ATO. I need help picking one.

[quader94]

im gonna gues he means he manuelly turns off his rodi unit?

[Elegance Coral]

I'm tired and probably not thinking straight, but it he manually turns off the RO/DI, the ATO isn't going to work, correct? I'm confused. LOL.

[Fat Tony]

the feed line to the RODI, what I personally do is check the reservoir every few days, when it is starting to get to the low point I turn the RODI on manually and the autoshutff keep the RODI from processing any water. Then when the reservoir calls for water the solenoid will open and the RODI will make water and continue to do so until the high level switch trips... it's fairly simple.

[Elegance Coral]

Okay. I think I get it.

If I do the reservoir thing, I will need to pump the water UP to a tank in the system, correct? That makes it hard to pump the water into the sump. If the reservoir is positioned higher than the tank I'm pumping into, a syphon will be created and all the water in the reservoir will drain into the tank. How do you overcome this problem? I would much rather have the kalk dosed into the sump so that it is diluted before it enters the display.

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by Elegance Coral

... If the reservoir is positioned higher than the tank (or sump-edit,tdw) I'm pumping into, a syphon will be created and all the water in the reservoir will drain into the tank. How do you overcome this problem? I would much rather have the kalk dosed into the sump so that it is diluted before it enters the display.

Have the end of the line from the pump going into an open vertical drain tube to the sump at a point higher than the level of the water in the reservoir. In this manner, the tube will have a siphon break for when the pump cuts off. The pipe can be a piece of ~ 1" PVC long enought when stuck in a corner and zip tied into place (so it will not fall over) that it will keep the top end higher than the reservior, yet still deliver the water to the sump. Diameter should be such that the pipe from the pump must be also zip-tied into place (drill a small hole for the zip tie at the top of the pipe) and allow an airbreak at the top of the tube. It also may be beneficial to either slot the bottom of the tube or drill a number of holes in it to allow for easy drainage of the kalk/topoff from the pipe.

I'll send pix if this is not clear.

[Elegance Coral]

Thanks Tom. That's perfectly clear.

Now I have a problem with the float switches. I understand how the switches in the sump work. The ones in the reservoir have me confused. When the water level drops below the bottom switch, the circuit closes and the RO/DI comes on. As the water level rises, the bottom float switch breaks the circuit and the RO/DI turns off. How do I get the RO/DI to stay on until the water level reaches the top float switch?

[chrisd]

in simple terms you will have two switches in your reservior. one will be a low limit switch that will turn off your pump that supplys water to your sump so as not to burn out your pump. the second will be your high float switch for your RODI unit that will turn off the RODI unit when the desired water line is reached. the third switch will be in your sump that turns the pump on in your reservior to top off your sump.

[Fat Tony]

It's a latching circuit, the lower switch will turn on the RODI when the water level gets low, and when it is filling the reservoir the upper switches will unlatch the circuit. If you follow my diagram to a "T" you will see how it is wire for the latching circuit to work correctly.

[Elegance Coral]

I'm still trying to figure out the diagram. Where do I get the relays?

[Fat Tony]

you can get the relays at mcmaster carr or grainger, or really any local electrical supply store. You need to get bases for the relays as well. Make sure you get the same voltage relay for the voltage you are using to control your float switches. Also make sure you get a relay that is normally closed and has dual contact points in the relay

[Fat Tony]

What control voltage are you using? I have a couple relays here I can send you if it is 12VDC (I think, I have to locate them)

[Elegance Coral]

I don't know. The solenoid I was looking at on Autotopoff. com works on 120V. I would emagion the float switches would work on 120ac or 12dc. Here is what they say about their float switches. "Switching system is done by a 15 Amp relay, allowing you to use a device rated up to 1800 watts."

[Fat Tony]

yes, the float switches will work on 12VDC, 120VAC or anything between... you just need to supply the powersupply to power them

[Elegance Coral]

The solenoid on ATO.com won't work with your diagram. I would need to find a 12VDC solenoid, correct?

[Fat Tony]

I can redraw the diagram to work with the ATO.com solenoid... but I can save you some money instead...

mcmaster.com PN 7877K5, make sure you select the proper voltage on the left after you click on the PN on the webpage...