Well chlorinators

[repete]

I have a well that has a high iron content and I can usually keep the sulfur dioxide smell in check with carbon filters but does anyone here use a chlorine injection system?

 

[jyoutz]

Our well is very deep and the water is high quality. It is pumped directly from the well to the house. The only time I have chlorinated the well is after pulling and replacing the pump. Is there a reason why you think the water is contaminated and needs chlorine?

 

[ponytug]

@repete Do you mean an in-line chlorinator?

I don't have an in well chlorinated, more on that below, but we do however have iron and manganese in our water, plus sulfate. What we do is pump the water into storage tanks, where oxygen from the air causes the iron to precipitate. If we had more of an iron problem, I would probably just bubble air into the storage tank. I have friends that bubble ozone into their storage tanks as it is more reactive and converts the iron to precipitate faster and removes hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg odor) faster. Ozone also helps remove dissolved organic material.

I think that what you want, if you don't want to go the route of storage tank(s), is to use a water filter, like a water softener, that removes iron and hydrogen sulfide. If you have manganese as well as iron, I would recommend a greensand filter, if not a BIRM or curtain filter would definitely help.

Filtration Systems - Iron Removal Filters | Hellenbrand

Remove iron particles from your water supply & reduce the amount of iron bacteria and sulfur that can cause rust. Explore commercial filtration systems now.

www.hellenbrand.com

I highly recommend Hellenbrand systems as I have found them to be very durable and reliable.

I personally would not want to put chlorine into any well as chlorine attacks stainless steel, and I suspect that your pump has stainless steel in it. As one time use when the wells is put in, or pump replaced, ok, but not routinely. While you could use an in-line chlorinator, but I don't know anyone who was happy with one, as corrosion and precipitates from the water mean that the system needs frequent adjustments not to over chlorinate or under chlorinate the water. Chlorinating into a storage tank tends to be more successful as the large volume of water tends to keep the chlorine levels more stable.

Good luck, and please let us know what you end up doing.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Roadworthy]

I have found carbon filters less effective than I'd like against sulfur dioxide. I have found letting the water sit for a few hours after running from the tap eliminates the smell - perhaps allowing it to off gas. To remove the sulfur dioxide takes an oxidizer and a filter. I don't use one. Chlorine is one common oxidizer. My neighbor has a system using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizer.

 

[5030]

My neighbor has a system using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizer.

What I use and have for the last 20 years. I use a Pulsa-Feeder, positive displacement (perastaltic) pump and inject H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) into the raw water as it comes into the house. and then I 'pull off' the sulfur dioxide (as the H2O2) precipitates it to a solid with an industrial sized 5 micron filter with replaceable elements and that gets the little bit of iron we have as well. Nice thing about H2O2 injection besides removing the sulfur dioxide entrained in the water is it totally makes the raw water germ free. Our water always tests good with the county. Simple system and bulk H2O2 isn't that expensive either. Been paying around 80 bucks for a 15 gallon carboy which lasts me a full year.

 

[5030]

Chlorine is a know cancer causing compound, I prefer not consuming it.

 

[Valveman]

I don't like to use Chlorine unless there is absolutely no other way. But they make pellet chlorinators that drop a pellet down the well on a timer connected to the pressure switch. Aerating the water gets rid of a lot of stuff. You can even aerate in the well like when using a Sulfur Eliminator. I have heard good things about them except for needing another pipe or hose to the well head.

 

[oldnslo]

We had minor iron problem with the well on our dairy farm in early 80,s added a pellet type chlorinator. This stopped the iron discoloration problem on the dairy equipment and our clothes from clothes washer. Again this was a minor problem compared to my uncles where water from the tap was rusty red. He had to install a major iron eliminating system that I am not sure what all was involved.

Note: i never tasted any chlorine in our water.

 

[repete]

A little more info here: I have a conditioner at the well head and I have a carbon filter as the water enters the house but on occasions the sulfur smell overtakes the carbon filters. Since I have about 1500' of 2" water line I would like to disinfect that line post the conditioner.

I do not think I would run it on a regular basis but more of a monthly or quarterly schedule.

 

[MasseyFerg231]

I have a hydrogen peroxide system. US Water in Indiana is who I purchased from. Did the water test and then they recommended a system based off water test. It cleaned it up pretty quickly. Took me a few hours to install

 

[Midniteoyl]

I have a well that has a high iron content and I can usually keep the sulfur dioxide smell in check with carbon filters but does anyone here use a chlorine injection system?

I just use a regular water softener with Iron Out salt (Green Bag). Works pretty good.

 

[repete]

They did a test when we built the two homes and it was noted to be high iron.

 

[Midniteoyl]

They did a test when we built the two homes and it was noted to be high iron.

