IV. Before You Begin Installation
These RO units come pre-assembled on the bracket will all connections in place. These units are wet
tested for leaking before they are sent to ensure there are no leaks due to assembly. Due to transit, fittings
and other components may become loosened or damaged.
Ensure the system is inspected for
damages prior to employing a plumber for installation.
V. What is Reverse Osmosis
The Reverse Osmosis Membrane is the workhorse of any RO system. It is constructed from a wrapped
semi-permeable membrane material that uses pressure to separate impurities such as ions, minerals and
other larger molecules from the water, carrying them to waste.
*Reverse Osmosis membranes do not have a L Capacity for filter replacements due to the variables that
can make the filter life vary significantly. This is mostly due to the water quality. The most accurate way to
test an RO membrane for effectiveness is to use a TDS Meter. TDS meters measure the total dissolved
solids in ppm in the water. To test your membrane, get a baseline reading out of your tap (unfiltered water)
and then compare that to a reading directly off the membrane (disconnect the tube before it goes into the
post filter cartridge). You can expect to get a difference of approx. 90-98% between the readings which
indicate that the membrane is functioning correctly. If this % is beginning to drop below 90% it suggests
that the RO membrane requires replacement.
VI. Example Applications
The LSRO commercial systems are fairly versatile and are suitable for a range of different uses. There are
3 main applications for these systems;
Manufacturing Water, Bore Water TDS Reduction & Medical
Sterilisation
Manufacturing Water
generally required town water to be filtered through the RO membranes to reduce or
remove the dissolved solids from the water. These systems are favoured to produce this water ‘in house’
rather than purchasing commercial quantities of de-mineralised or distilled water which can be costly. Most
mains water applications are straight forward however some water supplies contain higher levels of
hardness which may require treating before the system.
Bore Water
filtration is used when the water meets specific conditions where an RO unit will be suitable to
remove elevated salt levels in the water (generally TDS <2,000 mg/L*). Where salt levels exceed the
ADWG and need to be removed to supply potable water to a household.
Medical Sterilisation
; it is now a requirement for dental & medical industries to utilise reverse o
de-i UV sanitised water for use in equipment sterilisation. These systems can feed 0 TDS water
into Autoclave systems for the compliant sterilisation of medical equipment. (UV system not included).
VII. Installation with other Systems
It is common for these systems to be supplied with other additional filtration systems for different
applications. The most common of these would be a Water Softener. Below are some example scenarios.
NOTE: These are just guidelines and may be different depending on the requirements of the job. Check
with the client or supplier as to which type of installation order is required for not standard installations.
UV Systems
: There are 2 ways to utilise UV with an RO system
1. UV can be used to sanitise the incoming feed water into an RO system. This is generally required on
scenarios where there are high or potential bacterial loading levels in the feed water. Bacteria can severely
affect an RO system performance and may cause Bio-Fouling. UV is used to eliminate or significantly
reduce bacteria.
2. Post storage sanitation is required if your RO water is filtering into a storage tank. This is the same
principle as treating rain water from a tank into your house. While RO water is generally free from
contamination, it is possible for the stored water to become contaminated especially if the tank is not sealed
or mixed with rain water.
Water Softener:
Water softening is generally used when the feed water hardness, iron or manganese
exceeds the feed water requirements for the RO system (outlined in Technical Overview Sec. II.). A
Reverse Osmosis System is much more efficient at removing salts such as sodium chloride, rather than
hardness (calcium carbonate). Hardness produces scale and this scale can block a membrane or increase
the rate at which the membranes need to be chemically treated with an acid for de-scaling. It is better to
