Auto Top Off styles??

[Madmak]

I have seen many versions of ATOs and they all seem to work just fine, I just don't get why people go to this expense for a complicated solution. I simply use float valves off my RO/DI and I wonder why more people don't go this route. You can't add Kalk this way but there are other ways. The idea of constantly refilling a container put me off the ATO path early on.

To elaborate on what I do, it's really pretty simple. I run a float valve in my sump and one in my mixing barrel that are fed directly from my RO/DI. When either my tank or mixing barrel evaporate off enough water, the float valve falls and allows it to refill to the set level. To avoid excessive cycling of my RO/DI, I have it run off an outlet on my controller set to be on for 15 minutes, 4 times a day. This timer is also a bit of a safety factor if something goes wrong. I don't touch a bucket, a tap, or anything to top off either.

I can't think of a simpler way and wonder why so many people with RO/DI setups still use an ATO. Am I missing something? I'm a bit of an automation junkie but this isn't too complicated. I'm interested to see what the consensus is.