Something like these work if you have high iron (20-30ppm)

SoftPro® Iron Master AIO Water Filtration System - Remove Iron, Sulfur, & Manganese Using Air Injection for Optimal Performance

DESCRIPTION SPECS BY CAPACITY FAQ CUSTOMER REVIEWS Iron Sulfur & Manganese Filter System Using Air Injection For Optimal Performance, Treats The Worse Of The Worse Water! Have Questions About the SoftPro® Iron Master? Give Our Tech Team A Call:1-866-278-4130 CLICK TO CALL Laboratory...

qualitywatertreatment.com

Matrixx inFusion - Iron And Sulfur Removal System | US Water Systems

The Matrixx inFusion filter utilizes continuous injection hydrogen peroxide and oxidation to remove hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg odor) and is unquestionably the best way to eradicate rotten-egg odor once and for all. At the heart of the system is the robust Proportional Injection System, which...

www.uswatersystems.com

Not sure how high mine is, but it will yellow a tub in a ~2-3 days, and I still get away with a normal Culligan softener thats at least 20yrs old. If you still need some filtering, do it *after* the softener, like under sink.

 

[ponytug]

A little more info here: I have a conditioner at the well head and I have a carbon filter as the water enters the house but on occasions the sulfur smell overtakes the carbon filters. Since I have about 1500' of 2" water line I would like to disinfect that line post the conditioner.

I do not think I would run it on a regular basis but more of a monthly or quarterly schedule.

Thanks for the extra information. Can you explain a bit more about you mean by a conditioner? I am curious.

1500' of 2" pipe is getting close to 3,000 gallons, so if you had an injector injecting peroxide or ozone in at the well head, you would have plenty of contact time by the time it got to your house.

Just FYI: I know that carbon filters are sold to absorb rotten egg smells, but they really aren't that effective. Adding chlorine, or ozone, or hydrogen peroxide will actually remove hydrogen sulfide from the water by converting the sulfide (the stinky bit) into sulfate, which is tasteless and odorless.

All the best,

Peter

 

[repete]

Sorry, baling hay all day. I meant softener not conditioner....

 

[Fragger]

I would set me up an aerator like what is used in the aerobic septic systems and that should get rid of the smell, for bacteria i would use the chlorine but in a very small concentration not to exceed .50 residual.

 

[DB Pilot]

Our water has iron and that sulfur smell in it when untreated. What I found out is that the sulfur smell is gas from Bacteria. The bacteria feeds and rides on the iron in the water. Which to me meant no Iron no bacteria. So I installed a water softener and put "Iron out" powder in the brine well (1/2 cup per bag of salt). I also switched out the standard magnesium rod in the hot water tank for a zinc/aluminum one ( temp. set at 125 F) These three things really cleaned up the water.
Everything was fine and the county found no bacteria in the water on the second test but, I thought or imagined a slight metallic smell in the water (no body else did). So I added two 20" filters right after the water softener as I had no room before it. First is the 5 micron sediment filter and then the carbon filter. Showers are a pleasant experience now and no red on shower walls or in toilets.
Yesterday I ran about 2 gallons of water out of the Hot water tank and let it sit overnight. Your Post today reminded me to check it and it is still clear (no sign of red). This is our second year in this house and we are happy with the water, you might imagine the state of panic we were in at the beginning.

 

[TheMan419]

The house we lived in prior to the one we are in now had bad iron. We used a system like found in poist #13. It was an air injection system so no need to buy chemicals periodically.

First we had a spin on 5 micron filter. Then the iron filter, then the water softener. Water output was very clean and soft. It really dropped the pressure though and we could never get the pressure up to where we liked it. For example you could not shower and run the dishwasher at the same time.

Our current house also has iron, but not as bad. It is controllable with just a 5 micron spin on filter. We run that before the water softener.

I will look into putting iron out powder in the softener brine tank.

 

[ponytug]

Iron out is a little citric acid and some chemicals to reduce the iron to make it soluble.
You can also just add citric acid, (2T/40lb bag of salt) or buy the iron defense type softener salt that has the acid and detergent in it.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Morton-40-lb-Salt-Pellets-with-Iron-Reduction/3332700

When I bought my current water softener, I was told that having iron in my water, I should expect to change the resin in the water softener every 5-10 years as not all of the iron that precipitates on the water softener resin comes off during the salt regeneration. We are in that range now, and I am not seeing any degradation of the softener performance, yet. YMMV.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Midniteoyl]

Iron out is a little citric acid and some chemicals to reduce the iron to make it soluble.
You can also just add citric acid, (2T/40lb bag of salt) or buy the iron defense type softener salt that has the acid and detergent in it.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Morton-40-lb-Salt-Pellets-with-Iron-Reduction/3332700

When I bought my current water softener, I was told that having iron in my water, I should expect to change the resin in the water softener every 5-10 years as not all of the iron that precipitates on the water softener resin comes off during the salt regeneration. We are in that range now, and I am not seeing any degradation of the softener performance, yet. YMMV.

All the best,

Peter

I'm at at least 20yrs (was here when I bought the house) and had the valving rebuilt 2x so far w/o changing the resin yet. I did 'clean' the resin a few times with extra Iron Out (2-4 cups diluted in the brine tank, followed with immediate manual regen) a few times, but thats about it.