Hydroponics High Flow Reverse Osmosis Filters Review
REAL World Hydro Filter Flow Rate Testing
[quote]The results were very surprising. So much, in fact, we ran the test twice just be sure we could believe what we were seeing in terms of how much product water each RO Filtration could deliver in a Five Minute period.[/quote]
In our hydroponics high flow reverse osmosis filter review we tested two models, the Hydrologic Evolution-RO 1000 and the Ideal H2O 1200 in order to asses which one would give hydroponic gardeners the best value where larger volumes of reverse osmosis (RO) filtered water are required.
Both are popular choices in the hydroponic marketplace, making them the perfect candidates for our hydroponics high flow reverse osmosis filter review.
The results were very surprising. So much, in fact, we ran the test twice just be sure we could believe what we were seeing in terms of how much product water each RO Filtration could deliver in a Five Minute period.
In this particular hydroponics high flow reverse osmosis filter review, we are not testing for water quality because A) We are not an analytical laboratory and B) Most RO systems deliver very pure product water when used as directed, ie our Truncheon TDS/PPM/EC tester reads ZERO on either sample. That’s a different article for a different day.
These high flow rate RO systems are intended for use by hydroponic growers who are looking to fill reservoirs more quickly or who have much larger volume reservoirs to fill. For example, each of our UC Pro systems in the research greenhouse required around 600L of water to fill capacity–waiting for a day for a hobby sized unit to fill the system isn’t practical, and the of further benefit is that higher flow rate models tend to produce much less waste water as a ratio to product water.
The Filters
The Test
Objective: Determine how much Product Water (purified) could be collected from each of the systems in a 5 minute period in a real world situation.
To ensure an even test, we kept the water supply on, exactly as it was when disconnecting one of the systems and installing the other for testing purposes. This helps to make sure that water pressure, water temperature and water quality remain identical through our test. Changes in temperature, pressure or water quality could potentially effect the outcome of the test.
Results: We were so surprised by the results during our first test that we decided to replicate the test and capture on video-see Youtube video below
What’s So Surprising?
To get right down to it, the Ideal H2O 1200 model is rated for producing up to 1200 Gallons per Day of product water, while the Evolution-RO 1000 is rated for 1000 Gallons per Day of product water.
A “no-brainer”, seemingly, right? The one with a higher rated output should give us more product water, all things remaining equal.
That said, the Hydrologic Evolution-RO 1000 system delivered TWICE as much product water in the timed 5 minute period--SEE the video BELOW for the actual test. Yes, the unit with a LOWER rating is producing nearly twice as much–with a similar waste water ratio and product water quality.
NOTE, we made sure to use the Hydrologic Waste Reducer fitting (supplied as an option) so that BOTH RO Filtration systems would be operating at 1:1 ratios (product water versus waste water)
[youtube width=”560″ height=”315″ video_id=”EKw2X2fOo8I”]
Why and How?
We spoke with Rich Gellert, President of Hydrologic Purification Systems (a leading world expert in water filtration for hydroponics growing) about the results. He wasn’t nearly as surprised as we were.
“The Evolution-RO1000 is a proprietary designed and made Reverse Osmosis filter, that goes far beyond using common off the shelf water filtration components. The Evolution-RO1000 is the culmination of everything I’ve learned about water filtration for mid scale hydroponics here at Hydrologic. Have a look at the components, especially the RO membranes themselves. The membranes use a revolutionary, high flow material that can operate beautifully at standard household water pressures.
They are very unique and there is nothing like them anywhere. These are actually designed to perform to their rated specifications, just looking at them you can see they look much longer than the standard RO membranes you might see in other filtration systems. In my many years of experience designing and manufacturing water purification systems I have learned some hard and universal facts about what certain RO membranes can do in terms of flow rate without sacrificing product water quality–that’s why I designed my own.
Nothing off the shelf really cut the mustard and lived up to its claimed flow rates. Looking at some of the so called competition, I will say to you that it’s physically impossible for the membranes used by others to perform at the flow rate specification they are giving in the instance you mentioned–anybody with experience in water filtration knows this”
Conclusion
Buyer beware, as always. If you are thinking about this level of investment in water purification for your gardening needs or otherwise, be sure to ask around and even request a demonstration at your favorite hydroponic retail outlet to see what people like you think about the filter you have in mind for real world situations–or drop us a line here at Grozine, and if we can, we’ll do the test and share it with all.