Damn.. That is pretty nice work you have there.. From a professional perspective this is BMD Plumbing approved… You managed to make your own system build in a plug and play fashion… That’s the major part of what commercial systems lack.. User friendly, regular Joe functionality.
I thunk this system would be perfect for our operation , You did a great job explaining your RO system. Do you have a parts list to build, Thanks for taking the time to make this video
Very informative video. How many taps are you running? How many gallons of syrup do you produce? Curious about how long those membrane filters will last.
I like the new system, can’t really say too much more without seeing it in action. Based on the online specs it’s pretty impressive for the size. I would personally build my own again because it uses widely available parts and can be easily scaled up by adding more membranes easily keeping all the same pumps.
What’s the flow rate on your LP pump? Would a lower flow rate on that pump restrict the overall flow of the entire system? Or does the HP pump draw it through at its full capacity once primed? I’m planning to build your setup but while looking at the Procon pump specs it says it’s self priming. So I was wondering if I can do away with the LP pump altogether in that case?
For those building a ro adding a recirculating pump from the output of the vessel back into the input (pressure side) is a game changer. It will allow pulling off 5 to 8 brix on a single pass as well as not getting membrane fowl and can go quite a bit longer without having to do a wash cycle.
@@TheSmagzilla I have a procon 330 stainless running two vessels. I have a 3/4 hp multi stage pump with 3/4 ports as my recirc. I feed with half inch hose from my high pressure pump as well as my drain on a needle valve. My membrane housings have three-quarter inch ports and I run three-quarter between my membranes and through my recirculating pump. The idea is to flow the sap fast across the membrane to keep the sugars from sticking in one spot that’s what causes your foul and slows you down. So really what you’re doing is feeding in a small amount and bleeding off a small amount but in that closed system make it flow fast! One membrane with a recirc is equivalent to three without a recirc
@@LeeMann small commercial ro units offer recirculation with out using a pump by using a separate needle valve other than the one to control you’re main operating pressure to meter off sap back to the high pressure feed to recirculate. The pro is that you get slightly higher sugar than not doing this. The con is there’s nothing to help keep membranes from fouling up with sugar. The whole purpose of the pump is to wash away the surface of the membrane and keep it so water can escape without opening the system. Speeding up a loop in the membranes with a pump keeps the sugar from sticking and slowing you down. I think of it as having a diesel without a turbo.
@@ryanselleck6035 thanks so much would you be able to give me details on how you did your setup? I'm just trying to get mine going now any help would be great! I was also just planning on a single post for this season but want to expand
Seems like a 275 gallon tote creates quite a bit of pressure out the bottom valve just with the head pressure, couldn't you skip the transfer pump and just have the tote elevated?
I’ve built a smaller version of this but need to upgrade as we keep adding taps. I’ve been wracking my brain about food safe/NSF ratings for pumps. The low press pump you’re using doesn’t seem to meet that. Have you looked into that and do you have any concerns about that with the pumps you’re using? I haven’t had much luck finding a reasonably priced NSF rated LP pump though.
Building a similar system. My membrane came with a thick plastic (practically glued) on it's outside. Do I need to take this off before inserting into the housing? Or does the water just come in through the ends of the filter element?
You shouldn’t concentrate past 30% of the original volumes. More membranes means faster concentrating though. Mine can remove 225L of water per hr so another membrane would likely double that output.
Good video. So 2 questions: what brix do you get with one pass? 2) do you have to keep this unit warm at night (after use) to protect it from freezing ? Thanks fellow Canuck
I haven’t had to do this. I have done 1000lL down to 400L and pressure did not move more than a couple psi. I attribute this to the fact that the sugar is actually just passing by the membrane vs physically clogging it up.
I’m hoping you still look at comments on this although it’s been up for a while. I’ve built the same setup that you have. It seems to work but I’ve noticed with both pumps running the filter housing never fills up. It is about half full of water and I see the water flowing in with a lot of air. I think that is causing my high pressure pump to cavitate some. The low press and high press pumps are both rated at 330 gph. Any idea what would cause that and how to fix it? Thanks.
@@craigunderwood5567 Yes, depending on how much sap you plan to process you can certainly build a smaller set up. The set up in this video is ideal, you could easily add another filter in series to upscale it later. The 4/40 filters are about as economical as you'll find if you're in a higher tap count, If you only have a handful of taps then smaller house filters work fine. The membranes I run are brackish water and cost about $180, you can get way better membranes and spend $350 each. I'm over 400 taps and normally process about 500 gallons a day with very little effort. It just all depends on how much water you need to remove and what your set up can boil in a day.
