How to Choose Your Home RO System: Pure or Mineral Water?

Do I prefer a tank-based or direct-flow model?

To guide your decision, here is a list of the advantages and disadvantages of a tankless model, also known as a direct-flow model.

Explore the specifications of a tankless RO system

Advantages:

• No stagnation. You produce your RO water as you use it. This means it is of the highest possible quality.
• Saves space. Having no tank saves a significant amount of space under your sink.
• Higher production capacity. A 400, 600, or even 1,000 GPD membrane produces water much faster, at up to 3 liters per minute.

Disadvantages:

• More expensive. A direct-flow RO system requires a more powerful pump and a membrane with a larger surface area. Since these 2 parts are the most expensive components in the system, the price is necessarily higher.
• No reserve supply. Although a direct-flow RO system produces more water over the course of a day, its instantaneous flow rate is lower (0.8 to 1.1 liters per minute) than that of a tank (2.5 to 3 liters per minute). If you need small amounts of RO water quickly, a tank will save you time.

I'm choosing a tank-based RO system, but which one?

What is my incoming water pressure?

The ideal pressure for a home RO membrane is about 5 bar. Since the average pressure supplied by municipal water networks is 2 to 3 bar, we have equipped most of our RO systems with an electric booster pump that delivers 5 bar.

With an RO system without a pump (Basicos or Pure Balance Mini), you need higher pressure to achieve adequate efficiency : more than 4 bar for the Basicos and more than 3 bar for the Pure Balance Mini. Otherwise, you risk sending 3 to 6 times more water down the drain than you produce. The savings on your purchase will therefore diminish over time because of your excess water consumption. What's more, it is not very environmentally friendly...

If you want to increase this ratio to optimize your water consumption, we recommend choosing our RO system with a booster pump (Classicos/Deluxos or Pure Balance classic, for example). This gives you a ratio of 2:1; you discharge "only" 2 liters of wastewater to produce one liter of RO water.

Do I want to make managing my RO system as simple as possible?

Since the RO membrane, filters, and filter cartridges have limited lifespans, you need to remember to replace them regularly so your RO system maintains its efficiency.

For example, here are the recommended replacement intervals for each standard filter:

• PP filter every 6 months
• GAC filter every 12 months
• CTO filter every 12 months
• RO membrane every 24 months
• Post-membrane filter cartridge every 12 months.

We offer a model equipped with an electronic management system that:

• shows you the particle concentration (PPM) of the water leaving the membrane in real time.
• alerts you with an audible signal when a filter needs to be replaced. Still, be sure to follow the recommended intervals above if you only use your RO system occasionally. You can extend each filter's lifespan to as much as twice its usual length if you rarely use your RO system, but we advise against exceeding this limit to avoid any risk to your health and the condition of your RO system.
• notifies you with specific icons when a flush is in progress or if a problem occurs.
• triggers a 50-second flush every 72 h of inactivity to prevent water from stagnating too long inside the filter housings. 

Do I want extra protection?

The RO membrane removes all bacteria and viruses present in the water.

However, after prolonged stagnation in the tank, certain pathogens can appear and multiply. We therefore offer the option of adding a UV light chamber that sterilizes the water for extra protection.

I'm going with a direct-flow model. Which one should I choose?

Here are the advantages and disadvantages of our new Beastos model compared with more conventional models such as the Compactos and the Robustos Mini.

Advantages:

• Higher efficiency. You discharge less than 50 cl to produce one liter of RO water. 3 times less waste!
• Easy maintenance. With bayonet filter cartridges, maintaining your RO system takes less than 10 seconds per year, without even having to shut off the water.
• Better flow rate. You get up to 3 liters per minute, while our other direct-flow RO systems produce around 1 liter per minute (0.8 for the Robustos Mini, 1.05 for the Compactos, and 1.5 for the Optimos).

Disadvantages:

• More expensive maintenance. Since you need to replace the entire filter cartridge rather than just the filter media inside it, maintenance costs more.
• Model-specific filters. You will only find these filters with us. We also commit to offering them for at least 5 years if a model is discontinued (as with the Ultimos, for example, which we discontinued in 2019 and for which we still sell bayonet filter cartridges at their original price).

Which faucet should I choose?

We offer 9 different faucets.

The first two work the same way; only the design differs. To install them, you need to drill a hole in your sink (12mm) or your wall (angle bracket available upon request).

The other models require a standard-diameter hole (35mm).

Two-way faucets let you choose, for example, between RO water for drinking and drain water for washing your hands or dishes (provided you add a drain water storage tank to your RO system).

Three-way faucets replace your standard mixer faucet and let you avoid drilling into your countertop by bringing hot water, cold water, and RO water together in one place. They are therefore equipped with 2 handles and 2 outlets to prevent RO water from mixing with unfiltered water.

Four-way faucets work along the same lines as three-way faucets, but you have 2 inlets on the second handle, which potentially lets you choose between water with higher or lower mineral content, or between RO water and hydrogen water, for example.

Finally, we will soon offer a special faucet that lets you heat water instantly while selecting the water temperature.

Do I want mineral water?

Although our mineral needs are met through food (especially fruits and vegetables), some people with deficiencies may benefit from supplementing their mineral intake through drinking water. This is actually the marketing niche of several bottled water brands that we will not name...

To meet this need, we offer the option of adding a remineralization filter cartridge to your RO system. It contains minerals of marine origin, which are therefore much more bioavailable than those naturally present in water. This filter cartridge turns your RO water into lightly mineralized water as it passes through the cartridge.

We hope we have helped you make your choice and remain available for any further questions through the CONTACT section or the chat at the bottom of your screen.