I have no desire to run 50' of tubing along my basement ceiling from my RO/DI and drill a hole through my floor just to save me from topping up my ATO once a week with a bucket of water. :)

+1

it all depends on what your setup will allow. I'm sure most of us would prefer a fish room in the basement with the sump and a mixing station with the display on the main floor but theres a cost/sacrifice associated with these kinds of setups.

the guys building new homes around their tanks are able to do this with the least impact to their homes. If i drilled a hole in the floor in my living room my wife would drill a hole in my head. I did try to use a hole that was once used for a cable line but it didnt work (must have been plugged when the basement was finished.

all setups are not 100% fool proof. Those timers pooch ALL THE Time. Controllers do weird things during power surges/outages on occasion. Solenoids freeze up as well.

I use a float valve hooked through a solenoid that opens for 15 min 4 times a day. Pressure shutoff on RO unit. It's been working great for a couple years now and honestly the best thing I ever did for my tank.

+1

I'm actually Ok with my setup. My ATO reservoir under my tank holds about 8 gallons. I fill that up at the start of the week as well as a couple of 5g buckets that I leave in the living room. Once the 8g reservoir runs low I top it up manually with the other 5g buckets sitting near the tank. I pump the water up from the basement so I just need to unwind a hose. No buckets to carry (very far).

Auto Top Off styles??
 

That's essentially what I do, very low risk, easy to use, and not many parts.

To cause a flood the solenoid would need to fail on AND the float valve would need to fail at the same time. That would still only cause a 15 minute fail, the timer would need to fail as well to lengthen that.

Cycling my RO system just means a few extra automatic membrane rises per day.

Yup, same here. I have a double manual float system in one sump and a double electronic float (from autotopoff.com) in the other, both feeding directly from my RO/DI output. I have solenoids which turn on every 6 hours for 10 minutes. And the failure mode for the solenoids is in the off position.

Very simple and reliable system. And my RODI has an auto shut-off valve, so no problem with the membrane.

I have an ATO tank that holds 14 g - to fill it I do need to carry 5g buckets water upstairs every Thursday evening. I would love to have a more automated system but like others I have the challenge of the tank being on one floor and the RO/DI in the basement. I have looked at simple ways to run a line from the basement to upstairs, but there is no easy way. Also like others I am afraid that a drilled hole in the floor might result in my premature funeral :lol:. Having said this, I have found a way to automate my system somewhat - a 15 year old son who can carry the buckets of water upstairs! Sometimes this system is tough to get started, but it sure beats me carrying the buckets upstairs!

That trick only Lasts so long. Dad grabbed the valves from work I have the on the inlet side of the ro/do system so the copper valve body isn't a problem. He did find some at princess auto ( copper body). I know they make a all plastic one as well as stainless but their expensive ill see if dad remembers who makes them and the supply house to get them from. The timer I'm using I got from Home Depot. For those that their tank is on a different floor if you have a furnace vent close you could snake it up that way or have a length of hose off your ro that you pull out when you need to top up the resivior I used to do that before we renoed the house.

I run a jbj ATo with a maxijet 1200

The maxijet is in a 55g drum in my garage that's fed directly from my rodi system, pumped through a hose that goes from my garage to my living room