Buying Water

[TorturedSoul]

I just ordered a 100 gpd R/O system for $150. I'll let you guys know how it works on my 460ppm water and how much waste water it produces per gallon. It should pay for itself in 4~5 months.

Ouch, ~15 minutes for a gallon of water?

I guess you've got to figure the cost of the wastewater in when calculating the rate at which the device will pay for itself.

Then again, if you are purchasing it at the store - and are making special trips just for that - you've got to figure in your gasoline.

460ppm, lol? You must be my neighbor.

 

[SteveHman]

Making a run to the water store twice a week is about $9 in water and about the same in gas, so about $18 a week to keep the R/O water up. Depending on how much waste water I generate, the unit should actually pay for itself in about 2-1/2 months.

4 gallons an hour is fine. I can fill my 23 container and that will keep me for almost 2 weeks. Maybe I'll buy a storage tank for the system. As soon as I hook it up, I will use two 5 gal jugs, one for the R/O water and one for the waste. As soon as the waste is full, I can calculate the ratio of waste. I'm hoping it's closer to 1:1.

 

[TorturedSoul]

I can fill my 23 container and that will keep me for almost 2 weeks. Maybe I'll buy a storage tank for the system. As soon as I hook it up, I will use two 5 gal jugs, one for the R/O water and one for the waste. As soon as the waste is full, I can calculate the ratio of waste. I'm hoping it's closer to 1:1.

I think I used to go through at least 3-5 gallons on one (LARGE, ~8 square foot) plant in a DWC setup, but that was with strong fans blowing 24-hours and a deplorable average temperature. Those plants were transpiring for all they were worth just to survive (which they did).

There is also always the option to use a mixture of RO water and tap (or tap that is filtered to a lesser degree) if one feels the need.

BtW, thanks for deciding to do the calculations. I'll be interested in reading your results.