Questions - Kinetico Plus Deluxe VX

[CRMW]

I have a Kinetico Plus Deluxe VX RO system & the quickflo storage tank, and was wondering:

I was told the system meters the water usage and I don't need to replace filters until the water stops flowing. Is this true or was it a sales pitch?

How does the system meter the water? I had to remove the pre & post filters yesterday, does this affect the metering?

I hooked up a fridge to the system and the flow from the chilled water is very slow, approx 1 min for 300 ml, compared to the faucet on the system. Are there any issues with the distance of the water line from the tank to the device? The faucet has about a 3 foot line and the fridge is on a 25 foot line.

Are there cheaper places than the dealer to pick up filters? They are about 18 months old, I am looking for a 9309A prefilter and a 9307A postfilter.

Thanks,

Chris

[Andy CWS]

The system does meter the water dispensed. It is geared for 500 gallons. There is a "puremometer" indicator (small blue pin) that gives a visual indication of approximately when your filters need to be replaced.

The metering device is in the final filter. You can see the spinner at the top of the filter when you remove it. So it is not a sales pitch or marketing ploy. Removing the filter and replacing it will reset the 500-gallon mark. If you replace the original, it will resume the actual count when removed. It is tamper-proof.

Also, the VX filter is a carbon block, The GX is a GAC filter. The carbon block will inhibit flow somewhat. The VX is more effective and has higher certification at removing contaminants.

Many fridge lines have 50+ feet of 1/4 line in the fridge. This will slow the water due to both line restriction and length because of friction. Have you removed the fridge filter? Trying taking it out; it may increase a bit.

Since they are proprietary filters, a may have to get them from a Kinetico dealer once every 18 months.

Does this help?

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

[CRMW]

Thanks Andy, I have removed the fridge filter. I did some more testing today, the fridge has only been hooked up since the weekend. The strange part is if I run the water out of the RO tap on the sink, there is plenty of water at the fridge. If I shut off the tap at the sink the water dies in about a min. at the fridge. It is not a matter of slow water, but no water at all if the tap at the sink isn't on.

Chris

[allen]

I have the Kinetico Plus Delux VX water filter. After the people who fixed my kitchen, it stop working as in only a little water comes out. I called the Kinetico people up, they said i have to replace the 2 side filter. After I replace it, it still not working (Cost me almost $90). Do anyone know what might be wrong with it? Hose connected not correct? If so, do anyone know where i can get the technical manual that shows you what hose goes where? Thank You very much in advance.

[Andy CWS]

Is your holding tank white or black? Did you remove all the hoses when you took it out?

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

[allen]

Hi Andy,
The tank is black. Yes, the contractor remove all the hoses. And if you don't mind, can you call me at 408-666-4337, maybe you can show me over the phone. Thank You in advance if you can help. My name is allen.

[Andy CWS]

I hope that worked out for you. Let me know if I can help out more.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

[tp6868]

Hi Andy,
The tank is black. Yes, the contractor remove all the hoses. And if you don't mind, can you call me at 408-666-4337, maybe you can show me over the phone. Thank You in advance if you can help. My name is allen.

Hey Allen , I have the GX model but it sounds to me that your tank that holds the water may have lost its pressure. That most likely happened when the system was taken apart. The company which you got your unit from can get the pressure back to the tank for you but will most likely charge you for the service call. If your tank is still under warranty , you can try to tell them that the tank is constantly losing pressure , they may still charge you for the service call but you may get a brand new tank out of it. Also if you kept your old filters , try using them again after you get the problem fixed , they may still be good. You can drain the water out of the new ones and save them for when the old filters expire. One last thing , I just invested about $30 for a TDS unit , this will test your water so you are sure the system is working. Dont trust anyone. i found that my unit was working below standards and i just got a brand new membrane before my warranty expired. Once they know you can test your own water , they will not lie to you if your system is bad. When i told them i had a TDS meter, the lady almost fell out of her chair and she seemed a little nervous , lol. Hope this info helps you, Good Luck. - TP6868

[allen]

Hi Andy and TP,

Come to find out 1 pair of hose was connected incorrectly. After the tech connected correcty, it stopped working again at night. The tech had to come back, and connected a connector. The tech finally fixed it after about $200 worth of parts and labor. If it goes bad again, i'm just going to throw it away and buy drinking water instead. 1 yr. worth of water does not cost me $200. And plus, the water comes out to slow.

