Auto Top Off For My Auto top Off - Stupid Question

[CanayYella]

Hi

I am designing my new tank, a 200-gallon tank. I want to auto-top up the auto-top tank to stop me from emptying buckets into the RO Chamber on a weekly basis. I have a shed about 25 feet away, where I will put a mixing station. I seem to be having some kind of brain fart, though, and can't work out how to trigger a pump that is 25 feet away when required to fill up the RO chamber. I know I can do this manually or even using WIFI plugs to switch on and off, but does anyone know of a way I can trigger the pump once a sensor (optical or float valve) says that the RO chamber needs topping up? I travel a lot and would like to automate this for the people who look after my tank. I know I will need to put some fail safes in, like a solenoid valve or even a leak detection but first I need to work out the simple design

All help is gratefully received.

 

[topjimmy]

I don't see why you couldn't have a float switch in the ATO container that opens the supply. (Assuming you are using ro/di).
I would say you might also want some sort of overflow or leak protection to shut off the source should the float fail.

 

[CanayYella]

For clarity, the ATO chamber would be next to the tank with a standard Auto top off unit in it. An RO tub would be 30 feet away, so when the ATO chamber is getting low it would need to trigger a pump 30ft away to push water from the RO tub to the ATO chamber

 

[Dburr1014]

I have this on my apex. Do you have an apex? I can post my code.
I make rodi with a normally closed valve on my water source. Float valve low switch to turn it on and float valve high switch to turn it off backed up with the timer should the high valve fail. It's even got a flush at start and every hour.

 

[CanayYella]

Hi, I do have an Apex. I don't have an issue making the RO in the shed. My challenge is triggering the pump in the shed to pump the RO to the ATO in the cabinet as it is 30ft away. I am also not concerned with pumping the water as it doesn't need to pump up hill, I just don't know how I will trigger it? All I can come up with right now is that I turn the pump in the shed on manually every now and then to fill the ATO in the cabinet, but this does not work if I am away.

 

[topjimmy]

For clarity, the ATO chamber would be next to the tank with a standard Auto top off unit in it. An RO tub would be 30 feet away, so when the ATO chamber is getting low it would need to trigger a pump 30ft away to push water from the RO tub to the ATO chamber

The RO is under pressure so I don't think you need a pump, or are you talking about two different reservoirs?

 

[CanayYella]

I was assuming I needed two different reservoirs but I see what you are saying. Utilise the RO filter and use a float valve plus (other flood protection) to only filter what is needed.

My thought process was to create a salt mixing station and to use the RO water tub to feed the ATO in the cabinet as well as RO for the salt mixing.

Thank you for helping.

 

[Dburr1014]

A float in the bottom of the rodi container next to tank will trigger the pump in the shed container to fill it. A float near the top will turn the pump off. You can use a secondary float to "shut off" the switch if the first high float fails.

 

[CanayYella]

I would need to run a long electrical cable between the shed and the cabinet. Ie, as the pump is plugged in in the cabinet with a long extension to the pump sitting in the shed, is that correct?

 

[Dburr1014]

I would need to run a long electrical cable between the shed and the cabinet. Ie, as the pump is plugged in in the cabinet with a long extension to the pump sitting in the shed, is that correct?

2 wire low voltage per float switch.

Edit, I'm wrong.
If the pump is plugged into your Apex with a long extension cord, you would just have to run the switches to a break out box. That box is connected to your Apex also. The float switches will just turn on the switch for your pump that's already connected to the Apex.

 

[workhz]

I kinda do this but in a dumbed down non automated version. I have a camera on the ATO. I have an RO reservoir with a pump on a wifi outlet. After about 5-6 days I take a look at the ATO and when it’s low I turned on the RO pump.

I kinda know how long it takes to fill but I watch it on camera and then off the pump that on the wifi switch.

Not as automated as you’d like but it works.

 

[esquare]

Another option is to run a long USB cable to the shed and connect a FMM or EB4 Energy Bar depending on what pump you are using.

 

[CanayYella]

Both great ideas, thank you!