Egon
Epic Contributor
Sodium can be a health issue for some people.
Well water question
- Thread starter stumpfield
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stumpfield
Gold Member
I went to this website and filled out their evaluation form. Got a response email with a recommendation of ~$3500 equipment I need to buy to treat my water. That price does not include all the plumbing supplies to hook everything up. So, my local water guy was not too far off with his $5000 installed price. I guess I really have a serious and expensive problem with my well water. I was very confused think I could just buy an iron removel filter. I've no idea that I need so many pieces to put together a system.
I was very confused think I could just buy an iron removel filter. I've no idea that I need so many pieces to put together a system.Well of course you could go whole hog on this and spend 5-6,000 and maybe have real good water.
But,why don't you start with just one of those whole house filters,and a brita pitcher for drinking?
Might be all you need for now,and shouldn't cost you more than 100 dollars or so,[or 200 if you can't soder].
But,why don't you start with just one of those whole house filters,and a brita pitcher for drinking?
Might be all you need for now,and shouldn't cost you more than 100 dollars or so,[or 200 if you can't soder].
I gotta change mine every month and a half or so,for best flavor! Change the brita about once every two weeks,[also for best flavor].
Also use the best filter lowes has[they got 3-4 or more that will fit,] I get the most expensive one,its white,comes in two pack.
Don't get rid of stains in tolit bowl,don't get rid of smell[slight] in hot water,but you can't tell anythings wrong other wise!!!
Like I said,the most important thing about a water well,is that there is enough of it,little things like smell and staining,are well,a pain in the #$$ BUT.....
Also use the best filter lowes has[they got 3-4 or more that will fit,] I get the most expensive one,its white,comes in two pack.
Don't get rid of stains in tolit bowl,don't get rid of smell[slight] in hot water,but you can't tell anythings wrong other wise!!!
Like I said,the most important thing about a water well,is that there is enough of it,little things like smell and staining,are well,a pain in the #$$ BUT.....
OP
stumpfield
Gold Member
Thanks for the informative post. I'm curious to know why Manganese greensand is not a good choice. The other company recommends Managanese greensand...
Got some more info from the well guy. Currently, water directly out of the well is 18ppm iron. I have a 5500gal holding tank. The high iron water pump into the tank and the iron oxidizes and settles to the bottom. My system has a variable speed booster pump installed inside the tank to pressurized the house. I was told to add chlorine to the tank on a regular basis. The water came out of the holding tank only has 4ppm iron. Somehow, the holding tank removes a lot of iron or concentrate the iron at the bottom of the tank. I must flush and clean the tank once a year. I don't know if I described this correctly or if any of this make any sense at all. Basically, the system reduces the amount of iron in the water before going into the house without a filtration system. However, 4ppm still a lot of iron which caused iron stain in all the plumbing fixtures. My goal is to get rid of the remaining 4ppm with an effective iron removal filter. Thanks for your help.
Got some more info from the well guy. Currently, water directly out of the well is 18ppm iron. I have a 5500gal holding tank. The high iron water pump into the tank and the iron oxidizes and settles to the bottom. My system has a variable speed booster pump installed inside the tank to pressurized the house. I was told to add chlorine to the tank on a regular basis. The water came out of the holding tank only has 4ppm iron. Somehow, the holding tank removes a lot of iron or concentrate the iron at the bottom of the tank. I must flush and clean the tank once a year. I don't know if I described this correctly or if any of this make any sense at all. Basically, the system reduces the amount of iron in the water before going into the house without a filtration system. However, 4ppm still a lot of iron which caused iron stain in all the plumbing fixtures. My goal is to get rid of the remaining 4ppm with an effective iron removal filter. Thanks for your help.
I don't know,thats what I was saying about these systems and iron,heard iron and bleach don't get along good.
Must be a nasa like thing to do this right and probably a nasa like cost,but you had red water,so,thats bad.
You might,just might, want to think on getting your well drilled deeper,or drilling another well.Might be cheaperin the long run,[but on the other hand....]
Must be a nasa like thing to do this right and probably a nasa like cost,but you had red water,so,thats bad.
You might,just might, want to think on getting your well drilled deeper,or drilling another well.Might be cheaperin the long run,[but on the other hand....]
kenstrac
Platinum Member, RIP
What is the shape of your tank round-square -horizontal -vertical
where does the water go in top bottom where does it come out ,are there any drains on the tank how much treated water do you want to produce per day what is the other water that is not treated going to be used for
where does the water go in top bottom where does it come out ,are there any drains on the tank how much treated water do you want to produce per day what is the other water that is not treated going to be used for
SPIKER
Elite Member
The bleach will cause the iron to fall out of suspension and collect on the bottom of your big storage tank. also that it may attack the tank depending on what it is made of...
also check out your wellhead, if it is steel pipe this could be adding to the iron in the water if the head is up into the iron pipe rusting it which will pull iron into suspension of the water. This is part of the problem at my farm, not enough flow usage to keep the water cleaned up so it sorta stagnates and rusts up form the casing which is 20 something years old... Pop well head and pour in some bleach in there and that can also help take care of some well contained bacteria. if you have a low flow well (sounds like ya might and being lots of hard rock out in those hills you probably have a pretty deep well? I try & treat my well 2 times a year with a gallon of bleach each time let set for a day afterwards and run all of the water systems spigots long enough to get bleach smell out of them then turn off & leave over night. drain all out next day preferable during rain storm when you can dup the well water outside & have it diluted to keep from killing grass.
