Hot tub water filter for spot-free washing?

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

[: is a measure of the combined content of all inorganic and organic substances contained in a liquid in: molecular, ionized or micro-granular (colloidal sol) suspended form. Generally the operational definition is that the solids must be small enough to survive filtration through a sieve the size of two micrometre]



a) Total dissolved solids (TDS) measured in grains per gallon (GPG)

• Soft Water- 0 to 1 grains per gallon

• Slightly Hard Water- 1 to 3.5 grains per gallon

• Moderately Hard Water- 3.5 to 7 grains per gallon

• Hard Water - 7 to 10.5 grains per gallon

• Very Hard Water - over 10.5 grains per gallon



Note: Grain per gallon is a unit of water hardness defined as 1 grain of calcium carbonate dissolved in 1 US gallon of water. 1 milligram/litre (ppm) = 0.058417831 grain/gallon (US)



b) Minerality - Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) measured in milligrams per litre (ppm)

• Super low- 0 - 50 milligrams per litre (mg/l)

• Low - 50 - 250 mg/l

• Medium - 250 - 800 mg/l

• High - 800 - 1,500 mg/l

• Very High - > 1,500 mg/l



Another thing to consider is to have a flow rate (~ 2-3 gallons per minute GPM) that produces enough water and pressure to be able to wash a vehicle with ease.

 
I received mine a couple days ago but have not used it. I primarily want to use it for my hot tub which is salt based, therefore it must not have any water hardness. Is this device suppose to make water harder? From the measurement taken and the chart it appears 128 ppm is considered low or "soft". The problem is that it was lower coming from the tap (115 ppm). How can it make water harder? I don't understand.
 
mikemurphy234 said:
Charlie, let me know what you find.



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Thanks for the feedback Mike! I will let you know how mine compares; the initial samples I took of water from my tap were showing pretty high so we'll see if that leads to different findings.



In your opinion, do you think the filter's performance would improve after more water has been run through it? Or, would it show a different result if the water were harder to begin with?
 
Charlie, the directions said flush for 30 seconds. I probably ran it for 20 minutes total. I started with low flow than increased to about half throttle. After I was done testing I opened the valve all the way and the flow was the same so that tells me it restricts flow quite a bit.



As for why the reads went up. All it could have been is something in the media dissolved\mixed with the water.



Keep in mind TDS's can be many, many things, so if what you have in your water can be filtered by this media than your readings should go down. But for a final spotless rinse I don't believe it will work.
 
mikemurphy234 said:
Charlie, the directions said flush for 30 seconds. I probably ran it for 20 minutes total. I started with low flow than increased to about half throttle. After I was done testing I opened the valve all the way and the flow was the same so that tells me it restricts flow quite a bit.



As for why the reads went up. All it could have been is something in the media dissolved\mixed with the water.



Keep in mind TDS's can be many, many things, so if what you have in your water can be filtered by this media than your readings should go down. But for a final spotless rinse I don't believe it will work.
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TDS meters are, in reality, conductivity meters. They work by applying a voltage between two or more electrodes. Positively charged ions (e.g., sodium, Na+; calcium, Ca++; magnesium, Mg++; hydrogen ion, H+; etc.) will move toward the negatively charged electrode, and negatively charged ions (e.g., chloride, Cl-; sulphate, SO4--; bicarbonate, HCO3-; etc.) will move toward the positively charged electrode.

Because these ions are charged and moving, they constitute an electrical current. The meter then monitors how much current is passing between the electrodes as a gauge of how many ions are in solution.



“Filtration Methods” - http://www.autopia.org/forum/guide-detailing/137955-filtration-methods.html#post1465231
 
mikemurphy234 said:
Charlie, the directions said flush for 30 seconds. I probably ran it for 20 minutes total. I started with low flow than increased to about half throttle. After I was done testing I opened the valve all the way and the flow was the same so that tells me it restricts flow quite a bit.



As for why the reads went up. All it could have been is something in the media dissolved\mixed with the water.



Keep in mind TDS's can be many, many things, so if what you have in your water can be filtered by this media than your readings should go down. But for a final spotless rinse I don't believe it will work.
Click to expand...



Well, I pretty much duplicated your test, and the results were just about duplicated as well. Straight from the hose, I got a reading of 201ppm, with the filter (run for about the same amount of time as you indicated) the reading was 212ppm.



So much for that little experiment!
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
Well, I pretty much duplicated your test, and the results were just about duplicated as well. Straight from the hose, I got a reading of 201ppm, with the filter (run for about the same amount of time as you indicated) the reading was 212ppm.



So much for that little experiment!
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im actually curious for my hot tub here as im on well water.... what were your readings before the filter?
 
dirtydirty said:
im actually curious for my hot tub here as im on well water.... what were your readings before the filter?
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Before filter = 201ppm



After filter = 212ppm



And that is with municipal water.
 
well this sucks. ha, sorry to those who spent their money. maybe contact the mfg and see what's up/request a refund. I would.
 
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