I'm in the middle of a new 300 gallon build and have been planning on a drip system from the start. I'm fortunate in that my man cave is located in the lower level of my house which has a walk out. I will be able to run a drain line through the wall behind the tank (which is underground) and out into the woods behind my house. I just happened to have the a perfect setup for a nice free flowing drain.
I initially figured I would plumb a valve into the laundry tub cold water line and locate the other end in the sump by the return pump inlet. Since I have very hard well water I want to avoid cheap plastic pressure reducing valves, little tubing, and drip emitters. They would just plug up over time.
Then I started thinking about the advantages of using an irrigation control and making it automatic. That would give me two options: 1) use the automatic timer and push the water into the system (living with the dilution), or manually drain the tank down (I have a drain line at the bottom of the tank's back wall also) then refill it with a flip of a switch on the controller.
I'm thinking the timer option would give me a better water change than a constant drip even though there's still some dilution happening. Is this correct? And of course the manual option would give the best results, but man, think of how easy that water change would be! Open the valve on the back of the tank, drain it down, and then push a button on the controller to refill it. I'm using a stand pipe in the sump to determine the water level so I never need to worry about overfilling the tank.
The only problem is the water temperature. I would need to mix hot and cold if I wanted to use a controller. What type of valve would work best for this? What is everyone using? I did a quick search and came upon this one from Home Depot. It's for reducing the water temp from your hot water heater to reduce the chances of scalding. Would this work?
Anyone's input would sure be appreciated.
Thanks!
I initially figured I would plumb a valve into the laundry tub cold water line and locate the other end in the sump by the return pump inlet. Since I have very hard well water I want to avoid cheap plastic pressure reducing valves, little tubing, and drip emitters. They would just plug up over time.
Then I started thinking about the advantages of using an irrigation control and making it automatic. That would give me two options: 1) use the automatic timer and push the water into the system (living with the dilution), or manually drain the tank down (I have a drain line at the bottom of the tank's back wall also) then refill it with a flip of a switch on the controller.
I'm thinking the timer option would give me a better water change than a constant drip even though there's still some dilution happening. Is this correct? And of course the manual option would give the best results, but man, think of how easy that water change would be! Open the valve on the back of the tank, drain it down, and then push a button on the controller to refill it. I'm using a stand pipe in the sump to determine the water level so I never need to worry about overfilling the tank.
The only problem is the water temperature. I would need to mix hot and cold if I wanted to use a controller. What type of valve would work best for this? What is everyone using? I did a quick search and came upon this one from Home Depot. It's for reducing the water temp from your hot water heater to reduce the chances of scalding. Would this work?
Honeywell Home Water Heater Thermostatic Mixing Valve AM101C-US-1 - The Home Depot
Get the Honeywell Thermostatic Mixing Valve AM101C-US-1, 3/4 in. sweat union the valve uses a mixing action to help prevent scalding at The Home Depot
www.homedepot.com
Anyone's input would sure be appreciated.
Thanks!
