RO/DI installation advice

[diabolical_clownfish]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice regarding the installation of a reverse osmosis system in my home.

After some research, I'd like to buy the AquaFX Barracuda RO/DI Aquarium Filter unit (open to suggestions). I would likely only need to use it on a weekly basis. It seems the AquaFX is slightly different than the RO unit for human consumption and does not come with a dedicated faucet to be installed on the sink (I don't have a hole cut out on the counter anyway). According to the instruction, the water inlet is a plastic tube with a garden hose adapter, requiring at least 40 psi. I have several choices:

1. Install outdoors: no go as I live in a condo and do not have a garden hose outside.
2. Washer/laundry connection: it's hidden behind a stacked washer/dryer and very difficult to access
3. Install near the main water line: not sure what is involved here. It's accessible but how complicated is this?
4. Replace my kitchen or bathroom sink faucet - swap out the aerator for a garden hose adapter. The wife would prefer not to do this as it looks ugly, and swapping as needed is complicated. I also need to direct the wastewater to the drain manually - it's just a complicated operation.
5. Connect under the sink: I don't mind opening the cabinet and pulling out the outlet hose whenever I need the filtered water. However, I think I'm going to lose access to the regular faucet, correct? How do I direct the water to the RO unit on an as-needed basis? Is there and on/off style thing similar to what the faucet does?

I'd appreciate any advice you can offer here. I feel like #5 is my best bet, but I'm fuzzy on the details. As mentioned, I don't need to use the filter on a daily basis, so I'd prefer a reasonable trade-off between installation effort and ease of access.

Thanks!

 

[Snoopy 67]

John Guest Angle Stop Valve

Why does BRS recommend this? If you constantly need to install and uninstall your RODI system up to your sinks feed lines then we highly suggest using the John Guest Angle Stop Valve. With metal connections repetitive installs and removals will not cause issues like plastic may sometimes. With...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Even if you mount permanantly us this.

 

[ge4rhead]

without any pics its really kind of hard to tell you where to install it and how. it depends on what kind of piping you have. is everything run in copper, pex, cpvc. is there enough room for maintenance and filter changes. what is the water pressure. may need room for a booster pump if water pressure isnt high enough. regardless of the piping. i would recommend using sharkbite fittings to tie into existing plumbing. (depends on quite a few things though) everything after the rodi needs to be in plastic. and a shutoff valve for sure before and after for maintenance. either place you put the unit you will need to be able to shut off the water at the main or a leg you are running off of. any installation really depends on if you have to tools for installation or can get them. or do you want to have more of a portable style where you can disconnect with the garden hose style fitting. so many ways to go about an installation for rodi.

 

[ge4rhead]

John Guest Angle Stop Valve

Why does BRS recommend this? If you constantly need to install and uninstall your RODI system up to your sinks feed lines then we highly suggest using the John Guest Angle Stop Valve. With metal connections repetitive installs and removals will not cause issues like plastic may sometimes. With...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

because that is before the rodi system and doesnt matter if there is metal there. after the rodi is what matters and needs to be only plastic.