RO/DI Hookups/Usage/How to!

[bobothewizard]

Hi all, im thinking of buying a RO/DI unit in the very very near future but my question is, how do these things hook up. Im currently living in a apartment so i have no basement to hook up a auto top off system. How do these things hold water? They say it will do 50 or so gallons a day, but where does this water go or where is it stored? The only thing i can hook this up to is my main spicket in my kitchen, and uhh i think my wife would choke me if she couldnt get water to wash the dishes and stuff.

 

[dsa_mom]

I was very unsure whether we could manage an RO/DI unit also, being somewhat mechanically inept. I know some people hook the unit up under the kitchen sink with a water reservoir of some kind (naturally not very large capacity)
We have ours hooked up to the faucet in the laundry room utility tub. The connection has a "gate valve" so you can direct the water either to the sink or the unit without breaking the connection. Then we just have a 15 gal rubbermaid on the floor to collect water. We have the unit run for a few hours in the evening and then bottle the water (after mixing and aerating) in gallon jugs.
Maybe you can get a few more options from other members, but this works great for us. Good Luck.

 

[frankl15207]

Connecting mine permanently isn't an option, because when it comes to plumbing I'm an idiot.
Now that the weather is nice, I have a hose hookup that feeds into a 10 gallon tank. The rejected water is either dumped into a large rubbermaid container and used to water the plants, or is directly fed into the garden area. Since I don't need that much of it on a weekly basis, I have a good idea of how long it will take to fill up, so it is generally run while we are around to keep an eye on it. It is then stored in one gallon plastic containers. Once the weather here goes south, I will be switching it over to the sink adaptor. I haven't figured out yet whether or not to use the tank or just a bucket and watch it much closer.
I would prefer the permanent auto-shutoff reserve tank option, but that just isn't going to happen in my situation.

 

[bobothewizard]

What do you mean mixing and aerating? You saying you already mix the salt and then bottle it?

 

[dsa_mom]

yes, the way we do it is to mix the salt and water in the rubbermaid and let it sit with a powerhead for a day or so and then bottle it. We also bottle some plain for top-offs. Hasn't been a problem that I'm aware of.....anyone aware of any?

 

[shadow678]

Bobo, I'm assuming that by saying the only place you can hook it up is the kitchen sink, that you do not have any washer/dryer hookups? This is a prime place to hook it up, if you do. You can go to the garden section of your local hardware store and purchase a Y-branch in standard waterhose size, with a valve on each branch. Screw this onto your main water connection that supplies water to your washer, then attach the washer hose to one output, the RO/DI unit to the other, and you can use the valve on the Y-adapter to turn the unit on/off. If this is not an option, most RO/DI manufacturers give plumbing options when the unit is purchased. You could always go to your local plumbing supply and ask the sales attendant what would be the best method for getting it hooked up to your sink. HTH

 

[bobothewizard]

This is actually what i bought.. Looks like it comes with all the goodies. Im not sure.. And yes the only place i can set it up pretty much is under the kitchen sink. I actually talked my wife into this because she usually buys bottled water to drink. Figured we could bottle our own with this.
http://www.airwaterice.com/Home%20Reef.htm

 

[broomer5]

Bobothewizard,
That looks like a pretty decent system for the money, but I can't really tell from the picture what you get in the way of waterline coonections.
You can do the cold water line washing machine tee/branch/valve connection as described above - but that doesn't seem to be an option for you.
OR sink faucet - sort of inconvienient and looks crappy.
OR garden hose - sort of cheesy but works.
OR copper pipe wet/tap saddle fitting ( like an ice maker on your fridge ) - more permanent - but easier to hide under sink cabinet and would be the preferred route in my opinion.
Hardware stores may have what you're looking for, or you can buy these accessories online from many sources - this being one of them.
RO water - connections

 

[bobothewizard]

Ok, ill have to wait for it to come in then run to home depot to ask lots of questions thanks alot for the help, its greatly appreciated.

 

[frankl15207]

Originally posted by Bobothewizard
This is actually what i bought.. Looks like it comes with all the goodies. Im not sure.. And yes the only place i can set it up pretty much is under the kitchen sink. I actually talked my wife into this because she usually buys bottled water to drink. Figured we could bottle our own with this.
I have the reefkeepers unit from them ($135), and you should have both a hose and faucet adaptor in there. If you have any questions on how to "plumb" the hose adaptor I can type you through that. The faucet adaptor basically replaces the aerator on your faucet. If you want to use the self-piercing valve, count me out!

 

[bobothewizard]

Wohoo, thanks a bunch. The unit arrives think on thursday. Youll be hearing from be prolly friday if all goes bad. Thanks a bunch.