Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: RSWindows on December 21, 2008, 06:46:05 pm
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Hi having realy big problems with my ionic pro-5. From start to finish...
the automatic water inlet valve wont open to let water into the system when i turn it on with the switch beside the pump switch, think its called the Solenoid. So bypassed it by removing the hose that leaves the Solenoid and put a hose-lock connector on there and attatched my mains tap hose
After that i could see the filters filling up and heard the water trickling away through the hoses. But the water is literally trickling into the tank (id say at about the flow rate of half a litre per minute) So checked the pressure as it enetered and left each filter section and it was flowing through all the chambers but i think the RO chamber is a sealed unit (could be wrong) but the preassure after leaving the RO is terrible/pathetic and its after it leaves the RO it goes direct to the tank so i think the problem is defo somewhere within or around the RO chamber. Is it an airlock? is the RO actually a sealed unit? Also when i turn on the pump i can hear it running but it doesnt seem to be pumping well as its not delivering to the pole. I have taken the connections off from the polishing chamber and there is water being pushed into it but none coming through and going out ???
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:( Anyone?
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Hi having realy big problems with my ionic pro-5. From start to finish...
the automatic water inlet valve wont open to let water into the system when i turn it on with the switch beside the pump switch, think its called the Solenoid. So bypassed it by removing the hose that leaves the Solenoid and put a hose-lock connector on there and attatched my mains tap hose
After that i could see the filters filling up and heard the water trickling away through the hoses. But the water is literally trickling into the tank (id say at about the flow rate of half a litre per minute) So checked the pressure as it enetered and left each filter section and it was flowing through all the chambers but i think the RO chamber is a sealed unit (could be wrong) but the preassure after leaving the RO is terrible/pathetic and its after it leaves the RO it goes direct to the tank so i think the problem is defo somewhere within or around the RO chamber. Is it an airlock? is the RO actually a sealed unit? Also when i turn on the pump i can hear it running but it doesnt seem to be pumping well as its not delivering to the pole. I have taken the connections off from the polishing chamber and there is water being pushed into it but none coming through and going out ???
Hi,
1) The solenoid won't switch on and off if the battery is low, so check this.
You can switch on the solenoid and pump with a battery charger connected, you might want to see if this helps?
2) Solenoids can jam shut, a quick sharp tap with a hammer will sometimes free them, but don't go nuts in case this isn't the problem!
3) What is the water pressure on the inlet dial?
You might need a booster pump
4) Have you played about with the waste tap? It is a black tap just above the RO. It may take a while for the waste flow to alter, and minor changes can affect the flow greatly, so be patient. You want a good balance of waste/pure production.
5) Pure water production is slow, especially if your tap pressure is low - normal. Someone I know had this pro 5, it took nearly all night to fill 300l tank, so don't expect miracles.
I've tried to make this as concise as possible, there's probably loads more to say and explain, but this might get you going or answer some of your q's!
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i will try the hammer trick in the morning, bus as for my tap pressure mine is really quite fierce if i dont turn it down so dont think that is the problem. as for the low battery and solenoid problems (i thaught the same) but i ran a set of jump leads from my van battery while van was running and retryed the solenoid with power from van+alternator but still no joy :-\
Thanks for the reply tho!
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Well, you might have the same problem as me!
My water pressure is 180PSi + which is too much for the solenoid, and it won't turn on.
Try disconnecting the water from the inlet to solenoid, making sure there is no pressure behind it, then try switching the solenoid, if it clicks (as if it would turn on) then the pressure is probably the problem.
I have to switch on the solenoid, then go and turn the water on gradually at the tap, until the pressure guage is pointing to 6 o'clock.
Let me know how you get on!
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Anything below50psi is not only slow it doesn't help the life span of the RO, my water pressure from the tap fills the tank at only 35/40 psi so i use a booster pump and fill it at 70psi. The result is 450ltrs of water in 6 to 8 hrs depending on time of year and the water filling into the tank reads 002/004.
Anthony :)
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It sounds like water pressure to me and it`s not just ionic systems that do this they all can from time to time,mine did this and the valve wasn`t opening to let water in.Eventually i turned on the system before water and it began filling.
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Anything below50psi is not only slow it doesn't help the life span of the RO, my water pressure from the tap fills the tank at only 35/40 psi so i use a booster pump and fill it at 70psi. The result is 450ltrs of water in 6 to 8 hrs depending on time of year and the water filling into the tank reads 002/004.
