11/3/2019 What is RO Flow Restrictor and When to Change?

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What is an RO Flow Restrictor

and When to Change?
BestROWaterPurifier.in January 8, 2019

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Table of Contents 

What is Flow Restrictor?

A flow restrictor, as the name suggests, restricts the flow of RO reject water. Flow
restrictor maintains high pressure inside the RO membrane (a precondition for RO
purification) by creating back pressure on the membrane and also controls the
recovery ratio of the purifier.

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11/3/2019 What is RO Flow Restrictor and When to Change? Tips & Tricks

An RO Flow Restrictor of 550 mL

If flow restrictor is not used then the high-pressure water coming in from the booster
pump will flow unrestricted from the reject outlet of the RO membrane. This will result
in low pressure inside the RO membrane and higher wastage of water. RO membrane
won’t be able to work if the pressure inside the RO membrane is not high.

See the below water flow diagram of an RO water purifier to understand the working
of a flow restrictor.

Flow Restrictor in RO Water Purifier

Flow restrictors are generally available in different flow ratings and must be properly
sized according to the capacity of the RO membrane.

How to Find a Matching Flow Restrictor?

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11/3/2019 What is RO Flow Restrictor and When to Change? Tips & Tricks

The ratings that you see on flow restrictors, like FR 200, FR 300, FR 450, indicate the
flow rate, in mL per minute (Millilitres Per Minute).

RO membrane capacity is given in GPD (Gallons Per Day).

1 Gallon is approximately equal to 3.78 litres.

Generally, the flow restrictor value should be 4 times the production rating or
the capacity of the membrane.

In order to find a matching flow restrictor, first, we need to convert the flow restrictor’s
capacity value into GPD.

This is quite simple, and all you need to do is simply multiply the flow restrictor
capacity in mL per minute by 0.38 to convert it into GPD.

Example of Flow Restrictor for 800 mL is:

800 x 0.38 = 304 GPD

As we know the flow restrictor rating should be 4 times the RO membrane.

Dividing the above rating by 4 i.e. 304/4, we get 76 GPD. So for an RO membrane of
75-80 GPD, you should use 800 mL flow restrictor.

In India, most technicians are using Flow Restrictor 450 with 75 GPD or 80 GPD
RO membrane. But, we recommend a flow restrictor of at least 550 ml.

The recommended flow restrictor sizes are listed in the below table.

MEMBRANE SIZE (IN GPD) FLOW RESTRICTOR (ML PER MINUTE)

18 200

25 250

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11/3/2019 What is RO Flow Restrictor and When to Change? Tips & Tricks

36 250 or 360

50 420 or 525

75 550 to 800

80 800

100 800

If you are looking to replace the flow restrictor of your water purifier then you can
check on Amazon.in.

What if I use a Flow Restrictor of a Higher or Lower

Capacity?

The RO membrane GPD and flow restrictor capacity must be matched to keep a
proper balance between water wastage and purification quality. If they are not
matched, this can cause excessive wastage of water or may reduce the life of the RO
membrane.

Under Sizing

If you are using a lower capacity flow restrictor for a higher capacity membrane then it
will result in early choking of the RO membrane, reduced membrane life, and an
increase in TDS value of the purified water.

Over-Sizing

And if you use higher capacity flow restrictor then it will result in higher wastage of
water and lower pressure inside the RO membrane. Low pressure inside RO
membrane can have an adverse effect on the quality of purification.

When to Change the Flow Restrictor?

We recommend that the flow restrictor should be replaced every time an RO
membrane is replaced. Because over time, like RO membrane and filters, flow

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11/3/2019 What is RO Flow Restrictor and When to Change? Tips & Tricks

restrictors can also get choked because of scale build up.

And if the new RO membrane is of a different capacity then also the flow restrictor
must be changed according to the capacity of the RO membrane.

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5 Comments

THULASIRAMAN  Reply
September 8, 2019 at 6:44 am

Thanks for sharing the valuable data (knowledge) on flow restrictor. I wonder why technician used
450mlm for 75/80 gpd membrane. To replace the membrane often right. My membrane is 100gpd and
using 450FR shall I change into 550FR or 800FR pls suggest. Technician telling that if you are using
higher flow restrictor the higher pressure will lead to higher waste water out. And also what is the
combination of pump having 110Psi output and membrane/flow restrictor.

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11/3/2019 What is RO Flow Restrictor and When to Change? Tips & Tricks

Thanks & Regards

M.Thulasiraman

BESTROWATERPURIFIER.IN  Reply
September 10, 2019 at 11:37 am

You can use 450FR with 100GPD membrane but it may reduce the life of the RO membrane by
early choking of the RO membrane. It may also increase the TDS value of the purified water.

If the incoming water has very high TDS and if you are concerned about the life of RO
membrane then use a flow restrictor of higher value. But, if you are not concerned much about
the life of RO membrane but would like to reduce the RO waste water then you can go for a flow
restrictor of lower value.

PB  Reply
October 5, 2019 at 6:56 am

Flow restrictor for 300GPD membrane on 300GPD Pump.

SURENDRO  Reply
October 9, 2019 at 1:26 am

Waste water has cease to come out from my RO machine drain pipe although it’s giving purified water
of tds 34 from input water of tds value of 113. Plz suggest the faulty component.

BESTROWATERPURIFIER.IN  Reply
October 9, 2019 at 10:09 am


You will have to get it checked from a trained professional. This may be the result of a faulty RO
flow restrictor.

LEAVE YOUR REVIEW

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