Thank You again.

[Andy CWS]

Allen, from what I understand: You had a Kinetico VX that was working well, you had your kitchen worked on and it was dissconnected and then re-connected incorrectly.

You called and asked why you were getting no water, which typically means the filters are exhausted and shut down preventing user from over-using them. Since they wanted to save you a service call, they explained that the problem would be corrected by replacing the filters assuming they didn't know you tore it apart. You did as they recommended and feel you wasted your money. Sorry about that.

Of course, that didn't work because that wasn't the problem as you or your workers connected incorrectly. It's hard to blame the system or company for that, wouldn't you agee?

So a service call (not covered warranty) was done. Since it was connected incorrectly, something must have been altered in the sealed flow module and water later (after the tank emptied) stopped again requiring a part replacement.

I understand that it is now working again, good.

We had a customer about two months ago when something like this happened. He disconnected his new softener and hooked it up in a new location in the basement because he didn't want to pay for a service call for us to do it.

Later, he called and was very angry that it wasn't working and wanted his money back. He didn't explain what he had done. We tried to work it out over the phone (an hour drive away) but he refused to do anything because it was "junk and our responsibility". He told us to come and pick it up and give him a check (100%) for the unit.

Well, that wasn't gone to happen. He never told us that he moved the unit.

We couldn't get there during working hours as the house was locked and he wouldn't let us in so we would have to get there after 7PM, which is an extra cost regardless of warranty. So he had a neighbor let us in with a big huff.

Well, the thing was plumbed in backwards, so resin had gotten into the valve and other plumbing fixtures. He changed the by-pass direction. So we spent time tearing the valve apart, cleaning it, and re-plumbing it as the neighbor watched on. We got it back running, perfectly, but it took time.

The bill was not cheap (including travel time) and of course not covered by any warranty. Now he is saying we worked on it without his authority (and got his concrete floor wet) and refuses to pay for our service and 'his' screw-up. He claims he could have done what we did so he should not have to pay for it. We're still waiting for his payment.

I suppose most dealers have had situations like this where the customer never wants to accept responsibility for unauthorized alterations and feels it is unfair to pay someone to fix it.

Allen, by your own explanation it didn't "go bad", it was altered and re-assembled incorrectly. Sorry, I don't mean to bust your chops, but I'm just trying to figure out what actually went wrong...and who should be responsible.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

[Gary Slusser]

The metered cartridge changes is designed to make the person change the cartridges or worry about not changing them... and then $90 for two replacement cartridges! WOW. That's after paying $1000-$1500 for a Kinetico RO.

The 10 year warranty is only if you have purchased a highly overpriced Kinetico softener, otherwise it is 4 years.

I constantly see a certain Kinetico salesman's posts as late as 4 AM, maybe after doing this to customers he is having trouble sleeping?

And then no manual or instructions to show you how to make connections...

Y'all should realize that all that is designed to make the customer have to call the dealer for service so the dealer can charge a service call.

That's why I tell people not to buy proprietary equipment, and especially not highly overpriced Kinetico 'stuff'.

[allen]

Andy,

I don't mean to blame the company. I know i was to blame. What i meant to say was it's expensive to get the water filter working again. I'm sorry if I said something wrong in the posting. You have been very helpful, going out of your way to call me and try to show/tell me how to connect the water filter back up. Thank You very much.

[allen]

Andy,

The people that didn't pay for the service call that they caused themselves and try to blame you for it, You should take them to collection and ruin their credit. That should teach them a lesson not to try to blame other people what what they requested and it's their fault that they move the unit. As for me, I didn't know because the unit came with the house that I just acquired. As for that person, he paid from his own pocket to get it installed and should have known not to move it without a service call.