I have any area my patents used to tap that had approx. 200 taps years ago when I was a kid. That's what intend on setting my idea to for future. As I'll have an arch built for new custom made plans I had made. Presently I have 16 taos I'm playing with and cooking the hard way, " kitchen stove" it works for now.
You can find old carbonator pumps with the 1/3 hp motors all over ebay, they're used in soda vending machines and are food safe, not all procon pumps are NSF so be careful if looking. You can get a little garden/ shallow well pump for your primer pump, a prefilter and some form of R/O filter and build a set up like this guy did. Mine is the same way built on a hand truck with wheels. You can't allow them to freeze or it will ruin the R/O filter and damage the pumps. When I built mine I had $1200 in the entire set up minus a few things I already had like wire, switches, boxes, hand truck, odds and ends steel to weld up the mounts. For the initial investment I'd build a bigger R/O and smaller evaporator. With one 4/40 R/O filter you could run up to 300 taps, have a small 2x4 evaporator and make loads of syrup and use very little wood doing it.
Hi, i m having a hard time with my reverse osmosis, can anyone pls tell me wher can i install the higher and lower pressure switch and also my needle valve doesn’t have any pressure, thank you all
I'm considering putting one of these together. My concern is that I'd (or my wife) turn on the procon before the feed pump. Would it be possible to wire in a pressure transducer that would disable the procon if there isn't 40 or so psi feeding it? Anyone have any experience with this? Great video!
@@craigwade2260 yeah, I'm picking up what you're laying down - but I'm having a hard time sourcing a pressure switch. Every time I start looking, the internet steers me to well water pressure switches :-/
I built almost the identical RO this year. Wondering what you are getting for permeate flow? I'm getting 1 gallon per minute. What membrane did you use? I used MES
That's a pretty slick setup. I appreciate the concise, not overly technical explanation.
Damn.. That is pretty nice work you have there.. From a professional perspective this is BMD Plumbing approved… You managed to make your own system build in a plug and play fashion… That’s the major part of what commercial systems lack.. User friendly, regular Joe functionality.
I thunk this system would be perfect for our operation , You did a great job explaining your RO system. Do you have a parts list to build, Thanks for taking the time to make this video
I'm amazed by this thing. Simple and effective and DIY
Very informative video. How many taps are you running? How many gallons of syrup do you produce? Curious about how long those membrane filters will last.
Excellent video! You make it so easy to understand. Thinking of making one myself. Thanks!
Nice setup!
Your videos are great, everything is explained perfectly, thanks a lot.
Would you be able to add a recirc line to this by taking the outlet and running it back to the low pressure side?
whats your thoughts on the new Nano RO MAX Reverse Osmosis System by CDL? would u buy it or build the system you are using?
I like the new system, can’t really say too much more without seeing it in action. Based on the online specs it’s pretty impressive for the size. I would personally build my own again because it uses widely available parts and can be easily scaled up by adding more membranes easily keeping all the same pumps.
Do you have list of what you buy for this i would like to make exact sane one
How much concentration sap does it produce an hour? I love the setup
Do you save the water for drinking
What’s the flow rate on your LP pump? Would a lower flow rate on that pump restrict the overall flow of the entire system? Or does the HP pump draw it through at its full capacity once primed?
I’m planning to build your setup but while looking at the Procon pump specs it says it’s self priming. So I was wondering if I can do away with the LP pump altogether in that case?
Well done!
For those building a ro adding a recirculating pump from the output of the vessel back into the input (pressure side) is a game changer. It will allow pulling off 5 to 8 brix on a single pass as well as not getting membrane fowl and can go quite a bit longer without having to do a wash cycle.
What size pump for that? I have procon 330, 1 hp feed pump, and 2 membranes
@@TheSmagzilla I have a procon 330 stainless running two vessels. I have a 3/4 hp multi stage pump with 3/4 ports as my recirc.
I feed with half inch hose from my high pressure pump as well as my drain on a needle valve. My membrane housings have three-quarter inch ports and I run three-quarter between my membranes and through my recirculating pump. The idea is to flow the sap fast across the membrane to keep the sugars from sticking in one spot that’s what causes your foul and slows you down. So really what you’re doing is feeding in a small amount and bleeding off a small amount but in that closed system make it flow fast! One membrane with a recirc is equivalent to three without a recirc
@@ryanselleck6035 Would it work without adding another pump and just running it back into the low pressure side of the procon?
