SST-60.. Still have iron.

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albertadave

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I just re-bedded my resin tank with SST-60 .Cleaned the resin tank spotless, added water very slowly, and did a full regeneration. I don't have a fancy test kit, but my small Phenanthroline test, still indicates the presence of iron.The glass on the left, softened. (very light orange koolaid colour) Lots of little bubbles. The glass on the right is bottled water. With the same amount of Phenanthroline. IMG_1335.jpg



My system is an older Autotrol 255/940 valve, thoroughly cleaned, new riser tube, top and bottom baskets, no gravel. With new flapper valves. All cycles work great, including brine rinse.

My specs are as follows..

Tank 9x48
Well water...

Resin 1 cu. ft. SST-60
Hardness 23 PPG
Iron 3.0 PPM
PH 7.5
TDS 760 PPM
2 People..



I know I should upgrade to a metered valve. But why isn't this (expensive) resin removing all, if not most of the iron..
This is pristine resin, salt use,and rinse calculations will eventually come into play.
 

Mialynette2003

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My first thought is were are all the bubbles coming from. Resin will not remove oxidized iron and with all the bubbles that indicates excess oxygen which is oxidizing the iron.
 

Gary Slusser

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If you had iron getting through the old resin you will have a coating of rust inside the plumbing. That is probably why the water is discolored.

Is the water soft (based on a hardness test)?

BTW, there is no guarantee that any resin will remove all the iron in water. And none can if the softener is too small to treat all of your peak demand gpm flow rate. SST is said to be the best resin for iron because it can not be fouled by iron like all other resins.

Did you get all the rust out of your resin tank before adding the resin?

You should use the water for a few days before dong anything to cure the problem.
 

albertadave

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Thanks Gary.. The resin tank was spotless ,I think the existing rust in the pipes is probably the reason. Is their anyway to backwash or clean the pipes.
Could you give me a rough idea of my salt and regeneration settings, based on my specs above....
 

catman

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I have not bothered to find the exact answer why, but if I let a glass of reverse osmosis water sit in a glass, the water will form the same little bubbles as in your picture after a few hours. Water out of the faucet does not do this....
 

albertadave

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I have not bothered to find the exact answer why, but if I let a glass of reverse osmosis water sit in a glass, the water will form the same little bubbles as in your picture after a few hours. Water out of the faucet does not do this....


The reason for the bubbles, I found out , has nothing to do with the water source.. "Nucleation points" are where the bubbles form. They can be caused by defects on the glass itself, or an improperly cleaned glass, can cause this.

Champagne glasses or flutes, have built in defects or ,"Nucleation points", just for the purpose of releasing bubbles ..

Thanks Catman...I learned something today..
 

Mikey

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Gary, is there any practical way to clean out pipes that have iron in them already? Since it's already ferric, I assume something like superchlorinating won't do it.
 

Tom Sawyer

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What is your pipe? Old Galvanized, copper, plastic?

If your pipes are full of iron you can try running the water for awhile and see if they clear up.

I don't ever recommend treating iron with a softener but if you must, SST is the way to go.
 

albertadave

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Tom ,my pipes are 3/4"copper. What would you recommend for treating my iron situation.. 2..7 to 3.0 PPM, and my GPM is around 4....
 
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albertadave

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I did a test today..I cut a 7" piece of copper pipe in half, (From when I installed 3 new Watts, full port ball valves,to replace the old gate valve bypass setup before my softener) about a year ago.
The piece on the right..was immersed in an Ironout solution for 24 hours.IMG_1358.jpg And this what the container looked like after,IMG_1361.jpg..

My pipe flushing solution.... Fill your bathtub or laundry sink ,half full of water. Shut off your main water valve. Add your preferred cleaning solution, Put a small sump pump in the tub or sink...attach a garden hose to any cold water faucet, or spigot near your softener, Open the faucet, Open the cold water tap where the pump is situated, turn on the pump..This will endlessly circulate your preferred (Ironout) solution.
I have found IO works best if left to sit for a period of time in pipes; or fixtures...
 

Mikey

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I cut a 7" piece of copper pipe in half, (From ...) about a year ago.
A man after my own heart. A lesser man would have thrown it away.

Good idea for flushing the pipes. What concentration of IronOut did you use? I wonder if any IronOut got into the water heater. Are you going to do the hot side as well?
 
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