Reverse Osmosis Under Sink Installation

[survivor2019]

Hi, the house i purchased has a reverse osmosis water filtration system. I am replacing the filters and also recently had a clogged sink issue and noticed the setup is different than everything i see online. The saddle pipe is installed on the horizontal pipe going from sink to main drain instead of the vertical pipe coming from sink. I have lived in the house for one year and i have had a few episodes of a clogged sink as well as pipes coming loose and i wonder if its related to this setup. The horizontal pipe has a few odd things about it. It has a random T connection with a strange cap on it and i have no clue what it is. The cap has some sort of bolt in it. Also the horizontal pipe has some internal functions that seem to not allow full flow of the pipe where the T is. I have not seen anything like this on other reverse osmosis setups and i am wondering if i need to replace that horizontal pipe with a regular pipe and add the saddle pipe to the vertical section. (I hope this makes sense!)

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

Of course it doesn't make much sense without photos. Clear photos.

That being said, saddle valves are bad no matter where and how you use them. Anything that pierces a pipe, or requires a hole to be drilled is just looking for trouble. What I did with my under sink RO system is, on the vertical stack for the drain, I added a fitting--a proper fitting--so the drain from the RO system connected directly.

 

[survivor2019]

Here is a picture. Thanks!

 

[havasu]

I have a similar R/O system. You drill a 3/8ths hole in the drain line, add the rubber gasket with a 3/8ths hole in it, then it all gets clamped to stop water leaks.

 

[havasu]

For every gallon of clean water, your R/O system will purge 10 gallons. They are not a water saver at all. This tells me you have a partial clog in your main line. Hire a jetter or snake handler, eliminate the partial stoppage, and let it continue.

 

[survivor2019]

For every gallon of clean water, your R/O system will purge 10 gallons. They are not a water saver at all. This tells me you have a partial clog in your main line. Hire a jetter or snake handler, eliminate the partial stoppage, and let it continue.

I fixed the clog after removing the pipes and putting them back together. My question is what is that T pipe for with the cap? It seems to be the culprit for the clogs.

 

[havasu]

Looks like another drain access, maybe for an earlier R/O unit. Just go to a big box hardware store and get a new extension and drill in another R/O drain line. Should set you back $2 and 10 minutes of time.

 

[survivor2019]

Looks like another drain access, maybe for an earlier R/O unit. Just go to a big box hardware store and get a new extension and drill in another R/O drain line. Should set you back $2 and 10 minutes of time.

Thanks, will do. What’s weird about the pipe is that it has some sort of system in inside it that is part of the pipe itself and it basically cuts half the flow from the top half off, it’s rather odd to me, but it sounds like it’s not needed so I’ll toss it.

 

[CT18]

What is going on with that 90 to the left of your saddle, where is the jam nut. I would get someone in there that knows what they are doing and repipe your entire sink drain. The tee at the disposal is cranked on a angle into the slip fitting below it.

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

For every gallon of clean water, your R/O system will purge 10 gallons.

No...they are hardly that inefficient! Who gave you that number? I’ve had several including one that did 3000 gal/day and it’s more like 1:1 or perhaps a bit worse depending on the membrane. I also recovered that “waste” water on the big one. But 10:1? No.

 

[survivor2019]

What is going on with that 90 to the left of your saddle, where is the jam nut. I would get someone in there that knows what they are doing and repipe your entire sink drain. The tee at the disposal is cranked on a angle into the slip fitting below it.

I have no idea how that pipe is attached like that! It’s actually pretty secure somehow though. I’m starting to think I need to have it all professionally redone myself. I plan on getting new cabinets and I’m tired of dealing with leaks

 

[havasu]

The commercial R/O units are much better at water saving, but the typical homeowner installed units are anywhere from 3-25 gallons per gallon of filtered water.