housewide RODI help

[scmountain]

I Love working with PVC, but have never worked with the 1/4" RODI press fit world, I need tips and advice.

I have to run about 50' of line to get to my fish shed, and I really am not sure of the best way to do this.
who here has done this? What tips, tricks, or lessons learned can you share? What is the best way to minimize leaks?

 

[halmus]

It might be overkill, but it might not be a bad idea to run the 1/4” inside of normal 3/4” sch40 PVC. Treat the 3/4” line as if it was running water itself. I’ve seen a lot of sweating from 1/4” RODI line. If that’s running through a wall, you risk seeping moisture into your structural walls.

The 3/4” line could capture the condensation and naturally drain it out on one end. It also protects the line from damage.

I would tend to not bury couplings inside PVC in case you ever need to do maintenance. Minimize the number of couplings. Don’t try to get fancy with hard 90 deg angles. Just run as much solid line end to end as possible. That saves money and points of failure. In my experience, the couplings you pick up from BRS are very reliable. I believe they’re double O-ring seal as opposed to what you might pick up at a big box store which might only have one O-ring.

My 1/4” fridge line is run across the house exposed. Builders aren’t interested in doing quality work, just quick work. It must have passed code requirements. So maybe PVC isn’t necessary. I just like the peace of mind.

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

Is your fish shed outside?


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[scmountain]

It might be overkill, but it might not be a bad idea to run the 1/4” inside of normal 3/4” sch40 PVC. Treat the 3/4” line as if it was running water itself. I’ve seen a lot of sweating from 1/4” RODI line. If that’s running through a wall, you risk seeping moisture into your structural walls.

not a bad idea to sheathe it...

Is your fish shed outside?

yes, but there are no close spigots and winter temps are always a concern.

 

[SynDen]

If its outside, you will certainly want to run it through a conduit as Halmus suggested but you will also want to bury it as deep as you can to protect it from freeze and heat.

 

[scmountain]

If its outside, you will certainly want to run it through a conduit as Halmus suggested but you will also want to bury it as deep as you can to protect it from freeze and heat.

sadly I cannot burry it. I am making an insulated tunnel from the house to the shed. Inside there will be the return, drain, and RODI. absurd R rating of insulation and heated return/drain will protect from freeze.

 

[neil82]

Forgive me for questioning your logic, but why are you putting the RODI unit out in the fish shed? I must be missing something here.

 

[scmountain]

Forgive me for questioning your logic, but why are you putting the RODI unit out in the fish shed? I must be missing something here.

No worries @neil82 , my logic needs to be questioned at all times! haha

The fish shed is 3 ft behind the display tank, so my argument to her was: "If there is an overflow it will be outside of the house!"

I have no room for the barrels anywhere else in the house, that she wont kill me for. Also it is much easier to run 1/4" tubing than a 1" pvc line, (before sheathing idea)
I plan on having NC solenoid valves and gravity assist with my ATO and AWC. (float switch controlled for redundancy) right into the 150g tub sump.

trust me, I am very open to other ideas, that is just my plan as of meow.

 

[neil82]

No worries @neil82 , my logic needs to be questioned at all times! haha

Well I'm in the same camp with ya! Haha

The fish shed is 3 ft behind the display tank, so my argument to her was: "If there is an overflow it will be outside of the house!"

Okay, I'm starting to see your plan now. I was thinking the fish shed was way out in the backyard and you were running the RODI lines a significant distance outdoors.
Is the RODI unit going in the fish room or will that be located in different area of the house?

 

[scmountain]

Well I'm in the same camp with ya! Haha

Is the RODI unit going in the fish room or will that be located in different area of the house?

yes, unless that is an issue. would rather have the main push the water than a pump somewhere else in the house

 

[neil82]

I think you'll want to keep the lines between your main water supply and the RODI unit to a minimum because loss of input pressure could become an issue without a booster pump. If possible, maybe locate the rodi unit in a utility or laundry room (you'll have a drain here too for wastewater) and run the output lines from the rodi to your fish room to fill the reservoirs barrels.
If this is not possible, and you'll be placing the rodi unit in the fish room, then I'd use 3/8 inch tubing from the main to the input side. May need a booster pump as well.
How to get the lines from point a to point b in your house? That kinda depends on options based the layout of your home. But I'd probably look into basement, crawlspace, or attic.

 

[scmountain]

@neil82 if I have the RODI unit in the boiler room, where I would be tee'ing off the main, how much head height would I have before needing a booster? (mainly all horizontal run)
I can put it either basement or attic, starting to look like attic and gravity might be the best...

 

[neil82]

@neil82 if I have the RODI unit in the boiler room, where I would be tee'ing off the main, how much head height would I have before needing a booster? (mainly all horizontal run)
I can put it either basement or attic, starting to look like attic and gravity might be the best...

I have limited experience with plumbing, but I think you could tee in to a main service line with something like this: https://www.aquacave.com/self-piercing-saddle-valve-for-up-to-1-pipe.html
Or there are some sharkbite parts to do this too. It's just like tapping in for a refrigerator/ice maker.
I would guess that if you are exceeding 30-40 ft from main line to rodi unit, input pressure to the rodi unit could become an issue. Not sure about that though. You shouldn't have any head height issues from the output side of the rodi unit. It's very low flow, and with all the pressure on the input side, I don't see this being an issue.

 

[neil82]

One other thought, you could do a bleed out system by incorporating 3 way valves to drain out water from the long runs. That will help prevent algae from growing in the tubing when the system is not in use.

 

[scmountain]

I'm sniffing what you're steppin in, I had my logic reversed, as I thought I lost the mains "push" after the RODI unit. otherwise the boiler room is a great location for the unit. Good looking out @neil82

 

[neil82]

I'm sniffing what you're steppin in, I had my logic reversed, as I thought I lost the mains "push" after the RODI unit. otherwise the boiler room is a great location for the unit. Good looking out @neil82

I think that is the way to go. I hope some others can chime in with their input as well.

 

[Cake_Boss]

You could use a RO tank, like the whole house guys do. They fill with RO and have a pressurized bladder to push water whenever you want.
I believe my sisters place had one we pressurized to 50 psi


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[flagg37]

I have my RO in the cabinet above my fridge for drinking water. It has a 3 gallon storage tank. I’m planning on having the DI in a completely different part of the house near my water barrels just for the tank.