2. Determine where you will get electrical power to operate your water
filter controller.
 WARNING:
Electrical Power Can Kill or Maim.
| |
 |
An electrical outlet with 120 volts A.C. fused with a 15 Amp fuse or
breaker is recommended to plug the servo motor that controls your water
filtration equipment. If power is not available, you will have a small
side project of adding an outlet near your installation. These systems use
very little electric current. Pulling electric power from an outlet within
the vicinity of your installation is typically not a problem. |
|
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All local and state codes on electrical wiring apply. Typically in most
states, a homeowner can do the wiring himself provided he does it according
to local code. A building permit to do any wiring may also be required
in some major cites and municipalities. |
|
|
Electrical power can kill. Before attempting to do any wiring, find out
how to do it before attempting to wing it. There are several basic electrical
wiring books available on how to do this. An additional source of information
would be National Fire Prevention Association #70, also known as the National
Electric Code (NEC). |
|
|
If you are doing the wiring yourself, ensure you shut off the power to the
outlet you are tapping into before hooking an additional outlet up. It is
also a good idea check the voltage on your outlet. If you do not have a volt
meter, you can use a circuit tester. These are inexpensive and in actuality
are a neon bulb with leads. Another alternative is to plug a small electric
lamp into the outlet and try the outlet before plugging power to your water
filtration unit to see if you errored in wiring. |
3. Ensure you have a drain available. If not, you will probably need
to put one in.
| |
A drain for the water used during the regeneration process and chemical tank
or brine tank overflow is needed. Because Potassium Permanganate, the chemical
used to regenerate a iron & sulfur filter is a poison, filter regeneration
water cannot be discharged to the open ground, open tanks, or any where other
than a sanitary drainage system(I.E. a city sewer or to a septic tank). |
|
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Place the Potassium Permanganate holding tank where a drain is available.
You will need to put an overflow hose from the potassium Permanganate solution
tank to a drain in case of an overflow. |
|
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The drain must be capable of carrying the the maximum flow rate of your
specific water softener. The drain can be either a regular floor drain, utility
drain (I.E. Washing machine tub), or a stand pipe. An air gap to break siphon
action is also required. Most water softener & water filter provide
drain line sizing information along with the equipment. |
Return to Table of Contents
5.2 Installation
1.
|
Acquire the needed tools and materials to do the installation. Refer
to the tool list and material list. |
2.
|
Precut your pipes and try fitting them together before soldering.
|
|
Tip 1: When installing your filter, water softener, valves, etc.,
make sure everything is plumbed correctly. Most filters, water softeners,
and valves are marked with arrows cast right in the parts to show the direction
of water through the system starting from the raw water source and pointing
to the rest of the plumbing in the house. |
|
Tip 2: Try fitting all your piping together as you go so it goes
together without binding. Make sure all the pipes except for the last two
pipes you need to hook up to your intended break in the water line. File
off any burrs that develop from cutting the pipe. |
| 3. |
Clean your copper pipe fittings well. Your fittings should be clean,
shiny, and free of dirt and oxidation. |
|
Tip 3: Use of a fine grade emery cloth or sand paper works well,
however, don't use a medium or course grade of sandpaper (greater than 100
grit). It may rough up the material to a point where it won't slide together
well during assembly. |
4. |
Make sure the water is turned off. This is the most obvious step to your
installation, the most important, and sometimes the hardest to do if your
main water valve is old and leaks. |
| 5.
|
Once you have your pipes precut, you are ready to flux the joints and
solder them. The process of soldering and wiping excess solder from copper
pipes is also know as sweating the joints. |
 Warning:
USE OF PROPANE TORCHES CAN CAUSE FIRE OR EXPLOSIONS.
|
|
Use proper care and follow manufacturers instructions on use and safety
when using. |
|
|
Propane torches generate heat from an open flame. Use extreme care to
keep all flammable materials away from the open flame and hot parts. |
|
|
Keep a portable fire extinguisher available in your work area in the
event of fire. Ensure your fire extinguisher is rated for all materials capable
of starting fire in your installation area. |
|
|
Use a thermal barrier (either fiberglass mat or wood stove underlayment)
where needed. |
Flux is typically in a wax state. Apply flux so a thin coat
is on the outside of the pipe and inside the joint to be soldered.
|
|
Tip 4: Flux only needs to be applied to the areas where you want
solder.
|
|
Tip 5: Because it takes a lot of heat to get valves soldered,
be sure to take any seals or valve handles out of the valves before soldering.
