Treating Well

[TheGoose]

I'm not reading into anything.

If you don't think that ACID will hurt METAL piping then we should just agree to disagree. As I stated in my first post you should not just take it on face value that "shocking" your well will not hurting the plumbing. As I've stated I've disinfected probably somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand wells and water systems so it's definitely something I'm familiar with. In fact I'm required by law to disinfect every well I work on and so I fully comply.

Where I take issue is when you issue a blanket statement that is just simply wrong.

BTW: I agree that the OP should attempt to chlorinate their well and can probably do so without consequence. Stagnate water is definitely a cause for disinfection.

chlorox will NOT hurt the plumbing. besides.. it won't be inthe plumbing.. it will be in the WELL.

ever hear of chloronated water? maybee drinking water in cities?

um.. POOLS?


In the county I live / work in. if a well fails testing. standard procedure is a shock treatment, then runthe well for a period.. then retest.

lastly. Whoever told you the chlorox would hurt the plumbing.. loose them and find a new source of info. they clearly do not understand all involved.

 

[Soundguy]

so every well you've shocked you've destroyed?

cool.. then we are on the same page.

you see only 2 optins.

destruction or no effect.

I'm of the grey area in between.

minimal degredation per instance.

do it as needed.. when materials wear out.. repalce.

I've yet to tear house piping out after an initial disinfect.. or a shock every few years.

and yes. i agree you disagree with me. I'm fine with that.

 

[Mace Canute]

You need to re-read my post. I said that it shouldn't hurt it, you said that it wouldn't hurt it and then went so far as to say that anybody who said otherwise didn't know what they were talking about.

When you chlorinate water you are making acid. If you don't think that acid hurts metal pipes then I don't know what else to tell you. I have known people who shortened the life of their plumbing by chlorinating their water (on a manual basis) too frequently. IMO it should be done no more than once per year with a properly designed and drilled well.
...........

I think you mean base because most common bleaches tend to be fairly strong bases, with a pH of around 12. Here's a link to a bit of discussion about how it damages stainless steel. bleach and stainless steel

 

[Midniteoyl]

What we do is pour Clorox into the well then run the water through the hose until it smells of Clorox saturation. Then run the hose back into the top of the well for a while so that it mixes the Clorox around and the inside of the well casing is washed down by the bleach water. Put the top back on the well and run the Clorox water into every sink or water outlet in the house and then let it sit in there for a while so it cleanses all water passageways in the house. After leaving it sit run the water until the bleach smell goes away. I run mine out a hose so I don't bleach the septic system and ruin the bacteria that eat the bad stuff. It seems to take a while for the bleach smell to go away.

This is what I do.. first time I let it circulate through the hose and down the well for about 4 hours - but I accidentally dumped a whole thing of pool chlorine in there, enough for 30,000 gallons of water . Then ran though pipes, let it sit 4 hours, let some more run, let sit for 24hrs, then ran into woods till clear +4hrs.

 

[woodlandfarms]

OOsik. You said something that has me in a spin. If the water does not test properly, you cannot build.

Down here in the North Vancouver WA area we have high levels of arsenic. So bad our neighbors at the bottom of the road were told not to shower with the water. Yet, no one has been told not to build.

Is Arsenic not part of the formal water tests that WA Require for build permits?

 

[TheGoose]

"Minimal degradation per instance" is my stance exactly. My point being that you are in fact degrading your plumbing every time you chlorinate the water, if even by a little. Especially if you've got galv. metal pipes.

so every well you've shocked you've destroyed?

cool.. then we are on the same page.

you see only 2 optins.

destruction or no effect.

I'm of the grey area in between.

minimal degredation per instance.

do it as needed.. when materials wear out.. repalce.

I've yet to tear house piping out after an initial disinfect.. or a shock every few years.

and yes. i agree you disagree with me. I'm fine with that.

 

[MNBobcat]

I have a question for you guys. I believe the casing on my well is 4". It has a submersible pump. The well sticks out the ground about 18 inches or so and has a cap on it. I was told to chlorinate, you remove the cap and pour whatever you're using down the well casing. However, I believe that about 6 feet down inside the casing they have a rubber gasket to seal off the well and prevent any ground water getting into the aquifer. I think that seal might sit just above where the rubber line turns to go under ground and into the house. I also believe if you remove the seal it may wreck it and have to be replaced.

Anyone know anything about a seal being inside the casing?

 

[Soundguy]

rubber line turns to go into the house?

take a pic of this setup.

do you not have a metal water pipe visable that then goes inside.. ( in garage pressure tank ).. or T's to the pressure tank right there?

 

[MNBobcat]

rubber line turns to go into the house?

take a pic of this setup.

do you not have a metal water pipe visable that then goes inside.. ( in garage pressure tank ).. or T's to the pressure tank right there?

It shouldn't really need a picture. Its a standard well same as everyone in the midwest has. No visible pipe going into the house. We're in Minnesota and it has to be below the frost line. I'm pretty sure that it has a black poly pipe that runs underground and into the basement.

 

[Soundguy]

wow.. no black poly here.. not code in florida. rubber certaintly would not be.

we can use black poly here for irigation.. etc..

 

[MNBobcat]

The only thing I have to go on is where it comes up out of the concrete slab in the basement its a black poly pipe. Could be poly only for a short distance though. I don't know.

