Anyone try blending RO and carbon filtered tap water on a plumbed in machine? My current setup consists of home RO with calcite filter. Finished water is in the 23-28 ppm TDS range with 34ppm hardness and 40 ppm alk. I'm thinking of adding a tap off the main with a carbon filter and using a ball valve to blend flow to achieve a TDS of 50-60 ppm. I'm not sure if this will make a discernible difference in the taste, as I've experimented with bottle spring water at this level, and I'm not sure I could taste a difference. Anyway, wondering if anyone has tried this and whether they could get the TDS dialed using a similar plumbed-in setup.

Thanks

I believe it is SOP for water treatments in areas with good tasting, but hard, tap water to bypass some around the RO, then mix it back in downstream

Success! I got rid of the calcite filter and am blending RO and filtered tap using a Watts pressure regulating valve. The valve allows me to dial in the TDS pretty accurately (currently set around 60 ppm). The undersink area is looking a bit like a science experiment though..

I have my RO setup down below in the garage. The middle green knob blends carbon filtered water with the RO treated water and there is a handy digital TDS meter right below the Cirqua logo for reference. This system feeds my drinking water tap and espresso machine. It was too big to fit under the counter but it worked out fairly well as it allowed for a cleaner cabinet space.

Nice, thats a professional looking setup! My RO is plumbed direct to a drinking water tap, with a tee to the espresso setup. One thing I've noticed is that the static pressure at the machine is now much higher, 6 bars vs. 2-3 bars if I remember correctly. I guess I'll have to adjust the pump, however, I think the pressure will drop under flow as it will go through the regulator. We'll see how it works tomorrow.