The valve won't be any good to you if the seals are all warped and leak. |
|
Tip 6: Do not solder directly on your control valve/filtration
tank. Heat will damage the unit. Instead, remove the inlet and outlet brass
nuts found of the filtration unit and solder on a section of pipe for an
extension. A minimum of 5 inches is typically recommended. |
6.
|
Apply heat to the joints, one at a time. Once you see the flux activated,
apply solder. When flux is activated, it will cause the color of the copper
to change from a shiny copper to a salmon pink color. At this point the copper
is free from contaminations as will allow the solder to "wet". Wetting refers
to the way solder coats the copper as if it were dipped into a liquid and
got wet. |
|
Tip 7: Solder flows toward heat. When soldering, apply heat to
the thickest part of a fitting. When soldering elbows, heating the outside
corner works well. |
|
Tip 8: If you do not have any experience at soldering, it would
be worth your effort to purchase a few additional fittings and additional
pipe and practice soldering. In most cases you will be able to solder the
joint. However, a little practice before you attempt to do your project may
mean the difference between getting it right the first time or doing it over.
I strongly recommend soldering as many fittings to pipe sections in an open
area. Use a thermal barrier (either a fiberglass mat or wood stove
underlayment) when soldering near flammable materials. (I.E. Studs in walls
& floor joists) |
|
Tip 9: Start your project so if you do run out parts or have a
problem, there is still time to get to a hardware store to get the needed
parts. |
7.
|
After the solder has wicked around the entire joint, excess solder is
wiped from around the joint with a damp rag. Allow the joint time to cool
down before attempting to solder the next joint. This will keep the total
amount of heat down on a specific joint so you don't get it to hot. If to
hot, when the joint you are soldering finally flows, the last joint you soldered
could slides down or fall off. |
| 8. |
The first items soldered are typically the pipe fittings that come with
the water filtering system. Take the fittings off (and take any rubber, nylon,
or plastic off the fittings), assemble the initial pipe sections to them,
flux, and solder. Keep soldering the parts together until you are ready to
cut into the water line. |
| 9. |
In most cases, the most difficult part of an iron filter or water oftener
installation is tapping into the water line. Perform the following:
a.) Ensure water is turned off.(If you have a well, turn of your pump.
b.) Open the faucets to relieve pressure in the water lines. This will also
allow the water to drain to the lowest point in the
plumbing. |
Figure 10 - Water Softener & Iron Filter Installation
| |
Tip 10: Don't cut the pipe to close to the shut off valve. If
you damage you shut-off valve. If you damage you shut-off valve from to much
heat, you may be asking for more problems than you can remedy in a day, not
to mention expense. |
|
Tip 11: Water left in a pipe that is cut off absorbs heat energy
from your torch and will generate steam. I have on occasion even siphoned
water out of pipes using a small diameter hose to prevent steam and allow
the joint to get hot enough to solder. |
|
Tip 12: Have as much ready to solder before hand. I once had a
situation while installing a water softener where I discovered the shut off
valve leaked after draining the water line. Because the shut-off valve leaked,
the water pipe filled up with water again before I had totally finished
soldering. To finish the job, I cheated. I drilled a small hole ( 0.1065
Diameter - #36 Drill) to allow the pipe to drain while I finished soldering.
Once the soldering was completed, I tapped the hole for a #6-32 thread and
ran a brass #6-32 screw into the hole (Precoat with a thin coat of solder)
under and on the head of the screw. I then soldered the screw head to the
pipe. A self tapping screw works if you don't have a tap available. Also,
be careful not to over torque the screw, Copper tubing doesn't have much
wall thickness and the screw could be stripped very easily. |
Return to Table of Contents
Section 6 - Recommended Tool List
| Item No. |
_Qty._ |
Tool |
Cost Range(Each) |
Comments |
1. |
1 Ea. |
Tubing Cutter |
$6 to $18 |
Used for copper tubing & pipe only. |
2. |
1 Ea. |
Wire Brush |
$2 to $6 |
Used for copper tubing & pipe only. |
3. |
1 Ea. |
Rat Tail File |
$2 to $5 |
Used for copper tubing & pipe only. |
4. |
1 Ea. |
Propane Torch & Propane Gas Cylinder |
$8 to $18 |
Used for copper tubing & pipe only. |
5. |
1 Ea. |
Hacksaw |
$4 to $15 |
Used for copper tube, pipe or PVC pipe. |
6. |
2 Ea. |
12 Inch Adjustable Open End Wrench |
$5 to $20 |
Used to tighten Unions to hook
up filter into water system. |
7. |
1 Ea. |
Needlenose Pliers |
$3 to $6 |
Used to cut 12 gauge(AWG) wire
for controller/timer 120 Volt A.C.
electrical outlet (if required). |
8. |
1 Ea. |
Wire Stripper or jack knife |
$3 to $5 |
Used to strip outlet wires (If using
knife be careful not to nick wires). |
9. |
1 Ea. |
#2 Flatblade screwdriver (Standard) |
$2 to $4 |
Used to tighten terminal screws on outlet(unless you use an outlet) with
push in type terminations) and to assemble outlet & cover into electrical
junction box. |
Note: A hammer may be required if you use the type of junction box
that has nails.
Return to Preface
Return to Table of Contents
Go to Section 7
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