 

[Soundguy]

not doubting you. just unfamiliar with that setup. It's unlike any water system I've ever designed or worked on.

around here.. black poly is mostly agg application..

we have black pvc as well as black abs. black abs are usually waste fittings

I have seen black polybutylene water line in manufactured housing.. and that would be potable / code.

I also , in industrial and underground utility applications.. like distribution, have seen black HDPE pipe.

i'm almost betting yours is butylene.. would make sense. Again. I work in florida.. I don't know any of your state codes.. etc. on;ly palces that really freeze here are in lil boxes attached to refrigerators..

 

[MNBobcat]

not doubting you. just unfamiliar with that setup. It's unlike any water system I've ever designed or worked on.

around here.. black poly is mostly agg application..

we have black pvc as well as black abs. black abs are usually waste fittings

I have seen black polybutylene water line in manufactured housing.. and that would be potable / code.

I also , in industrial and underground utility applications.. like distribution, have seen black HDPE pipe.

i'm almost betting yours is butylene.. would make sense. Again. I work in florida.. I don't know any of your state codes.. etc. on;ly palces that really freeze here are in lil boxes attached to refrigerators..

It may be butylene. I only called it "poly" for lack of not knowing how else to describe it.

I love Florida. I used to go there a lot. Would like to live there but the other half won't move.

 

[SPIKER]

In the WELL CASING at the top (below frost line) is a "PITLESS ADAPTER" is it metal (Brass usually) and has two parts one inside and one outside. The Inside parts slip into a wedge opening in the bolts through the casing to the outside part. There is (usually 1") threaded that turns 90 degrees down the well and a (usually 1") going UP so you can drop a hunk of 1" pipe down and thread into the pitiless adapter and pull the pump up and out. The part left in the casing is tight against the casing so the pump can slip past & there is usually a O-Ring between the parts to keep the water from leaking past it. If you ever have to pull the pump be sure to look for the o-ring and reinstall with a good coating of Vaseline to help it slide & seal.

Most pump companies will use 20' sections of Schedule 80 Threaded (PVC) for the drop pipe but some older installs used the Black Poly (HDPE) in heavy wall version. There is Threaded connections on both inside and outside the Casing which can crack and or leak. There is a Rubber gasket between the casing and the threaded pitiless adapter which is what keeps ground water out.

Google Image Result for http://www.catskillhouse.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/paulthurst41_pitless_adaptor.jpg

Mark

 

[Midniteoyl]

In the WELL CASING at the top (below frost line) is a "PITLESS ADAPTER" is it metal (Brass usually) and has two parts one inside and one outside. The Inside parts slip into a wedge opening in the bolts through the casing to the outside part. There is (usually 1") threaded that turns 90 degrees down the well and a (usually 1") going UP so you can drop a hunk of 1" pipe down and thread into the pitiless adapter and pull the pump up and out. The part left in the casing is tight against the casing so the pump can slip past & there is usually a O-Ring between the parts to keep the water from leaking past it. If you ever have to pull the pump be sure to look for the o-ring and reinstall with a good coating of Vaseline to help it slide & seal.

Most pump companies will use 20' sections of Schedule 80 Threaded (PVC) for the drop pipe but some older installs used the Black Poly (HDPE) in heavy wall version. There is Threaded connections on both inside and outside the Casing which can crack and or leak. There is a Rubber gasket between the casing and the threaded pitiless adapter which is what keeps ground water out.

Google Image Result for http://www.catskillhouse.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/paulthurst41_pitless_adaptor.jpg

Mark

This...

But, I dont have a rubber gasket/shield.. Mne is just the pitless adapter

 

[SPIKER]

This...

But, I dont have a rubber gasket/shield.. Mne is just the pitless adapter

You can not see the rubber (see the black rubber on right part in pic) that gets squashed between the NUT, Casing and INNER angled brass part. That is all buried underground so you will not see it unless installing/removing it. It is called "PITLESS" because you can pull the pump without digging a PIT to get the pump out. The part on the LEFT has O-Ring groove and one OPEN to pipe down well and one CLOSED 1" NPT threaded ports.


Mark

 

[Midniteoyl]

Oh, THAT gasket! I was thinking he and you were talking about a rubber shield going from the pitless to the PVC well casing..

 

[Soundguy]

It may be butylene. I only called it "poly" for lack of not knowing how else to describe it.

I love Florida. I used to go there a lot. Would like to live there but the other half won't move.

i love florida. hope to never move. born / raised here.

visted many other palces inthe us. some I WOULD live in.. but am happiest here

 

[speedbump]

I do not like Chlorinators and discourage their sale. But customers buy about 50 a year from me. Water treatment salesman sell them like candy. They use them to oxidize iron and to remove the sulphur odor from most of the water around here. We have no bacteria problems with properly drilled wells beyond 50 feet deep. People put these things on, turn them up all the way and forget them. Most of the time there is a carbon filter behind them to remove the over dose of chlorine so they don't care how high the dosage is. If they use a galvanized tank for retention time, it will not last 5 years in most cases.

Most of the bacteria you find in wells was put there by someone handling the pipes the pump hangs on.

 

[ozley]

Most of the bacteria you find in wells was put there by someone handling the pipes the pump hangs on.
Don't work in my county farming has made over 75% wells bad. I use a 12 gpm black light system.