Soft water users... I have a question

[Jagmandave]

The filter we use at work is just that - a filter, not an RO or distiller. It's a large tank similar to a softener tank filled in layers with about 6 different media, one of which is charcoal. It has an automatic backflush feature, which I have set for once a week. It does what we need, which is to remove sediment - and this is on treated city water, so we're not trying to soften it or treat for bacteria, just get rid of the brown sediment. I can see now why it wouldn't be appropriate for treating well water......... thanks for the education!

 

[anthonyk]

that does sound like a multi stage sediment filter. Not recommended for your home.

good luck. anthony

 

[_RaT_]

Any advice on water conditioning systems. Our water is slightly acidic, reasonably hard. I need to do a full test and get it figured out and planned prior to commencment of building our home so I can make provisions for it. Manufactuers or links are always helpful. Thanks, Rat.

 

[anthonyk]

If the water is acidic you'll need an acid neutralizer.
Truly neutral ph is about 7.2 -7.4. I wouldn't worry about it though unless it's less than 6.5. Anything less than 6.5 can corrode certain metals on appliances and plumbing.
Now, an acied neutralizer will look like a water softener, sort of a large scuba tank. It will be filled with a different media though.
Normally it is a Coarsex, or Calcite media. That is a sacrificial media that will be used up as the filter works. Here's a professional tip: DO NOT GET A LARGE TANK WITH LOT'S OF MEDIA. Get an 8 inch diameter tank and only fill it about 1/3 of the way. The reason is that when these neutralizers backflush, the water pressure must be able to "lift" that bed of media, and since it's primarily a marblel-like rock, that's hard to do. Many people make the mistake of thinking that a larger tank will have greater flow capacities. That's true to a degree, but what happens is that if the water cannot lift the media during backwash, it will harden up into a solid block. Then you will have REALLY bad water pressure. Plus it won't be working, and when it comes time to replace the media, the entire unit will have to be junked because you can't break out the old stuff. Get an 8 inch by 48 inch tank, fill it to one third, and then check it about every 6 months. You can shine a light against the tank and watch the media level drop.
When it gets low, have your company (or yourself) service it. All they do is unscrew the valve and add more media. It's easier to do light service work more often, than to replace the entire system because it's solidified. Also, if it's installed by a professional company, have them REMOVE the backflush rate control washer completely. Most are factory preset for about 4 gallons per minute. Have them take it out, and use the MAX flow rate possible for backwashing. That'll help lift the bed and avoid problems.
Assuming you're on a well you might consider a chlorination system. That will kill any bacteria and remove iron (a common problem).
So the order of equipment is: come from the well into the chlorination system, then into the acid neutralizer, then into the softener to remove the hardness ( the acid neutralizer will add hardness so adjust the softener accordingly) THEN into the house. This is not as hard as it sounds. Chlorination systems should be about 650 bucks through a good dealer and simply require adding chlorox bleach maybe every couple of months, they're automatic. The acid neutrualizer should be about the same cost, and will probably be about 200 a year in maintenance, and the softener will require adding salt (the amount and price depends on the system). I'm an engineer for a water purification company, so this is kind of my area of expertise.
Good luck, hope this all helps

Anthony

 

[_RaT_]

Thanks much Anthony, great to get the advise. I did a quick calulation of our water with our simple test strips for our spa. Its just to get a general idea. Total hardness was actually low for what it tests which is CaCO PPM, it was about 100. PH was roughly 6.2. Total alkalinity was about 120-180PPM. I need to get it professionally tested. We have little or no iron to speak of. I will check into the various systems available. Thanks again.

 

[PineRidge]

<font color="blue"> We often get requests to put in a system, but leave the outside hoses hard. That can't be done unless you plumb the house with that intent during construction.
</font>

Anthony that's exactly what we did. Although we swear by softened well water, including drinking it, We see absolutely no reason to water the yard or wash the tractor using softened water. In my opinion it's a waste of good salt, so all outside faucets are hard water plumbed only.

 

[anthonyk]

That's probably a good idea. I like the idea of washing my truck and tractor with soft water though, as it really cuts down on the spotting. What I did was plumb the house normally, but ran a 1.5 inch water line straight off the well, before it went to the house. That line goes directly to the barn and feeds the sprinkler system. The rest of the water supply is completely filtered. So I water the yard with raw water, but wash the vehicles with clean.
anthony

 

[ByronBob]

I plumbed the pipes with a bypass valve in the line for the water system. The water comes in and goes into the water system. If need be I can close the valves and open the direct valve to allow water to go directly from the well to the house and skip the softener.

 

[KubotaSteve]

I think of the feeling being slick as opposed to slimey. You will save on shampoo and soap especially if you have females in the household with long thick hair. My daughter's hair goes down to about her waste line and she was using a ton of shampoo until we got the softener which made a huge difference.
Also the new softeners are a huge improvement over the older ones. I lived in one apartment that I had to maintain the softener and it was an older one where you had to set a dial for regeneration and if you ran out of soft water before the next regeneration then you had to do a manual, and all of that was a pain. The new one I got from Sears determines when it needs to regenerate and it also will inform you of low salt levels, when it is regenerating, plus it has a built in bypass and uses a lot less salt. As far as drinking it, it does have a different taste than I was use to, so we just got one of those coolers from Home Depot and have a water service deliver spring water for drinking. We use the soft water for everything else though. The color in your clothes will actually last longer with soft water too. My polo shirts used to fade fairly quickly and now with the water softener they wear out before they fade that bad.

 

[PineRidge]

<font color="blue">I plumbed the pipes with a bypass valve in the line for the water system. The water comes in and goes into the water system. If need be I can close the valves and open the direct valve to allow water to go directly from the well to the house and skip the softener.
</font>

Bob we had a bypass on a softener at our last place. The only problems that we had with it was when we were watering the yard and the softener was in the bypass mode. If someone was using the house water to clean or even take a bath then the hot water heater would fill with hard water. And even though you could switch the bypass back to soft water you then had to work the hard water out of the water heater before showers or baths were again fully softened.