It ALL Began with...

… repairing and upgrading the plumbing on my outdoor sink and with that success... decided that i was tired of buying hose junctions because they only lasted one year before they broke (whether they were plastic or metal). So, I made one hose junction for the pawlonia orchard…

 ... then one custom shaped one for that very same outdoor sink. Little did i know... that was to be my warm up for coming into the spirit of the upcoming irrigation season. 

Then Bruce mumbled something about getting my old Merlin Reverse Osmosis system up and running. I had not used it in a number of years as I had not been satisfied by its overall performance. None the less - i cleaned it up, got the pump out and for whatever reason - it was no longer working… i decided to look at a new system. Surely there would be some improvements in technology ?!

As I researched, I found myself looking at the new Merlin system- no longer made by GE now but by a company called Hydrologic. I began chatting with a retail biz in KS that had a vast array of RO systems but due to extreme budget considerations - it came down to a light 400 gpd (gallons per day) commercial system. Completely undersized- it would at least take care of the fruit trees every other day, the veggies and a little left for personal use. Everything else could remain on well water. So it was ordered and 2 weeks later - it arrived. Three weeks after that, it was returned because it failed to perform to spec.


Once again, i was faced with looking at a new Merlin RO system but somehow i just knew it was not the right one. Further conversations proved that intuition to be correct- i didnt need a repeat performance with a low pressure system and high filter/membrane replacement costs. What we needed was a -high- (not low) pressure system... in other words: a commercial system.

Twilight's water is volcanic in nature. It comes up from 460' down below... cool and clear and yet it has excessive amounts of boron, bicarbonate, phosphorous, magnesium... in other words it has a high TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) and simply put: it is hard water which... is not suitable for proper irrigation. This water makes it difficult to produce strong healthy plants and trees or fruit and vegetables. 

Its true that i have managed with it for a great many years but the results have been less than desirable considering the huge amount of effort & labor involved.

Thinking I was just gonna be dipping my toes in the waters with a 'temporary' affordable system... I went with the next option… the second smallest 'permanent' commercial system which would just about manage the property's needs... with the exclusion of the pawlonia trees which could continue to be irrigated on well water.  

Hence a different but more suitable RO system was ordered and another 3 weeks went by before i was able to pick it up in its gigantic crate box. By then, we were 6 weeks behind schedule and regretably veggies (according to Bruce) were already compromised. It will only get better for the trees so I am excited regardless.

At any rate… not without glitch & technical difficulties... the new water purification and RO System is finally up & running... woohoo...

I will tell you more about this system... and the work that kept me busy for three months getting ready for it in future thrilling episodes...


I know some of you have been dying to SEE Something... so here it is: part one of Twilight's plumbing and 2012 property work.

ENJOY !

xo