I have 2 clinics within about 7 miles of each other having the same problem.

The RO conductivity spikes during the day/week randomly . It will be 5 us one day then shoot up to 40 us the next day. I'm new at these clinics and have been told this has been going on for 2 years.

My ph meter is down-but I suspect this is the problem- PH spikes from the city.

Previous techs have changed/cleaned membranes w/ sometimes positive short term results.Also scavenger tanks were installed in one clinic. Again-it worked for a while then same problem.

My question is-what can be done if indeed the ph spikes are the cause of the problem?

You have an interesting problem. Is the same water supplied to both clinics? If so, do the spikes happen on the same days?

Before doing something to correct the pH problem, you need to prove it is actually the pH that is causing the problem. You may need to install a inline pH probe and an inline conductivity probe to prove this is the problem. And, if you haven't already done so, you need to take a sample of the RO product water when the conductivity is at 40 or higher to demonistrate that this water still meets the AAMI guidelines. If the water still meets the AAMI guidelines, technically, you don't need to do anything.

pH can be very critical. It affects the ability of the carbon to remove chlorine. It changes some impurities from the ionic form to a non-ionic form. This can impact the performance of your RO since the RO loves to reject ions, but doesn't reject non-ions unless they are very large like bacteria.

If this is a city water supply, you may want to talk to your local water companies. Chances are, they have been dealing with this issue for many years, and have found ways to dampen the problem.

If it is pH, you can install a chemical feed system (soda ash to raise the pH; white vinegar, citric acid, or hydrochloric acid to lower the pH - I don't recommend using sulfuric acid). These systems can get a signal from your pH probe to vary the amount of chemical added. There are also flow-through Neutralizing Filters that can be installed to maintain a more constant pH. If you use soda ash to raise the pH, you might want to consider installing it after your softener so it does not impact the performance of the softener.

There are guidelines in the AAMI documents concerning chemical feed systems. The chemical you inject should not negatively impact the performance of the filters downstream and should not negatively impact the AAMI quality water.

chief,
What's your feed conductivity doing, consistant?
B

I did confirm the same water plant is feeding both clinics.

The feed condo is not consistent -varies between 360us and 460us.

I have not been able to confirm the ph yet though I suspect this is where the problem lies.

Seems like I had this problem before and found out it was on days when my softener was regenerating. My softner was not working correctly and I was getting salt into my ro.