Time for a new plan. Big family with marginal equipment

[RsayGV]

We are a family of 6(4 teenage boys) in a large 20 year old ranch style house with 5 bathrooms. 1 jacuzzi tub in the master , that gets used frequently, and a plan to add a multi-head shower in the master and another 3/4 bath for pool house when we remodel next year. We also own 6 goats, 2 dogs and 6 chickens. I am a very advanced DIYer with multiple prior complete bath remodels behind me and experience/equipment to work with with pex, pvc and copper.

Our current pump house equipment left me scratching my head when I looked at it:

• Pump that produces 7gpm with 2x 20gal pressure tanks. Pump cutoff set at 55psi.
• 1" PVC 2'
• 3/4" PVC 2'
• Water boss softener (currently not functioning optimally, I believe resin is fouled)
• 3/4" PVC 2'
• 1" PVC 1'
• 1 1/4" PVC that goes from the pump house to the house. 100' (to near side) 250' (to master bath on far side).

Believe it or not, we have good water pressure most of the time, which may be based on having our 2 water heaters in the attic and our mixed up schedules that rarely require a lot of simultaneous water use.

I did the Karlabs 360 and some of the results are as follows:
Calcium 13.9 mg/L
Iron 2.14 mg/L
Magnesium 5.4 mg/L
Manganese 0.066mg/L
Silicon 11.4 mg/L
Sodium 54.8 mg/L
Sulfur <0.5 mg/L
Bicarbonate/Alkalinity 173 mg/L
Color 40 color units
Corrosivity Langelier -0.9 S.U. Ryznar 9 S.U.
Hardness 56.9 mg/L 3.3 gpg
PH 7.1
Silica 24.4 mg/L
Turbidity 13 NTU
Total diss. solids 240mg/L
(Full report attached)

Problems:

• Rust staining on porcelain and shower walls
• Sediment that clogs screens etc. By visual inspection it looks like a combination of rust and sand.
• Very subtle odor that we can only notice if we have been away for a few days
• Wife complains that laundry isn't as clean and fresh smelling as when we were on city water.

My thoughts/questions:

1. I was thinking of adding 2 10x54 katalox light filters in parallel plumbed with 1" pipe. Hoping my 7 gpm will be adequate for a staggered backwash and that I won't create a significant pressure drop.
2. Will the katalox light iron filters be adequate for sediment filtering or do I need something additional?
3. Do I even need a softener at 3.3 gpg and if so how big?
4. Who can I trust to sell me quality equipment at a fair price that's not filled with hidden Chinese junk parts?

Complicating features:
When our pump had an issue a few months back, the well service man suggested that we might be better off to dig a significantly deeper well to access a high quality aquifer, that some of our neighbors have gone to, that he claims would have much higher production capacity and would require little or no treatment. He thought $9000 give or take. I actually don't think our current situation is bad enough to justify the big expense but I have been tempted by my neighbors bragging to me about how pure the water is that they have been getting. (I haven't seen a good water test report but it does look, smell and taste great.)

 

[ditttohead]

Your water is fairly decent. The KL system would do a great job of sediment reduction but adding the Hydra ahead of it is advisable. I will review the report tomorrow, I am on my way to play 2 hockey games tonight... just guessing you may have some issues with corrosion at the 240 tds without any hardness/buffering... but I don't really know until I review the full report tomorrow. I can refer you to many companies that sell good equipment. Unfortunately most of the online companies try to build their units as cheap as possible in order to be the lowest price. Just because it has a Fleck valve does not mean the tank, media, risers, accessories etc. are decent. I know of at least 3 companies in China that make really bad Fake Fleck Stainless Bypass knock offs.. Fleck like many other USA companies make many parts overseas, but at least when they do the parts are usually well controlled in the manufacturing process.

(2) 10x54 KL systems may not be needed depending on your water temperature (what is your water temp?), again, I will run the math tomorrow when I have a few more minutes but for now... off to hockey.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[RsayGV]

I measured the well water temperature at 58-59 degrees.

 

[ditttohead]

As suspected your water appears to be very corrosive. This can be treated in many ways or you can chose to ignore it. This is a commonly misunderstood part of water treatment. Many companies and people will tell you that your water is above 7, therefore you are good... not correct. The Ryznar/LSI both show that your water will be highly corrosive. This can damage copper plumbing over time as well as faucets and other fixtures that are metal. I prefer copper plumbing over plastics, but this is an application where plastic plumbing would be recommended by me. Treatment can be as simple as sodium hydroxide /polyphosphate injection. As to the color, iron, manganese, these may be reduced with a KL system but the highly corrosive water may make reduction a little more difficult as it may keep the iron in a ferrous state. A h2o2 injection system may be advised but it can also be added later if the results of the KL system are not adequate. You can also try air injection as this is much cheaper and has no consumables.