Greybeard
2500 Club Member
Many years ago, before commercial ATO systems were available, I connected my RO/DI system to a float valve in my (Rubbermaid) sump. Worked pretty well. Only issue I ever had with that system was the less than reliable Auto Shut Off Valve (ASOV) the RO/DI system relied on. They haven't changed much... today's ASOV's look like they could have come from the same box as the one that first quit on me in about 1995. Didn't cause a flood, but it _did_ keep running waste water through my RO system and down the drain. I didn't know about it until we found that my water usage had more than doubled. Lesson learned, don't trust them.
Over the decades, I've had about every kind of ATO system you might imagine. A few years back, with my 60g cube, I had an EShopps sump with a built in float valve... I bought a 5g reservoir, and refilled it manually, with a hand valve and another float valve. Not ideal, but it worked.
For my new 140g peninsula, I bought a Tunze 3155. Expensive solution, but hey, if that's what it takes... I plumbed it to my EShopps 5g reservoir. Had to refill about every other day. Manual refill just isn't going to work. Wired up a fairly elaborate refill system using float valves, a 120VAC solenoid, and the DIY breakout box on my Apex. Low level opened solenoid, high level shut it off... mechanical float valve backed that up, and a timer let me know if something weird happened.
Worked great, for a few months... EBay solenoid failed. Bought one from AirWaterIce. That one lasted a few months, and it too failed. Bought yet another 120VAC solenoid, and it, too, failed. Unacceptable.
So, Black friday, Tunze stuff on sale, I picked up the Tunze solenoid, and eliminated the 5g reservoir entirely. Back to running straight from the RO/DI to the sump. I plumbed in a mechanical float valve that would stop the flow if the sump level went an inch or so over normal. Good enough... or so I thought. Within weeks, I was having problems again.
My RO/DI system is slow. It's a known issue... we're on a well, and our well flow is limited. Anyway, eventually, the RO system exceeded the max run timer on the Tunze ATO system, which shut off the solenoid and started the alarm. It's in a closet... I didn't notice until my return pump started sucking air.
Ugh.
A few days ago, I turned off the Tunze ATO system entirely, pulled the Tunze solenoid out of the loop, and hooked up the RO/DI output directly to the float valve. Lowered it to keep the water where I wanted it, and called it good.
Right back where I started, two decades ago.
I already have a high sump sensor switch tied to the Apex. If the water level hits that, it was already emailing me, and shutting off the skimmer. That's my fail safe... if the float valve gets stuck, it'll hit that dry level sensor and email me. Wish I could do something to shut off the flow, but I just don't trust these cheap 120VAC solenoid valves. I guess I'll have to live with it.
BRS showed a device in one of their videos on a direct RO/DI ATO system that closed a quarter inch valve when it sensed water... If I could put something like that into the loop, it might help me sleep better... anyone remember what the name of that gizmo was?
Over the decades, I've had about every kind of ATO system you might imagine. A few years back, with my 60g cube, I had an EShopps sump with a built in float valve... I bought a 5g reservoir, and refilled it manually, with a hand valve and another float valve. Not ideal, but it worked.
For my new 140g peninsula, I bought a Tunze 3155. Expensive solution, but hey, if that's what it takes... I plumbed it to my EShopps 5g reservoir. Had to refill about every other day. Manual refill just isn't going to work. Wired up a fairly elaborate refill system using float valves, a 120VAC solenoid, and the DIY breakout box on my Apex. Low level opened solenoid, high level shut it off... mechanical float valve backed that up, and a timer let me know if something weird happened.
Worked great, for a few months... EBay solenoid failed. Bought one from AirWaterIce. That one lasted a few months, and it too failed. Bought yet another 120VAC solenoid, and it, too, failed. Unacceptable.
So, Black friday, Tunze stuff on sale, I picked up the Tunze solenoid, and eliminated the 5g reservoir entirely. Back to running straight from the RO/DI to the sump. I plumbed in a mechanical float valve that would stop the flow if the sump level went an inch or so over normal. Good enough... or so I thought. Within weeks, I was having problems again.
My RO/DI system is slow. It's a known issue... we're on a well, and our well flow is limited. Anyway, eventually, the RO system exceeded the max run timer on the Tunze ATO system, which shut off the solenoid and started the alarm. It's in a closet... I didn't notice until my return pump started sucking air.
Ugh.
A few days ago, I turned off the Tunze ATO system entirely, pulled the Tunze solenoid out of the loop, and hooked up the RO/DI output directly to the float valve. Lowered it to keep the water where I wanted it, and called it good.
Right back where I started, two decades ago.
I already have a high sump sensor switch tied to the Apex. If the water level hits that, it was already emailing me, and shutting off the skimmer. That's my fail safe... if the float valve gets stuck, it'll hit that dry level sensor and email me. Wish I could do something to shut off the flow, but I just don't trust these cheap 120VAC solenoid valves. I guess I'll have to live with it.
BRS showed a device in one of their videos on a direct RO/DI ATO system that closed a quarter inch valve when it sensed water... If I could put something like that into the loop, it might help me sleep better... anyone remember what the name of that gizmo was?
