GreenBuild: Gray Water Goes Under the Counter

This is great. Simple yet intricate. 5 stars.

#1, who has carpeting in their bathroom (what an awful idea). #2, who wants to climb up to the toilet every time they have to pee. #3, who straddles the toilet when they pee? Don't most people stand in front of the toilet, not on top of it?

That design in that picture is absolutely atrocious.

Unfortunately, this device doesn't work for dual flush toilets according to the attendant working this display...i was talking to the inventor as well at GreenBuild and though this is a GREAT invention he could have taken it a step further and designed a model for both types of toilets...

hmmm - I believe that's a display for a trade show . . . .

why would you need to clean and disenfect the water to flush a toilet . . . .

" an intelligent and civil comment "

Eric:

#1 Yes carpeting would not be nice in the bathroom but my mom's place used to have carpet in both baths and the kitchen... I know...

#2 & #3 I'm guessing the strange box under the toilet is just for the "show demo". I looked at the site and it's a normal toilet they show in their graphics. My guess is they have a small tank down there so the can actually flush (clean I presume) water then recirculate it around to the sink to re-do the demo. I think a short note explaining the box would be appropriate.

The raised box the toilet is sitting on is just for the display. In your home you would have plumbing in the floor, but most conference halls don't want people tearing up the floor to install plumbing. It sounds like a great system to me. It would be nice to have a larger tank and pump in water from the shower/bathtub too.

We're going to have to change our approach if we want to turn the environmental devastation situation around. It is sad to see complaints about taking one step up to use a toilet. The word, spoiled comes to mind in regards to what we've done with the planet, and many of the children.

I think grey water use is great but he mentioned that they chlorinate the grey water again before use.

Is the use of excessive chlorinate a growing concern and doesn't using more chlorine harm the environment too?

This device has been around for some time (at least 1 1/2 years)...in addition to my earlier comment about this not working for dual flush toilets...

The tank under sink is 100% necessary, it's for storage and filtering - You cannot have particulates flowing from your sink to the toilet. A filter is needed for both the oils from soaps and other products associated with shaving, makeup, etc. I wouldn't want hair and other stuff showing up in my brand new $400 toilet. This would result in clogging the works and possibly staining the bowl.

And yes, the raised toilet is strictly for display purposes...in an actual installation the pipes would be beneath the floor...

I don't get where all of this water is coming from. If you are conscientious about water use, you won't be using more than a few liters a day in the bathroom sink.

This is an example of reduce coming before reuse. Don't waste the water in the first place, and you won't need to invest in technology and energy to reuse it.

For my money, the BRAC gray water system is the way to go, because it reuses water from a significant water source - the shower.

the toilet is raised because it doubles as a washing machine.

