Setting up my RO/DI system

[Mstanker]

So i just got a RO/DI unit today. The thing is that my laundry room is in the back of the house and the garage is located in the front; imagine that. Needing some ideas on how about i should go with setting this system up so i can have clean water ready to go for my soon to be reef.
This is what i am thinking about doing, going and getting lets say 50ft of tubing.Tape into the cold water in the laundry room hose.Run it up a 5ft wall into the attic, then 10 yard forward, and then drop into the garage. I really dont know if the ro/di system and push the head pressure? Really up for anything at this point. THanks

 

[revsgirl]

Bump

 

[gtbarsi]

I would go with put the RO/DI unit in the Garage, you do not want back pressure on the filters product or waste water outputs. That said if you have a long water supply line, especially one that has to go UP any substantial amount you are going to want to get a booster pump to insure good pressure for the RO membrane. Does your unit have a pressure gauge on it that measures the pressure to the RO membrane?

 

[AZDesertRat]

It would be best to mount the RO/DI near the cold water source and a drain for the waste. If you want to run the treated water to your garage, use 3/8" tubing versus 1/4" tubing to lessen the headloss due to friction in the line. I get a little nervous when running a water line up in the attic for obvious reasons including the damage a leak could do to ceilings and walls plus the temperature extremes encountered in the attic. I would explore other options first.

My unit and ATO storage are mounted in my climate controlled garage over the laundry sink but I ran the treated water line from the storage to my sump through a common wall, under the kitchen base cabinets then behind baseboards to the sump. In this way any leaks would be at floor level and there are no temperature problems.

Once you have it all installed you will want to measure and adjust your waste ratio as the long line will have some effect of the ratio but should be no problem to correct with a newly trimmed capillay tube flow restrictor once you know the installed flow rates.

 

[gtbarsi]

You could try and use a PERMEATE PUMP, with the RO/DI in the laundry room. The pump is really cheap ($145 less than a booster pump kit at BRS). The thing pushes your product water using the pressure of your waste water as an energy source. It is probably the best thing you can do.
I would not go to 3/8 tubing as it will increase the volume of water and therefore the weight of the water in any vertical climb you have to do with the line.

 

[Mstanker]

My garage is not climate control in the summer it gets around 85 plus in there. This sucks because there is no water source around the garge!!!!

 

[Mstanker]

I wonder how hard it would be to add a sink in my garage?

 

[gtbarsi]

I'd spend the 4.99 for the PERMEATE PUMP and then route the line the way you originally intended. The pump can push a lot more than what you need.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Permeate pumps ONLY work with drinking water pressure tanks. They need the pressure inside the tank to drive the piston or disk. They do nothing for a normal RO/DI system which does not have a pressure tank and dumps into a sump or ATO storage. Permeate pumps are great for a drinking water system though and I highly recommend them for that application but they are expensive. you will pay over $50 on ebay and more from well known vendors, as much as $100, which will almost get you an Aquatec 8800 booster pump.

The weight of the water has nothing to do with headloss, it could be a 4" line or a 1/4" line, the weight makes no difference. It is the vertical distance not the volume that counts for head and the 3/8" tubing offers lower friction losses so is prefferable.

 

[Mstanker]

I think I will be tapping into a water source some where in side my garage, just have to find one

 

[AZDesertRat]

As long as the garage stays a livable temperature year round that is OK. RO membranes and DIO resins do not like heat or cold, anything over 113 degrees will melt a membrane and freezing damages not only the membrane and housings but also the DI resin. One other thing to consider is colder water treats better and makes your DI last longer so the garage at 85 may use twice as much resin as in the house with 50 something degree water temp and 70 something air temp. Then you have the problem of disposing of the waste stream in the garage, you need a drain or a safe place to run the water without the possibility of a backflow or contamination. If you can install a laundry sink that works great if you have both cold water and a drain available. I would also highly recommend softened water if you have that available, all membrane manufacturers recommend soft water and most will not honor a warranty claim if soft water was not used. it is the best thing you can do for an RO membrane with raising pressure the second best.

 

[Sacohen]

You don't have a hose spigot by the garage?
I got an adapter to fit on to that and then ran pvc from the spigot to the RO/DI unit in the garage and then just ran the waste water out to the garden in the front of the house.

 

[Mstanker]

So what do we think about having the water kept outside????

 

[Sacohen]

Where do you live?
I'm in S. Fl and I have my RO/DI in ny garage then I bring it in to my ATO tank, but I'm probablyb going to move it to thebfarage in a month or so.

Are you talking about keeping it totally outside?

If you do have a tight seal on it so nothing can crawl in.

 

[Mstanker]

Live in ms I will be holding it in a brute can. But maybe just make the water out side an bring it back in the garage?

 

[Sacohen]

The Brute cans have a pretty tight lid, or at least mine does.
How far is your spigot from the garage?

 

[Mstanker]

What about if I tape into my water heater in the attic drop a PVC pipe down and should work?

 

[Sacohen]

Yeah. That should work.

 

[Novillac]

I don't know how your house and garage are set up but I plumbed my water softener and whole house filter into the drain of my downstairs bathroom (which shared a wall with my garage).

With this said, my RO is under the sink in my kitchen (because I have to filter the water in order to drink it here in vegas) and I tap off 5 gallons at a time when I need to make saltwater.

 

[Mstanker]

Well I could go under my sink fill the brute can up and then well it out to the garage. An try to keep the brute can filled up. I have 2 brute cans do people keep salt water already mixed