@@LeeMann small commercial ro units offer recirculation with out using a pump by using a separate needle valve other than the one to control you’re main operating pressure to meter off sap back to the high pressure feed to recirculate. The pro is that you get slightly higher sugar than not doing this. The con is there’s nothing to help keep membranes from fouling up with sugar. The whole purpose of the pump is to wash away the surface of the membrane and keep it so water can escape without opening the system. Speeding up a loop in the membranes with a pump keeps the sugar from sticking and slowing you down.
I think of it as having a diesel without a turbo.
@@ryanselleck6035 thanks so much would you be able to give me details on how you did your setup? I'm just trying to get mine going now any help would be great! I was also just planning on a single post for this season but want to expand
Looks great. Planning to build one very similar this year. Are your membrane and housing maxflow brand off Amazon? Thanks.
Thanks. The filter and housing are from a company in Toronto called Maxwater
Rough cost to put it together?
How many taps min to run this size?
I think about 900.00 CAD
Probably want min. 150 taps to make it worth while.
Seems like a 275 gallon tote creates quite a bit of pressure out the bottom valve just with the head pressure, couldn't you skip the transfer pump and just have the tote elevated?
When using your setup shown here how do you know you’ve removed as much water as you can without loosing your concentrated sap in the tote
I’ve built a smaller version of this but need to upgrade as we keep adding taps. I’ve been wracking my brain about food safe/NSF ratings for pumps. The low press pump you’re using doesn’t seem to meet that. Have you looked into that and do you have any concerns about that with the pumps you’re using? I haven’t had much luck finding a reasonably priced NSF rated LP pump though.
www.amazon.com/Aquastrong-Portable-Stainless-Sprinkler-Irrigation/dp/B0B55STDNN/ref=sxin_20_pa_sp_phone_search_thematic_sspa?adgrpid=55620934746&content-id=amzn1.sym.e5621fa1-1d45-43af-a32c-ec269165aa05%3Aamzn1.sym.e5621fa1-1d45-43af-a32c-ec269165aa05&cv_ct_cx=220v+water+pump&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsoycBhC6ARIsAPPbeLuJt6kXhCxXvuYTCxDQWqBFHL3YNCkF9Kanm6sxMeGxOyEAG8SLrfUaAhtjEALw_wcB&hvadid=410099850944&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9003106&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=16147962853353983153&hvtargid=kwd-295687761766&hydadcr=13996_11144164&keywords=220v+water+pump&pd_rd_i=B0B55STDNN&pd_rd_r=8220d9d2-5916-460c-999c-b593e24f3359&pd_rd_w=FW8bo&pd_rd_wg=L4GNB&pf_rd_p=e5621fa1-1d45-43af-a32c-ec269165aa05&pf_rd_r=5FEP9NSVPKMSVNA0YJCM&qid=1669566734&sr=1-3-5d145692-3a33-435f-b395-cb33bbbc7bfa-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyTlkwRktTRTBPUDFVJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzA5NDkxNDNBQ1dHTDg0SURUJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAxNzk2MTYzSDE0VDMySkJKWEU0JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX3RoZW1hdGljJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
Building a similar system. My membrane came with a thick plastic (practically glued) on it's outside. Do I need to take this off before inserting into the housing? Or does the water just come in through the ends of the filter element?
Leave the plastic membrane. It filters through the ends.
How many taps could this handle? Also wondering if you could get a higher concentrate by adding a second membrane
You shouldn’t concentrate past 30% of the original volumes. More membranes means faster concentrating though. Mine can remove 225L of water per hr so another membrane would likely double that output.
What are the size of your hoses and fitting on your pumps/tubing??
All clear horses and high pressure line are 3/4”. The outlet is 1/2” copper pipe.
I cannot find the list of parts!
Good video. So 2 questions: what brix do you get with one pass? 2) do you have to keep this unit warm at night (after use) to protect it from freezing ? Thanks fellow Canuck
Thanks. You can go up to about 8% sugar with this. I keep it inside just above freezing at night. It cannot freeze.
@@rudijones thanks
Do you have to throttle the membrane backpressure regularly as the sugar content increases?
I haven’t had to do this. I have done 1000lL down to 400L and pressure did not move more than a couple psi. I attribute this to the fact that the sugar is actually just passing by the membrane vs physically clogging it up.
