BajaNomad

Anybody have a Desalinization system?

Timinator - 6-4-2022 at 09:16 AM

I'm wondering if anybody has installed a DIY or an off the shelf desal system in their houses in Baja? If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

larryC - 6-4-2022 at 02:19 PM

I have had one in the past but it was too much trouble. Here in BoLA we can buy 5 gallons of drinking water for less than a dollar so why mess with it>

Alm - 6-4-2022 at 04:35 PM

Quote: Originally posted by larryC  
I have had one in the past but it was too much trouble. Here in BoLA we can buy 5 gallons of drinking water for less than a dollar so why mess with it>

...and city water there is cheaper yet, where available. Though by how soft it feels, one might just want to do RO. I wouldn't bother.

JDCanuck - 6-5-2022 at 07:58 AM

I also have an interest in further reducing scaling and Calcium/ Magnesium Carbonates deposits throughout the house, especially in hot water tanks. We have installed a TAC whole house conditioner, but this only reduces hot water scaling. Deposits remain a troublesome issue. Anyone found any inexpensive solutions that do not include wasteful back flushing of limited water supplies or salt based softeners?

Bob and Susan - 6-5-2022 at 08:50 AM

i check our water...

currently no bacteria
550 parts per million
drinking water is 12-15 parts per million

to desal you need a govt permit
and a place to dump the wastewater into a collection pit not the ocean

we use a "zero water" filter to reduce to 0 parts per million

Don Pisto - 6-5-2022 at 09:54 AM

just put a cup of this in your 5 gallon bottle

but seriously I installed an RO system and I use it to fill a bottle then turn it off, saves a bunch of water and makes the filters last longer with our well often going dry.

RFClark - 6-5-2022 at 06:46 PM

We ran an RO system for over 10 years. Our water is about 2700 ppm minerals. The RO took it down to about 100. We had an ion exchange filter for battery water that put out 10 ppm battery water. The system required an engineer to keep it working (Me)! When we were selling the house we changed over to 5 gal bottles of RO water from town with an ice maker filter and a pump. Works fine and it’s simpler. RO membranes require TLC!

dtbushpilot - 6-5-2022 at 08:03 PM

I have one in my boat, 12v, 8gph, works great. All of the water we use on the boat comes from the water maker, we don’t put water in the tank from outside sources. We have a 100gal tank on the boat, we wash everything down with fresh water, never salt water. Second best thing on the boat.

Alm - 6-6-2022 at 09:32 PM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho  
Quote: Originally posted by Alm  
...and city water there is cheaper yet, where available.

There are very few municipal water systems in Mexico which I would trust for potable water.

I didn't see anybody asking about potable, but wouldn't use tap water in Mexico for drinking or making meals - not without further treatment.

Alm - 6-6-2022 at 09:37 PM

Quote: Originally posted by RFClark  
We had an ion exchange filter for battery water that put out 10 ppm battery water.

Doesn't ion filter exchange work by exchanging hard minerals like calcium and magnesium for soft ones like sodium and potassium?

RFClark - 6-6-2022 at 09:51 PM

No, this was a resin bed filter that reduces the remaining minerals in the RO water. The resin bed changes color as it is used up. We’ve been running the AC units these last few days. I'll test the water produced for mineral content to see if it can be used for battery water. Between two units we’re probably generating 7-10 gal/day! It works for plants!

Alm - 6-7-2022 at 01:36 PM

Quote: Originally posted by RFClark  
No, this was a resin bed filter that reduces the remaining minerals in the RO water. The resin bed changes color as it is used up. We’ve been running the AC units these last few days. I'll test the water produced for mineral content to see if it can be used for battery water. Between two units we’re probably generating 7-10 gal/day! It works for plants!

Ah yes, this is a different resin. I wonder how well it would work on its own without RO.

RFClark - 6-7-2022 at 01:59 PM

Too Slow and expensive!

Alm - 6-7-2022 at 05:41 PM

Quote: Originally posted by RFClark  
Too Slow and expensive!

Got it. How do you measure minerals at these low concentrations, - some of those multicolor strips?

RFClark - 6-7-2022 at 05:58 PM

No, I have an electronic tester. It does sodium, Potassium and a couple of other things in ppm or ppt. Got it when we had a saltwater pool.

Bob and Susan - 6-8-2022 at 03:49 PM

tester

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333577552582