DIY KALK reactor folks

[GaryL]

Teepee locator

6535 Ivy Hill Dr

McLean, Va

cell 571.220.0776

i found it

:D

[krish]

Cool,

Once we are done with the project, i would recommend that we have Nathan remove the

links/address/phone # from the thread for privacy reasons.

 

-krish

[Guest clownfish4]

How much kalk should we add to the reactor?  I think you said it was like 2.5 gallons or so....so that would be 5 tbsp. according to the directions.  How much are you all adding?

[Grav]

Mike,

 

You are missing the idea behind the reactor.  The plan is NOT to mix up a batch of kalk and empty it into the tank.  You put enough kalk in to last for weeks.  As the RO/DI enters, reaches saturation and moves on to your tank, leaving behind kalk for the next day. No measuring needed!

 

If you add 5 tbs, you will be dumping more calk into the thing every day.  Your modification was cool, I'll give you that, but why make work for your self (as little work as it will be)

 

Get it?

[Guest clownfish4]

Okay, I understand the concept, but still have no clue how much too add.  If we want enough kalk to last for weeks, are we adding like 2 cups or what?

[flowerseller]

When I put my kalk reactor online, I plan to put a little less than a cup in and see how it does.

Use the "teepee indicator" on the bottom.  During an off cycle and the kalk has settled,  

if you can see the shape of the teepee, it's time to add more kalk.

[Guest clownfish4]

Haha, alright...I'll try a cup and see how it goes.  I think my gasket may be leaking a tad bit.  I tightened the lid down tightly and wet the gasket before I put it in, but I think a little drizzle is still coming out.

[ctreptow]

The reactor is up and running. No leaks Yeaaaa. I am going to run just water for a couple of days but this thing is working great. I have it set for 1 drip a second.

 

Thanks to everyone for your help and I can't wait until the next build.

 

I special thanks to James, Chip, and Doug for making the extra effort.

 

Chris

[krish]

How did folks glue the ice maker tubing to the inside of the Quick disconnect fitting?

I tried the following - super glue liquid type, pvc primer neither of these worked.

I will try weldon #3 and see if that does any good.

 

-krish

[Guest clownfish4]

Mine is up and running and dripping kalk into my sump!  I still think I have a small leak, but I just have it sitting in a tub for now.  Will bother with that on another day.  Krish, you don't need to glue the tubing on the outside.  It should just pop in and stay there with the quick-disconnects.

[ctreptow]

Hey Krish

 

you may need to widen the inside of the fittings and superglue should hold it. I used the hard airline tube which is much smaller then the ice maker tube and superglued it in.

 

I am, also using the Kent aquadose to set the drip rate it seems to be working well.

 

Chris

[flowerseller]

If you are getting a leak at the top gasket, try the following:

Take it apart and clean the gasket

Use a little more water to seat the gasket

As you are tightening the nuts, do it like you would if it were lugs on a tire.

ie: tighten each across from each other till they are the same tightness and you have tightened them all in a krish cross.  haha

 

Glad they are working well for you all, hope it was worth the time spent.

I had fun and it was fun meeting and working with you all.

 

Chief retiredfromkalkreactormaking :D

[krish]

Houston,

We have a problemo

Chief you are not retiring anytime soon. No relieving orders as yet

 

Mine is leaking at the gasket. I have tighted it to the point where i broke

one of the nylon screws.

Normally, you would go around tightening the ones across, so that you torque

the bolts and even it out.

The water ran into the reactor wide open and the output is also wide open.

I would assume that this is exactly the same pressure, if one were to let water

drip into the reactor.

 

I changed gaskets and that did not help.

One of my gaskets needs a hole drilled. I will do that later.

 

So basically, the reactor is still sitting in a rubbermaid thrash can for

testing.

 

There are 2 things i can think of

a) Use brass screws and nuts.

b) Use double gaskets.

 

But boy, my Ca Reactor specs say that only do a 1/4 turn using screwdriver after

hand tightening it. I have exceeded that on the Kalk reactor.

