Wow, really?! ANOTHER FLOOD! GRRR!!! Sooooo angry!

[zeroinverse]

Note that there is a nice 12V solenoid valve here:
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10456
But it does pull 300mA, which is on the edge for some cheap float switches.
A relay would be best.

Curious : Why would 24V in the RODI fresh water tank be a safety issue?

If there is a a "short", you can stick your hand into the 24V water and get a nice shock if you are grounded or touching metal, or if your other hand is also touching your salt water tank (which has a grounding probe).

Hopefully in the last case, your GFCI outlet will trip and shut down everything (and hopefully your 24V power source is ON that same GFCI and not another outlet that does not have GFCI protection).

 

[Vincerama2]

I initiated yet another small flood. I put a bucket in the sink to fill it, then forgot about it for a few hours, so it was just wasting water and overflowing slowly. I poured off some of the water and was lifting it up over the edge of the sink, holding it by the ridges on the side...then the plastic ridge broke, the bucket fell down and hit the sink ... I saved most of the water, but sloshed a few gallons onto myself (in my pajamas!) and onto the floor. I still have a nice blood blister on my finger from the bucket braking and cutting into my hand.

Stupid water ...

 

[Coral reefer]

Get a couple 50 or 100 gal storage containers with a shutoff valve already!

 

[sfsuphysics]

If there is a a "short", you can stick your hand into the 24V water and get a nice shock if you are grounded or touching metal, or if your other hand is also touching your salt water tank (which has a grounding probe).

Hopefully in the last case, your GFCI outlet will trip and shut down everything (and hopefully your 24V power source is ON that same GFCI and not another outlet that does not have GFCI protection).

Well hopefully you don't actually have any wires into your water reservoir. The wiring aspect should be well above the water line, any electrical contact should be contained within the ceramic central area (reed switch) but since that part never gets bent or moved no reason you should have any cracks to lead to direct contact with the water. I mean of all the electrical devices shoved into our tanks, I think 24V is probably the least worry about.

I am curious about how well voltage would travel through purified water, it's my understanding that it's the salts in water that makes it really conductive not the ionic nature of water.

Either way, my RO unit has a booster pump, so I need a float switch installed and not just a float valve otherwise the pump won't turn off and probably burn out and/or damage the RO unit.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Get a couple 50 or 100 gal storage containers with a shutoff valve already!

Yeah I'm all up for a group buy to save on shipping I'd like to get a couple black ones though, so I can just shove them in my greenhouse (no room elsewhere!) and maybe the greenhouse will help keep the water warm too.

 

[Coral reefer]

I'd be interested in another 1-2, no interest in organizing or ordering tho. Heck, between the two of us wed probably be alright shipping wise. Anyone else?

 

[zeroinverse]

Which black water storage containers? I just use two 35 gallon Rubbermaid "trashcans"

 

[Coral reefer]

Container depot, couple other sites. All sorts of sizes

 

[Vincerama2]

Get a couple 50 or 100 gal storage containers with a shutoff valve already!

LOL! Well for convenience (of flooding my kitchen) the water jugs work well and there isn't really a place in my tiny house for a container near where the RO is.

I do have a spare acrylic tank that I could probably rig up and maybe run a very long RO line too. Maybe even stick it outside the house.... it would make decent earthquake prep water supply too I guess.

Also, the kitchen floor would never get cleaned if I didn't flood it every once in a while!

 

[sfsuphysics]

Don't know if I'd consider your RO storage as an earthquake water supply, I'd expect bacterial issues to become problematic in short time (at least for human consumption).


And yeah lots of places have them
Example
http://www.plastic-mart.com/category/9/plastic-water-tanks
I like how the 75 gallon one claims free shipping... but is like $100 more than the two other sides smaller and larger than it

 

[Vincerama2]

Don't know if I'd consider your RO storage as an earthquake water supply, I'd expect bacterial issues to become problematic in short time (at least for human consumption).


And yeah lots of places have them
Example
http://www.plastic-mart.com/category/9/plastic-water-tanks
I like how the 75 gallon one claims free shipping... but is like $100 more than the two other sides smaller and larger than it

Interesting ... are we assuming that the addition of aquarium salt will kill off any bacteria that has grown?

 

[zeroinverse]

You can't drink saltwater.

 

[zeroinverse]

Sorry, you CAN drink saltwater, but it will make you more thirsty (ie dehydrated) and defeat the purpose of having having emergency water.

 

[Vincerama2]

yes I know that. What I mean is this ... you said sitting water gets filled with bacteria. I'm saying that OK, so you shouldn't drink it, but RO water sitting around waiting for your aquarium is OK because we add salt to it for aquarium use.

 

[zeroinverse]

ahh, understood about the RO for saltwater use. ^_^

Actually, you can still use the "bacteria-laden" RO water as an emergency water supply. That is why those emergency kits sell the chlorine tablets. ^_^

Technically, if you have pool chemicals, you could probably use a small bit of it to chlorinate the water.

And worst case, having SOME emergency water (even if possibility of bacteria) is still better than having NO water.

Although, I'd probably raid the freezer icecubes first (OR as some of us reefers do, keep emergency FROZEN RO water to cool down tank)...

Hahahaa.. options options.

 

[Vincerama2]

Well, boiling always works for bacteria laden waters!

My RO system has a 6 gallon water tank (the original 4 gallon tank rusted at the bottom and I think the "balloon" popped, so there was no pressure at all in it to push out water). But it comes out slow and of course, it's not actually 6 gallons of water (the balloon takes up space). It would be nice though, to have a float/solenoid enabled extra tank elsewhere that accumulates more than the 6 gallons for those emergency water changes and top offs.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Currently I use 42(?) g rubbermade brutes, which is fine and dandy but it is an open water source, and really does take up space. I guess if I cared I could simply put them in my greenhouse, and put a lid on them, something about the water storage containers that just seems so much nicer *shrug* maybe because they can have a similar footprint but be tall.

As to the emergency water supply, yeah you could use something to kill off bacteria I'm sure, so in that sense it's better to have a supply you just need to sterilize than no supply at all. For the tank, I don't think it's a big worry because even as a top off, you're adding it to a salty solution which already has a huge bacteria population which probably won't give up much of any ground for a weakened freshwater version of bacteria. Of course I'm speculating because I know jack about microbiology

 

[zeroinverse]

Here's my "setup". It's stacked so my salt buckets can also go underneath.

 

[aqua-nut]

As to the emergency water supply, yeah you could use something to kill off bacteria I'm sure, so in that sense it's better to have a supply you just need to sterilize than no supply at all.

You can use bleach to kill the bacteria, making drinking water. Just like the water companies do. You don't need much. I forget the amount per gallon.

Edit-- Yea, google...

1/4 teaspoon bleach per gallon water!

 

[sfsuphysics]

zeroinverse... btw what does that mean? inverse of zero would be 1/0 so infinity?
Either way, I've seen lots of stacked setups like that which works great for small footprints (basically as wide as a can is) I'm guessing one is saltwater the other is fresh? Or are they both salt? The bottom can has to be salt at least otherwise I couldn't imagine putting salt into the top one.