It's finally complete. I now have the capacity for 30 gallons of water in the Box. From this I can either use it directly, or for drinking, divert through a reverse osmosis filter system and tap directly from the pressure tank. Unfortunately, it turns out I did a LOT more work than I needed to. More on this later.
The system as it exists now, is also suitable if you are wishing to prepare for an emergency water source. As I wrote earlier, CLEAN WATER is most likely the single most overlooked item (or "understocked" item) on any list of emergency supplies. If you live in a tornado or other area where natural disasters can occur, then you may want to take a close look at this for daily AND emergency use.
All of my components were from Ebay and after fixing the "leaks due to loose hoses and fittings" seems to be working very well. First the components of the handling and filtration system. I am including a link to the "auction" along with a photo of the item. Be aware that at some point however the link may go dead.
First up the UV "disinfecting" unit. As far as I am concerned, this is most likely THE single most important item in the system. Although I have not done so, I would recommend this come even before the pump (and be "sized" for the flow rate of the pump). The reason for this is if you use water directly (bypassing the filters), you will at least kill any bacteria in it first. This in line with the "sand filter" I built should be plenty "clean" to at least shower with or wash dishes and general cleaning. Here are some links to UV water treatment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_germicidal_irradiation
http://www.harvesth2o.com/uv.shtml#.VSVTEWd0ypo
www.water-research.net/Waterlibrary/privatewell/UVradiation.pdf
This and more information can be found by entering the search term "uv water treatment". Be aware that all of these units I have seen so far need a source of AC power to operate. More on this later.
Here is the unit I bought
http://www.ebay.com/itm/UV-sterilizer-Water-filter-1-gpm/221738767484?_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982&_trkparms=aid%3D777000%26algo%3DABA.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131227121020%26meid%3D13ab1316b522498185138dcc157437c6%26pid%3D100009%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26sd%3D391108662057
This is a 1 gallon per minute unit that works fine inline with my RO system.
Next the pump. Here is what I have
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181392820089?_trksid=p2057872.m2748.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
This is a 100psi ~1 gallon per minute (4 Liter/min) pump. A diaphragm pump is important firstly to reach the pressure necessary for the RO filter. One note I should make here is that this pump regulates pressure with a spring loaded switch. I had A LOT of problems with this working correctly. It was inconsistent in shutting off at the 100 psi. Also if it went over pressure, it leaked. After much trial and error, I finally "tuned it" to where it would shut off at 70 psi, and turn on at 60 psi. Also something that should be noted with this pump is that the feet are in a dovetail. I first mounted it with the pump head up. This resulted in the pump vibrating out of its feet. I recommend mounting it horizontally or with the pump head down to prevent this.
Now I encountered a slight problem. The pump is 12 volt DC and the UV sterilizer is 120 volt AC. Since a sterilizer is not readily available for 12 volt DC power, and I want to use a single power source, I had to buy a power supply for the pump. Since the pump is 12 volts and draws 3 amps full load, this means I need a power supply capable of 36 watts (volts x amps = watts, when dealing with DC).
For a power supply I got this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/371117456686?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=640277552001&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
The unit I bought has a 3 amp output. One of the surprising things I found about this particular unit is that it is "current limiting". This means it will not put out more than 3 amp. This also means there is no reason for a circuit breaker on the DC side. It can also take a wide range of AC power in both voltage and frequency. One added benefit of it is that it does not come on immediately. The reason this is an advantage is that it allows the UV light to come on before the pump comes on (ensuring ALL water that passes through the system is treated properly.
Lastly is the filtration unit itself
http://www.ebay.com/itm/140464920711?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I could find no rating for "gallons per day" output, but I assume from using it is somewhere in the 50-100 range. The most important feature of THIS system is the pressure tank. Because of this I can pump the tank full and then turn off the power and still have flowing water at the tap (until the tank is empty).
One last item you should have in case of power outage. A small inverter is wonderful to provide the power you need for the system from a car battery. I have this unit as a backup if the need should arise
http://www.harborfreight.com/200-watt-continuous400-watt-peak-power-inverter-61478.html
200 watts is fine for running the pump power supply and the UV filter. Keep in mind however that, if you are running ANY inverter from a car battery, do not drain the battery very much. Car starting batteries are not made to "deep-cycle" (which means draining it to almost empty and then recharging it). The best way to operate using this method is to run the vehicle engine while the inverter is running. A 200 watt inverter should be able to take all its power from the alternator while the engine is running.
