Avast ATO not very sensitive

texdoc77

texdoc77

New member
I recently purchased the avast ATO because I like the pressure pump set up as I have no sump and all my "things" go in the DT. However, I have noticed that it takes 1" or more of water drop to actually get the pump to register. I have read that this particular unit should only need about 1/2" and I am concerned about salinity drifts with needing this much water drop not to mention needing a jug twice as big to keep the needing water when it does activate.

Am I just a noob and missing something or can anyone help me tighten up the sensitivity of my unit.

Thanks in advance.

PS: I have already posted in the avast forum and have emailed tech support through avast, but... its been a couple of days and wanted to crows source a little.
 
texdoc77 said:
I recently purchased the avast ATO because I like the pressure pump set up as I have no sump and all my "things" go in the DT. However, I have noticed that it takes 1" or more of water drop to actually get the pump to register. I have read that this particular unit should only need about 1/2" and I am concerned about salinity drifts with needing this much water drop not to mention needing a jug twice as big to keep the needing water when it does activate.

Am I just a noob and missing something or can anyone help me tighten up the sensitivity of my unit.

Thanks in advance.

PS: I have already posted in the avast forum and have emailed tech support through avast, but... its been a couple of days and wanted to crows source a little.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat. I have been running a Spectrpure UPLC II for a year and it's been rock solid, but I wanted connectivity to my Apex so bought the Avast ATO with peristaltic pump.

I connected the Avast and tested the depth of the probe to start the pump and found it to be about 1". This is more water loss than I've had with my Spectrapure. Considering I also run kalk out of my ATO this is of even more concern because I'll have a large influx of kalkwasser coming in. I already know that with the Spectrpure, and a smaller influx of kalk water, my tank water experiences slight PH spikes. If the Avast pump doubles the amount of water between top off, this could be a serious issue. Hopefully someone can help.
 
I have the Avast ATO with pressure switch. I do experience a 1/2"-1" level drop before activation. I do run Kalk but not at full saturation and my pH spikes are minimal. .02 max. The volume added will depend on you return section size which mine is small which seems to help. Also the peristaltic pump is a slow fill and it would run for about 1/2 hour at a time. I since have switched to a float switch on the Apex for top-off and use the pressure switch as my "high" level back-up to switch off the ATO in case of a failure.
 
Response I got from Avast today. We'll see how it goes after a few days.

"For the sensor we have found though that often the first time it is setup there is more than the half inch, but upon the first few repeated cycles the switch levels out to 1/2". I think this is do to the air compressing slightly inside the tubing on the first use."
 
Johnseye said:
Response I got from Avast today. We'll see how it goes after a few days.

"For the sensor we have found though that often the first time it is setup there is more than the half inch, but upon the first few repeated cycles the switch levels out to 1/2". I think this is do to the air compressing slightly inside the tubing on the first use."
Click to expand...

Yes they offered to replace it and gave the same reply. I'll let it ride a few more days before sending it back. The unit works well with my apex.
 
slief said:
That is exactly why I like my float switches. My water never varies more than a mm or 2.
Click to expand...

They may be more maintenance, but nothing else will give you the same stability. I use 3 switches wired in series for each level, low, normal and high. It is a bunch of switches and a bunch of wire, but my levels never fluctuate, and I have piece of mind. This allows my top off to run frequently, but with very small amounts, which is awesome in the summer when I'm relying on evaporation to help keep the system cooler
 
I have not noticed mine ever being off. Have you removed the tubing and then reinserted it? Maybe that will help. Mine was DOA until I did that.
 
I have had the Avast unit connected to my RKE system and I love it. I agree with the Avast statement that after a few days or several cycles it will get more sensitive. It is a great system to use and I love the fact that there are no moving parts exposed to the water or air. It is plenty sensitive for me.
 
Devaji108 said:
any updates on this? did you get it working right?
will be needing an ATO. and really considering the Avast.
Click to expand...

I've been using it for about 3 weeks. It drips very very slowly which is good for adding kalk with an ATO. The sensor triggers when water is at about 1" below water line, which is too low imo. I'd prefer 1/2" or less. I've told Avast and they've offered to replace it.

It's a very quiet pump, because it's so slow. It didn't work at first but after I took it apart and put it back together the water started flowing through.

There is no question the Spectrpure is a better quality pump. I own both. If you like the magnet holder from Avast you can buy that separately and use that for the Spectrapure ULC II instead of the suction cups.

The Avast pump is controlled through my Apex, but that's through an outlet only. There's no special integration. I could essentially do the same thing with my Spectrapure, it's just that the Spectrapure has its own onboard controller which lets you really dial in the water level.
 
I have two avast ATO, mine trigger at 1/2inch, since I dose saturated kalk I have it on a timer to limit the total volume input at one time. It runs a couple minutes every half hour..
 
I started out with the Float switches and they were okay however I wanted something more stable so I went with the Hydor. two problems with the Hydor first my 40 gal. sump needed to drop 1/2" before the pump would activate, second at 11 months old it failed in the on position and although i have several redundancy's it did manage to spill about 4 gal of water onto the floor of my fish room... Good thing my fish room floor is lined with a shower liner and can handle about 40 gal of water...
I now have the Tunze unit and I really like it, i believe it kicks on at less than a quart of evaporation..
 
This is why I use a float valve and a gravity fed ato. Keeps level in sump rock steady. If valve sticks, it sticks in off/closed position.
 
hmmm I wonder why some ppl avast ATO stars at 1/2" and others at 1"?

I would like to get the Tunze but just cant get myself to spend that much $$ on it.

the avast seams like a solid unit...but the 1" might not work for me?
my return section is pretty small, maybe 5 to 8 gal. totally guessing here?

also I would like to option to does kalwasser if i want.
 
Johnseye said:
Response I got from Avast today. We'll see how it goes after a few days.

"For the sensor we have found though that often the first time it is setup there is more than the half inch, but upon the first few repeated cycles the switch levels out to 1/2". I think this is do to the air compressing slightly inside the tubing on the first use."
Click to expand...

That reply is spot on with my experience. I run one on my main tank's sump, and it kicks on/off within 1/2 inch.

I also run their ATO in my QT in the basement where no sump is present. I have the tube mounted up really high on the tank. With this setup, I did notice that after a few days of the initial install, the on/off cycling went from like 3/4 of an inch to just about 1/2. When I do a water change, and the tube becomes completely exposed to air, it will go back to like it was when it was first installed the unit.
 
Devaji108 said:
hmmm I wonder why some ppl avast ATO stars at 1/2" and others at 1"?

I would like to get the Tunze but just cant get myself to spend that much $$ on it.

the avast seams like a solid unit...but the 1" might not work for me?
my return section is pretty small, maybe 5 to 8 gal. totally guessing here?

also I would like to option to does kalwasser if i want.
Click to expand...

Whether 1" works or doesn't work depends, I suppose, on how one configures the sump. As I noted earlier, my Avast ATO triggers at 1/2", but even if it triggered at 1" it would be no big deal. I wonder if the tube length affects the trigger point - longer tube run = more air to compress = longer trigger range. FWIW, I had shortened my tube length.

I use both the Avast pressure switch and standard mechanical reed floats. I like having at least one that is not dependent upon mechanical movement.
 
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