Float Valve Problems
 

I am going away for a 10 days tommorow, and with the warmer temps I am going through alot of top up water, so I decided to hook the float valve in my sump right upto my RO/DI unit via 50 feet of water line, instead of the usual 5g reservoir it is usually hooked up to.

The problem is that the float valve doesn't seem to have a good enough seal on it to handle the higher pressure and 'leaks water' so that there is too much fresh water being put in.

The float valve is a Kent valve, and the RO/DI is the Aquasafe Maxis unit. I turned the pressurized reservoir on the RO/DI unit off, so that the only pressure is the pressure from the input.

Does anyone have any suggestions to stop the 'leaking'? I have checked all of the connections on the float valve and they are as tight as I can get them. I cant seem to take the valve off of the sump though, I wanted to do this to see if I could clean / tighten it.

I know that alot of people have their system plumbed into their RO/DI this way, how do they get it to work?

Ooh bad idea, IMO. This is a recipe for disaster as if the RODI can't shut off it can flood your system with RO water, nuking it. Can't you just fill a big garbage can and have that serve as your FW reservoir? Thats what I do when I go on vacation. Barring that you'd probably need a shutoff valve to shut down the RO unit when the reservoir is full.

Do you just have the kent float valve (paddle) or the entire shut off kit which includes the pressure celenoid? Install the celenoid on the clean side of the RO membrance housing and go directly to the float valve.

Where does it leak from? Any pictures?

I'd be careful of hooking it straight to the sump, heavy danger. I was having problems with my dosing pump in the res staying on because the float valve in the sump would stick so I put it on a timer and now no more flooding. Maybe you can use a bigger res for while you're away and impliment that type of idea. I just use a large garbage can for mine. If you can fill a larger res with enough water to last your vacation that is what I would do. It's worth the $15 at Crappy Tire to be safe.

I am interested to know more about the garbage can method. I am going away and am trying to figure out how to rig a top off system. What else is needed for the garbage can solution?
So far my Ideas are to cut the bottom off an 18L bottle of water and install a ball valve in some tubing so when the water level drops it opens the valve and tops up. but man am I scared to do that

My RO/DI is hooked up to a 20g garbage can with a Kent float valve.
The float valve stays clean being in fresh water, if it were to stick you flood the can not your tank.
Then you can use your top up method of choice from the can to your tank. I've been using the Blue-line Tsunami AT-1 but there are others.

I recognize the possibility for disaster here, but having a 40g reservoir sitting above the level of my sump would put the same sort of pressure on the float valve and would result in the same situation (of the valve leaking), and would have nearly the same consequences as having the RO directly plumbed in minus a few gallons extra on the floor.

I figured this way was going to be easier then the large garbage can method (that's what I was going to do in the first place), as I wouldn't have to worry about raising the can above the sump level, and I wouldn't have to haul a bunch of water across the house (as my RO in in the Bedroom sink and the tank is across the house in the living room). Plus this way I don't have to worry about a hose drilled / siliconed in letting go.

Regardless of all that, I found out what the problem was after playing around for an hour this morning. The seal where the RO line came in was no good anymore, so after taking it all apart and putting on some teflon tape its working well! 5 hours of being hooked up (at full pressure) and the level in the sump is dead on. I am going to turn the RO's 5g pressurized reservoir off and throttle back the input on the RO unit anyways.

Thanks for the info on the shutoff valve / pressure solenoid, Christy and 220G. I don't have the valve but it is something that I am going to look into for the future.

Just a comment/question from the other side (I'm using a float valve made for furnace humidifiers).

How many people out there have had their basements flooded or heard of other people having problems with their furnace humidifier. Seems the only problem I've ever heard, relating to the valve, was is they wouldn't flow.

Guessing there's more humidifiers than fish tanks.

My FW holding tank is nearly 100 gallons, and it is 3 feet off the ground. Since the water line is JG tubing (really small), the Kent float valve easily holds the pressure.

Nevertheless, I do have a float switch solenoid that will close the line in the event of unusually high water level in the sump.

How is the FW water maintained (sealed container, do you keep it aerated, agitated, any concerns of undesirable grow etc)?

I'm using the same system. I tried a Coralife float on my reservior and flooded my basment with R/O water. Since switching to the humidifier float I've had no further problems. Picked the float up at Home Hardware for 10 bucks. You couldn't use this one with salt water because it has a metal pin for the float lever, but since it isn't actually in the water it is fine for the R/O water.

I have my R/O fw going to the "garbage can" res. I keep the stored water aerated with a small air pump and air stones. I have a dosing pump connected to a timer(sometimes the sump's float valve sticks) and have it running to the sump to keep it topped up. You need to figure what the evap rate is and set it up to compensate. You are welcome to come over and take a look in person if that will help. It's a very simple set up.

reply
 

Thats what I did prior to getting the auto shut off celeniod Christy mentioned above. It helps to save water any way.

Another bonus to having the auto top system running directly into the sump that many haven't thought of; Having fresh cold water frequently dumped into the tank also helps with cooling. My temp has been reduced about .75 to 1 degree since I added the top off system.

Be mindful to use food grade storage containers for your RO/RODI water (or glass or acrylic of course). Especially important for somewhat long-term storage of water, some plastics have been known to leach plastics into the make-up water.

If anyone is interested, my tank made it though my time away no problem. I will likely do this same system again for future extended periods away (hooking my RO unit straight into a sump float valve).

The only problem is that my arrow crab didn't make it through with only flake being fed. I guess I should have thought of this fact, but I really didn't think it was going to be a problem to only have flake (with an auto timer).

Glad your tank made it through with no problems, I saw this article the other day and reminded me of your thread.
Hooking up an RO Unit Directly to your sump - A Recipe for Disaster

I currently have my RO hooked right into my sump with a kent float valve.

Can someone tell me exactly how the Kent shutoff kit that Kristy mentioned above works?

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s..._ID=ro-kpfshut

I also noticed that here

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s..._ID=ro-kpfvkit

"The Float Valve Kit allows an RO to fill a reservoir to a desired level, then shut down water production completely.

This kit works from pressure only, no electricity.

Included within this kit is a pressure solenoid, float valve, check valve, a 1/8" elbow, a male 1/8" x 1/8" connector and 1 foot each of blue and orange tubing.

Not recommended for level control in aquariums."

Right. :biggrin: Basically when the container fills, the float valve closes off the line. The backpressure then triggers the solenoid and shuts off the water to the RO unit. They don't recommend that you use it directly to your aquarium because if something fails your aquarium fills with RO water and can kill everything with a massive drop in salinity.

But I could hook this shutoff kit into my sump so if my float fails at least my house won't flood?

The shutoff kit is designed to be attached to where water enters your RO unit (my understanding of it at least). That way you aren't running water down the drain by just shutting off water coming from the RO unit.