RO/DI in garage

[kaledrina]

How?

No idea how its done or what to connect it to... as well as possible dangers I should be aware of.

 

[melev]

You need a cold water source, and a drain.

The excessive heat of summer could cause some issues (bacterially possibly) within the housings, and the freezing cold of winter could rupture the housings, the fittings, and even the membrane itself. Insulating it well would be the best bet to protect it from either extreme. It should definitely not be in direct sunlight.

If the water passing through the membrane gets to 110F or higher, the membrane deteriorates quickly. Having the system in a very hot garage running might be okay, but it would be good to find out the water temperature coming out of the system as well as a quick check of the water temperature if it is sitting there roasting in the summer while turned off.

I prefer to have mine in the utility room.

 

[kaledrina]

The only places in the house to keep it would be in the bathroom, back porch, garage, or in the laundry room.

Indoors always poses a risk with my nieces getting into the tubing and water getting everywhere.

Annnd I don't want to anything drastic since my dad won't appreciate me tearing up his house any more than I have already.

 

[melev]

The laundry room is the perfect room.

 

[Nazrac]

i have a 3yo a 7yo and a 10yo and my ro/di is in the laundry room. I have a bladder tank and a 25' hose that reaches my tank for filling daily. Never has any of them messed with it. I mounted the system behind the dryer and the tank next to it with the hose wraped around the tank. Works very well and with the tank i have around 4 gallons of instant ro/di and never accidentally overfill a jug.

 

[kaledrina]

I know I sound like a complete noob but how would I go about setting it up in the laundry room?

It's more like a laundry hall (its in the entry way of the garage) with the dryer on one side and the washer on the other. The water heater is on the washer side in the garage. I don't know how to hook anything up over there or what I'd need to do.

The water heater runs on gas too so I don't want to blow the house up in the process.

 

[Guest]

i would put a Y on my cold water connection that goes to ro unit and waste water goes out into washing machine waste water tube in the wall

 

[Nazrac]

to bms you need the Wye as pampee said but to go to the ro unit you need a hose bib to 1/4 poly adapter. then just mount the unit however it is made with either drywall screws or preferably with wall anchors.

 

[melev]

It should be hung on the wall with some screws. The screws should be secure, preferably screwed into something solid like wood. What I did in my utility room is put up some nice shelving, which doubled both as a strong solid surface for the system plus a great place for household cleaning supplies.

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You'll need a Y connection on the cold water line that leads to the washing machine. One side gets the hose for the washer, the other goes to the RO system.

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The drain line goes into the same pipe the washing machine drains into. That's it.

 

[kaledrina]

Stupid question... Where do I turn the water off/on?

Also would it hurt the washing machine to keep the 5g bucket on top of it until it fills? The machines are in the walkway to/from the garage so I can't put them on the floor. And how do I connect the ro drain to the washer drain?

Sorry I'm so noob at this. I haven't had good cause to play with the plumbing in the house yet. Probably for really good reason too!

 

[bimmerzs]

@kaledrina wrote:

5 gallons of water weighs about 45lbs....you really want to try lifting that off the washing machine. :shock: This is another reason to have a 100gpd unit, it would only takes an hour to make 4 gallons of water (provided temp and water pressure are optimum)

 

[melev]

@kaledrina wrote:

Most units come with an Auto Shut Off Valve (ASOV). By closing the ballvalve in the tubing like you see in the picture I posted of my own, the unit pressurizes and the water turns off going into the unit.

The drain line tubing slips in next to the drain from the washer. It's snug, but works.

You'll probably want the jug, bucket or trashcan on the floor when you make water. And as Ron pointed out, it only has to be that way for a few hours. You can always use longer tubing from the RO unit to the collection container, which can be purchased at Home Depot (1/4" icemaker tubing).

 

[Nazrac]

also if you want do what i did and get the wye that has shutoff valves for each outlet but I only did that so i could shut the water off for changing filters and not the washer for the odd chance my wife walkes in the exact moment I am changing filters and starts a load. I know highly unlikely but you know how they can be. :lol:

 

[kaledrina]

Marc.. So your blue tube has the valve on it? I think I got it! Maybe I'll get a longer water tube and have the bucket in the garage while its filling. Toddlers aren't the best at following directions..

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[melev]

In the picture I posted above, the blue tube is drinking water (RO). The opaque tubing is tank water (RO/DI) and that is why it is so much longer. It reaches into jugs or to a big 55g barrel when necessary.

Each one has a ball valve.

Also, on the red tubing, I put an easy to reach ball valve so I could turn off the water going into my system for when I have to change the filters or simply when I go out of town. That way I don't risk a flood - anything can and does happen, right?

The most you should push the water is 40' from the system. If you can keep it less than that, even better.

 

[Guest]

@Marc wrote:

Marc i had to move my ro/di outside but it is in the shade. will bacteria show up on output tds?

 

[melev]

Not necessarily. What I would recommend is that each time you replace the filters you wipe down the housings with 10:1 bleach water, rinse them very well, air dry them outdoors for at least an hour, rinse them again then reassemble.

 

[stratman]

You could always convince dad to split the bill and add R/O water to the sink & fridge :wink:. Here is how I did it... http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=41617

I filled with a valve just like Marc is talking about to a 5G jug. Just recently, I added a 65G storage tank in the garage with an ATO, and just fill my 5G jugs from there. I plan on adding a 2nd 65G tank for mixing my salt water. It's nice to know that for my 90G tank, I'll have 120+ gallons of water on hand at all times.

(But the real reason for the tanks is that my nephew paid for part of this so he could get water! :twisted: )

 

[melev]

James, once that water heats up in the garage, how do you plan to use it? I like your DIY build thread.

 

[stratman]

@Marc wrote:

I have a closet in the house I keep filled 5G jugs in (hmm.. guess that means I really have closer to 150G on hand. They don't call me Capt. Overkill for nothing :wink: .) I fill them from the garage tanks the day before I do a water change. For my ATO into my sump, I have a 5G jug with an aqualifter. Even if the water was pretty warm, it's added to the sump at a pretty slow trickle.

I had thought about the heat, but now I think I'll buy one of those little coralife digital thermometers and stick the lead in the 65G tank just so I'll know at a glance where the temp is.

We use this method at my other nephew's office w/attached garage (RODI into 2x65G tanks, 1 fresh, 1 for mixing). We don't have any heat issues from it. We really don't even experience much flux in salinity due to mixing salt with warm water. It hasn't been a problem for 15-20% water changes.

The system wasn't designed to really be a big emergency water source. It was designed to keep me from having a hernia. I was lugging 3 5G jugs to town for RO water for the kitchen and 6 5G jugs for DI water a week. Town for me = 15 minutes one way for RO and 30 min one way for DI.