For the R O System you have built, how many maple taps do you have and how many will it handle and what size evaporator do you use to make syrup?
400 taps no problem to stay ahead of that flow. I think 1200 would start to push it but really it’s all about time. Evaporator is 16”x48”
@@rudijones Ok and thank you for your response.
I'm thinking of building a system maybe half the size of yours for myself to use.
I’m hoping you still look at comments on this although it’s been up for a while. I’ve built the same setup that you have. It seems to work but I’ve noticed with both pumps running the filter housing never fills up. It is about half full of water and I see the water flowing in with a lot of air. I think that is causing my high pressure pump to cavitate some. The low press and high press pumps are both rated at 330 gph. Any idea what would cause that and how to fix it? Thanks.
Hi, I’m not entirely sure but you may need to increase the flow to the small filter. It may not be getting enough flow.
How can I keep it from freezing? my sugar house don't have heat except when I'm boiling!
We built a box around the ro unit out of foam board and placed a small electric heater inside hooked to a programmable thermostat set at 38f
Where did you source the stainless high pressure line?
Looks like a washing machine supply line.
Another question for you. How did you determine what size electric motor to use on your Procon High Pressure Pump?
I run twin 4/40 filters in series on a 3/4 hp marathon motor with the 330 procon and it works very well.
@@Tonnsfabrication For the size and amount I would make for myself, I could build one 1/2 the size of yours then referring to what you memtioned.
@@craigunderwood5567 Yes, depending on how much sap you plan to process you can certainly build a smaller set up. The set up in this video is ideal, you could easily add another filter in series to upscale it later. The 4/40 filters are about as economical as you'll find if you're in a higher tap count, If you only have a handful of taps then smaller house filters work fine. The membranes I run are brackish water and cost about $180, you can get way better membranes and spend $350 each. I'm over 400 taps and normally process about 500 gallons a day with very little effort. It just all depends on how much water you need to remove and what your set up can boil in a day.
I have any area my patents used to tap that had approx. 200 taps years ago when I was a kid. That's what intend on setting my idea to for future. As I'll have an arch built for new custom made plans I had made. Presently I have 16 taos I'm playing with and cooking the hard way, " kitchen stove" it works for now.
You can find old carbonator pumps with the 1/3 hp motors all over ebay, they're used in soda vending machines and are food safe, not all procon pumps are NSF so be careful if looking. You can get a little garden/ shallow well pump for your primer pump, a prefilter and some form of R/O filter and build a set up like this guy did. Mine is the same way built on a hand truck with wheels. You can't allow them to freeze or it will ruin the R/O filter and damage the pumps. When I built mine I had $1200 in the entire set up minus a few things I already had like wire, switches, boxes, hand truck, odds and ends steel to weld up the mounts. For the initial investment I'd build a bigger R/O and smaller evaporator. With one 4/40 R/O filter you could run up to 300 taps, have a small 2x4 evaporator and make loads of syrup and use very little wood doing it.
What is better to run at 240 volts or 120 volts? Thanks
240’s only advantage is you can run smaller wire but in this setup it’s not a deal breaker.
Hi, i m having a hard time with my reverse osmosis, can anyone pls tell me wher can i install the higher and lower pressure switch and also my needle valve doesn’t have any pressure, thank you all
Can you list type and source for the high pressure hose from procon to membrane?
You can use pex, it's rated for 300 psi and works fine.
I'm considering putting one of these together. My concern is that I'd (or my wife) turn on the procon before the feed pump.
Would it be possible to wire in a pressure transducer that would disable the procon if there isn't 40 or so psi feeding it?
Anyone have any experience with this?
Great video!
@@craigwade2260 yeah, I'm picking up what you're laying down - but I'm having a hard time sourcing a pressure switch. Every time I start looking, the internet steers me to well water pressure switches :-/
Fresh water systems part #LPS340-G is exactly what you are looking for.
@@rudijones thank you!
What end does the membrane brine seal go on?
The membrane can go either way.
I built almost the identical RO this year.
Wondering what you are getting for permeate flow? I'm getting 1 gallon per minute.
What membrane did you use? I used MES
Hey. Just measured doing a batch this morning. 59.5 gallons of permeate per hr.
Mine is a BW 4040 from a company in Canada
PLEASE replace that regular garden hose with one intended for potable water. Like the kind used on RVs.
Yes for sure, appreciate the recommendation. I switched over to two of the Gilmour food safe hoses after this video.