[nonetonyt]

Hi Andy,
I have a Kinetico RO VX system also; we bought the system in 1998. Can you tell me what the pressure should be (in psi) for a white Kinetico storage tank when it is empty? I am guessing around 7 psi? Also, can you tell me what the turn on & off pressure is for the system to activate/deactivate? Thank you in advance.
JPI

[Andy CWS]

The white tank is the older (two generations ago) bladder style tank used by Kinetico. Your air pressure (with tank empty of water) should be around 7-9 psi. The highe rthe air pressure, the faster your tank will empty out and less volume you have and vice-versa.

Tanks typically refill when about 60% of line pressure is lost. The is an automatic shutoff that stops the membrane from rinsing when tank is full.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

[lynn]

Hi Andy, I have an older white tank. When I go to fill up a glass of water from the RO tap on the sink, I only get a small amount of water. If I wait a little while, I can get a small amount again. I read earlier threads and decided to check the pressure by looking for the psi on the bottom of the tank, but there is only a small silver "nozzle" type thing and I don't know how to check it for the psi. What do I need to do?

[Andy CWS]

It appears the bladder is bad--water logged. Either the tank or bladder needs to be replaced. Weigh the tank, if it weighs around 30 lbs, then it is shot.

[jglefler]

Hi Andy, I have an older white tank. When I go to fill up a glass of water from the RO tap on the sink, I only get a small amount of water. If I wait a little while, I can get a small amount again. I read earlier threads and decided to check the pressure by looking for the psi on the bottom of the tank, but there is only a small silver "nozzle" type thing and I don't know how to check it for the psi. What do I need to do?

Hi,

I have the same system and have had the same problem twice since the original installation in 1998, (small amount of water, need to wait to get more water, etc.). I found that these tanks are a bit like an auto tire/tube. They tend to loose air pressure over time and the system won't work properly. I have two tanks connected together for greater capacity and they both loose air pressure over time. I loosened and removed the large black "nut" on the top of the tanks after placing them in the bottom of my shower. This will allow you to dump the existing water out of the tanks without making a mess. I then removed and inspected the black rubber bladder in each tank and checked them for any visible holes or tares. I held the opening of the bladder to my mouth and forced air into them to further confirm there were no leaks in the bladder. Once I determined the bladders were still in good shape I reinstalled them into the tanks. Then I put half an ounce of bleach into each bladder and thoroughly rinsed them to disinfect them and reinstalled the large black nut on the top of the tanks. I used a large strap wrench to loosen and tighten the large black nut. The nut must be good and tight. I laid the tank on its side and held it with one hand in a rubber work glove as I tightened the nut with the heavy duty strap wrench. A rubber coated glove will help you get a good grip on the tank as you torque the large plastic nut on. Then I used a digital air gauge that registers low air pressure and pumped 7 pounds of air into each tank. You add the air via the silver air valve on the bottom of the tank. I hooked them up and it works great now. Before the repair I got 2/3 of a glass of water and the water would stop for several minutes before it would deliver another 2/3 glass or so. Now I can fill four glasses quickly and there is still good pressure. I haven't emptied the system since I repaired it but suspect that it would deliver a gallon or more before it stopped now.

My Kinetico dealer estimated a new bladder at $30 some dollars. Even if you need to replace your tank bladder it will be cheaper than the $149 a new tank would cost. I hope this will help someone with the same problem.

FYI: Water goes into the rubber bladder and air pressure goes into the white tank and surrounds the bladder as it pushes water out.

[glgeek]

greetings,

is the water tank charged with air with the valve of the tank opened or closed?

i only get air out of the faucet after charging and hooking it all back up.

TIA
geek

[jglefler]

greetings,

is the water tank charged with air with the valve of the tank opened or closed?

i only get air out of the faucet after charging and hooking it all back up.

TIA
geek

I put 7 pounds of air in each of my two tanks with the plastic gate valve on each tank closed and the bladders were empty of water. I then installed the water line into the tanks by pushing it into the quick-release fittings on the top of the valves. I then opened the valves, turned the water supply to the RO system on and... Yea. I am still getting EXCELLENT production from the RO weeks later and it hasn't gone dry since I repaired it as described in my post on 2-7-2010. Good luck.