Low well water flow

We have lived in this house since 2001. The well water has easily been the biggest cause of headaches and frustration... not to mention money spent.

New pump, tanks, filters, whole house iron and sediement filters, cleaning out the pipes from the pump to the whole house filter. But regardless it seems that every two years we end up having low water flow issues. The pressure is fine. You turn a faucet on and it will run with good water pressure for a couple of seconds but then the flow slows dramatically. The washing machine takes forever to fill up etc...

Is there anything that we can simply pour into the well that can run through the pipes and unclog the iron and sediment buildup that I am convinced is causing this flow problem. It is obviously built up and causing the water to run slow somewhere from the well to the water conditioner system in our laundry room.

If there is such a compound will it harm the iron and sediment whole house water filters.

What other options are there?

Thanks.
Mike

Thanks for the input. My best guess is that the water is probably being treated correctly. But where the water enters the house to the tank is not where the iron and sediment filters are. The tank is under the steps in a crawl space, therefore the clog or buildup in my best guess is from the tank to the laundry room where the filters are located.

The well is less than 50 ft deep. The well was drilled well before we moved in. I have had less than positive experiences with the different people I have had that have worked on the well.

Even if I had to repeat on a yearly or semi annual basis pouring something into the well and running it through the pipes is a much easier and less expeneive solution than almost anything else I can imagine. So long as it doesnt harm the iron and sediment filters.

I want to try something easy before I spend another 1K to 4K like I do everytime this happens.

What type of filters are you using?

My guess is disposable cartridge, right? If so take the cartridge out of the first one and see what the flow does.

If you have backwashed or regenerated filters, how old is the mineral and what kind is it?

They are whole house filters. The cartridge type was becoming clogged once or twice a week. The whole house system are two large blue free standing filters. one for iron and the other for sediment. Installed in March 2008.

Have you by passed one and checked flow and then the other to determine which if either is blocked up?

aquaman2000 said:

Your water is not being treated right. You need a good water analysis and you also need to determine how much sediment is coming in. With the water being treated properly, you wont have pressure problems.

aquaman

Click to expand...

What do you see as being improper treatment?

No I haven't done that. I have manually regenerated or backwashed them both just to make sure they were working properly but have not bypassed one or the other.

I have had several different water anaylsis done. That is why there is both an iron and a sediment filter. Both tested quite high. Untreated water is very red. The cartridge filter would clog quite quickly.But when I added the whole house filters he removed the cartridge filter.( When it was on, it was actually installed before the water go into the tank.)

What type of pressure tank do you have in the crawl? Is it a bladder tank or air over water? What are the cut in/out pressure settings for the pump?

When you say the iron is bad, how many parts per million are we talking? If you have the results of your water tests please post them.

Who is the manufacturer of your iron filter? Do you know what type of filtering media is inside it?

Also, as has already been suggested, try bypassing your filters and checking the pressure.


-rick

aquaman2000 said:

Gary,
stop trying to start an argument. What you are attempting to do is a classic tactict done by you countless times. You will start an argument and make everyone else look bad so you can move on in and make a sale.

A water treatment system that is causing the amount of low water pressure that this guy is having is obviously not treating the water properly either because it is not the right type of system for the chemistry of the water or the line running from the tank from the crawl space is getting clogged(like he said). Either way, like i said, it's not being treated properly.

aquaman

Click to expand...

You make yourself look bad. I asked you a simple question about your comment about your "improper water treatment" comment.

He said he has this problem every 2 yrs although he has replaced his filters and got new filters etc. etc..

You have no evidence of the equipment not working, and until he replied later than your comment, none of us knew what type of equipment he had. Now we know he has backwashed filters and he has not said his water is dirty or rusty or that he is having rust staining, which actually says the equipment is working just fine. And he has had an analysis a couple times.

As to the blockage in the pipe to the equipment being blocked, I agree. Now that is going to eventually make his equipment fail but until he by passes each filter and finds an increase in flow, no one can say the equipment is the problem, and if the line to it is blocked up, that is the cause of the filter being blocked up.

Mike, before we get mired down here, just exactly what do you have for whole house filters? Brand, size maybe a picture if you can. If these are cartridge type filters try taking the cartridges out and see if your pressure improves. If it does you probably want to think about changing filtration methods. Get the water tested and go from there. A lot of folks install those hanging filters you get from Home Depot to try to alleviate a problem that is way beyond the ability of the filter. I live in a very high iron area and we probably remove a half dozen of those things a month and install proper softening and or iron removal equipment. Aquaman is right though, get your water tested before you go buying anything.

