[8weekly]

We are moving soon and I will have lots of off road parking. That being the case, I would like to move away from a static tank, but equally I don't wnt to spend a fortune on a van mounted system. What would a fitted one cost and are their alternatives?

[PoleKing]

Why move away from static.
I've got loads if parking but its just more convenient to have static I feel.
The extra costs would be the price if an IBC (or whatever you're holding water in), the pump and hose to get it from static to van and nothing more.
What are your thoughts on purifying in the van, why do you think it'll be better potentially?

[Cliff perkins]

Hi steve
If you have the area to make your water at home do it there and then transfer it to your van,just buy a 500 l tank for your van and a cheap 1000l ibc tank for home.
Thats what i will be doing when i buy my own place.
Cheers mate
 

[Jim Waugh(Albright & Shiny)]

whats the advantage of dumping it into a storage tank and transferring over filtering in the van?

[Cliff perkins]

Less weight in van with the extra gear.
More room in van
Easier to remove change filters
Less chance of flooding your van
Transfer fill tank in van in minutes with a quick transfer pump.

Personal preference at the end of the day i guess.

[formb]

Less weight in van with the extra gear.
More room in van
Easier to remove change filters
Less chance of flooding your van
Transfer fill tank in van in minutes with a quick transfer pump.

+

Less chance of damage to equipment.
Easier to insulate in the winter.

[Jim Waugh(Albright & Shiny)]

good logic. cant fault it..

[Archer]

8weekly,

Depending on how far you want to take your business forward, I would keep the static and also look at a 500ltr DI system, basically to give you flexibility.

What I mean is, you already have a static system which will be perfect for making your water, but the added DI system will allow you to fill up on site if you take on larger jobs.

You will of course be able to off set this against your business and that way you will have the best of both worlds.

Just my opinion, that is possibly the way I would go, and that way it will make you raise your game to get into the bigger jobs.

[Alex Gardiner]

I have always had plenty of off road parking, but have always run a static tank system which is transferred into the van each morning or the night before. This has given me great flexibility in production rates and also has allowed me to fill up other vans as well. It means that you can have a more economical RO system without the need to process all you want in your 'overnight window'. It also means that if your RO goes bang (which it has several times over the years) you have a few days of stored water to keep you going. I used to have a 1000 litre IBC, but now have a 2500 litre storage tank which could keep the van on the road for four days without re-filling.

When I had a smaller tank in the van I also use to keep a DI vessel on board (as per Archer) for if I needed it to top up with, which did happen occasionally.

[Jim Waugh(Albright & Shiny)]

So an ideal set up would be say 1000L Ibc (or bigger)in the garage. Rapid transfer into the Van. and have a couple of Big Di's in line in the van?

[Archer]

Alex,

Completely agree with you, well said  

[Archer]

Jim,

That's exactly the set up I have basically.

2000ltr static, which we go through in the day, and DI systems mounted in the vans, with the transfer pump and long hoses to transfer quickly.

Also having DI enables us to fill up on site if we need to.

[Alex Gardiner]

If you have the space then this really is the best set-up and limits the weight carried in the van. I have a rapid transfer surface mounted pump which connects to the base of the 2500 litre tank. This can transfer 650 litre in just a few minutes.

The DI set-up in the van is also a good idea although I never had it plumbed in all the time, just there to fill up if needed from an outside tap.

[Paul Coleman]

I use a static unit myself.  It's the only reasonable option in my circumstances.  However, even if I had a choice, I would still use static.  My van is my only vehicle and the filling time could make me immobile in the evening.  There are other reasons too but I won't repeat what others have rightly said.

[8weekly]

Ok. I'm persuaded. Life had been such a pain parking on the road that a van mounted RO seemed like freedom, but I am persuaded otherwise. I will just have to flood the garage. 

[Cliff perkins]

Lol
Just put racking in there and keep everything off the floor just incase but if you set it up correct you wont flood it.
Failing that get a small shed then u wont care if you do 

[PoleKing]

I flooded my garage once too many times.
Other than the door my garage floor is now completely waterproof to 5 inches up the wall.

[Spruce]

I flooded my garage once too many times.
Other than the door my garage floor is now completely waterproof to 5 inches up the wall.

Why don't you fit an overflow pipe to the side of the tank. This is what we have. Its connected to a length of hose that ends up at the drain for the garage roof.

I don't think ours has ever been used as we have a float switch and solenoid valve which switches the water off to the r/o when the IBC tank is full. If you are on timer or manual setup, then things could go wrong occassionally.

As Alex has said in reply to the first poster, processing water into a seperate IBC tank is the way to go. When I processed water into my trailer over night, I woke up to either find it over flowing or with no water at all as I had forgotten to switch the r/o on before I went to bed, or someone else had switched the outside tap off, etc.

[Paul Coleman]

Ok. I'm persuaded. Life had been such a pain parking on the road that a van mounted RO seemed like freedom, but I am persuaded otherwise. I will just have to flood the garage.  

http://www.garden4less.co.uk/hozelock-ac-pro-control-water-timer.asp?partner=fr&gclid=CPmmuoCm1bgCFRMgtAodPnAAgQ

PLUS

a float valve works for me.  Looks a bit of a kludge but you have two items for stopping the water working indepently from each other.  Even if the float valve kicks in before the battery operated timer, the worst that will happen is some water running to waste.  Not for a pumped system setup.  I decided to go for a low pressure membrane (HF5 4040) to overcome that bit.

[brianbarber]

Biggest bonus with static tank, I can use my van in the evening, without it being tied to the water supply slowly filling all night........

Plus, if vans empty you can use it empty at weekends etc an fill up from static as and when..

Mr B