trapped there). In an RO process this will be referred to as 'pre-filtration' as it occurs before the RO membrane.The 2nd stage, the RO membrane it self is just a thin film of composite substance that filters at a level rejecting the most contaminants in the water by size or electric charge. The holes or 'pores' in the film are so great that water will simply flow through under pressure, the more pressure the faster the water could flow through. Since tap water stress isn't that large, the flow rate of the pure water via an RO membrane is very gradual and might take a number of minutes to load one glass. To overcome this, reverse osmosis systems (as in the image above) will often come with a container. This container is pressurised and fills up with time from the RO. When normal water is required, the little tap is forced and the reservoir empties at a very useful flow rate (5-8 seconds to fill a ).This is where the additional levels are available in. Because the filtered water is located in the tank that has an internal rubber bladder, the water can develop a style, especially if it's left in the tank for quite a while. Enter another point - "Post treatment." An additional Carbon filter is put between the container and the touch to get rid of any remaining taste from water stored in the tank.So which makes three stages: Pre-filtration, Reverse Osmosis Membrane & Post-filtration. Something significantly more than this and you are starting to get into 'bells & whistles' that will cost you a lot of money each time you have to restore them.4 Stage: People will often set a sediment filter ahead of the initial carbon filter. This sediment filtration is much like carefully twisted cotton wool. The benefit of carrying this out is that the sediment filter will remove contaminants from the water before they reach the first carbon filter. Carbon filters are also more prone to blocking up and are more costly to replace that deposit. The Sediment filter is usually a greater micron ranking than the carbon and protects the carbon from blocking up to quickly, just as the carbon protects the RO membrane from subsequently blocking up too quickly.5 Stage: Some people count the reservoir as a point, others will begin to add a never growing list of add-on filters that do a rising list of 'amazing things' to the water including re-introducing many of the vitamins and such that your filter has just taken out.More however will have things like anti-scalant pre-filters to stop the RO membrane from running. Anti-scalant is a very prevalent engineering in large organization industrial reverse osmosis applications, we all know since our parent organization have already been creating containerised reverse osmosis plant for large business for years. The truth is it generally does not make commercial sense to purchase in to this in small residential systems. The savings are outweighed by the cost of using the anti-scalant cartridge provided from exchanging the RO membranes. Those cartridges also work by leeching extra chemicals into the water just before the Reverse Osmosis membrane, that become washed into the strain and back into the environment. So they're a poor idea on that front as well.6,7 & 8 stage: Marketing, arms contest, etc etc, this distinct thinking that obviously a 6 stage will undoubtedly be better than a stage and so on is truly just a way to get buyers to buy more than they need. You can ensure that the water quality presented from these extra phases will be no better, as it's the RO membrane itself that does all the hard work and all the methods have one.The other thing that can not be stressed enough is that when it comes time to service your 8 period Reverse Osmosis system, you'll be paying for 8 different replacement cartridges which is certainly going to get a modest expense into an unwanted expense.Summary: Carbon filtration + Reverse Osmosis membrane will provide the best water you can get, anything else will wind up costing you a lot more for little/no gain. If you plan on utilizing your program in your home for drinking purposes a container is highly advised as the flow rate from RO is not practical on regular water pressure.Having experienced e-commerce since 1994 we've produce a select range of quality systems that represent cost effective for money. Have a look at our recommended 4 Stage Reverse Osmosis system, it's what I personally use myself.