Mark
also check out your wellhead, if it is steel pipe this could be adding to the iron in the water if the head is up into the iron pipe rusting it which will pull iron into suspension of the water. This is part of the problem at my farm, not enough flow usage to keep the water cleaned up so it sorta stagnates and rusts up form the casing which is 20 something years old... Pop well head and pour in some bleach in there and that can also help take care of some well contained bacteria. if you have a low flow well (sounds like ya might and being lots of hard rock out in those hills you probably have a pretty deep well? I try & treat my well 2 times a year with a gallon of bleach each time let set for a day afterwards and run all of the water systems spigots long enough to get bleach smell out of them then turn off & leave over night. drain all out next day preferable during rain storm when you can dup the well water outside & have it diluted to keep from killing grass.
Mark
OP
stumpfield
Gold Member
Tank is dark green plastic. Round shape about 12 feet diameter and 10 feet tall. Water enters from the top and exit from bottom. Booster pump is set about 6 inches from the bottom. You are right about the bleach. It does cause the iron to settle to the bottom. So, is it a good or bad thing to use bleach to treat the water? Currenly, I don't live there fulltime. So the water in the tank does not get replaced very often. Is it a bad idea to have such a big tank? should I by pass the storage tank altogether or go with a smaller tank? thanks.
kenstrac
Platinum Member, RIP
The reason I asked about your tank was that I was facilities mng at Pepsi, and our water treatment system was fairly simple but very effective .After looking at your setup you would have to make to many changes to your system to work.
The use of bleach is good but you are taking the water from the bottom of the tank you will end up with more iron then ,if you could blow off the bottom of the tank after that might help.
IMO I would bypass the tank
OP
stumpfield
Gold Member
How can I easily by pass the tank with my current setup? My water system currently consist of a small 5gpm submerged pump in the well that fills the tank controlled by a float switch. The house is pressurized by a variable speed booster pump inside the tank. Well has 12gpm flow rate. I don't know the water level but the well is 480ft deep. Any sugguestions? I have a feeling that my current system is not the best design...
Last edited:
kenstrac
Platinum Member, RIP
can you get by on 5 gpm ?
Egon
Epic Contributor
Some folks would consider 5 gal/min. utter decadence!
SPIKER
Elite Member
it would be best to try and suck form the middle of the tank, not bottom, can you raise up the intake some, (will only need 4 ~6") but better than very bottom. also you may want to put a small circulatory pump and 2nd filter and simply filter the tank water back into it's self as a pre-filter operation for times when the water has set for a while. maybe run it on a timer.
there are also small bleach injectors which can inject small amounts of bleach into the running stream of water coming out of the well. The bleach will burn off after a few days in the tank but will also kill off any bacteria that may want to build up in there as well as any coming from the well & help fall out the Iron. you may even want to consider putting in a 2nd smaller tank that gravity flows over into the main tank and set it up so that the flow swirls into the small tank this will pull heavy stuff to the center of the tank and can be easily dumped.
Mark
there are also small bleach injectors which can inject small amounts of bleach into the running stream of water coming out of the well. The bleach will burn off after a few days in the tank but will also kill off any bacteria that may want to build up in there as well as any coming from the well & help fall out the Iron. you may even want to consider putting in a 2nd smaller tank that gravity flows over into the main tank and set it up so that the flow swirls into the small tank this will pull heavy stuff to the center of the tank and can be easily dumped.
Mark
ryanbr
Bronze Member
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Drilled a new deep well last year. Water was great for the first 2 months, then came the H2S... smell was barely noticible at first, then got progressivly worse. Took the plumbers advise and shocked the well with about 2 gallons of ultra bleach and let it sit over night in all the pipes and well. Flushed the well for about half a day and everything was good (except for the slight odor or the bleach in the water). Well that lasted about 2 weeks and the smell came back about 10x as bad! Its to the point now where if someone showers the entire house stinks like a rotton egg. Even if the dishwasher is going. Anyway I find myself dumping a gallon of bleach in the well per month and I end up running the pump about 5 times as much as it should be ran due to the fact that I need to flush the well after shocking. Plus I have to let sit for so long etc. a real inconvience...
Did the rod removal already. The smell is the same for hot/cold water.
Believe me when I say ANY help is greatly appreciated.
Did the rod removal already. The smell is the same for hot/cold water.
Believe me when I say ANY help is greatly appreciated.
Stimw
Elite Member
rhofford- You need an aerator. It sprays the water and lets the sulphur gas escape. You place them between the well and the house. They use two pumps, one from the well and then one to the house. They are commonly used around here. If you just google you should find more info.
GaryQWA
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Hi Dutch. She isn't getting as much sodium from the softened water as she does from other beverages and food. Check the labels. Also, get a sodium test of the raw water and show her how much is in it; all waters contain some. The formula for added sodium by your softener is in my last post above.
To reduce/remove sodium you need an RO or distiller.
To reduce/remove sodium you need an RO or distiller.
GaryQWA
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- Wherever I park the motorhome
- Tractor
- So far only 3 OTR dual axel Peterbilts and one Freightliner. :)
Manganese greensand is regenerated with potassium permanganate, a serious poison and it's expensive.
You have ferrous clear water iron coming into that tank from the well. The water is depressurized and aerated in the tank. Oxygen is an oxidizer and will convert some of the ferrous iron into ferric red water iron (rust) in the tank. Bleach contains sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) and chlorine is an oxidizer so all the ferrous is converted to ferric iron and the water becomes rusty and over time the rust settles to the bottom of the tank. Without the bleach, you still have 4 ppm of ferrous iron in the water and a correctly sized softener or iron filter will remove it.
For the guy constantly shocking his well, that is a bad idea and can make your problem worse, reduce the water production of the well and/or cause expensive water quality, pump and cable problems.
Foe the guys suggesting disposable cartridge filters, they will not remove ferrous iron and otherwise are a poor choice when an automatically backwashed filter should be used.
