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Just a writeup about mounting my RO system to my brew rig, nothing fancy. I took the advice of @Bobby_M and purchased this RO system. The system instructions were good for finishing the tubing attachments. They seem to leave off any that might get kinked as well as the final lines. The system mounts on three screws, the usual slotted keyhole mounts. I had a piece of ¾” outdoor plywood left over from another project to mount it on. Initially I was thinking about using a spare piece of RV garden hose I have but instead chose to use 3/8” ID vinyl tubing since garden hose ID can be variable and the garden hose was much bigger than the ¼” OD tubing on the RO system. I also had some larger hose clamps handy that fit my round brew rig table legs.
I cut the plywood 2 inches shorter in width than the narrow side of my brew rig table. The edges of the plywood stick out a few inches past the legs but are shorter than the top of the table so the plywood doesn’t protrude. I just roughly centered the plywood left to right on the legs. I used a tape measure to get in the ballpark. Then I simply pencil marked where the sides of each leg was. My idea was to drill two holes for the hose clamp shorter than the diameter of the legs—inside the pencil marks-- thinking I would be following the circular shape of the clamp. Actually each hole was two drilled holes side by side with a smaller bit so as not to make a big hole. I also then hit upon angling these holes some as well to accommodate the curve of the clamp. This worked ok but the drill slipped a little. I don’t own a drill press and I wasn’t going for perfect so this is a somewhat sloppy method. I recommend actually making the two holes the same or slightly wider distance than the leg diameter, I think it would fit the clamp cleaner. An extra set of hands or a spring clamp or bungie cord might help to get things lined up easier too. I had a bucket of clampssitting about 3’ away but I insisted on just holding the board for some reason.
I have a hose faucet right outside the garage and then inside the garage a sink which I has two faucets, one of which has a dedicated bottle washer attached. So two spots for a garden hose fitting. To get feed water to the RO system then I had to go from a garden hose fitting to a push to connect fitting for the existing ¼” outside diameter RO feed line. Always different ways to convert fitting types, I aim for fewer fittings but sometimes it’s cheaper to go with more, usually depends on shipping and availabilty. Just remember that push to connect relies on outer diameter (OD) but a lot of plumbing is based on inner diameter (ID) as well as fitting material. I used specifically a female garden hose (GH, or sometimes ¾” GH) x 3/8” ID barb attached to 3/8” ID vinyl tubing. The other end is a 3/8” ID barb x ¼” NPT male. Then a ¼” NPT female x ¼” push to connect. I got the 3/8” fittings from brewhardware.com as I had an order in my cart for some spunding parts. Lowes had a sharkbite push to connect fitting of that type. I also went with Bobby’s suggestion for a float valve that will be attached to my HLT.
I have a small barrel to feed the concentrate water into that I will be using in the garden and possibly following some HBT suggestions to use in the washing machine. I think I will eventually create a quick hookup for that depending on how I use the water. I might mount the barrel on some blocks to get a usable spigot. My other option is to possibly run the line to my larger rainwater tank once I get that system put together. I have all the parts but it was late in the season so I passed on assembling this year.
Next step I think from what people have suggested is to flush it without the RO membrane situated first. I will probably get a piece of that stainless steel pegboard in the future to clean up the install, I was mostly aiming for a working prototype. Then I may also situated the small tank that came with the RO system on the bottom shelf of my rig.
Don't mind the leaves, can't keep them out of the garage this time of year! Also, I wasn't paying attention to my marks and used the wrong one for that mistaken hole placement.
I cut the plywood 2 inches shorter in width than the narrow side of my brew rig table. The edges of the plywood stick out a few inches past the legs but are shorter than the top of the table so the plywood doesn’t protrude. I just roughly centered the plywood left to right on the legs. I used a tape measure to get in the ballpark. Then I simply pencil marked where the sides of each leg was. My idea was to drill two holes for the hose clamp shorter than the diameter of the legs—inside the pencil marks-- thinking I would be following the circular shape of the clamp. Actually each hole was two drilled holes side by side with a smaller bit so as not to make a big hole. I also then hit upon angling these holes some as well to accommodate the curve of the clamp. This worked ok but the drill slipped a little. I don’t own a drill press and I wasn’t going for perfect so this is a somewhat sloppy method. I recommend actually making the two holes the same or slightly wider distance than the leg diameter, I think it would fit the clamp cleaner. An extra set of hands or a spring clamp or bungie cord might help to get things lined up easier too. I had a bucket of clampssitting about 3’ away but I insisted on just holding the board for some reason.
I have a hose faucet right outside the garage and then inside the garage a sink which I has two faucets, one of which has a dedicated bottle washer attached. So two spots for a garden hose fitting. To get feed water to the RO system then I had to go from a garden hose fitting to a push to connect fitting for the existing ¼” outside diameter RO feed line. Always different ways to convert fitting types, I aim for fewer fittings but sometimes it’s cheaper to go with more, usually depends on shipping and availabilty. Just remember that push to connect relies on outer diameter (OD) but a lot of plumbing is based on inner diameter (ID) as well as fitting material. I used specifically a female garden hose (GH, or sometimes ¾” GH) x 3/8” ID barb attached to 3/8” ID vinyl tubing. The other end is a 3/8” ID barb x ¼” NPT male. Then a ¼” NPT female x ¼” push to connect. I got the 3/8” fittings from brewhardware.com as I had an order in my cart for some spunding parts. Lowes had a sharkbite push to connect fitting of that type. I also went with Bobby’s suggestion for a float valve that will be attached to my HLT.
I have a small barrel to feed the concentrate water into that I will be using in the garden and possibly following some HBT suggestions to use in the washing machine. I think I will eventually create a quick hookup for that depending on how I use the water. I might mount the barrel on some blocks to get a usable spigot. My other option is to possibly run the line to my larger rainwater tank once I get that system put together. I have all the parts but it was late in the season so I passed on assembling this year.
Next step I think from what people have suggested is to flush it without the RO membrane situated first. I will probably get a piece of that stainless steel pegboard in the future to clean up the install, I was mostly aiming for a working prototype. Then I may also situated the small tank that came with the RO system on the bottom shelf of my rig.
Don't mind the leaves, can't keep them out of the garage this time of year! Also, I wasn't paying attention to my marks and used the wrong one for that mistaken hole placement.
