Help with a whole house filter system

**Infinity** · 02-21-2007, 05:33 AM

I have a cannister filter system to install, but I wonder what the orientation must be? Does the canister HAVE to be perpendicular to the ground, or can it be parallel? My water line comes into the basement, then immediately 90*'s up to the ceiling, and everything is in the overhead joists from there on, so I'm hoping I can turn the filter "sideways" and install it on that vertical run. Any issues with that?

Rancher · 02-21-2007, 06:26 AM

No that will work, it's filtering out stuff, not settling out stuff.

Rancher

**Infinity** · 02-21-2007, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by Rancher

No that will work, it's filtering out stuff, not settling out stuff.

Rancher

Thank you, that just made this project a WHOLE lot easier, and cheaper to boot.

**leejosepho** · 02-21-2007, 03:52 PM

The orientation of the housing might not alter its ability to do what it does, but what about when you service the filter? On mine, I would never be able to get the element in place if it had to be horizontal.

Rancher · 02-21-2007, 03:57 PM

Good point and of course all the water pours out too...

Rancher

**Infinity** · 02-23-2007, 05:54 AM

The only part that might be of concern is getting the filters in. Where it will hang is only about 2 feet from where my basement sump is anyway, so a bit of water now and then isn't an issue. I guess I'll find out this weekend. I'll test the filter replacement BEFORE I hang it permanently.

**Gary Slusser** · 02-23-2007, 07:40 AM

Ya know they do make 90* elbows, and to hang it in a vertical line, you need four of'em to hang it as it is supposed to be. Do not turn it to hotizontal unless you want problems. It does settle out stuff because the water comes in on the outside of the cartridge.

You do know that those "whole house" disposable cartridge filters were never meant for POE (point of entry) use, right?

A lot of people install them and end up creating another problem because they aren't the right choice as far as filters go, or because there is no need for a filter to start with.

So what and how much of it are you wanting to remove from your water? Or why install a filter?

**FredC** · 02-23-2007, 11:49 AM

Great point made by Gary, opens up the up the forum on whoole house prefiltreation.. Is it necessary? I get a little sandy silt build up in the corner of the toilet tank nearest the presure tank and I have to clean the screens to the washer hose once a year. I installed a whole house filter & the only thing I observed over 9 months was changing filters too many times, a decrease water pressure, and breaking the PVC supply line twice when removing the cannister. Needless to say, we quit the prefiltration last Sunday.

Fred
West Texas

**Infinity** · 02-24-2007, 01:11 AM

Originally Posted by Gary Slusser

Ya know they do make 90* elbows, and to hang it in a vertical line, you need four of'em to hang it as it is supposed to be. Do not turn it to hotizontal unless you want problems. It does settle out stuff because the water comes in on the outside of the cartridge.

You do know that those "whole house" disposable cartridge filters were never meant for POE (point of entry) use, right?

A lot of people install them and end up creating another problem because they aren't the right choice as far as filters go, or because there is no need for a filter to start with.

So what and how much of it are you wanting to remove from your water? Or why install a filter?

Good points. I get a load of mineral deposits through my water. At my other house (same water system), the builder put a smaller version of this filter on the main inlet, and it worked beautifully. I just assumed that this would work. Besides a softener system, would there be another recommendation? Also, the horizontal mounting isn't going to work, so I'll pick up a few more fittings and another section of pipe today.

hj · 02-24-2007, 06:40 AM

How would a "whole house filter" not be POE one? The POE serves the whole house so that is where a WHF would have to go. Now whether a WHF is useful, (or effective), or not, that is a different question.

**leejosepho** · 02-24-2007, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by FredC

... whoole house prefiltreation.. Is it necessary? I get a little sandy silt build up in the corner of the toilet tank nearest the presure tank and I have to clean the screens to the washer hose once a year ...

Personally, I get at least a little more sediment than that and I prefer "catching and dealing with it all" at the point of entry.

**Gary Slusser** · 02-25-2007, 03:58 PM

Sediment (usually a build up of invisible dirt) is one thing, minerals are another but most times sediment doesn't cause any problems but people think it will. So they buy a disposable cartridge filter; and installing one is a nice project and makes ya feel as if ya accomplished something but.... That invisible dirt/sediment, it usually won't hurt a thing, so why filter it?

And if you have visible dirt, you need either a spin down or an automatic backwashed type filter or you go broke replacing disposable cartridges every few days. If you have a disposable cartridge type, remove the cartridge and see if that doesn't simply trap the visible dirt.

Usually washer hose screens are blocked by little balls of hardwater scale, not sediment. A "whole house" disposable cartridge filter won't do anything for that because the scale forms in the plumbing and water heater and hot water plumbing after the filter. If you have hardness scale problems, you need a correctly sized water softener.

HJ, I meant the disposable type filter.

Most people do not replace the cartridges when they need replacing, they replace them when they finally notice a reduction in the water flow (called low pressure by most...). But the main problem is that the 2.5" x 10" cardtirdge filter was never meant to be a POE filter. It was invented for POUse for like a soda machine, commercial dish/clothes washer etc.. The 4.5" x 10 or 20" has the flow rates and capacity to be a much better choice for POE but... they suffer the same replacement problems as the smaller one and cost mucho bucks and don't last that much longer on dirty water.

**ChrisNJ** · 02-25-2007, 05:16 PM

The wife n I recently purchased our 1st home and it has a whole house sediment filter, Portasoft 20BB, to remove dirts and solids. How often is one supposed to change these filters in here? They're not the cheapest things in the world. I'd rather just get rid of it. Any opinions on these things?

**Jake_homeowner** · 02-26-2007, 04:22 PM

When to replace depends on two things:
1: How dirty is the water and how much water is being filtered. Sand is always bad for valves. Ever seen a sand blaster at work?
Most filters come with a Micron rating that lets you know what level of sediment they filter. I have a well and using filters helps with a number of things. My filters are 20 micron rated for 25,000 gallons or 3 months. However that being said dissolved minerals will most likely not be filtered out using a sediment filter and will need an ion exchange or Reverse osmosis process to be removed. If you are using a carbon filter to remove odor or taste it also will have a suggested replacement interval on the new filter package.

**Gary Slusser** · 02-26-2007, 08:06 PM

You're supposed to replace disposable cartridges when the pressure loss across the filter is 15 psi.

A BB would usually mean big blue or big boy type filter usinf 20" cartrdiges in 4.5" diameter.

The human eye can not see prarticles less than 50-45 micron, so any micron rating less than 45 will filter out invisible 'dirt'. And all waters, city and your own well, contains some and it usually never harms anything.

Installing one of these filters ahead of regular water treatment equipment is not a good idea or needed unless you have a Kinetico softener or filter; their non-electric water powered control valve can't power through any build up of dirt without choaking.