Anthony :)
So for 300L about 5-6hrs is normal? :o I thaught with it being an Ionic system things would have been a bit more....well, fast.
think my water pressure is about 95psi and the water in the tank is 001ppm so resin should last quite a while :D
Ohh btw whilst on the subject is it true that you can only use Ionics resin for the Resin chamber? i know Ionic stuff changes colour and all that jazzy stuff but tbh i dont give a monkeys about colour changing resin, so does any resin work in the chamber?
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if you have a refillable resin chamber then yes you can use purolite, dowex, tulsion, bayer etc
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It sounds like you've just bought this system second hand and are having problems with it, how old is the system, has the RO filter ever been replaced, how many litres have been put through the system?
The best thing to do is contact Roy at Ionics 08452266001 and he will go through everything for you. I have a copy of the operators manual on email if you would like a copy.
We have a PRO 6 Thermopure and it is a great system.
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Anything below50psi is not only slow it doesn't help the life span of the RO, my water pressure from the tap fills the tank at only 35/40 psi so i use a booster pump and fill it at 70psi. The result is 450ltrs of water in 6 to 8 hrs depending on time of year and the water filling into the tank reads 002/004.
Anthony :)
So for 300L about 5-6hrs is normal? :o I thaught with it being an Ionic system things would have been a bit more....well, fast.
think my water pressure is about 95psi and the water in the tank is 001ppm so resin should last quite a while :D
Ohh btw whilst on the subject is it true that you can only use Ionics resin for the Resin chamber? i know Ionic stuff changes colour and all that jazzy stuff but tbh i dont give a monkeys about colour changing resin, so does any resin work in the chamber?
The Resin cannister is not refillable, it is sealed and needs to be replaced each time it expires, at around £90 a time, I believe. (For the DI resin, the one at the bottom)
It would be more cost effective to buy a DI vessel, which can be refilled with resin when necessary.
The Top one, the softener resin, can be recharged with salt.
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It sounds like you've just bought this system second hand and are having problems with it, how old is the system, has the RO filter ever been replaced, how many litres have been put through the system?
The best thing to do is contact Roy at Ionics 08452266001 and he will go through everything for you. I have a copy of the operators manual on email if you would like a copy.
We have a PRO 6 Thermopure and it is a great system.
Yes a copy would be most helpfull! Thanks
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have you contacted ionics
surely that should be your starting point otherwise you could invalidate any warranty you had with the system
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System is second hand, no warranty. Called ionic systems and they think RO needs replaced :-\
£600 for new RO or £400 for new membrane expensive for problem finding if this is not the problem with the water flow but what can you do?!?
Am i right in saying that the Solenoid only is of use to allowing tap water through the system? or does it serve another purpouse?
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You didn't get the system off A.D. did you ???
I don't know much about r/o but they are painfully slow. You may need a booster pump.
Loads of people have got rid of the expensive Ionics Resin tube and replaced it with a normal DI Vessel.
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System is second hand, no warranty. Called ionic systems and they think RO needs replaced :-\
£600 for new RO or £400 for new membrane expensive for problem finding if this is not the problem with the water flow but what can you do?!?
Am i right in saying that the Solenoid only is of use to allowing tap water through the system? or does it serve another purpouse?
The solenoid also switches off the water when the tank is full
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System is second hand, no warranty. Called ionic systems and they think RO needs replaced :-\
£600 for new RO or £400 for new membrane expensive for problem finding if this is not the problem with the water flow but what can you do?!?
Am i right in saying that the Solenoid only is of use to allowing tap water through the system? or does it serve another purpouse?
600 quid buys you ALOT of RO unit elsewhere, if the case is that its gone, i would be looking at a RO from somewhere else
OH and YES, ditch the Ionics Resin tube, its just a license for them to print money ;) get a DI cylinder and fill it yourself
ref the Solenoid, now i havent seen the Ironics system, but could you by-pass the valve, run the pipe from your tap to the first tube of the RO system, this would by-pass it, wouldnt it ? ? ? ? trace where the pipe goes from the solenoid and just plumb the pipe from your tap into the first port of call
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You didn't get the system off A.D. did you ???
I don't know much about r/o but they are painfully slow. You may need a booster pump.
Loads of people have got rid of the expensive Ionics Resin tube and replaced it with a normal DI Vessel.
I got rid of mine and replaced it with a DI vessel and it works so much faster.
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Ive got a 3 year old Pro 5 Thermopure and it takes ages to fill. I bought the RO Man 900-2000 system and fill a static during the day and pump the water to the vans at night. I would use that sort of money Ionics want to get a static set up. I was going through there resin every 2.5-3 months at £80 quid a throw.
