Tired of accidentally leaving the water on?

[Sealion]

I'm just setting up my RODI system. Got the shut off valve from aquatic life as well as the RODI system. Have a 25 gallon tank coming in a few weeks. Going to set up an over flow tube to go to the drain. I'm setting the float switch at 20 gallons to shut off the flow, and if it fails then over flow at 25 gallons, with a small remaining head space.

 

[jacoviii]

This looks good but Why not do what I did. I just got a digital sprinkler timer and put inline before the RO I have been using it for 10 yr. Like this one. Also if you no your tanks evaporation cycle you can get crazy and set it to run for XX min. each day. the units default to closed /off But I usually just turn it on for 5 - 10 min. when I feed.
https://www.amazon.com/Rain-Bird-1Z...d=1487488726&sr=8-2&keywords=rain+bird+timers

 

[Engloid]

Have you tested it to make sure the solenoid can withstand power to it for extended periods of time? The reason I ask is because I tried a solenoid from a refrigerator once, and it worked well....till I needed to run it for quite a while. It wound up melting.

I now run a much more expensive, industrial quality solenoid that will run on 110v. I simply hook it to the outlet on my ATO, and it opens to feed water to my RO unit, which then puts RO water into the sump, until the float valve shuts it off.

Another tip I always suggest...find out how long your topoff takes each day. Mine can top off in less than 15 mins a day, and that's about 2 gallons. I use a standard lamp timer to plug the ATO into. THis means that the ATO is only getting power for 15 minutes a day. If it was to fail, it could only dump 15 minutes of water. I also have it set where it will run during a time of day I am most likely to be home.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Have you tested it to make sure the solenoid can withstand power to it for extended periods of time? The reason I ask is because I tried a solenoid from a refrigerator once, and it worked well....till I needed to run it for quite a while. It wound up melting.

I now run a much more expensive, industrial quality solenoid that will run on 110v. I simply hook it to the outlet on my ATO, and it opens to feed water to my RO unit, which then puts RO water into the sump, until the float valve shuts it off.

Another tip I always suggest...find out how long your topoff takes each day. Mine can top off in less than 15 mins a day, and that's about 2 gallons. I use a standard lamp timer to plug the ATO into. THis means that the ATO is only getting power for 15 minutes a day. If it was to fail, it could only dump 15 minutes of water. I also have it set where it will run during a time of day I am most likely to be home.

Yes, well, the solenoid has held up overnight...several times I try to remember to turn it off before bed, but I don't always succeed.

The reason I had to take this approach over a water timer or a lamp timer is that my RO/DI unit is located in the garage, nowhere near the tank. As such, I have to fill 7 gallon just periodically, and I have a 33 gallon food-grade trash can that I use for water changes. I also topoff with limewater, which complicates things a bit.

The 110VAC solenoid is a good idea, if you need that kind of equipment. In my case, I didn't. And for $15, this has worked very well!

 

[Engloid]

I always tun topoff and ro on a timer. If I want to run it 4 hiurs I set for that and check later. I use the timer as a backup in case I forget. I learned the hard way what saltwater damage costs......over $160k insurance paid out....and they didnt pay for it all.

 

[Tautog]

Great ideas, but how will I keep my "Cleanest Basement Floor" status?

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I always tun topoff and ro on a timer. If I want to run it 4 hiurs I set for that and check later. I use the timer as a backup in case I forget. I learned the hard way what saltwater damage costs......over $160k insurance paid out....and they didnt pay for it all.

Yep, understood. I don't have any automatic water supply other than ATO hooked up to my tank. My RO/DI is in the garage in a sink. If it runs over, it goes down the drain. I'm not happy about it, but no harm done other than wasted water and DI resin.

 

[Engloid]

Yep, understood. I don't have any automatic water supply other than ATO hooked up to my tank. My RO/DI is in the garage in a sink. If it runs over, it goes down the drain. I'm not happy about it, but no harm done other than wasted water and DI resin.

If you put a timer on the one in the sink, you can reduce the odds of wasting water. Lets say it fills your bucket in 10 minutes...set the timer for 15. If you forgot about it and went on vacation, you'd only run water for 15 minutes a day. That's why I like them. I try to catch stuff in time, but if I don't, I can make sure it's off in 15, even if I don't remember it again for an hour.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

If you put a timer on the one in the sink, you can reduce the odds of wasting water. Lets say it fills your bucket in 10 minutes...set the timer for 15. If you forgot about it and went on vacation, you'd only run water for 15 minutes a day. That's why I like them. I try to catch stuff in time, but if I don't, I can make sure it's off in 15, even if I don't remember it again for an hour.

It takes a couple of hours to fill the bucket And, the float switch works perfectly!

 

[Triggreef]

Definitely be going to do this. Thank you.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Definitely be going to do this. Thank you.

My pleasure. It's saved my bacon more than once already!

 

[morgank]

In general this looks good but I recommend not using the float as the switch for the power. While there is not a lot of power being switched, it is enough to cause arching and cause a failure (possibly on). It would be better to use a relay so the float is not at risk for aching, letting the relay handle the switching of the power to the solenoid. There are plenty of simple and relatively low cost automotive relays designed for 12v DC that would work well one example on Amazon can be found here.

Just my $0.02

@gtbarsi do you have a wiring diagram for how to include a relay in this setup? Thx in advance

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I used to manually monitor my RODI filling for when the float valve closed and shutdown the RODI once it was full. Then I decided to automate the whole thing. I installed an Avast Barrel Tender and the RODI manages itself. It refills when it is empty, and shuts the RODI down when it is done. I still have a float valve after the Barrel Tender just in case.

Dennis

 

[emrekaran]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Even Further]

We use our RODI system to fill 5 gallon water jugs of RO for drinking. We use a $10 "watch dog" water alarm to alert when the jug is filled and overflowing. We put the jug in a separate container to catch the overflow water. It works really well, and super simple.

 

[AdamD76]

I use this flow meter / controller. Once calibrated I just input how much water i want and hit start. Easy.
Water controller

 

[Sleepydoc]

Nice idea. Like @ReeferBob said, BRS sells a plain mechanical float switch and pressure-controlled auto shutoff attachment which work quite well if your system configuration allows them. I'd recommend this solution first - no electricity and fewer failure points.

If you decide to go with the electronic float switch and solenoid for whatever reason there are a couple of warnings/things to be aware of:
1. Never hook 120/240V line voltage from the wall up to a float switch!
2. Check the current rating on the solenoid and the float switch. If you put too much current through the float switch you run the risk of fusing the contracts.
3. Think about failure modes - what happens if the power goes off? Design your system so that the solenoid is closed when the power is cut, not open, otherwise you may have a flood and no electricity to run the shop back to clean it up! This design will also use less power since the solenoid won't be pulling power when it's not on. (the linked solenoid in the original post is a normally closed model.)
4. Like @Engloid said, different solenoids have different duty ratings. Some are only designed to be energised for short periods of time and can burn out when left on for an extended period.
5. I'd recommend putting a switch to cut the power to the power supply when you're not using it. You can shut off the water supply, but then if your DI reservoir is half empty the solenoid will be energized continuously, wasting electricity at best and burning it out at worst.

 

[Mystikal]

YAZZZ. You saved me lots of time