Dr. Dendrostein
Marine fish monthly
personally I never use stainless steel valves, always PVC schedule 80 valves hopefully. They do make motorized retrofit for manual ball valves now what they cost your guess is good as mine
Motorized ball valve idea
- Thread starter Greybeard
- Start date
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Sod Buster
Valuable Member
It's for rodi top off, should be fine & filtered. I'm going to use it to shut off outside air to a CO2 scrubber for PH maintenance tied into recycled air from my skimmer. Good to know 304 stainless is junk for saltwater. I will commit that to memory. Which ones are proven salt safe if one wants to replace a Neptune SV-1? I guess a sch80 w/ one of those conversion servos?
scriptmonkey
Valuable Member
All I know that are reef safe metal wise are SS316 and Titanium, plus PVC is good.
I am going to try a MettleAir solenoid and see how it goes. May be in the same boat if it burns out.
OP
OP
Greybeard
2500 Club Member
Ok, so I got this up and running.
Bought this valve: US. Solid SKU JFMSV00027 2 wire auto return stainless ball valve, 1/4" NPT.
These adapters: PRTFITMC14M14Q10PK 1/4" Male NPT to quick connect 1/4" hose
A 12vdc 5amp power supply I had laying around
Float Sensor model DP5200
and a tank mounted sensor holder from Printed Reefing Solutions.
Total cost, oh, about $40.
A bit of speaker wire, a few shrink fit tubes, a couple spring terminals, and presto:
Ball valve is after a manual 1/4" valve, and before a float valve, directly on the line from my RO/DI system.
When energized, ball valve opens. I've got it plugged into my Apex.
When power fails, ball valve closes.
When float valve rises, breaking connection, ball valve closes. Float is in my sump, an inch higher than normal water level.
So... My float valve actuated ATO, as long as the float valve is working, runs on the old fashioned idea of a mechanical float valve. Ball valve stays open all the time. I'm considering setting the Apex up so that it only opens the valve, say, 20 minutes, every 3 hours? Something to keep my RO/DI system from constantly starting and stopping... Haven't made up my mind on that one yet.
If the float valve were to get stuck open, which they all do, eventually... water level in the sump compartment rises an inch... probably 1.5 gallons. Float valve trips, ball valve closes, water stops flowing.
I've got a 2nd high level sensor, attached via breakout box to my Apex. If all of the above fails, the high level sensor on the Apex will kill the power, causing the ball valve to close. It also sends me an email alert.
The only way I see this failing is if the ball valve fails OPEN, and the float valve fails OPEN, and my home internet is down.
Oh, and there's a battery operated water alarm on the floor under the sump
I think I'm about as safe as a direct RO/DI ATO system can make me.
Bought this valve: US. Solid SKU JFMSV00027 2 wire auto return stainless ball valve, 1/4" NPT.
These adapters: PRTFITMC14M14Q10PK 1/4" Male NPT to quick connect 1/4" hose
A 12vdc 5amp power supply I had laying around
Float Sensor model DP5200
and a tank mounted sensor holder from Printed Reefing Solutions.
Total cost, oh, about $40.
A bit of speaker wire, a few shrink fit tubes, a couple spring terminals, and presto:
Ball valve is after a manual 1/4" valve, and before a float valve, directly on the line from my RO/DI system.
When energized, ball valve opens. I've got it plugged into my Apex.
When power fails, ball valve closes.
When float valve rises, breaking connection, ball valve closes. Float is in my sump, an inch higher than normal water level.
So... My float valve actuated ATO, as long as the float valve is working, runs on the old fashioned idea of a mechanical float valve. Ball valve stays open all the time. I'm considering setting the Apex up so that it only opens the valve, say, 20 minutes, every 3 hours? Something to keep my RO/DI system from constantly starting and stopping... Haven't made up my mind on that one yet.
If the float valve were to get stuck open, which they all do, eventually... water level in the sump compartment rises an inch... probably 1.5 gallons. Float valve trips, ball valve closes, water stops flowing.
I've got a 2nd high level sensor, attached via breakout box to my Apex. If all of the above fails, the high level sensor on the Apex will kill the power, causing the ball valve to close. It also sends me an email alert.
The only way I see this failing is if the ball valve fails OPEN, and the float valve fails OPEN, and my home internet is down.
Oh, and there's a battery operated water alarm on the floor under the sump
I think I'm about as safe as a direct RO/DI ATO system can make me.
Sod Buster
Valuable Member
Sweet! That description dumbed it down for guys like me. I can follow that direction. If Momma takes a tub, shut it down w/ loss of pressure & have a captain looking over the tank?
crusso1993
7500 Club Member
Ok, so I got this up and running.
Bought this valve: US. Solid SKU JFMSV00027 2 wire auto return stainless ball valve, 1/4" NPT.
These adapters: PRTFITMC14M14Q10PK 1/4" Male NPT to quick connect 1/4" hose
A 12vdc 5amp power supply I had laying around
Float Sensor model DP5200
and a tank mounted sensor holder from Printed Reefing Solutions.
Total cost, oh, about $40.
A bit of speaker wire, a few shrink fit tubes, a couple spring terminals, and presto:
Ball valve is after a manual 1/4" valve, and before a float valve, directly on the line from my RO/DI system.
When energized, ball valve opens. I've got it plugged into my Apex.
When power fails, ball valve closes.
When float valve rises, breaking connection, ball valve closes. Float is in my sump, an inch higher than normal water level.
