TGB & Styx,
Reverse osmosis is a great method for filtering water to the levels you enjoy but many molecules less complex than water get through the membrane. You probably have somewhere around 1 ppm total desolved solids in your water. This is very high quality for human consumption. Assuming you live in a city whith chlorinated water you will notice that you have an activated charcoal filter in your systems. The purpose of the charcoal is to remove the chlorine out of the RO water just prior to dispensing. Chlorine is less complex than water and therefore passes through the membrane. Surprising as it is, the charcoal improves the taste of your water far more than the membrane.
Industrial grade pure water goes through multiple steps to achieve a very low TDS. Chlorine may be introduced to kill bacteria. An iron filter may be needed to remove very high concentrations of iron that would overload conventional water softeners. Water softening would be used to remove most of the remaining minerals. Reverse osmosis is then used to further reduce (mainly salts) the mineral content prior to multi-stage deionizing.
Your products are very, very good as the life expectency is longer than a refrigerator, therefore producing high quality water very cheaply. They don't compete in a scientific comparison to deionized bottled water though.
I also own an RO system and love it. Be aware that in order for the membranes to last the water should first be conditioned as salts are easier on the membrane than hard water minerals. The only reason I know this stuff is because I designed several systems for food processing plants and each plant had specific needs based on the incoming raw water.
If you can find KDF filled replacement filter cartridges instead of charcoal you will only need to replace the KDF once every five years instead of every six months or so. It also removes some nasty chemicals that can pass through an RO filter.
Reverse osmosis is a great method for filtering water to the levels you enjoy but many molecules less complex than water get through the membrane. You probably have somewhere around 1 ppm total desolved solids in your water. This is very high quality for human consumption. Assuming you live in a city whith chlorinated water you will notice that you have an activated charcoal filter in your systems. The purpose of the charcoal is to remove the chlorine out of the RO water just prior to dispensing. Chlorine is less complex than water and therefore passes through the membrane. Surprising as it is, the charcoal improves the taste of your water far more than the membrane.
Industrial grade pure water goes through multiple steps to achieve a very low TDS. Chlorine may be introduced to kill bacteria. An iron filter may be needed to remove very high concentrations of iron that would overload conventional water softeners. Water softening would be used to remove most of the remaining minerals. Reverse osmosis is then used to further reduce (mainly salts) the mineral content prior to multi-stage deionizing.
Your products are very, very good as the life expectency is longer than a refrigerator, therefore producing high quality water very cheaply. They don't compete in a scientific comparison to deionized bottled water though.
I also own an RO system and love it. Be aware that in order for the membranes to last the water should first be conditioned as salts are easier on the membrane than hard water minerals. The only reason I know this stuff is because I designed several systems for food processing plants and each plant had specific needs based on the incoming raw water.
If you can find KDF filled replacement filter cartridges instead of charcoal you will only need to replace the KDF once every five years instead of every six months or so. It also removes some nasty chemicals that can pass through an RO filter.