Wasserpests cheap auto water change

[Ktulu_JL]

WP, you crack me up dude. I finally got around to reading this thread.

Good work! Do you have an update since 4/23 ??

[Wasserpest]

Thank you for asking.

It works great! During the week, I use up the "used water" in the reservoir. Sunday, I open a ball valve, spritz some Prime into the tank, and relax.

Takes about 3 hours to drain and refill, slow enough to not cause major temperature differences. The solenoid gets moderately warm, we'll see for how long it will last.

I can't believe I haven't done this earlier.

Thanks again to Naja002 for helping me figure this out.

[Ktulu_JL]

I know you posted your concern about that solenoid quite a few times. Did you look up the warranty and/or lifespan of it? Check the quality of the power you have supplying it too. I don't think a solenoid should get "too" hot. _Most_ (some?) of those huge quantity parts can last a very long time.

I do sandblasting and painting quite a bit, and have always used cheaper regulators, water collectors, compressor accessories, etc. I think I have only replaced one cheap part so far. All the paint guys laugh at me for using the cheaper stuff, but the products look solid, so I get em... Except for impact guns!!

Did you consider getting a "screamer" to protect your system for the day it does fail? I am sure that one of those parts will eventually go bad. A "screamer" would wake you up if you are home at least...?

I wish I had the balls to install this system that you already have deployed. However I think I am just going to get a large sump instead when I finally deploy the 120 gal

[Wasserpest]

Yeah, the real concern isn't having to replace the solenoid one day, but the possibility that it stays stuck open and I get a wet carpet (again )

It doesn't get hot, just warm. I think it's normal, and won't damage any of it. I will do some research... specs for these solenoids and such.

"The Screamer" might be a worthy investment.

[Brilliant]

Originally Posted by Wasserpest

You are right with the water changes, but this is the fun part, figuring out how to do it in detail. Right now I can do it either way, daily little bits, or weekly 50... I'll see how it goes.

With mechanical devices, reliability is an issue. I am concerned about that. I have very hard water, and over (little) time, there will be calcium deposits on the float valve, which might keep it from closing completely

After one night, the tank level is PERFECT. I'll need to monitor if, over time, the valve gives a little and the water level rises.

Next time I have $100 laying around somewhere, I might look into turning this all electronic, like what we checked out earlier....

Hello,
Nice work you got going here. Its great that your sharing it with everyone. Thank you.

I have a float valve like the one in the kit you linked to.
What does that kit do? I read it and tried to figure it out.
Does it only fill something up to a certain level?!!?!?

I am using a top mount float valve on a storage tank for my RO water, I use a solenoid valve on a timer to prevent excess "waste water" from flowing all the time... I previously used an auto-shutoff valve plumbed into the RO unit to stop "waste water" but it acted up supposedly because I kept shutting off the source water.

[Wasserpest]

You know, I am not sure how that kit works. Tried to figure it out from the little picture, here is a better one:



but not being familiar with the specifics of RO I am not sure how it works or if it would work for refilling a tank. With the simple float switch/irrigation valve combination being much cheaper I didn't pursue that further.

[Naja002]

Hey Wasserpest,

Glad You got it worked out. I am upgrading my tubing to 1/2" ID for both drain and Refill, and I will end up adding one of those float switches. May not exactly fit what Scolley and I were working on, but that System will work anyway. I think I'll just be happy with the peace of mind that the float switch provides.

I have everything to do my 55 and 29--except the float switches themselves. Now I just need to find the time to re-run the bigger tubing.

I should be able to drain 50% of the 55 in about 10 min and refill in 25min. We'll see.

[Wasserpest]

Hehe, I am not trying to get the water change done in record time. Since I don't have to do anything to it, it's okay taking a couple of hours.

With the float switch, it's just two thin cables going over the tank rim, easy to hide, even if it goes against your "all in-line" goal.

Pondering to do the same thing to my 36 gal tank... Need to find a splitter for the water connection (Y) and then drill some more holes. Since I only change water every 2 or 3 weeks in that tank, it's not that urgent. But it sure would be convenient!

[scolley]

Hey Wasserpest - this is too cool that you got this worked out! I'm sorry I didn't see this until now. You are just one innovation after another!

I trust you are gearing up for a long-term progress report - letting us know how it is working?

FWIW - there is something to be learned here IMO... You got this up and working in an apparently reasonable amount of time. Granted I'm trying something a bit tougher, I still don't have anything working. yet either. So there is something to be said about getting it working! That's the metric. There's no credit going to people saying "still haven't gotten the kinks out yet".

Getting it done is what counts!

[Wasserpest]

Originally Posted by scolley

I trust you are gearing up for a long-term progress report - letting us know how it is working?

Actually my progress report was post #32... not really long-term, but I don't expect anything to change. It's actually all quite simple, my only concern was keeping the solenoid engaged for a few hours, but since these are very commonly used ones a) they should last a couple of years and b) would be easy to replace.

Thanks to the help and suggestions of board members this project was completed in short time, and I hope this write-up will help others that are tired of manual water changes to set up something similar. Most will probably just drain the "waste water" and use a reservoir for new water, which is sorta opposite of what I did.

Definitely let me know if you have questions about this!

[scolley]

Originally Posted by Wasserpest

Actually my progress report was post #32... not really long-term, but I don't expect anything to change.

No, I mean LONG term. I've already come to figure out that something that I've hooked up and am happy with for 4-8 weeks is nothing like what I might say about it after a year. Take autodosing for example...

[Wasserpest]

I see... I'll report back in a few years unless, of course, anything changes in the meantime.

[SammyP]

you're crazy man! auto-water change?!?! you're a genius! i think next you need to design and all-in-one do-it-yourself robot that you can program to feed fish, dose ferts, do water changes, trim the plants, clean the filter and order more supplies.

seriously though, thats a fantastic idea.

[Betowess]

Wasser, Just saw this thread. I also cracked up when I saw your completed photo behind the tank with all the geewhiz DIY handydude contraptions. Way to go...LOL. What a gas. My water is nearby too, but too soft. I suppose I could do auto fill the holding container, but that only takes a 20 minutes and my rio 2100 pumps 35 gallons in about 4 minutes. But still, to just throw a switch and go get a cold one. Dude, you rock!

Is that the drain line running through the wall near the bottom of the sheetrock? Did the Mrs. like you drilling holes in her wall?

[scolley]

Originally Posted by Betowess

Did the Mrs. like you drilling holes in her wall?

Bob - sorry pal, you just failed an intelligence test.

It's all about understand the requisite order of events... ASK and DO. Clearly you though ASK came first. Sorry. Some us know to move straight to DO.