RO vs Distilled Water, no contest

Community
#1

I started like most, buying distilled water from the supermarket and lugging it to my place. I got sick of that quickly and bought a distiller to stop all of the lugging around. This was definitely an improvement as I could just add tap water to the machine and 4 hours later I would have a gallon of perfect distilled water.

While this was an improvement, the cost of the electricity and time made it seem less and less of a great idea. I did this for months until I started to look into RO systems. When I first looked at them I saw many in the neighborhood of $300 and that was way too much to spend for a part time grower.

Then I found it, insert inspirational musicā€¦ ahhhhh

AQUATICLIFE Aquatic Life RO Buddie Plus DI Four Stage Reverse Osmosis Deionization Unit 50 GPD

It is only $59.99 and can produce 1,500 gallons of perfect water. That works out to $.04 per gallon. Score! No brainer and was VERY easy to set up. Did I mention it only takes 30 min to make a gallon instead of 4 hours with zero increase in electricity, win win win

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RO or distilled
#2

Looks Like A GREAT Buy!!!
Getting One For My Dogsā€¦ :smiley:
But Iā€™ll Just Use It A Bitā€¦ :rofl::rofl:

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#3

I use one as well. They will raise you water bill a bit because they do waste as much or more what than they make but still a better option that what you had for sure.

#4

I donā€™t pay for water where I live but I do pay for electricity.

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#5

Bruh!!! You ainā€™t lying! And surprisingly, my RO water has a better ph than the distilled from the store (I assume from plastics and/or shipping) which saves on my nute bottles too. Plus, im drinking RO water as opposed to the distilled i was buying specifically for the grobo. An RO system for my grobo and drinking water has been a complete game changer. I brew kombucha too and the difference is in flavor is very apparent in straight tap city water vs through RO. When/if I move, I will always have a system that filters like this. I can even tell a difference in how my animals drink the water. The health benefits from growing my own herb far extend the quality of bud I have. Its infiltrated my entire lifestyle for the better :raised_hands:

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#6

:wave:!
Been using this from day 1 :wink:

Not the most economic way I Fully Admit :flushed:!
but certainly one of the Easiest :wink:!:+1:!

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#7

As long as it is putting out zero PPM water then it is great.

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#8

Had terrible reviews mostly saying that after installed and tested there was no difference in ppm.
Did you test yours? Interested to know if the reviews were right!
Plus it cost $75 in thd U.S. :eyes::seedling:

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#9

LOVE IT!

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#10

Amen @Chad_Johnson - everything tastes better. The food I prepare. This is all I drink. ā€¦not counting wine :wine_glass:

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#11

Pets deserve the best. šŸˆā€ā¬›

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#12

That has a high waste percentage, many have 3:1
It is also expensive and only yields 1,000 gallons before 2 different new filters will need to be replaced, then another filter will need replacing after 2,000 gallons.

The RO buddie lasts 1,500 until the deionizer cartridge goes then 3,000 for the other filters. Iā€™m always looking for inexpensive and while yours looks like a Ferrari, I will stick with my Honda.

#13

Odd, I drive a Honda :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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#14

Isnā€™t it dependent upon the water that comes into it?

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#15

Yes, how hard the water is does matter how fast the filter fills. I am using the info the companies provided is all. I have a friend who goes 500 gallons over the recommendations and still has zero PPM. My current cost since I donā€™t pay for water at my home works out to less than $.06 per gallon and itā€™s in my spare bathroom instead of the supermarket. :wink:

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#16

Installed this in kitchen sink. Ran a line to the grobo, and the ice maker in the freezer. June 2020. No replacements so far surprisingly! Was looking for tankless.

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#17

Looks like mine is somewhere in between. I didnt go with the $60 unit but definitely not the $400 either. Lol. Mine was $229ā€¦ I didnt really know what to get though, I just read lots of reviews and took a stab. Its been awesomeā€¦ I will confess that my ppm isnā€™t hitting 0. Its getting down under 5 though :man_shrugging:

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#18

I am on well waterā€¦it is quite alkaline so I do go thru a lot of PH down solutionā€¦so far I only use the two filters that allow water into my homeā€¦a spin down sediment filter & a Culligan whole house filter. (I do also have a Brita filter on my faucet for my drinking/cooking water but have not found the need to filter that fully for plants). I have plans for a kitchen remodel with a RO under sink unit included.

All plants are thriving. I do not use any nasty weed killers or pesticides on my propertyā€¦I suspect they did so in the past. I think I am making some progress on convincing my neighbors that flowering weeds are good so no need to pour nasty chemicals into the ground. Working on getting my community back to more natural weed/pest control. I think I have convinced at least one of my neighbors that flowering weeds are still ā€œflowersā€ and so beneficial as they bring in birds, bees, butterflies & so many other species that rely on nature.

Rather than completely changing your water system, find out first what is and is not in your waterā€¦then you know what to subtract & what to add. Additionally, a consultation with experts (yepā€¦all those peeps on the all growers community are an amalgamation of agricultural newbies, apprentices, masters, & doctors) will cost you much less than experimenting when you are dealing with large output productions (I am not). Pick brains on the forum to find out who has botany experience, chemistry education, etcā€¦then read a lot, filter a lotā€¦and apply what makes sense. Probably not a first thought or option for a new grower, but anyone with a modern farming background will understand the logic.

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#19

Wine is relegated to the smallest part of our nutritional pyramid. I, for one, am trying to move it up (or down) the pyramid to gain a much more respectable position.

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#20

Can I buy real reverse osmosis water from a store?

1 Like