RO/DI filtered water storage

[project5k]

So i'm getting pretty serious about setting up my own ro-di filter system at the house, cause i'm getting tired of having to "go get water". I have my filter picked out, but my question is: what should i use to store the water my filter makes?

see my plan is to have the filter on my back porch, and to have a tank there, with a float valve inside, and whenever i need water, just go out there and open the valve on the tank and get what i need and walk away, and the filter and float valve fill the tank back up.

my needs are fairly modest, and i cant see ever needing more than say 50gal in a week, so i'm thinking something like a 55gallon drum might be just fine...

I've done some research on plastics, and from what i've read, if you look for the little recycle symbol on like a plastic bucket or something, there will be a # inside the 3 arrows. a #1 and a #2 are safe for potable water, and thus dont leach chemicals from the plastic bucket into the water.

so: is that basically what i need to know? i need to find somethng like a food grade #1 or #2 plastic drum, or is there a better(cheaper) way to go about it?

one thought that i had was to just make a wooden frame, and line it with a pvc pond liner, but, i dont know about that rubbery black pvc outside in the heat(sheltered from the actual sun) as a storage tank(then i can make it any size i want to)

do yall have a storage tank?

how big is it?

what material is it made from?

where can i look?

where is the tank located, and what kinds of temps does it see?

what do i need to look out for, and is this just a bad idea?

 

[dcantucson]

Check out a restaurant supply company. They have food safe drum type cans, many sizes and some on wheels.

I currently use a 32 gallon plastic trash can. Fill it and mix salt one day and then the next day do my water change. I only store 5 gallons of RODI water long term.

 

[daugherty]

heres mine

 

[project5k]

resteraunt supply, OF COURSE!!!! DUH! shoulda thought of that... well, hell, i can see a trashcan would work too... hehehe and thats gotta be cheaper than $100 for a drum...

I love the float valve install you have there, but i have one question.. thoes look like brass parts, a brass valve and so forth, dosent that increase your copper concentration? I was told to never ever use any brass anywhere near anything that would be in my tank, cause of the copper issue...

your thoughts?

also, how do you get the water out of that can? do you just dip it out, or is there a spiggot that i just cant see in the pic?

 

[daugherty]

it is brass but i am going to change it soon i got it because i was in a pinch ans was all i could get at the time. it is never in the water so the water only touches a couple inxhes of brass but do i know if it is releasing copper no i dont and that is why i am going to change it out here soon

 

[daugherty]

as far as getting the water out i just stick my bucket in it or pump it out

 

[project5k]

ok cool, so you thought about the copper situation, i dont know if it matters, but personally i wouldnt wanna take the chance, and i fully understand using what you have handy at the time. the last time i went and looked at purewaterclub they had float valves on sale for like $5, speaking of which, i need to go look and see if my paycheck is in, if it is then maybe i can order my ro-di!

i think my plan is to get something like a large trashcan or something of the like, put a floaty valve in there just like you did, and put it up on a stand, and have a plastic spiggot at the bottom that a 5gal bucket will fit under...

 

[daugherty]

i got this trash can from walmart and yea that is the float i am going to order from pure water club

 

[project5k]

did you pay attention to what material the trashcan is made from? i'm just wondering if anyone else has ever bothered to look at the recycle symbol to see what # it is... or if maybe i'm just worring about something thats just not that big of a deal.

 

[daugherty]

no i never did pay attention to it.

 

[project5k]

well, if, in your travels, you happen to find the recycle symbol embossed in the actual plastic material that the bottom part is made of, and, if you would be so kind as to relay that information to me, i would greatly appreceiate it.

oh and something else dawned on me, why go and spend a bunch of money for some fancy tank, or whatever, when the brute trashcans i'm using now for mixing tanks is good enough for mixing tanks, then why couldnt i use them to store my ro/di water in.. so i figure that i can just build my frame to hold a couple of these 32 gallon cheap trashcans, plumb them together, and put a float valve in one of them. ta-daaaa!

 

[dcantucson]

The truth is that you can pretty much use what ever you want. From cheap to expensive. It's just what you want in the end that matters as long as it's safe for your water.

 

[project5k]

well and "whats safe for the water" is what i'm trying to figure out... i've read that #1 and #2 are and everything else can be harmfull to fish, so thats why i'm trying to 1) find that article again, and 2) see what everyeone else is using so that way if thier using something thats not a 1 or a 2 and thier not having problems, then i prolly wont either..

my concern is the heat releasing the chemicals trapped in the plastic into the water over time.. cause my storage is going to be outside, in the 100+ deg, temps.

 

[project5k]

ok, so i did a bunch more reading this holiday weekend, and what i've figured out is that #1,2,5 are the ones that should be safe for water storage, and that the others have a potential to release chemicals. I'm not saying that the will, just that 1,2,5 have been proven not to....

my brute trahscans that i've been using as my batching tanks are #5, and i have a couple extra's so i'm thinking that when i can get my ro-di filter, that i can just use thoes...