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Very rusty water after changing downpipe
PROBLEM: Water is extremely rusty. All three toilet tanks had to have a cup of IRON OUT added to clean out the rust. The final straw was a load of whites is now rusty white due to the iron in the water. Two additional washes with bleach and they are still discolored. I will wash them with some IRON OUT in hopes of saving the clothing.
BACKGROUND
I posted earlier (early last week) about having my downpipe replaced because it had rusted through. The well was drilled and ran at 58 feet for 28 years. The well company that replaced the downpipe with new galvanized pipe only used enough pipe to re-set it at 47 feet. The tech didn't want to cut and thread another 10 foot piece. He said it would be fine. I do have "get out jail free" letter from the well pump service company that says if the well sucks air they'll add another 10 foot of downpipe.
Pressure is great now at 40-60 psi, but the rust is ridiculous.
Yes, the well technician ran the water out on the ground for about 5 minutes until the water cleared up.
I believe the static water level is at about 28 feet.
Our house uses a lot of water with the washer going non stop at night and on weekends.
The bladder tank is 86 gallons. The water heater is large as well.
I have a water softener.
My questions are: How long before this clears us? It's been a week since the downpipe was replaced. Or, is the pump placement 10 feet higher in the well potentially causing water to be drawn down too low in the well and it's picking up the rusty water.
Please advise and thanks in advance for your help.
Last edited by Prof100; 01-23-2007 at 06:13 AM.
It could be the new galvanized is rusting adding iron the the water or... the 10' higher setting is allowng rusty water from the drawdown to be sucked into the pump due to iron oxidizing in that zone where air is converting it to ferric iron/rust. Or, the 10' higher is allowing rusty water to 'build up' below the pump or pump inlet. You need to find out how much iron you have in the water. Then set up the softener to remove it if the iron isn't over 2-3 ppm.
Click Here to learn how to correctly size or program a water softener.
That guy just took a big chance on "your" pump. If it does start drawing down and running dry for periods of time, it will definately damage it.
If I read right, this pump is 28 years old? And the pump guy didn't recommend a new one???
Run all your faucets wide open with the softener in bypass. When the water clears in all faucets, you should not see much more iron from the work that was done.
bob...
Pump is 11 years old. I replaced it back in late 1995. It pumps just fine.Originally Posted by speedbump
I will attempt to bypass the water softener and run all the faucets. Or, I can run the water directly into my basement sump from the well for couple of hours, then run all the faucets in the house.
Gary,
The well service company tech who didn't want to cut and thread the extra 10 foot of pipe said to run the outdoor faucet for 4-5 hours to purge the well and the water system of the rusty water. Or, he said I need to have them come out and use a high powered air compressor to blow out the well.
The idea is to run as much water at time as possible. Running one outside faucet will help a little but running everything you can on the cold side will do a better job.
I don't think air lifting is going to do anything but stir things up more.
bob...
The air compressor is supposed to put 100 CFM of air into the well to blow it out. The total process costs $300. The air compressor is a automotive size diesel engine powered, tow behind air compressor.
Air is not going to dissolve the minerals that have clogged your screen. Nu-Well tablets are a safe form of acid that will dissolve the minerals on and around the screen so the water can again pass through the openings and into the casing.
There are guys that will shoot 38's, shotguns, and deer rifles down your well. But that doesn't mean it will help anything.
bob...
Bob,
Your last paragraph is funny. LMAO.
The well pump screen is not plugged. I was pretty clear of any deposits when it was pulled out to install the new downpipe. Are the Nu-Well tablets something I could do? If so, how simple is it?
I also checked my water softener. I had adjusted the regeneration cycle to every 3rd day about 10 months ago because I am cheap son of gun who was getting tired of using up 6 lbs of salt every day. I just adjusted it back to daily regeneration. My logic is the downpipe replacement disturbed the well and lot of caked on rust and mineral deposits broke lose and the now rejuvenated well with its new non-leaking downpipe is pumping water that's loaded with rust into my house. The rusty water was, therefore, not being properly treated by the every three days regen cycle. How's my logic?
Last edited by Prof; 01-23-2007 at 08:10 PM.
It wasn't really meant to be funny. People really do things like this. I knew one guy who shot a 12 gauge down an 1-1/4" well in his basement. He went as far as to use a screwdriver to jam a rag all around the barrel in the pipe which used to stick up 1.5' above the floor, to give it more concussion. He wanted to be sure he blew all the sulphur and iron etc. off the screen and well out into the aquifer. It did add concussion, he squeezed off a round and blew the 1-1/4" pipe off clean at the floor level. I don't know to this day why this guy isn't a foot and a half shorter.
The screen you saw was the footvalve. I am assuming you have a 1-1/4" well and they don't have check valves in the bottom. If you have a two inch well, you may have a bremer check in the bottom and in that case Nu-Well tablets won't work.
Using them is easy for anyone as long as you drop them one at a time so they don't bunch up half way down, and you need to have a good supply of water to keep pouring down the pipe to dissolve them.
bob...
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