High Capacity Commercial / Industrial Reverse Osmosis Units
Differences with Smaller Domestic Reverse Osmosis
NEW Whole House Reverse Osmosis
About Larger Reverse Osmosis Units
Fitting Larger Reverse Osmosis Units
Choosing The Correct Size Unit
The Difference Between Large and Small Domestic Reverse Osmosis
Small domestic-type Reverse Osmosis (RO) units typically are sited undersink and feed a single, dedicated tap in your kitchen.
The way they work is they slowly fill up a small pressurised tank which is an integral part of the RO unit and usually sits next to the RO filter under your sink or nearby.
Every time you draw water from the tank, for example by having a glass of water, the RO slowly replaces the same amount of water back into the tank.
You won’t notice how slow the RO filtering process is unless you completely empty the tank in one go - which at a tank capacity of 9 Litres plus is unlikely.
About Larger Reverse Osmosis Units
Large RO's but will typically work by feeding water into a larger header tank. This is what we would term a "bucket" tank. As oppsoed to the small RO pressurised tank usually operating "on demand" with an "on/off" relay switch.
(Warning there is no such thing as “on demand RO”. Despite some claims, it simply does not work like that. The RO has to feed into a tank from which you draw the water.)
The amount of water you use can be determined by the size of the tank ie fill it as high as you need and then draw the water from it.
For example, our whole of house Reverse Osmosis
is usually used with a 1000L or 2000L Storage Tank.
Considering that the average UK house uses 150 Litres per person per day this is usually more than enough.
But it's also used in some industrial settings with larger storage tanks.
Very Large Reverse Osmosis Units
These large RO's are fairly maintenance light - the filters need monitoring and changing every few months.
But even bigger RO's need more looking after.
You need to watch the pressure and generally keep an eye on them.
It’s a bit like looking after a car - well, at least in the old days - where you needed to keep an eye on your oil and water levels etc.
This might be why in a domestic setting it is typically wealthier people who would have a large whole of house RO system. It's not so much the capital outlay but because they usually have people working for them who take care of the ongoing maintenance.
In a factory or business this need to monitor / maintain is easy. For a member of staff it is not usually at all onerous. it just needs to be done regularly.
If you want a large RO whole of house filter and you don’t have the staff, and don’t want the hassle of doing it yourself, you need to ask yourself whether you really need it There is probably a better solution for you. Feel free to contact us to discuss your requirements.
Another consideration for residential uses is that the pumps on these larger RO units are noisy. You’d normally situate the unit in its own room / utility room. So you need a suitably sized property.
Fitting Very Large Reverse Osmosis Units
They are also a bit of a palaver to install - but admittedly that’s the plumber's problem.
On that point: fitting one of our large RO’s is not a complex job for a competent qualified plumber. But you might need to install a header tank if you don’t already have one.
Be careful: a side effect of RO is that it turns water more acidic. Besides a possible negative health effect of drinking acidic water over the long term, it is highly likely to act on copper pipes and dissolve copper into your water - which can turn your hair blue! There are remedies to this but you need to be aware of this if you want to use the RO water for bathing.
Note about Hard Water Areas
In hard water areas a water softener is required before any large RO to protect the membrane from scaling.
Waste Water
Note. As part of the RO process approx 70% of the water entering the system will be rejected as “waste water”. (The exact amount depends on your local water quality). If you are on a water meter this can add to your costs.
Choosing The Correct Size Unit
Our Models
Whole House Reverse Osmosis
This unit can be used for commercial settings aswell
Full Details
The Flow-King RO40
The Flow-King RO130
Our Standard Domestic RO
