Into the woods by 8:00 AM to work on the R/O. Inserted the membrane then planned to run 250 gallons of water through the membrane. We purchased a new membrane.
The feed pump started, but the recirculation pump at the bottom of the pressure vessel didn’t start. Called the manufacture rep to get troubleshooting steps. We had to lay down the R/O so we could access the recirculation pump. Then used a large screw driver to turn and free the armature. Apparently, it can get stuck and not rotate. After reassembling, the Service light was still on so the R/O wouldn’t start. That was an easy fix: press Reset button on the electronics for the recirculation pump. The electronics take the pump offline if they detect a problem.
The new pressure gauge along with the mounting gaskets we made held. Still need to check how it performs when the high pressure pump runs during the concentration cycle.
30 overnight. Sunny and high 40s. Trees did drip. Collected 265 gallons of sap. It’s 3.5 Brix because of the ice we took out. Back to the farmhouse by 5:15 PM.
Cook tomorrow.