RODI Installation Question (Issue)

[Mando77]

Didn't know if anyone could help me with this. I already called and talked to air, water and ice and they could not do anything other than recommend I talk to a plumber. The issue I have is fairly simple.....but I don't want to mess with a main water exit line.

I just moved and I want to hook up an RODI unit downstairs where there will be room for water storage and aquarium supplies. The problem is there is no place for the water exit line. No drain, no nothin. Completely enclosed other than the main water/sewage exit line. So what I want to do is add the RODI water exit line to the main water exit line of the house. Air, Water and Ice doesnt have a saddle valve big enough for this.

Anyone have a solution or know much about plumbing? Before this was in my laundry room. was so simple. It's little things like this that drive me nuts.

[Der ABT]

why dont you drill and tap in a john guest/mulock fitting...i would do it an angle, just need a npt tap for whatever size you use which yuo can find at local hardware store (i couldnt find them at home depot or lowes but the local little guys had them)/ then just get a check valve in the RO wast line...id probalby drill it at a down angle just slightly maybe at the top of the Y so it has less change of snagging something.

 

other option is if you have an exit.widow...or just drill the wall , run a line outside and feed a rain barrel or just your lawn

 

other option is to run the waste water up to a bathroom sink drain or something else in the house, 1/4 in is easy enough to run....though it may cause a little back pressure i dont think it would matter enough unless your going up 10 feet or something.

[howaboutme]

Saddle valve is for supply, not waste.

 

If you do what's suggested above, I would drill on the branch line, not the main, thicker waste line. In case you screw up, you're only replacing/fixing the branch (which affects only a few lines) as opposed to the main line, which affects all.

 

Just realized they do make saddle valves for waste. My bad..anyways..carry on to my 2nd paragraph.

Edited May 13, 2013 by howaboutme

[Coral Hind]

I like all three of Der ABT's ideas. In fact I have done all three. If you tap into the drain do it up high and out of sight so when you leave you can plug it without it being an issue. I agree to use a smaller branch line too.

[OldReefer]

I ran mine out the wall. The line is easy to hide along the floor moulding. I had to drill through a brick wall but even that was easy given the small size of the line.

 

Just get a good size top-off container because there will be the occasional week in the winter where it will be below freezing and you can't make water.

Edited May 13, 2013 by OldReefer

[swimmatte]

I'd grab one of these:

 

http://www.bluwhite.com/Products/injectionfitting_photo.htm

 

We use them as our injection method for chlorine into swimming pools. Drill and Tap a 1/4" hole on one of your branches and thread this bad boy in. One way check valve will protect you in case of any backup.

[Coral Hind]

I think a John Guest fitting would work better at locking on the tubing. It is the same fitting already on the RO unit.

[DaveS]

Silly question- any chance you could put the rodi unit where you have the necessary plumbing and then just run the output (to waste) line to where you keep the storage tanks?

[Origami]

why dont you drill and tap in a john guest/mulock fitting...i would do it an angle, just need a npt tap for whatever size you use which yuo can find at local hardware store (i couldnt find them at home depot or lowes but the local little guys had them)/ then just get a check valve in the RO wast line...id probalby drill it at a down angle just slightly maybe at the top of the Y so it has less change of snagging something.

I have a condensate pump outflow from one of our inside AC units tied to one of the branches off of a soil stack in just this same fashion - that is, using a check valve on a relatively narrow piece of ice maker tubing that feeds in through a tapped port. It apparently has worked this way for years with no difficulty or problem. (We've been in the house 2 years now so our personal experience is limited to this.)

[Guest]

Thank you everyone for help. I think I will tap into the "Y" smaller branch line from above and add a check valve. And in respnse to DaveS, no this is by far the best place to put it. I have been over this agian and again, I could put somewhere else, but in the end I want it in this particular room. I'm really try to plan everything for next tank.

 

The next issue will be trying to figure out how big of a tank I can sqeeze in downstairs. Lots of room but not a huge entry way. I don't have a walk out basement. Oh the fun!

[Origami]

One other thing that i'll mention about how my condensate pump is tied in: It's set up in a way such that the check valve is much lower than the entry point into the drain. This, I suppose, attempts to keep residual water in the line between the soil stack and the check valve, helping to keep the check valve closed and providing a water seal against sewer gasses in the stack.