Todd Devenyns
New Member
I have a well system with a submersible pump that feeds a Wellmate SP-9 sideport hydro-pneumatic pressure tank (40 gal with 9 gal drawdawn @ 30/50) with a Wellmate micronizer in front of it. I have two Fleck 5600 filter units after the pressure tank with one containing Calcite and the other Birm. My water pH is usually around 6.9 when measured with the filters bypassed but I live on top of a small mountain in my area and my water usually has a sufficient amount of iron in it that requires filtration with the Birm. When the system is working properly, water quality is really good and for the first few years here it gave me no issues (the system was in place when I purchased the house). I'm now remarried and my wife has 2 girls (plus my son) so our water consumption has gone up considerably.
Over the last year and a half, I've had a handful of issues with the system but I believe they are all generally related to the pressure tank. About a year ago, I had a problem where the water smelled like iron so I assumed that the filters had stopped working and had to call a local service company to check/replace the filter media. Once they arrived, we found that the issue was just that the tank had waterlogged and that since there was not sufficient air to water in the tank, the iron was not converting to solid iron such that the Birm could filter it out. At that time, he replaced the AVC, the micronizer, and installed a line drain valve so the tank could be periodically flushed. After that, the tank was good for a brief period of time.
Over the last two months or so, I've been having to maintenance the tank a lot because it seems to be leaking air at the top cap. I've tried pretty much everything to stop it and I'm pretty sure the tank just needs to be replaced. At the time the local service company was here before, he suggested that I move to a larger tank and that I change to a different style of tank that was not hydro-pneumatic. They say I can use a bladder or diaphragm style tank and retain the use of the micronizer to convert the iron but that I'll just lose a bit of the capacity. I'd consider using them as they were helpful and friendly but, I'm not entirely certain that either the micronizer or the AVC really needed to be replaced before and they charged me for some extra mileage and labor costs which I'm also not certain were entirely legitimate. There are very few companies in this area that do this kind of work and I'd like to just fix the system myself so I know what's going on with it and I can maintain it myself. I know I can just get another SP-9 tank and everything should be fine for a while but, should I consider other options since the tank has to be replaced? If so, what are the other options that will work properly with my setup? I've never cared for the micronizer but I understand why it's there. Do I have other options to perform the same kind of function with a different setup? I'm trying to keep costs under control but, if I can find a better setup that is affordable, I'd consider changing over. My apologies for the long post but I wanted to be thorough. Any assistance that anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Over the last year and a half, I've had a handful of issues with the system but I believe they are all generally related to the pressure tank. About a year ago, I had a problem where the water smelled like iron so I assumed that the filters had stopped working and had to call a local service company to check/replace the filter media. Once they arrived, we found that the issue was just that the tank had waterlogged and that since there was not sufficient air to water in the tank, the iron was not converting to solid iron such that the Birm could filter it out. At that time, he replaced the AVC, the micronizer, and installed a line drain valve so the tank could be periodically flushed. After that, the tank was good for a brief period of time.
Over the last two months or so, I've been having to maintenance the tank a lot because it seems to be leaking air at the top cap. I've tried pretty much everything to stop it and I'm pretty sure the tank just needs to be replaced. At the time the local service company was here before, he suggested that I move to a larger tank and that I change to a different style of tank that was not hydro-pneumatic. They say I can use a bladder or diaphragm style tank and retain the use of the micronizer to convert the iron but that I'll just lose a bit of the capacity. I'd consider using them as they were helpful and friendly but, I'm not entirely certain that either the micronizer or the AVC really needed to be replaced before and they charged me for some extra mileage and labor costs which I'm also not certain were entirely legitimate. There are very few companies in this area that do this kind of work and I'd like to just fix the system myself so I know what's going on with it and I can maintain it myself. I know I can just get another SP-9 tank and everything should be fine for a while but, should I consider other options since the tank has to be replaced? If so, what are the other options that will work properly with my setup? I've never cared for the micronizer but I understand why it's there. Do I have other options to perform the same kind of function with a different setup? I'm trying to keep costs under control but, if I can find a better setup that is affordable, I'd consider changing over. My apologies for the long post but I wanted to be thorough. Any assistance that anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated!
