RO/DI and fumes from heating oil

mkzimms

mkzimms

Member
im going to be setting up a RO/DI unit so i dont have to drive 30miles with 5g jugs from my dads house anymore. the only place i have room and an accessible pipe to tap is in my laundry room which also houses our oil heat boiler, the room is about 10' x 10'. it usually smells like heating oil in there, will those fumes leech into the water supply and cause toxicity issues? i know painting and using certain cleaning chemicals in the house can have ill effects on fishtanks so will these heating oil fumes while making water be an issue? the unit will be about 2 ft from the boiler. will i be ok if i use a long hose and actually fill and store the water in another room?
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
I would have the heater checked because you really shouldnt be smelling anything in there are far as heating oil fumes. I understand that there is a smell associated with but I would be worried about a leak or improper ventilation in that room.
If that al checks out fine then I would do a god cleaning and sealing of the room and get the smell and residue out before I instaled it. i doubt anything would come through but for peace of mind I would have it checked though.
Mike
 
mkzimms

mkzimms

Member
its not because of a leak or malfunction of any type... the boiler is brand new, but when we have the oil filled i usually have to bleed the lines to get the air bubbles out and prime the pump. however, it will usually smell like oil in there for about 2 weeks after. oil heat has that ridiculous diesel smell that clings to everything.... but hopefully not to my unit and water supply. no air should be passing through the system at all right? so you think i should be ok if I fill with a long hose and store in another room?
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
the bleeder is inside the home?
if its just alittle off gasing from the bleeding the lines I wouldnt worry about it so much because the RO unit is incased and is sealed so the gassing wont get into the filters.
you could also look into a room divider of sorts with a vapor barrier to keep the fumes from teh gassing on one side of the room. just an idea though.
Mike
 
mkzimms

mkzimms

Member
yeah, the bleeder valve is inside the house at the base of the boiler where the pump and filter is.
the room is not big enough to put a divider in. our house is big, but for some reason this room is made for hobbits. two people cant stand in the room at the same time... think hippo tang in a 12 gallon.
 
almostclueless

almostclueless

Member
Well, I would say that keeping the water in that room (with the smell) is probably a bad idea. I was camping not long ago, and boiled some water over the fire to "sanitize" it. In a nutshell, the water tasted so badly of smoke, I couldn't even get it down if I made coffee out of it. Plastics and liquids hold smells really well.
 
mkzimms

mkzimms

Member
yeah, its 3am here and i'm bored so i took some pictures. lets all have a good laugh at my "nano-room." seriously, there are people on these boards that have more tank volume that my laundry room.
in this one im actually standing outside of the room taking the picture through one of the doors.

in this one i have my back to the boiler, its hot. have you ever seen a room that small with TWO DOORS???


all pictures are life size, hah!
 
mkzimms

mkzimms

Member
yeah. my girlfriend and I rent the house and my land lord is the ex-drummer for alice cooper. him and his friends are a little burnt out. the rest of the house looks amazing, but that room and its joining room in the basement are just a little unsavory. its the basement so i never really pressed him about it. ive checked everything myself and although its not pretty, the plumbing is ok and perfectly safe.
 
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