DIY topoff switch

[whitebird]

thanks Grouper
iyachtuxivn first if you count your time in $ in this hobby i wouldn't be doing it, but the cost of the parts was about
2 light switchs $1.50
1 outlet about $2.00
piece of plexyglass that was lying around maybe $5.00
2 boxes for switch and outlet $2.50
2ft of 1/2" hose $1.00
old CA 180 pump $15.00?
old 10gal tank for topff water $10?
electric cord that came off somthing free
so around $37 if i bought everything new
and to buy 2 float switchs with the relay and the 12volt poer suply if i remember they was about $40.00 plus shipping and with out the pump and tank and after trying one float switch that cost $10 to get it here and seeing how light they are made it would be hard for me to trust them, and for the light switch they last for years but i may go with one more just as a fail safe thing as i stated in the above post

 

[michael1972]

you could use two of them one to turn off the power if the water gets to high.
has any one used a toilet flush ?
then you dont have to wory about power.

 

[whitebird]

Michael a toilet flush float to me would be a pain and your topoff tank would have to be higher than the sump and most don't have room for that i would think,
here is a pic of useing a double switch as i may do later on the one on the left would be the backup and would power the topoff switch and would be on all the time to power the other one for the pump and if the pump sticks on the left switch should kill the power

 

[michael1972]

plum or pipe or just run your RO right to the top off then ther is no tank at all and now even you have more room b/c there is no top off tank it comes from your ro unit??
what do you think about that.

 

[whitebird]

well that would work but if anything went wrong you would have a continuous suply of water going to your tank and or sump where as a 5 or 10 gal top off tank you would only have that amount pumped in

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by reefraff
http:///forum/post/2677212
I'd be a little concerned about the life of the switch from all the off/on cycles and how slow the contacts come together. Might cause some arcing. If you could hook the swicth up to a 12v power source and then use that to control a solid state relay it would be less apt to fail.

Another way to address this issue would be to connect a small capacitor across the switch contacts. That will help reduce the arc as the switch cycles.
A 0.1mfd, 400v polyester film capacitor should work nicely. Parts Express sells them for less than a buck, PN 020-1888. You need to buy 10 at a whack, but even then it's only a few dollars. If you use a different type of cap, be sure it's rated for several hundred volts, is less than 0.25mfd (any more and the pump may not shut off) and that it's NON-POLARIZED. Just for the record, radio shack does not sell a suitable capacitor.
Another thing you may do as for the failsafe is set another switch higher up. That way if the ATO goes crazy and overfills, the second switch will cut it off. Just wire the two switches in series.

 

[whitebird]

Another thing you may do as for the failsafe is set another switch higher up. That way if the ATO goes crazy and overfills, the second switch will cut it off. Just wire the two switches in series.
this is what i do plan on doing double switch