Guys! Here are his last 2 replies after I asked what type filters he has. Note he has BACKWASHED them both but has not by passed either yet. Which you don't do with disposable cartridge types AND there are no disposable cartridge types, he had one originally. He has had numerous water tests (analysis) done already but what difference does that have to do with greatly reduced water flow?

**********
No I haven't done that. I have manually regenerated or backwashed them both just to make sure they were working properly but have not bypassed one or the other.


Annap_mike #10 Yesterday, 07:06 PM Annap_mike DIY Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 19
I have had several different water anaylsis done. That is why there is both an iron and a sediment filter. Both tested quite high. Untreated water is very red. The cartridge filter would clog quite quickly.But when I added the whole house filters he removed the cartridge filter.( When it was on, it was actually installed before the water go into the tank.)
.

OK but I still want to know what he has for filteration, make and model. Perhaps they are undersized and the media is plugged up, or maybe they are set wrong or installed wrong. A picture would be most helpful.

On a side note.
There should be no filter or softener or anything but maybe a check valve between the pump and the tank. It can cause undue back pressure on the pump, and can cause premature ware, and failure.

All filters and softeners should be after the tank.


Travis

Mike, with your high red and clear iron problems and the Annap part, I suspect you are in MD. Has anyone ever talked to you about IRB problems? You can check for it in a toilet tank at the water line and below. Any clear to black slimy snotty stuff?

You've had the local guys out numerous times and are rightfully sick of paying high charges each time. I would be too and I would start taking care of this stuff myself, are you there yet?

If so, I suggest making the line from the pressure tank to the equipment easily dismantled with unions and taking it apart say every 12 months or so and cleaning it out. You could take it apart and just replace the pieces between the unions if you used threaded unions and male adapters. If you used 3/4" sch 40 PVC, or 1" CPVC, the cost would be maybe $30-$50 for 20' of pipe/tubing and some elbows and a few threaded adapters. Or me, I'd cut the pipe/tubing before the unions and use repair couplers t oput anew piece in and run a ruler or some stick through the short piece I wasn't replacing until it got too long and then I'd replace it and the threaded fittings too. It would take you maybe an hour and then less when you got used to doing it.

There is nothing to pour in the well that will open a line filled with rust. If you did what I suggest above, you can let the rust dry in the old pipe/tubing, and then beat on it and the dry powdery rust will fall out as dust and you could reuse those pieces next year and for a couple years probably.

There's no need or sense in testing your water again, or calling out anyone if you can do this yourself, which IMO anyone with the desire to do it could, with simple common tools, that wouldn't cost more than $50 at a big box store if you had to buy all of them. Also, it sure as hell doesn't matter what brand of filter you have, or who made it or what size it is as long as your water is still clear and iron free.

And if you want to know what your water is going to be like when you get up in the morning or after being unused for a time, don't run it for 15 minutes before taking a sample for testing.

aquaman2000 said:

You're not treating water that has been sitting in your plumbing after an existing treatment system that is not working.

Running water for 15 minutes before a sample is taken assures you are going to get a good sample right from the well and not from water that has been sitting in a tank or the plumbing. Most people when taking a water sample for some reason don't open spigots or valves all the way so 15 minutes is another way to be sure that a sample is being drawn right from the well.

aquaman

Click to expand...

But when you use water it has been sitting in the pump, pipe and pressure tank since the last use.

Also, if you are testing for bacteria, most if not all states call for no flaming of the faucet tip or IIRC, no running the water as you suggest before taking the sample.

Has he determined that it is the lines that are plugged up and not the filters? Cause I havn't read that part yet.

That other guy and I think the pipe is blocked, probably correctly, because Mike says he has to clean that line every 2 years.

There is a product called NU Well Tablets however I have no experience with it or it's effectiveness.

Usually low flow is due restricted lines; to small diameter lines or restrictions through filters and water conditioning appliances.

In restricted flow conditioning appliances we have sometimes installed what we designed as a "Double Pressurized System" using two pressure tanks and two pressure switches while still utilizing the same pump. I have a basic drawing and wiring diagram that I would be happy to include, however I don't know how! I'm only a well and pump expert, I'm not a computer person.

Here's rust blockage in a drop pipe and pipe into a house I cleared with a well cleaning technique; similar to NU Well chemicals.
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