What is Pure Water?
Ecologically friendly, pure water is an extremely reliable organic solvent. But what exactly is pure water? And how do you get it? Water or H2O comprises of a single atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen. Purified or pure water has all the mineral and particle pollutants removed from it.
However, pure water will always try to return to a natural impure state, so it will instinctively absorb dirt and grit, making it the Ninja of cleaning agents.
How Do You Get Pure Water?
Water purification goes through two processes:
- Reverse Osmosis (RO)
- Deionisation (DI)
With Reverse Osmosis or RO, water passes through a porous membrane separating minerals and solid particles from water molecules.
Deionisation or DI, the second stage of the process, removes any remaining minerals (sodium, calcium, iron, magnesium and copper) and anions (chloride and sulphate).
Pure Water Revolutionises the Cleaning Industry
When pure water evaporates, it leaves its surfaces both spot and smear free, making it an extremely effective and greener alternative to traditional cleaning methods. In a nutshell, using pure water:
- Is more environmentally friendly
- Leaves all surfaces smear and spot free
- Is a cost-effective option
So How Much Does Pure Water Cost?
There’s no doubt that pure water has revolutionised the cleaning industry, so you’d expect it to be expensive right? Well, not necessarily. There are pure water outlets across the UK and and we have seen pricing between £0.05 to £0.10 + vat per litre.
Alternatively, you might want to consider producing your own pure water. But how does producing your own water compare to the cost of filling stations?
Obviously to produce your own pure water, you’d need to have an RO system installed. Typically, an RO system monitors the full water purification process from start to finish. It also monitors the Auto-Flush, keeping the RO membrane in top condition whilst checking the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and the water production rate for total water processed.
What is an RO system?
A typical S300 Pro System kit is made up of:
S300 GrippaPRO Static Purification System
The GrippaPRO range of static systems is pre-plumbed, pre-wired and has been fully tested within our patented RO cabinet. Designed for companies with 1 - 3 vans, the S300 produces up to 300 litres of pure water per hour (7536 litres per day).
230v 600LPH RO Production Booster Pump
The booster pump delivers 600 litres per hour (Lph) @100psi giving a filtered production of approximately up to 300 litres per hour based on a 50/50 waste ration. Ready to use, the pump comes with 1 metre of lead and a choice of either UK standard plug or UK RCD Plug.
Liquid Logic™ S3 Static Pump and RO Auto flush System Controller
The most advanced static system controller in the world, its features include auto back flush, auto shut off and TDS monitoring.
Static Water Tank - Anything from 500 - 20,000 litres
Available in a range of colours, shapes, dimensions, and litreage. Typically a 1000 or 2000 litre black tank is the most popular.
Sight Gauge Kit
The sight gauge kit lets you see water levels at a glance on a black tank.
Here's the sums
How much does water cost?
According to one water utility company, one cubic metre of water (1000 litres) costs £3.30* (water + sewage). Based on a 50% production/waste ratio, you would need two cubic metres (2000 litres) of mains water to produce one cubic metre (1000 litre) of pure water, which equates to £6.60 or £66.60 for every 10,000 litres of pure water produced.
How much does the pre-filters, membranes, and resin cost?
To factor this in, we going to base the calculations on a 500 litres of pure water being used each day, full time for a month. This works out at 10000 litres of pure water used each month.
> The industrial Ez-Pure carbon/sediment prefilter we manufacturer have a long life cycle on them in comparision to the smaller filters on the market, so that means you need to change them every 6 months or 360,000 litres (so which ever comes first - the time frame or the maximum litres). Based on £48.99 per filter, thats a yearly cost of £97.98 + vat or £8.16 per 10,000 litres of pure water produced each month.
> Stating how long an RO membrane will last is difficult to do, but lets say our GrippaPRO RO 4021 membranes are setup properly with our booster pump system, they will have the right pressure and flow required to work at their optimum. We are also going to work on the basis that the mains water is around 300ppm. If they kick out a nice healthy reading of 10ppm (lower is even better!), they should last around 2 years**, so that is a yearly cost of £195.99 + vat or £16.33 per 10,000 litres of pure water produced each month.
> The yearly bill for your resin costs really depends on how healthy your system is. This depends on how often you change the pre-filters and therefore how well the RO membranes are working. If the RO membranes output a consistent TDS 10ppm, your resin will cost you £0.002 per litre or £20.00 per 10,000 litres of pure water produced each month.
So how does it compare? Buy your water from a filling station or make your own water with a GrippaTank purification system?
We've done some calculations based on the above to compare the cost of producing your own pure water (including the cost and fitting of the system) with the cost of using a filling station. Here's what we found:
A typical S300 Pro Static System on finance over a 3-year period = £130.82*** (+VAT) per month
Based on a customer using 500 litres a day, 5 days a week: production of 10000 litres of pure water using your own system and water supply = £110.79 + vat (That is based on a water bill of £66.30 per month and cost of £44.95 for filter/membranes/resin spread over 12 months)
Total cost of repaying the finance for your own system and producing 10000 litres of your own pure water = £241.61 (+VAT) per month or £0.0241 per litre (two and 1/2 pence).
Average cost of 1000 litres of pure water from a filling station if purchased as low as £0.05 + vat = £325.00 (+VAT) per month
After 3 years (once you’ve paid for the finance on the system) your monthly cost would drop down to as low as £0.011 (one pence) + vat = £110.79 per 10000 litres.
Summary
We are sure you'll agree, even when you take into account the cost of the filtration consumables it's is well worth considering having your own pure water purification system.
For more information on our RO and DI System kits and packages, visit:
https://www.grippatank.co.uk/wfp-purification-systems/static-systems/ro-di-system-kits-packages
*costs based on information supplied by https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions/bills/what-is-a-cubic-metre/
** ro membrane life cycles are hugely depending on the quality of the incoming water, and how often they are flushed. Its vital to change the prefilter on the recommended time frame to give a membrane the best chance of a longer life. In hard water areas, pre-treatment such as a water softener is highly recommended.
***monthly costs based on an established business having been in operation for 3 years. Ts&Cs apply
ARTICLE LAST REVISED JULY 2023