In the next section I will go in to detail and photos of how the whole system is put together. Before that however, you get to benefit from my "mistakes". After I had assembled everything and had it working I found THIS on Ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Reverse-Osmosis-Ultraviolet-Sterilizer-Water-Filter-System-UV-RO-6-Stage-100-GPD-/261561736325?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce64b5c85
This unit has everything you need except for the pump (and components associated with the pump). It will save a WHOLE LOT of work plus you get 3 additional pre-filters and a "handy-dandy" rack. With this you could build the entire system in to a "hard case" and be completely portable. Oh well, "live and learn".
The system as it exists now, is also suitable if you are wishing to prepare for an emergency water source. As I wrote earlier, CLEAN WATER is most likely the single most overlooked item (or "understocked" item) on any list of emergency supplies. If you live in a tornado or other area where natural disasters can occur, then you may want to take a close look at this for daily AND emergency use.
All of my components were from Ebay and after fixing the "leaks due to loose hoses and fittings" seems to be working very well. First the components of the handling and filtration system. I am including a link to the "auction" along with a photo of the item. Be aware that at some point however the link may go dead.
First up the UV "disinfecting" unit. As far as I am concerned, this is most likely THE single most important item in the system. Although I have not done so, I would recommend this come even before the pump (and be "sized" for the flow rate of the pump). The reason for this is if you use water directly (bypassing the filters), you will at least kill any bacteria in it first. This in line with the "sand filter" I built should be plenty "clean" to at least shower with or wash dishes and general cleaning. Here are some links to UV water treatment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_germicidal_irradiation
http://www.harvesth2o.com/uv.shtml#.VSVTEWd0ypo
www.water-research.net/Waterlibrary/privatewell/UVradiation.pdf
This and more information can be found by entering the search term "uv water treatment". Be aware that all of these units I have seen so far need a source of AC power to operate. More on this later.
Here is the unit I bought
This is a 1 gallon per minute unit that works fine inline with my RO system.
Next the pump. Here is what I have
This is a 100psi ~1 gallon per minute (4 Liter/min) pump. A diaphragm pump is important firstly to reach the pressure necessary for the RO filter. One note I should make here is that this pump regulates pressure with a spring loaded switch. I had A LOT of problems with this working correctly. It was inconsistent in shutting off at the 100 psi. Also if it went over pressure, it leaked. After much trial and error, I finally "tuned it" to where it would shut off at 70 psi, and turn on at 60 psi. Also something that should be noted with this pump is that the feet are in a dovetail. I first mounted it with the pump head up. This resulted in the pump vibrating out of its feet. I recommend mounting it horizontally or with the pump head down to prevent this.
Now I encountered a slight problem. The pump is 12 volt DC and the UV sterilizer is 120 volt AC. Since a sterilizer is not readily available for 12 volt DC power, and I want to use a single power source, I had to buy a power supply for the pump. Since the pump is 12 volts and draws 3 amps full load, this means I need a power supply capable of 36 watts (volts x amps = watts, when dealing with DC).
For a power supply I got this
The unit I bought has a 3 amp output. One of the surprising things I found about this particular unit is that it is "current limiting". This means it will not put out more than 3 amp. This also means there is no reason for a circuit breaker on the DC side. It can also take a wide range of AC power in both voltage and frequency. One added benefit of it is that it does not come on immediately. The reason this is an advantage is that it allows the UV light to come on before the pump comes on (ensuring ALL water that passes through the system is treated properly.
Lastly is the filtration unit itself
http://www.ebay.com/itm/140464920711?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I could find no rating for "gallons per day" output, but I assume from using it is somewhere in the 50-100 range. The most important feature of THIS system is the pressure tank. Because of this I can pump the tank full and then turn off the power and still have flowing water at the tap (until the tank is empty).
One last item you should have in case of power outage. A small inverter is wonderful to provide the power you need for the system from a car battery. I have this unit as a backup if the need should arise
200 watts is fine for running the pump power supply and the UV filter. Keep in mind however that, if you are running ANY inverter from a car battery, do not drain the battery very much. Car starting batteries are not made to "deep-cycle" (which means draining it to almost empty and then recharging it). The best way to operate using this method is to run the vehicle engine while the inverter is running. A 200 watt inverter should be able to take all its power from the alternator while the engine is running.
In the next section I will go in to detail and photos of how the whole system is put together. Before that however, you get to benefit from my "mistakes". After I had assembled everything and had it working I found THIS on Ebay
This unit has everything you need except for the pump (and components associated with the pump). It will save a WHOLE LOT of work plus you get 3 additional pre-filters and a "handy-dandy" rack. With this you could build the entire system in to a "hard case" and be completely portable. Oh well, "live and learn".
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