Drain RO into bay?

[slash007]

I am trying to add spot free to my wash and one issue I worry about is the drain for the reject water. All I have in my ER is one small drain right in the middle of ER in the floor. It is old and not PVC, so tapping into it to add another would be very hard, if even possible. Would it be fine just putting a hole in one wall and draining towards the bay? I worry about ice etc. during the winter, and also it running while a customer is in there, but not sure what else I could do. Any suggestions?

 

[Jeff_L]

No other exit point in your EQ like a sink? If so, tap into that line.

Maybe think of something else like keeping the RO waste and using it for rinse water. It's been softened, de-chlorinated, so it is good water, just has a high TDS count. Mine goes up to a handful of 50gal barrels plumbed together and then feed into my automatics to use for rinse cycles.

 

[pgrzes]

Ditto what Jeff L said. I plumbed my reject line into tanks in the attic. Then they gravity feed into my automatic rinse tank and my undercarriage blast line. In my self serve my reject line goes right to my rinse tank, whatever is not used just goes out the overflow. Use as much as you can water and sewer is getting more and more expensive.

 

[slash007]

Great ideas, but unfortunately I don't have automatics as this site, attic space, nor much space in the ER. Currently I don't even use a rinse tank, it is just city pressure direct to my pumps. In the future whatever I equipment I use will likely have a rinse tank, but then the overflow has to be plumbed to a drain somewhere...

 

[MEP001]

Is there a visible vent stack inside? You can cut it a foot or so from the floor and put a P-trap on it for the RO drain.

I've installed quite a few RO systems with no access to a drain and plumbed it through the wall into a bay.

 

[slash007]

Is there a visible vent stack inside? You can cut it a foot or so from the floor and put a P-trap on it for the RO drain.

I've installed quite a few RO systems with no access to a drain and plumbed it through the wall into a bay.

View attachment 877

I installed a new hot water heater last year and it has the vents accessible. Is that what you are talking about? I'm not sure I'm understanding hot to connect to it exactly and where the water would go?

At least draining to a bay isn't an issue if I have to go that route. Did you put the drain in a particular location that worked well? (front, rear, middle)

 

[HCW]

Stainless or black pipe 3/8" from equipment room to closest bay pit to avoid bay floor from icing in winter. Tie it down with clamps and paint it red to avoid customers tripping over it. Otherwise, collect it in 55 gallon barrels and dump it in bay pit at your convenience but before next cycle. Just a temporary fix until you have a proper set up.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Do you have a toilet? If so, just run it right into the tank.

I think MEP was talking about tapping into the SEWER vent pipe. I like that idea and have done it myself.

Is there some reason you don't want to just run a hose across the floor to the drain?

 

[slash007]

That's what I thought, but I don't have a toilet. That would have been easy. I could run a hose across the floor, but figured that when it drains, the water is pretty powerful so I can't just lay it by the drain. The drain is small and I don't want to block the whole drain with a hose inside either. Unless I can drain with a really small hose? My other wash has a large drain hose, so that is what I was going by.

 

[2Biz]

How big is the floor drain in the ER? I have my RO, Water heater condensate, and Floor Heat condensate drain into the floor drain through a 1.5" PVC pipe... My drain is cast iron and about 3" in diameter. I laid the pipe on the floor and put an elbow into the drain. It works for me. Sounds like a lot of trouble to get it out to a bay pit.

 

[slash007]

Good to hear from you 2biz I was actually looking at my drain yesterday and figured that I could do as you mentioned. I think what threw me off is the large line going from my RO to the drain at my other wash. What size line is typically for the RO reject? Also, do you have all 3 teed together then just one line going to your drain?

 

[2Biz]

I took a picture of the trap last night and have no way to get it to my server right now to post it. Will try to do that this evening when I get home. But yea, its just 1.25 or 1.50 pvc. I have my softener and condensate drain for the floor heat tee'd into the same pvc pipe. Theres not really much volume of reject that comes off your RO tank. 1" PVC would probably work. I also have a smaller 1" pvc pipe that runs to the drain. It comes off the Water heater pressure relief valve. The condensate for the hot water heater drains in the trap as well. Just try to route the pipe so its not a trip hazard! BTW, my floor drain is 4" in dia.