opinions on my auto water changer design

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
jcardona1 said:
That's what I meant about the siphon breaking. Let's say this happens, and then the water comes back on. Then what? Now your siphon has stopped and it won't start again on it's own. Now your sump is going to flood.
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I suppose if you didn't pay your water bill the water could shut off. But I in all the years I have paid for water its never stopped coming out of the faucet even when power goes out. If your going to have the water shut off and turned it back on and forgot to get the siphon going again then yes you will overflow the tank or the sump. Then I suppose you could just put a safety switch in the sump to shut the water off once level got to high.
 
Shame this thread is being cluttered up with you two arguing, there's some gems of information in here. Take it to PM's perhaps?
 
I'm done arguing. I just post my idea and I welcome any good discussion on it. I think its a very doable method and that can incorporate some of the other methods to make it work. Just when someone starts name calling which jcardona always does it has no place in any discussion. Its then where it gets off track from the topic and sours the thread.
 
It's on-topic arguing, so it's ok :) And this was actually pretty civil compared to our previous encounters lol
 
clekchau said:
the only issue i see with the float switch idea, i have the outflow thru 4 drip emitters, i don't see how i would connect the outflow of the float switch to the drip emitters can you run 1/4" tubing on the outflow? i think the direct closing solenoid valve is better piece of mind now that i think about it.

regarding cost, total cost to date is less than $120 although thats using a mag7 pump i already had lying around, $60 for chlorimine filter, $16 for drip emitters, tubing, sediment filter, $45 for vertical float switch. i don't think the system is that complicated but fairly straightforward ... but what do i know :)
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There are float valves that have an outflow that can be connected to - item FLTV-MTMV1 at http://www.jehmco.com/html/float_valves___switches.html - but with the system I am describing you wouldn't use the drip emitters (which are problematic themselves). The above valve could be used as a fail-safe in the system you are planning, but the normally-off solenoid valve might be simpler to install.

While the solenoid on the incoming water line will stop the water flow in the case of a power outage, it does nothing to prevent a flood when (not if) your sump pump's float switch fails. I used to use a drip-and-overflow water change, but after two failed sump pumps (one a cheap Home-Depot pump and the other a Zoeller pump) I changed designs. Luckily my sump is in the crawl-space, so it didn't cause any damage.

I don't mean to sound negative about the way you are going about this, it certainly will work. However, if reliability and safety from flooding are big concerns you should realize that float switches and solenoid valves both have fairly high failure rates and plan accordingly.
 
Dan F said:
There are float valves that have an outflow that can be connected to - item FLTV-MTMV1 at http://www.jehmco.com/html/float_valves___switches.html - but with the system I am describing you wouldn't use the drip emitters (which are problematic themselves). The above valve could be used as a fail-safe in the system you are planning, but the normally-off solenoid valve might be simpler to install.

While the solenoid on the incoming water line will stop the water flow in the case of a power outage, it does nothing to prevent a flood when (not if) your sump pump's float switch fails. I used to use a drip-and-overflow water change, but after two failed sump pumps (one a cheap Home-Depot pump and the other a Zoeller pump) I changed designs. Luckily my sump is in the crawl-space, so it didn't cause any damage.

I don't mean to sound negative about the way you are going about this, it certainly will work. However, if reliability and safety from flooding are big concerns you should realize that float switches and solenoid valves both have fairly high failure rates and plan accordingly.
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I'd go this route myself, and it's what I'm planning on my 190g to make it fully-automatic. I just have an extra step because I use a storage barrel that holds the RO water, so I'd have to use one of those ATOs to keep my sump filled and can't rely on a simple float valve.

But on your note about the float switch failing, in the thread I linked, that guy used a safety switch placed ABOVE the float switch. That safety switch was connected to the solenoid. So if the water level ever rose past the float switch and touched the safety switch, it would cut off the power to the solenoid, stopping the flow of water.
 
MyGiants said:
Well I am glad my sump is not 3 feet below the floor. Just a overflow drain from the sump will make my water change system very simple
with out any need for float switches safety switches or pumps.
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That's how I had it on my 405g, which was in the garage. Beautifully simple. My 190g though, is smack-dab in the middle of the house, not next to any plumbing where I could take advantage of a gravity drain. I'd have to cut through lots of walls to make it work and that wasn't an option. So mine is sort of semi-automatic. I use two pumps and some wireless remote controls to drain and refill my sump from an aging barrel. With this I can change out 40g a day in a matter of minutes without having to lift a finger really. As close as I could get to an automatic changer.
 
or i can just ditch the hole in the ground and convert my stock tank into a sump which i might do early next year, now you guys are scaring me with all these equipment failure stories :nilly:

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