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System is second hand, no warranty. Called ionic systems and they think RO needs replaced :-\
£600 for new RO or £400 for new membrane expensive for problem finding if this is not the problem with the water flow but what can you do?!?
Am i right in saying that the Solenoid only is of use to allowing tap water through the system? or does it serve another purpouse?
Check the TDS of the water immediately after the RO if you can (preferably with a manual TDS meter). If that has climbed appreciably, then that would probably confirm the need for a new membrane. As for the water production, it depends what sort of RO Ionics use. Not sure but I think they use a 4040 so expectinbg a bit more out of it is reasonable. My RO (a Merlin) only manages about 30 litres an hour but that's at 40 PSI. I don't mind because my RO isn't in the van which means it is producing pure until the static tank fills without tying up the van - i.e. it produces enough for my requirements.
If you do change the membrane, unless you know for certain that the pre-filters have been very recently changed, it would be a good idea to change those pre-filters too otherwise you might end up ruining a new membrane.
Switching away from the sealed colour change resain containers will save you money over time. There is the initial outlay for a DI vessel but you will soon recover that back (and more) in lower costs. Of course it also depends on how much importance you place on the looks of the system. Having a DI vessel might look less pleasing to the eye that a blue, vertical resin bottle but the custies don't tend to see inside the van anyway.
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right lets go back to the solenoid the water MUST be off when you connect
the hose to the van and the solenoid MUST be open as if its shut and you
connect the water the pressure of the water will be too great and the solenoid
wont open right. got that........ok
Make sure solenoid open water off then switch on the tap and bingo!! should
work fine as this is what mine did or will do?!! >:(
Make sure you backwash at least once a week if not daily
We put a 25 ltr di on and its lasts nearly a year
if you need any help email me v8edd@hotmail.co.uk your number glad to help Edd
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ref the Solenoid, now i havent seen the Ironics system, but could you by-pass the valve, run the pipe from your tap to the first tube of the RO system, this would by-pass it, wouldnt it ? ? ? ? trace where the pipe goes from the solenoid and just plumb the pipe from your tap into the first port of call
Yes you can bypass the solenoid easily if you wish, but it will overfill/flow if you forget to turn the water off, and you won't have use of the water meter.
right lets go back to the solenoid the water MUST be off when you connect
the hose to the van and the solenoid MUST be open as if its shut and you
connect the water the pressure of the water will be too great and the solenoid
wont open right. got that........ok
Water pressure of 95psi shouldn't affect the solenoid, it should work ok up to about 120psi, or possibly more.
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You didn't get the system off A.D. did you ???
I don't know much about r/o but they are painfully slow. You may need a booster pump.
Loads of people have got rid of the expensive Ionics Resin tube and replaced it with a normal DI Vessel.
Might just do that when this stuff turns brown. BTW who is A.D? the guy i got this from's first initial was A so what does the initials stand for?
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Matt: Already have by-passed the Solenoid, not got much time just now to mess about with it so thats why i just by-passed it but i will make time to try fix the thing before new year.
Shiner: water after RO going into tank is between 002,001 and 000 PPM so it is doing the job...just really slowly!
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You didn't get the system off A.D. did you ???
I don't know much about r/o but they are painfully slow. You may need a booster pump.
Loads of people have got rid of the expensive Ionics Resin tube and replaced it with a normal DI Vessel.
Might just do that when this stuff turns brown. BTW who is A.D? the guy i got this from's first initial was A so what does the initials stand for?
Andrew Davidson, sound guy.
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ahh no not Andrew, travelled to London for it on Saturday. Loooooooooong painfull drive!
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HANTS what the hell do you know have you got an Ionic machine coz I have and
it DEFIANTLY will NOT let you put any running water in with the solenoid closed
and then flick the switch as the water pressure will CERTAINLY hold it shut I know for sure
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Matt: Already have by-passed the Solenoid, not got much time just now to mess about with it so thats why i just by-passed it but i will make time to try fix the thing before new year.
Shiner: water after RO going into tank is between 002,001 and 000 PPM so it is doing the job...just really slowly!
Ok. Sounds like the membrane is just fine then. I asked about TDS because when a membrane is nearing the end of its useful life, a rapid slowdown in production usually goes hand in hand with rapid climbing of the TDS.
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Sent you copy of manual
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Sent you copy of manual
Recieved with thanks and appreciation!
Anyone in Central Scotland here got one of these systems? Willing to travel anywhere across the central belt for some problem solving advice!
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www.centralwindowcleaning.co.uk/base.swf
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Who is it that owns this company, you think they will be willing to help?
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Forgotten his name but okay chap to speak to even though last time I checked he was not licensed.
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LOL!