How to select and install a new water treatment system.We had an old water treatment system that had broken. I could not drink the tap water as it gave me a severe headache so we bought bottled water. We were buying about 10 gallons a week, which cost about $10.00 per week, that is over $500.00 per year. We researched the available literature and found that 3 different systems would provide us with drinkable water for about 9.7 cents per gallon. After researching each of these 3 systems we decided to go with an Aquasana whole house water treatment system. I could do a do it yourself installation of the base unit in the garage where the old water conditioner used to be which would give us filtered water for baths, showers, dish washing and clothes washing. This system requires no salt to condition the water as it can filter up to 300,000 gallons of water before it needs to be changed out. To determine how much water we were using, I added a water meter in line to the system that displayed gallons of water used up to 9,999,999 gallons. We have used 84,393 gallons so far.
I mounted a small faucet on the porcelain sink in our kitchen for this filtered water. To mount this faucet I needed to drill a hole in the porcelain sink. This is a delicate job and must be done very carefully. You can do it yourself or have a plumber do it for you.
I researched the recommendations and tools on how to do this job. You can buy a special drill set just for drilling holes in porcelain. I made my own jig to drill this 5/8" hole. I bought 2 brass washers, the largest had 3/4" inside diameter which I glued to the sink with a rubber based glue at the location I wanted the faucet. I let the glue dry for about 10 minutes and then took a Dremel tool with a diamond bit to route through the porcelain inside the 3/4" washer down to bare metal. This is the most critical process so that you do not crack or chip the porcelain under the brass washer. Put water inside the brass washer while you are drilling to keep the temperature of the drill bit and brass washer down.
The second step I had a 3/4" outside and a 1/4" inside diameter brass washer which I placed in the center of the other brass washer. I also had a 1/4" OD and a 1/16" ID spacer that I placed inside the smaller brass washer. This gave the exact center for the faucet. You want to use the Dremel tool with the diamond bit again to drill a guide hole through the center of the spacer, through the porcelain down to the metal. The third step is to remove the spacer and small brass washer, leave the large brass washer attached to the sink. It acts as a heat sink for the porcelain below it. Drill a 1/4" starter hole through the porcelain and metal sink at this location. The fourth step you can take a 5/8" carbide hole saw drill bit and carefully drill out the 5/8" hole in the sink. The hole saw drill should fit easily into the center of the large brass washer with good clearance all around. Remember keep water on this hole drill to keep every thing cool at least below the boiling point of water.
Clean the excess glue off the sink now you should have a clean hole through the sink and no chips in the porcelain. If you do just hope that the shroud of the faucet covers it up when you mount your new faucet on the sink. Connect the hoses to your new faucet and final stage filter per the manufactures directions. Turn the water on and check for leaks. Tighten any junction that is leaking. Let water run through the filter per the filter per the manufacturers directions. Now test the taste of your own filtered water treatment system. Return to kitchen from water treatment |