which pump to use for auto top off

[mke6103]

Does anyone have any suggestions on which pump i should use for my auto top off . My pump will be sitting in a bin that has a float valve that is hooked into my ro/di unit. The problem is i have to go 9 vertical feet and about 15 horizontal feet. iIwas thinking of a mag 5 but i just dont think it would do well being turned on and off in a top off situation. My ro/di unit is in my basement and my tank and sump/fuge are on the first floor. Do you think i should move my bin right under my setup and extend the hose from my ro unit so it would cut out all the horizontal movement? Then will i run into problems as far as my ro/di unit making it to the bin? Very confused right now and i just dont want to drop money on the wrong thing right now!

thanks in advance mike

 

[mke6103]

bump

 

[itZme]

Re: which pump to use for auto top off

If you have room under your tank on the main floor of the house you could easily drill a small hole and plumb the RO/DI output right into the sump or main display tank (wherever the float switch is). The plumbing in your house is all supplied by the main waterline's pressure so there should be no problem getting the water up to the tank since you obviously have a bathroom and kitchen on that floor and there is no pump assisting the water delivery for those items.

If you are concerned about plumbing the RO directly into the system (stuck valve means low salinity, wet floors and dead critters) you could plumb it up into a holding tank in your stand then use an Aqualifter pump on a float switch to top off from the holding tank (I think they have about a 30" head height). The Aqualifter pumps are about $13 at Salty Critter and pump 3.5 GPH and are pretty quiet.

The mag 3 and 5 both have a max height of 10' and shutoff at 11' so you would be pushing the limits of those pumps at 9' + elbows and horizontal runs. I also think you are correct in your concern about cycling a Mag pump all the time.

HTH

-- Kevin