What is a Reverse Osmosis Tank and How Does it Work?

A reverse osmosis tank is a hydropneumatic pressure tank designed to fit beneath the sink and inline with your reverse osmosis system. The reverse osmosis tank is a storage tank, collecting the water being gradually purified by the reverse osmosis membrane. The reverse osmosis filtration process is a slow one. Water is pushed through the semipermeable membrane one drop at a time. The tank allows water to accumulate, so, when you go to pour yourself a glass of water you can have immediate access to plenty of water.

[tomohatti]

Need a video as good as this one about sanitizing the tank. He spoke about it but didn't elaborate.

[arturopiceno]

Great video presentation, my system is about 10 years old, and thanks to your troubleshooting steps I now have to replace the tank due to a ruptured membrane.

[TexasFlyBoy]

My tank is over 20 years old and still working fine. I'll be installing a larger tank, just because I've outgrown the existing size.
Best presentation I've seen yet about the tanks. Thanks!

[victorstandiford]

Something to think about. The bladder inside the tank is invisible to you. I mean you cannot monitor it for deterioration. When the bladder fails it is because it is compromised in some way. It could failo with a clean split ...OR, it could rot away.. To cut to the quik. I replaced a tank for a friend and proceeded to drill a whole in the bottom of the tank I removed ( after releasing most of the pressure) to see what the water would look like. coming out .. (BTW..It was obvious the tank bladder was bad because in trying to pressurize the tank (add air ) water came out of the air valve.) So... the water came out nearly jet black through the whole I drilled in the bottom. (Backing up a little: When I turned the tap ( with the original tank still installed ) the water did run clear, at least it seemed clear. But the truth was there was this junk lying ( hiding) on the bottom.) . I could not believe my eyes. So to me I learned two things. 1. Get a TDS meter and check the water at least monthly. micro pieces of rubber could have been coming out of that tap. 2. Replace the tank every five years, They are not that expensive and you should have seen what came out of a ten year old failed tank. I no longer trust the bladder material's integrity; who made it, what it 's REALLY made of, and where it really came from etc.???..

[MJ-qtdm]

You are a natural teacher! Thank you for the information so clearly presented.

[Fordged]

Appreciate the video. Realized I had my PSI too high and was only getting a small amount of storage. Your video explained why! Thanks again!

[beatweezl]

So clearly explained. Clear as filtered water.

[jimselzle]

Very interesting! The RO system in my house is 18 years old now and seems to be working just fine. That said, one of these days something could just go wrong and understanding how it all works is very helpful. Thanks!

[JesseJames]

This was fantastic. I'm shopping for RO systems, and I feel more prepared now.

[walidwithu]

Very helpful and straightforward, thanks

[tolgacanerr]

Very clear explanation. This was the best method for keeping purified water but still rubber and petrolium-based material inside. We corrected this mistake then invented glass tank for reverse osmosis systems. From now on it is better use miato glass tank

[joemcsorley]

Excellent presentation, I learned exactly what I needed to know. Thank you.

[spekky]

I still have water in the tank after emptying out at the top. I'm guessing the bladder has a hole in it? Needs replaced? I needed to watch the whole video. Thanks for your info. Much appreciated. God bless you throughout 2022. 🙏

[lewismohr]

u r an excellent technical trainer. Thank you so much for explaining how the diaphragm shut off works for stopping the fill system. That gave me the clue that I could quick and dirty turn on the faucet, run out all the water by pumping air up to about 65 pounds which would also shut off the fill side, wait for all the water to be pumped out by adding a little extra air as needed, and then quickly back down the air pressure to about 9 pounds. Which is what I did. Why 9? Because I assumed that by the time I could get the air pressure regulated to 7 there was going to be water back in the tank that was increasing the air pressure to 9. System works like brand new. And with whatever caused the leak down, and maybe 2 pounds of extra pressure if I did indeed get ahead of the fill, the tank may go to an extra year past the 5 years it took to leak down the first time. Here is a thought for you. When I started checking the system I had a full tank of water and only about 20 pounds of air pressure, and I could only get about 16 ounces of water out of the faucet. If the gas theory is linear, constant, I dont know what to call it, , , I played sports, , , I am thinking that I could have pressurized the tank as I found it to about 70 to 72 pounds, and everything would have been just fine, and when the tank was empty of water the tank would have indicted about 7 to 9 pounds of air pressure. And then all that arduous extra work of turning off the water at a cheaply made valve that was/is probably galled up with 5 years of scale and corrosion along with compressed packing that has probably taken a set and will start leaking when the water is turned back on, breaking couplings, pumping out the water, pumping the tank to exactly 7 pounds, re-taping the threads, hoping for no leaks, , , all that stuff could have been avoided. What think you?

[bobbender]

At this point, I'm probably just echoing what others have rightly assessed: Very good video, and thorough information. Definitely someone who loves the job, and is glad to teach. I don't like logging in. I rarely do. But when I do, it's definitely worth the commenting.

[joec.]

Great video and well done so we can fully understand. However did you mean keep pumping until you get all the water out of the tank? Because you said keep pumping until all the air is out.

[rtmosgordon]

Thanks for the description of the tank in the RO system and tank pressure.

[charlesmondo]

Good Demonstration ! Thanks alot! please upload more videos

[kindredhawk]

Awesome video. The more you know :). Well explained! Essentially an accumulator.

[evelyncallu]

So informative information, detailed and simple THANK YOU