Upon first inspection of the Aqus it seemed to be fairly well thought out. There are a lot of parts that are specialty parts that have been built overseas. During the installation I encountered problems with the rocker device that fits inside the toilet tank. I called Water Saver Tech and got Mark Saunders (the inventor) on the line. After discribing the illfitting part to him, he told me that I probably got ahold of some old stock and promptly sent me a newly designed rocker assembly. A week later, after recieving the new part and assebling the unit I can say that it worked. (sort of). There are electrical points that go inside the toilet tank that are exposed to moisture. These points activate the pump when the water level drops in the toilet tank. They will need regular attention. This design error is exaserbated by the chlorine in the water that causes most metal parts to corrode quickly. This coats the points and causes them to not make a good contact.
Secondly, the only way that the toilet bowl can fill is if that water comes from the fresh water fill of the toilet. So you are only really saving about 3/4 of a gallon per flush. The fresh water going into the bowl gives the impression that the water entering the tank is fairly clean, but it's really pretty funky because there is virtually no filtration of the water coming from the sink. This means that your toilet flapper is going to need to be cleaned about once a week.
The biggest design flaw in this product is the use of 3" chlorine tablets placed in the drain line to disenfect the sink water as it goes to the storage tank. When the water passes over the chlorine tablets it creates chlorine gas. This chlorine gas comes up through the drain pipe and stings your nostrels pretty good. Since there is no sink trap between the sink and the tank there is nothing to keep the gas from escaping back into the bathroom. That isn't the biggest danger though. The biggest danger is if someone is cleaning the bathroom and inadvertantly pours a cleaner containing a significant amount of ammonia down the sink. Guess what? CHLOROFORM GAS!!! For those of you that aren't aware of household chemical rules 101, Don't mix chlorine and ammonia, this is what happens. Chlorofom gas is created from the mixture of chlorine bleach and household ammonia. If you inhale modest amounts of chloroform gas you will be rendered unconscious and your breathing passeges will be permanently damaged. If you remain in the area you could die, but don't ever sign up for another marathon race.
I don't want to harp on this too much, but the swimming pool chlorine that is sent with this product is designed to be totally submerged under water. i.e. swimming pool chlorine. From what I have read in the EPA regulations for hazardous materials, there are heavy fines and imprisonment for using this type of chlorine for anything other than what it is designed for. (swimming pools). This has to do with the fact that when this product is not totally submerged, it creates large amounts of gas that are intended to be entrained in water, not breathed.
The product is however usefull if you don't follow the instructions with the chlorine. You will have to pour something like peroxide down the sink every couple of days to kill the lively bacteria and odor that go along with them

Upon first inspection of the Aqus it seemed to be fairly well thought out. There are a lot of parts that are specialty parts that have been built overseas. During the installation I encountered problems with the rocker device that fits inside the toilet tank. I called Water Saver Tech and got Mark Saunders (the inventor) on the line. After discribing the illfitting part to him, he told me that I probably got ahold of some old stock and promptly sent me a newly designed rocker assembly. A week later, after recieving the new part and assebling the unit I can say that it worked. (sort of). There are electrical points that go inside the toilet tank that are exposed to moisture. These points activate the pump when the water level drops in the toilet tank. They will need regular attention. This design error is exaserbated by the chlorine in the water that causes most metal parts to corrode quickly. This coats the points and causes them to not make a good contact.
Secondly, the only way that the toilet bowl can fill is if that water comes from the fresh water fill of the toilet. So you are only really saving about 3/4 of a gallon per flush. The fresh water going into the bowl gives the impression that the water entering the tank is fairly clean, but it's really pretty funky because there is virtually no filtration of the water coming from the sink. This means that your toilet flapper is going to need to be cleaned about once a week.
The biggest design flaw in this product is the use of 3" chlorine tablets placed in the drain line to disenfect the sink water as it goes to the storage tank. When the water passes over the chlorine tablets it creates chlorine gas. This chlorine gas comes up through the drain pipe and stings your nostrels pretty good. Since there is no sink trap between the sink and the tank there is nothing to keep the gas from escaping back into the bathroom. That isn't the biggest danger though. The biggest danger is if someone is cleaning the bathroom and inadvertantly pours a cleaner containing a significant amount of ammonia down the sink. Guess what? CHLOROFORM GAS!!! For those of you that aren't aware of household chemical rules 101, Don't mix chlorine and ammonia, this is what happens. Chlorofom gas is created from the mixture of chlorine bleach and household ammonia. If you inhale modest amounts of chloroform gas you will be rendered unconscious and your breathing passeges will be permanently damaged. If you remain in the area you could die, but don't ever sign up for another marathon race.
I don't want to harp on this too much, but the swimming pool chlorine that is sent with this product is designed to be totally submerged under water. i.e. swimming pool chlorine. From what I have read in the EPA regulations for hazardous materials, there are heavy fines and imprisonment for using this type of chlorine for anything other than what it is designed for. (swimming pools). This has to do with the fact that when this product is not totally submerged, it creates large amounts of gas that are intended to be entrained in water, not breathed.
The product is however usefull if you don't follow the instructions with the chlorine. You will have to pour something like peroxide down the sink every couple of days to kill the lively bacteria and odor that go along with them