So... My float valve actuated ATO, as long as the float valve is working, runs on the old fashioned idea of a mechanical float valve. Ball valve stays open all the time. I'm considering setting the Apex up so that it only opens the valve, say, 20 minutes, every 3 hours? Something to keep my RO/DI system from constantly starting and stopping... Haven't made up my mind on that one yet.
If the float valve were to get stuck open, which they all do, eventually... water level in the sump compartment rises an inch... probably 1.5 gallons. Float valve trips, ball valve closes, water stops flowing.
I've got a 2nd high level sensor, attached via breakout box to my Apex. If all of the above fails, the high level sensor on the Apex will kill the power, causing the ball valve to close. It also sends me an email alert.
The only way I see this failing is if the ball valve fails OPEN, and the float valve fails OPEN, and my home internet is down.
Oh, and there's a battery operated water alarm on the floor under the sump
I think I'm about as safe as a direct RO/DI ATO system can make me.
Well done!
Erica-Renee
Valuable Member
I Have a more less technical solution but If i remember correctly your house is on a slab and you do not access to all of your plumbing. If i am wrong. you should create a Closed loop system of 3/4 piple thru your house Returning back to the well pumps tank with a Closed loop pressure pump.. At each fixture reduce the piping to 3/8 with water saving spigots faucets and so on.. At the Rodi reduce to 1/4 and put a booster pump at this location for your RO/DI..
Make the loop as long as you can. This will give the well pump more time to keep up.
There is only so much water being supplied thru your house you need to either increase that volume , Something the loop will mimic or reduce the water at the point of water service.. a manifold system with pressure regulation going out to each fixture could also do this but would prob be more complicated . this is the method i use in multi story homes. Closed loop systems for low water volume . Remember Water Volume , Water pressure and water regulation are 3 separate issues...
Hope this helps and is worded well enough to help you make the right choice
Its probable more work then you intend on doing.. but i hate water volume issues... This is what you are having not a pressure issue ..
Make the loop as long as you can. This will give the well pump more time to keep up.
There is only so much water being supplied thru your house you need to either increase that volume , Something the loop will mimic or reduce the water at the point of water service.. a manifold system with pressure regulation going out to each fixture could also do this but would prob be more complicated . this is the method i use in multi story homes. Closed loop systems for low water volume . Remember Water Volume , Water pressure and water regulation are 3 separate issues...
Hope this helps and is worded well enough to help you make the right choice
Its probable more work then you intend on doing.. but i hate water volume issues... This is what you are having not a pressure issue ..
scriptmonkey
Valuable Member
Ok, so I got this up and running.
Bought this valve: US. Solid SKU JFMSV00027 2 wire auto return stainless ball valve, 1/4" NPT.
These adapters: PRTFITMC14M14Q10PK 1/4" Male NPT to quick connect 1/4" hose
A 12vdc 5amp power supply I had laying around
Float Sensor model DP5200
and a tank mounted sensor holder from Printed Reefing Solutions.
Total cost, oh, about $40.
A bit of speaker wire, a few shrink fit tubes, a couple spring terminals, and presto:
Ball valve is after a manual 1/4" valve, and before a float valve, directly on the line from my RO/DI system.
When energized, ball valve opens. I've got it plugged into my Apex.
When power fails, ball valve closes.
When float valve rises, breaking connection, ball valve closes. Float is in my sump, an inch higher than normal water level.
So... My float valve actuated ATO, as long as the float valve is working, runs on the old fashioned idea of a mechanical float valve. Ball valve stays open all the time. I'm considering setting the Apex up so that it only opens the valve, say, 20 minutes, every 3 hours? Something to keep my RO/DI system from constantly starting and stopping... Haven't made up my mind on that one yet.
If the float valve were to get stuck open, which they all do, eventually... water level in the sump compartment rises an inch... probably 1.5 gallons. Float valve trips, ball valve closes, water stops flowing.
I've got a 2nd high level sensor, attached via breakout box to my Apex. If all of the above fails, the high level sensor on the Apex will kill the power, causing the ball valve to close. It also sends me an email alert.
The only way I see this failing is if the ball valve fails OPEN, and the float valve fails OPEN, and my home internet is down.
Oh, and there's a battery operated water alarm on the floor under the sump
I think I'm about as safe as a direct RO/DI ATO system can make me.
Greybeard, you are a beast! Did you time the close speed from the time it is triggered?
OP
OP
Greybeard
2500 Club Member
Do I detect a note of sarcasm?
OP
OP
Greybeard
2500 Club Member
Time it? No... but it's fairly fast. A few seconds. At the speed of my RO/DI flow, not enough to make any difference.
OP
OP
Greybeard
2500 Club Member
Resurrecting an old thread... Something that showed up in 'Ask BRS' on FB reminded me of this.
3 months in use. No problems as of yet. The thought occurs to me... somebody ought to market this thing.
A cheap power supply, a reversable float switch, and an auto close motorized ball valve, with 1/4" push connect fittings. All pre-wired, ready to go. I think I spent about $40 on mine... if you were buying in bulk, I'm sure that number could be drastically reduced. With a bit of creative wiring, you could even provide leads to connect it to an APEX binary input, so it can be monitored and alarmed, as needed (mine is wired that way).
3 months in use. No problems as of yet. The thought occurs to me... somebody ought to market this thing.
A cheap power supply, a reversable float switch, and an auto close motorized ball valve, with 1/4" push connect fittings. All pre-wired, ready to go. I think I spent about $40 on mine... if you were buying in bulk, I'm sure that number could be drastically reduced. With a bit of creative wiring, you could even provide leads to connect it to an APEX binary input, so it can be monitored and alarmed, as needed (mine is wired that way).
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