Solenoid for Manifold

M

mitch91175

Premium Member
I have a calc reactor being fed off my secondary manifold. I would like to have my AC3Pro stop feeding water to the calc reactor if my pH reached a certain level. First question is do I need to stop feeding the calc reactor water (CO2 already being controlled by AC3) in order not affect pH levels in my tank? Second if so (without having to get a separate pump) what is a good solenoid to use to stop the water flow to the reactor?


Would something like this accomplish what I am trying to do: http://www.giplindia.com/G1180-1-2inch-specs.htm
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Or will this work better (http://www.giplindia.com/domestic-RO.htm):
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I also found this: http://www.fishbowl-innovations.com/product/solenoid
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@Ashlar wrote:
I use the one Ron mentioned for my ATO reservoir fill system said:
I think I am going to go with the one I posted at the bottom since I can get it next week. Thanks guys, I wanted to make sure that I was on the right path for stopping the water flow from my manifold to the calc reactor.
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@mitch91175 wrote:
[I]@Ashlar wrote:[/I][quote="I use the one Ron mentioned for my ATO reservoir fill system said:
I think I am going to go with the one I posted at the bottom since I can get it next week. Thanks guys, I wanted to make sure that I was on the right path for stopping the water flow from my manifold to the calc reactor."]

Mitch,

The only thing that concerns me is the internals on this one. The one from autotopoff states that the internal components are saltwater safe (plastic and stainless steel). The one on your bottom link doesn't mention that information but does make a point to mention that it should be installed before the ro/di unit so the internals could contain brass (copper). Not saying it does have cooper but it's something to think about. :wink:
Cheers,
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Ron, having had one from autotopoff fail on me, I can categorically state that they're big fat liars ;) The plunger is stainless steel, but it's sitting in a brass seat. Mine failed because the stainless steel pin that pushes the diaphragm.. rusted :)

If you get it and open it up, I bet this is the same king of valve body. A rubber gasket with a stainless steel washer imbedded in it is pushed by a stainless steel pin, with a metal spring behind it, connected to a steel piston that is driven by the electromagnetic coil. Given a lot of use, the gasket will fail eventually, especially considering the corrosive nature of pure water. When that happens, water will get in and things will rust.

As long as this unit has a similar operation, I wouldn't worry. I wouldn't use a fridge solenoid, though, many use a brass plunger to occlude the opening.
 
@Ashlar wrote:
Ron said:
Good to know info......so the truth is out there finally. :lol: Still have to be careful with all the manufacturing that comes in from oversee's these day's, there could be anything in there. Heck, if they don't care what goes into kid's toy's, it's no telling what materials are used for these. :wink: Hopefully these will be ok but I still would use them pre-filter.

Cheers,
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why would you want to stop the flow of water going through your ca reactor?

just like the rick said about the chiller needing water going through it constantly. you dont want stagnant water in the ca reactor from going sour would be the main benefit to keep water going through it.
 
also since this solenoid is not going to be excercised ofrequently i would think buildup might cause it not to activate as tankwater is going through it
 
Too much automation at a semi-critical point for me to feel comfortable with it...

Instead of relying on this for the water flow.... is there any particular reason you are not just using the AC3 to trip solenoid on the CO2 head-set/regulator? Their natural position is OFF, so it has to be triggered to open which provides you some level of safety. To deactivate a Ca Reactor, just cut the CO2, there is no reason to shut the flow of water off.

Or am I missing something here??
 
I guess that I have the same questions as Pampee and Dave.... why are you cutting the water supply? From what I have read it is best to keep it circulating...

I am setting my system up like "mo" has his. I have a Milwaukee PH controller with the probe in the reactor to monitor the PH in the reactor. I will then have the PH Controller plugged into my AC3 which will monitor the ph in the tank. Should something go wrong with the controller and get out of limits on the ph settings on my AC3 it will shut off power to the PH controller.
 
if you want stop flow just feed your ca reactor through a mj and put it on a dc8 port.
 
That was part of my original question was do I need to stop the water flow to the reactor. I guess now I know that I do not have to stop the water flow to the reactor, only the CO2. I was thinking that if I still had water flow to the reactor and my pH dropped in the effluent, that I needed to stop both the CO2 and the water from going to the reactor. Thanks for clearing this up for me. I guess I will have a spare solenoid lying around that I could use for something else.
 
@DaveJ wrote:
Too much automation at a semi-critical point for me to feel comfortable with it... Instead of relying on this for the water flow.... is there any particular reason you are not just using the AC3 to trip solenoid on the CO2 head-set/regulator? Their natural position is OFF said:
This is exactly what I was looking for Dave. This is my first rodeo with a reactor so I wasn't sure on the whole CO2/water flow thing. I will work on setting it up tonight starting out with a very slow drip.
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Yep, on my Ca reactor I drilled and tapped a bung in the top ( my reactor is a PM down flow model ) to allow for a pH probe installation.
I connect that probe to me Milwaukee SMS 122 controller. I have SMS 122 controller powered by my DC8 off of my AC3. The pH probe from my AC3 is in the sump.

So, here's the setup....

Ca Reactor has a pH of 6.7. The SMS 122 comes on at 6.8 and shuts down at 6.6. This is the pH within the main chamber of the reactor.

The AC3 monitors the sump / tank water and will shut off the SMS 122 if the tank drops below 7.98 and alarms if it drops below 7.90.


Hope this helps some,
 
My pH in my effluent cup is 6.97. I was reading that to decrease it to 6.5-6.7 that you need to decrease the flow to the cup. Is this accurate or should I increase the CO2 to the reactor?
 
Depends on who you ask.......

I have my reactor running at a slow srteam / fast drip which depends on who is looking at it.

I have the SMS 122 controlling the pH at 6.7 in the chamber.

Just rember to make an adjustment and then wait 24 or 48 hours to verify the resukts before making an adjustment.
 
@mo wrote:
Depends on who you ask....... I have my reactor running at a slow srteam / fast drip which depends on who is looking at it. I have the SMS 122 controlling the pH at 6.7 in the chamber. Just rember to make an adjustment and then wait 24 or 48 hours to verify the resukts before making an adjustment. said:
I will increase the CO2 tonight when I get home to 1 bubble every 3 seconds instead of 1 bubble every 5-6 seconds.
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you need to measure both ph and alk...also you need to have your tank's ca and alk levels where you want it
 
@kuyatwo wrote:
you need to measure both ph and alk...also you need to have your tank's ca and alk levels where you want it said:
Man, I agree 110%. The Ca and Alk are way more important than the pH. If the other two are in balance, then the pH should follow....

Mitch, a couple things.
One- My dosing of CO² in the Ca Reactor is based on me not counting bubbles but a measurement within the reactor itself. My pH in the chamber is 100% controlled by the SMS 122 via, how much and how long the CO² is running. I do not count bubbles as I have the regulator set for a stream of CO² coming out.

Two- I posted the following on another thread just last night.
You may find it useful in this case as well.


Regarding tank CA/ Mg / Alk,
here is a calculator many of us use when adjusting our levels.
http://jdieck1.home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

Slow and steady is the name of the game here.

I would suggest you try and get the dKh up around 10 and to do so, I would also suggest you use baked baking soda like used in the receipt from Randy. RHF Link
Your CA would be fine if it were 340-360 range.
You may want the Mg at 1300 - 1500 and is what most suggest as an ideal range.

One last suggestion.
Do not take any of the test until 3 or 4 hours after dosing the Mg or Alk.
Some test regiments are hyper sensitive to newly added chemicals due in part to the ionic balance or the lack of ionic balance.


Good luck,
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