+SChrisEV Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I have my water station almost complete (thanks Mitch for the 55g barrels as well as the plumbing ideas!), I have an older 4 stage unit, that I replaced the membrane and prefilters, purchased and installed the auto-shut off kit (http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/catalog/product/view/id/403/) from BRS. All is good there. However my waste water container fills faster then the RO/DI water, obviously, so I was wondering how any of you have handled this? I did plumb the waste container to drain out if it reached a certain level (again thanks Mitch) but ideally, at least initially while I top off my RO/DI and salt water containers I'd like to just let the system run, and shut off when either the RO/DI or Waste container fill up. The idea behind this is that I will "waste" less water than just draining it by using the waste to water plants etc. So I'm really looking for a way to have both the RO/DI have an auto-shut off (already in-place) as well as the waste water be able to auto shut-off the system. Ideas? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Hmm, so you want the waste water resevior to trigger the auto shutoff also? Idk. You probably have to have a chevkvalve and a float valve for the waste water. I think your supposed to end up with twice the waste water as ro water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Mitch tried this. It isn't possible unless you do gloat switches and solenoid valves to shut the whole system down. Asov won't cut it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bimmerzs Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I use three items for a similar type of situation, a kent style float valve(has positive shutoff), a normally open solenoid valve and a float switch. The float valve works by itself(as long as it can handle the pressure) however, the float switch and solenoid are there in case the float valve somehow fail's. I use this to auto refill my topoff reservoir. Of course this is just to handle the waste water reservoir part but it may be better to split up the two function's. Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cMidd Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 You could always run your waste water to your yard / garden. Makes for easier watering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 You could always run your waste water to your yard / garden. Makes for easier watering. Well that is basically why I capture the waste water in the first place, to use it in the yard. The issues is how to have an auto-shut off for the RO unit both RO/DI and waste water levels. I have a couple ideas, I was just hoping to get others experiences with this. If/Once I get a working solutions I'll share it in case it helps others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 It always seems incongruous to call it waste water from the bypass on an RO since it's gone through both a mechanical and carbon filter so it's cleaner than the supply. The "waste" can be as much as 10 times the filtrate or RO produced depending on water pressure and how old the RO membrane is. It seems like an easier solution would be to set up a container for the "waste" water with a drain line set high on the side so it drains outside when the container fills. This way the RO isn't being shut off prematurely when the "waste" container is full and your RO barrel will fill up completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Maybe a different approach could be to plumb in a sprinkler timer before your RO unit. You could figure out how much time it takes to fill your waste water container. -brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Hey Chris! You are very welcome I had the same goal of shutting off the system when either the waste or RODI barrels were full, but in the end i was only able to shutoff based on RODI via ASOV. Since I have the BRS water saving upgrade and my waste to good water is 1:1, I figured it wasn't worth the investment in trying to put in place a solenoid type solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 It always seems incongruous to call it waste water from the bypass on an RO since it's gone through both a mechanical and carbon filter so it's cleaner than the supply. The "waste" can be as much as 10 times the filtrate or RO produced depending on water pressure and how old the RO membrane is. It seems like an easier solution would be to set up a container for the "waste" water with a drain line set high on the side so it drains outside when the container fills. This way the RO isn't being shut off prematurely when the "waste" container is full and your RO barrel will fill up completely. Well that is my basic set up not, two drains, one at the top (in case it fills) and one at the bottom to fill a container/watering jug etc. And I can run the top draing to the lawn or a flower bed, but I was hoping to be able to do more target watering with this water. Hey Chris! You are very welcome I had the same goal of shutting off the system when either the waste or RODI barrels were full, but in the end i was only able to shutoff based on RODI via ASOV. Since I have the BRS water saving upgrade and my waste to good water is 1:1, I figured it wasn't worth the investment in trying to put in place a solenoid type solution. Yeah, I have that item in my wishlist from BRS, it was cut from my cart in the last group buy just because I already had so much in the cart. But looks like I'll need to just order it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+etannert Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 What about plumbing that high drain to another container so that you have double the amount of "waste" water storage as you do RODI storage? You would probably still want to put a drain on the secondary storage unit so as prevent overflows, but it would allow you to capture the additional waste water for targeted watering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 What about plumbing that high drain to another container so that you have double the amount of "waste" water storage as you do RODI storage? You would probably still want to put a drain on the secondary storage unit so as prevent overflows, but it would allow you to capture the additional waste water for targeted watering. This is definitely an option if you have the room. Chris, I have one more barrel if you are interested in going this route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 I'd have to get rid of some tools... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 If you don't have room for a container(s) to save all the waste water like Etannert suggested how about using sprinkler valves to switch between different drain lines? I don't know how easy it would be to find the stuff but a float valve that turned on a timer that contolled several valves so all the "waste" would be fed to several different areas. I don't know what space is like or how easy it would be to build a shelf strong enough but you could stack barrels and have the drain set up so the top one fills up then drains to the lower one to fill it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 ... build a shelf strong enough.... Awe... going vertical. I like that idea! I'm not sure my wife will. While the garage is my domain, she does park in there, and has this need for things to look .... neat. Adding the second membrane to my RO system is really the best solution for a number of reasons, so I'll probably just do that. Need to ensure I have enough pressure to support it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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