Plumbing question

[Jstpssng]

Ever since I installed an inline water filter my pressure has been dismal; as in, a gallon per minute. I am thinking about putting another pressure tank after the filter, or move the one I have there. Would that increase my pressure? Conversely, would it cause problems?

Thank you

 

[dirttoys]

Ever since I installed an inline water filter my pressure has been dismal; as in, a gallon per minute. I am thinking about putting another pressure tank after the filter, or move the one I have there. Would that increase my pressure? Conversely, would it cause problems?

Thank you

Another pressure tank would make it better for a little bit, on a shower you are still going to be down to line rate.

Get a higher flow filter or put another one like you have in parallel, will roughly double the flow rate. Pressure gauge before and after the filter is not too expensive, and will let you see the pain with a faucet running if your not sure it is the filter.

Best,

ed

 

[Carl_NH]

Depends - you on city or well water? Why did you install a filter?

Then where are you measuring this flow - at the pump or at the spigot/sink or is it all fixtures? Is this a whole house filter or on a sink, and do you have low from all fixtures?

You can put a booster after a filter but that's not the issue - it's a matter of supply pressure, volume and flow rates is not sufficient.

We have a 1.5 HP pump and 3/4" in line filter for the house, and 1" in line filter for irrigation - never had an issue with low flow or delivery even with nearly plugged filters!

 

[Jstpssng]

Depends - you on city or well water? Why did you install a filter?

Then where are you measuring this flow - at the pump or at the spigot/sink or is it all fixtures? Is this a whole house filter or on a sink, and do you have low from all fixtures?

You can put a booster after a filter but that's not the issue - it's a matter of supply pressure, volume and flow rates is not sufficient.

We have a 1.5 HP pump and 3/4" in line filter for the house, and 1" in line filter for irrigation - never had an issue with low flow or delivery even with nearly plugged filters!

Well water. It's for flushing and washing only, next year I plan to put in a purifying system. I put the 3/4" inline filter in this year because it's recommended in front of the purifier. I have 40 lbs of pressure coming from the pump, but only a gallon per minute coming from the tap.

 

[Carl_NH]

If you installed a whole house filter, 3/4" it may be the filter media - try a 20 micron fiber filter. Sometimes the carbon filters will clog with iron we have in the water here in NE.

 

[civilian]

Any chance that tap is a newer faucet that is a low flow tap? We have a kitchen sink type faucet in the laundry sink (due to the pull out head) that is a water saver flow. Might work to save for places buying water, ie city supplied water, but not on private wells. Filling 5gal buckets for tile work took a long time. Jon

 

[Carl_NH]

Change out the filter to a 20 micron fiber or paper filter - check flow at pump/tank then after filter.

The other thing that civilain refers to is the "in line" filters in new faucets with a hot/cold mixing valves. We have a Kohler sink faucet that has screen's in the lines - and these get plugged with debris very fast.

The fix is to remove the cold line, stick in a bucket open the mixing valve and backflush into the bucket then reattach.

 

[ponytug]

Ever since I installed an inline water filter my pressure has been dismal; as in, a gallon per minute. I am thinking about putting another pressure tank after the filter, or move the one I have there. Would that increase my pressure? Conversely, would it cause problems?

Thank you

Something isn't right. 40psi into any reasonable size filter should get you way more than 1gpm. How did you measure the flow? Bathub?

Did you install a whole house type filter, i.e. 1" or 3/4" NPT fittings, with a 10" cartridge? 20 microns should be reasonable, but what are you trying to remove, and what do you plan to purify for/against in the future?

FWIW: most home systems run 40-60psi...

All the best,

Peter

 

[hube2]

I have inline filters. How much it reduces pressure/flow will be greatly dependent on the micron size of the filter. With only 40 lbs of pressure you're not going to be able to use anything much smaller than a 20 micron filter, and you might want to go larger, but that really depends on how small the particles are that you are trying to filter out. I have 50 to 60# of pressure and 1" NPT 10" Cartridge filters and the 20 micron filters work well for me. You said that you have 3/4" filters and this will also reduce flow through the filters.

If you are going to put stuff inline, like a purifier or you're going to need to get more pressure and you might want to look at replacing your pressure tank to something that will provide higher pressure. 40# of pressure seems low, as someone else mentioned.

You can reduce the amount of resistance and increase flow by using multiple filters in parallel, I used to have a single filter and a few years ago I put in 3 in parallel (reverse return) which reduces resistance to 1/3 of a single filter and this greatly improved overall pressure and water flow in the house. I would have put in 4 but did not have the room to mount them.

 

[EddieWalker]

First thing I would do is remove the filter and check your water pressure where the line is connected to the filter. You need to know what that number is. Then I would attach the filter and measure the pressure at the filter discharge. If there is a significant difference, then it's the filter. While the filter is off, I would look really close to the fittings and make sure there isn't anything blocking the flow of water, or installed backwards.

Do not start adding anything until you have done all your testing on what you have already added.

 

[PILOON]

I had a similar problem but then my water is pumped from the lake.
Problem was very fine silt that clogged the filters.
Those would only last about48/72 hours.
After research I installed a swimming pool filter @100 mesh and that controlled the clogging problem,
I now only need 2 - 3 filter cleanings/year, I say clean as I simply toss them in my dishwasher.

