Okay guys....ah'm new here, so be gentle!<G> I see Gabe is a forum sponsor - those of you who know him can ask him about me - I do his water system for him.

Let me first point out that I am NOT here to "drum up" business - but I was surfing and spotted this discussion and thought I could add some definitive information to it - I've been in the Purified Water business since 1976, and have learned a coupla things...

#1 - DI water is VERY aggressive!! For that reason, you do NOT want to route it through anything other than plastic, PVC or 316SS lines. RO isn't as aggressive, but I'd be reluctant to run it through copper unless the line was readily available, and it wouldn't cause major damage if it leaked, because over time the water WILL eat away at the copper if the RO is operating properly.

#2 - I've run DI water through ice makers (standard in-fridge types) when I didn't have the drain available for an RO. No failures, but I also know that IF the fridge would last long enough, I would see failure related to the water being so pure and aggressive.

#3 - As part of routine intake, DI water shouldn't hurt you - but it's not gonna help you, either - so you're really wasting the bed capacity in using it for drinking water. There's another whole chapter in potential bioburden issues (sorry guys - but I do "real" purification (WFI, biomed, etc) as well - so bacterial issues are always part of my thought process. As a practical matter, you'd likely never see an issue, but it CAN become one.

I've rambled on enough. If you have any other questions, just holler. And be nice to Gabe - he has to put up with my son being a customer of his!<G>