 

Still Need help.

 

thanks

krish

[krish]

Chief,

Problemo Number 2.

Actually this is the first to happen.

 

I left the weldon #3 in one of the tubes.

The tubes were laying

horizontal when i put it in the car to drive back home.

 

It appears that inspite of the nozzle cover, the weldon

leaked. I can see some minor cracks, that i can kind of

feel from inside of the tube.

 

From the outside, it is smooth. So it appears that it is

more on the inside. What i am worried is the integrity

of the tube. I have gone ahead and finished the unit,

but if we can salvage a 10" long and 4" wide piece of

acrylic off the broken tube you had, i can stick this

on the outside of the area using #3 and that should

go good.

 

Again, sorry for the trouble.

 

thanks

krish

[Grav]

Chris,

 

What are you usint to control your drip rate?  I'm using my old buddie Gravity and an airline valve, it works, but as the container gets lower the pressure drops and so does the drip rate.  

 

Of course it is tricky for me cus I have no buffer like you sump people do.

[flowerseller]

Krish,

1.  take 2 asprin and try it in the morning.

2.  If you go the SS or brass way, don't thighten it until the ring breaks, stop just before that. :p

 

A thought might be to set the gasket in hot water for a bit to soften it and then tighten it up.

 

I think your reactor will be fine once the #3 dries up. follow step 1

 

Rt. Chief

[Guest clownfish4]

I took your advice Chip, and I am using metal screws, however it is still leaking.  Tomorrow I will try soaking the gasket in hot water.  What's really interesting is when I took it apart the gasket was really stuck on there.  I couldn't believe it was leaking through.  Oh well, I guess everything has problems.  Other than that it is working very well.

[ctreptow]

Hey Guys

 

When I set mine up I wet the gasket with ro water before I tightened the rings.

 

Phil

 

I am using the Kent Aquadose container. It holds 5 gallons of water with a IV tube setup attached. It seems to hold the drip rate constant until the water level drops within a 1/2 of the outlet.

 

Krish

 

I am sorry to hear about your problems, I don't think the acrylic is cracked it's just crazed under the stress of the glue. It should be fine after the glue dries as chip said, but will look ugly.

 

Chris

[flowerseller]

For those that didn't completely finish, aren't comfortable finishing alone, or simply don't want to finish alone,

follow STEP 1. :D

I'm really busy this week but can find some time mid to late next week since I need to finish mine anyway.

 

Rt. Chief

[krish]

Chief,

I will follow you advice of softening the rubber gasket with warm water.

One other thought is about using food grade silicon grease to seal the gasket.

It appears that placing the reactor in a small rubbermaid tray is the prudent

thing, given that we need to refill kalk over time.

 

-krish

[flowerseller]

Not a bad idea since I suspect this gasket material may be hard to remove later given the material it's made of, and if all else fails, you can get a bigger or taller rubbermaid container.

[krish]

Chief,

"if all else fails, you can get a bigger or taller rubbermaid container".

  - So we can use a float valve and use that as an auxillary doser to top off

 water .

 

-krish [nana]

[dbartco]

Thanks to all who paid on Sun:

Phil

Chip x2

Chris

gary

mike

james

phong

krish x3

 

Still left:

WAMAS

Howard

Dave (? PM me)

Glen

Luke

 

=16   Who else is left or did I miss? 1 ais left.

[HowardofNOVA]

Thanks everyone for all the efforts and was great seeing everyone again!

 

Doug, I believe I'm paid up now, but correct me if I'm wrong?

I've paid $60 so far, not including the $5-$10 extra on me.

Was there something that I missed?

Howard

[flowerseller]

Luke paid promptly and Glen got 2.

I must have the mula from Luke somewhere down in the workshop.

Unless I put that money in with the lime order by mistake and that would be hard to sort out given the total confussion of that transaction.

I'll look for it and/or make good on it since I know Luke paid.