 

[RjCorazza]

I am not a plumber.
I was having flow problems through a 10" whole house filter that was 10 microns. Flow was ok with a new filter, rapidly decreasing with use.
I ended up installing a 50 micron pre filter that is manually back flushed once a week. It's a iSpring WSP-50, and really took the sediment load off of the 10 micron filter.

 

[LouNY]

Any filter is going to be a flow restriction. The finer the filtration the more resistance to flow.
The options are larger or more filters in parallel or less fine filter media.
Booster pumps and pressure tanks are a bandaid that will cause other issues.

 

[JJT]

If I run a 10 micron filter, it lasts a week or two. The 30 micron string filters last 6+ months. I bought a case, now that they are used up I've switched to 20 microns, they last 4+ months. The fridge filter is .5 microns for ice and drinking water, it gets swapped out every 6 months. I tried a 1 micro charcoal whole house filter, it lasted a day.

Start with a 30 micron filter and see what you have for pressure. You can always add a 1 micron filter under the kitchen sink. For most purposes, (showers, laundry and toilets) 30 microns should do just fine.

 

[SnagDump]

We have fine silt/clay in our well which is in basalt. (basalt weathers to clay). Without a filter our water can be pretty brown. A 5 micron filter did not do much so we've gone to 1 micron. Even with a 1 micron filter we'll start to see color in the water over time as the filter loads up. It's a steady decline in flow as the loaded filter causes more and more pressure loss. At some point the flow rate is unworkable for showers and it's time to change the filter.

In the summer when we're using hoses etc. outdoors and using a lot of water, a filter (whole house, 10 inch) might last 6+ weeks as we're flushing the well and lines with the increased water use. In the winter a filter might last 3 weeks to 10 days. I buy the filters from amazon; a box of 25 runs about $57 so it's not that big a cost.

Currently we're living above our barn while waiting on a house build. At the house I plan to put in banks of 3 filters in parallel; 5 micron filters followed by 1 micron. I'm considering putting in the necessary valving to enable back-flushing to a drain without disconnecting anything.

 

[ponytug]

For those of you with high filter usage, you might look at a sediment ("sand") prefilter. They resemble a water softener, minus the salt tank, but filled with sand/zeolite/iron and or manganese oxidizing media. I have one from Hildebrand, with a fine zeolite based media. It filters 100% of the incoming water to our tanks and removes 99+% of the clay/sediment. I have it set to backwash every 3-4 days to regenerate itself, mainly for the backwash to fill cattle troughs. There are versions that will automatically backwash when the pressure difference gets to a preset level.

I use mine to remove fine sand and clay from the well water.

All the best,

Peter

 

[hube2]

First thing I would do is remove the filter and check your water pressure where the line is connected to the filter. You need to know what that number is. Then I would attach the filter and measure the pressure at the filter discharge. If there is a significant difference, then it's the filter. While the filter is off, I would look really close to the fittings and make sure there isn't anything blocking the flow of water, or installed backwards.

Do not start adding anything until you have done all your testing on what you have already added.

Another thing I would check is the type of valves you are using. You should not use gate valves because they can restrict water flow. Ball valves are the best to use when you are trying to not restrict water flow.

 

[plowhog]

Ever since I installed an inline water filter my pressure has been dismal;

It can appear to be a pressure issue; however, I believe it is a problem with flow, not pressure. Not enough flow through the new filter.

I had a similar problem at my new residence. The water filter expert stated the filter he installed was capable of 16 gpm throughput. Only after many investigations, addition of pressure gauges ahead of and downstream of the filter, etc, did we conclude he was just flat out wrong. His filter could only pass about 6 gpm no matter how much pressure was being forced into it from the supply side. 6 gpm to supply a large residence with long plumbing runs was simply inadequate.

The solution for me was to add a 2nd filter system (in parallel) to double the flow.

I also had a problem with low flow all-the-way on the other side of the house at the master bath / tub / shower. Fixing that required upsizing the pipe-- it was 3/4" which was inadequate for that length of run (friction loss.) The plumber suggested 1" and I said let's do 1 1/4 just to be sure. Now all works right.

Lucky for me I had a very good general contractor. All of this was corrected at no cost to me.

 

[ponytug]

Another thing I would check is the type of valves you are using. You should not use gate valves because they can restrict water flow. Ball valves are the best to use when you are trying to not restrict water flow.

Your point about using full flow valves is a good one.

However, both gate and ball valves come in full flow and partial flow versions. I tend to use gate valves where valves are normally open as gate valves are prone to seizing when left closed for long periods of time, especially if they weren't prelubricated with a potable water valve lubricant before installation. (AMHIK) In my view, gate valves need to be cycled regularly. Ball valves can corrode in the closed position such that opening them damages the seals, causing them to leak. BTDT.

All the best,

Peter

 

[hube2]

Your point about using full flow valves is a good one.

However, both gate and ball valves come in full flow and partial flow versions. I tend to use gate valves where valves are normally open as gate valves are prone to seizing when left closed for long periods of time, especially if they weren't prelubricated with a potable water valve lubricant before installation. (AMHIK) In my view, gate valves need to be cycled regularly. Ball valves can corrode in the closed position such that opening them damages the seals, causing them to leak. BTDT.

All the best,

Peter

I could have been the valves I took out when I put in my filters, but the gate valves I they used originally seemed to only have an opening about 3/4 of an inch in my 1 inch pipes. I just new that I made sure that the opening, when open, was a full 1 inch in the replacement ball valves I used. They are only closed when I'm changing filters.