Sand filter on well

[paulharvey]

I have a well that gets sand in the water. I also have a lot of lime in the water (8.2 pH). I have used a cheap whole house filter with compressed paper filters, but the lime clogs them in as little as two weeks; and I'm not going to buy a new $8 filter twice per month. I'm wondering if a #40 mess filter would catch the sand and let the lime deposits through? The hard water doesn't bother me, but the sand eats up the rubbers and o-rings in all the fixtures. I found this http://www.agrisupply.com/m/product...1&spJobID=300056740&spReportId=MzAwMDU2NzQwS0 at ASC, for $8 and wondered if it would work.

 

[oosik]

I don't know about your location in Florida but here if you have sand in your home well it is an indication the well was not "improved" sufficiently. Improving a well is pumping the well, usually immediately after drilling, and removing all the silt, dirt, debris and sand thereby leaving only larger gravel around the casing terminus. It may be worth your time to have a local well driller look at your situation and determine if further improvement might eliminate the sand problems. I have no advise to offer on the product you are asking about.

 

[hosspuller]

I agree with oosik .... That sand is wearing your well pump too. Better to fix the problem than bandaid it.

 

[8N Ren]

Do yourself a favor and get one with a clear plastic housing, that way you can see when it's clogged.
You can get ones that come with a plastic mesh filter which is reusable and the body has a 1/4 turn ball valve on the bottom of it if you just need to just give a quick flush. That's the style I have but I don't remember the brand.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

You can also put in a settling tank. That won't stop the wear and tear on your pump, but it should keep the sand out of your house lines.

 

[jaotguy]

first question should be ... is the well in sand or is it a drilled well in rock ? ...

if it is in sand, the screen at the bottom of the well is failing ( screen is getting large hole in it, allowing sand to be sucked up) Time to pull the head and replace the "sand point" ...

if it's in rock, time to lift the head and install a sock filter ( and raise the head a couple of feet to get it out of the sand )...

either way, the sand is destroying the system and needs to eliminated ....

 

[paulharvey]

It's in sand. It was drilled in 1996. 4 inch by ~95 feet, with submersible pump. I haven't gotten a quote on pulling the pump and redoing the sand fillter, but I assume (we all know what that means) that it would be more than a new pump would cost; hopefully years from now.

 

[Ranger Rick]

It's in sand. It was drilled in 1996. 4 inch by ~95 feet, with submersible pump. I haven't gotten a quote on pulling the pump and redoing the sand fillter, but I assume (we all know what that means) that it would be more than a new pump would cost; hopefully years from now.

Years ago one of the parks that I worked at had major sand in the water. The well like yours it was in sand. They had big 12" diameter 24" deep heavy cloth bags that were in a stainless steel tank to filter the water. We had to pull the bags out every week and wash them off so they could be reused the next week. I have no idea who made the system though. Rick

 

[SPIKER]

most of the options been posted, one that has not been mentioned real well is the settling tank. Basically adds a 2nd pump and a bigger tank that the submersible pump fills up and the sand settles in bottom. a 2nd jet/HP pump then pushed the settled water into the house thru the filters. It would need more time and room above ground & periodic maintenance as well to clean out the sand out of the settling tank... Then there is the pull the existing pump and have well cleaned (suck out the bottom of the well to remove sand/silt that has accumulated & deepens the well some. Then you would need some softener to get the lime/calcium out of the water to stop the dissolved solids from getting thru into the home...

Mark

 

[jaotguy]

the biggie here is the submersible pump in the well ... it has sand going thru it right now .... it will fail and the "second pump and settling tank" will not be able to "lift" the water ... and for the cost of the second pump and tank, the problem could already be fixed ....

or just "raise the first pump up a couple of feet" and see if the sand problem goes away , if so , lift the unit and put a fine mesh screen on the bottom of the pump.