water sofener overflow to wash tub drain?

I have a newly installed water softener. The main rinse/back flush line goes to a stand pipe shared by the condensate pump for the furnace that is about 36"up and all is fine there. The unit also has an over flow drain on the brine tank. It is 28" from the floor. There is a laundry tub next to it that has a rim hight of 32". The laundry tub has a 1/2" dishwasher inlet with some kind of divider in the main tube just above the P trap that is unused. The inlet is at 16" and the water level in the P trap is about 9" from the floor.

Can I use the inlet on the P trap for the overflow? I am assuming I need some kind of air gap but how much? Can I run a hose to the over flow and simply have it under the nipple so any water would drain in to it? Any other thoughts? There is no other drain or sump pump lower in the house.

Thank-YOU

overflow

Don't do anything with it, at least not what you are considering. If it overflows you want to know about it so you can shut the softener valve off. It would be a very rare situation for the tank to overflow.

If I just leave it and it does over flow due to stuck valve then I will have a flooded basement. I pay pretty close attention to the mechanicals of my house and I would know if the water softener had that much water in it. However we do spend lots of weekends away from home. If it fails on Friday night and we are gone I would rather have it dump to the drain than flood my very expensive furnace and HWH.

I could set it up with a clear tube with a small dip to it. If water was to come out of the overflow I would know about it.

Run it to the drain, or whatever will take it away. I agree with you a floode basement is not good.

i run all my softeners 2 lines into a stand pipe together with a hrv condensate drain. No problem

Another idea,to be on the safe side, you could also shut the water supply OFFwhen you leave for a few days. Then you have no need to worry about the softener or burst pipes or such when your not at home.

The rinse/backflush line (the one coming out of the softener head) requires an air gap.

per MN plbg Code:

Subp. 4. Air gap (drainage system). "Air gap (drainage
system)" means the unobstructed vertical distance through the
free atmosphere between the outlet of a waste pipe and the flood
level rim of the fixture or receptacle into which it is
discharging.

Click to expand...

I'd look at discharging the head into the laundry tub. Air gap should equal twice the diameter of the pipe.

This is not the discharge line out of the head. That goes to a 2" stand pipe with an air gap. The line I am talking about is the brine tank over flow. I am planning a 1 or 2" air gap into a 5/8" hose running to the aux fitting of a drain tub.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

The overflow of the brine tank, I'd leave it open. It is very rare for brine to reach that level, only in cases of malfunction.

Any amount of overflow will be minimal, as the brine tank is only refilled either prior to or after regeneration.

Additionally, tieing it in by means of a air break (connection to tailpiece) may set you up for possible contamination of the brine. The visual indication of the brine tank overflowing will indicate malfunction, where having it connected to the tailpiece you may not know, unless adding salt.

I've seen a fair number of salt tank overflows, with by the time the problem was found, 2-3" of water on the floor over a wide area especially on a floor with no drain. It is a real mess and salt on a cement floor is not good for the cement.

So the best is to shut off the water to the house when leaving for overnight. Next best is a drian line on the elbow overflow fitting on the salt tank. That would have to flow downhill and I certaiinly would want an air gap of 1". I would also want to keep crawly thingies out of the drain line.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

While I agree turning the water off is best I dont think that will happen. The wife does not even want to turn off the water to the washer and I put that in easy reach. Going to the basement and moving that lever will be a major PITA. I think the drain is a better way for my. Some time I will be adding a sump pump but I still want to have this drain into the sewer. I will notice if there is a problem. I watch and listen to the house systems close!