Well in driveway

The RO filter was/is for the high nitrates. But it still isn't removing all the nitrates. Albeit I'm testing the nitrates myself with a $10 aquarium nitrate test kit. I'm prepared to add a DI cartridge to the RO filter to completely remove the nitrates. In the near future I plan on having the well water tested again for coliform and nitrate. The well tested positive for coliform(89mg/l) on June 20 and the sellers did a chlorine shock and we had the well retested and and there was no detection of coliform bacteria. We plan on adding a UV filter either way for piece of mind. As it is, there is an old water softener in the basement that has been bypassed(we don't know for how long). I guess in the end it will just end up costing us an arm and a leg to have someone come out and suggest some treatment options. At this point I'm tired of worrying about the well water...ugghh.

brc71 said:

The RO filter was/is for the high nitrates. But it still isn't removing all the nitrates. Albeit I'm testing the nitrates myself with a $10 aquarium nitrate test kit. I'm prepared to add a DI cartridge to the RO filter to completely remove the nitrates. In the near future I plan on having the well water tested again for coliform and nitrate. The well tested positive for coliform(89mg/l) on June 20 and the sellers did a chlorine shock and we had the well retested and and there was no detection of coliform bacteria. We plan on adding a UV filter either way for piece of mind. As it is, there is an old water softener in the basement that has been bypassed(we don't know for how long). I guess in the end it will just end up costing us an arm and a leg to have someone come out and suggest some treatment options. At this point I'm tired of worrying about the well water...ugghh.

Click to expand...

You really don't want a DI cartridge and then to drink or cook with the water. I'd suggest that the RO needs to be serviced and possibly the membrane replaced. A RO should be able to reduce 90+% of Nitrates. Otherwise there's something wrong with it or it's the wrong type of RO. You can also use a disposable cartridge for Nitrates, I've sold a number of them over the years. You could replace the post filter cartridge with one.

Coliform is measure by CFUs, not mg/l or ppm.

I don't know what level your pool tester can test to, and there are two different types of tests for Nitrates; you need the one for potable water, MCL (EPA and PA DEP maximum contaminate level) 10 mg/l or ppm. So you should have a water treatment guy or lab test for Nitrate and Nitrite; the combination not to exceed 10 mg/l or ppm.

Yes testing the water again is a must, I've seen up to 80% of wells with Coliform that have been shocked, show Coliform after a just a week or two.

To save money and get this done sooner than later, you can buy whatever you need over the internet and install it yourself. You get high quality equipment and much lower prices than local dealers can offer.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

Allow me to pose one more question...before moving in, the sellers "shocked" the well and it was re-tested. How would one shock the well if the well cap is fastened solid to the casing, I just tried to remove it and 3 screws/bolts are broken off and it is stuck tight....I'm beginning to think I've been bamboozled here...

Otherwise, thanks for the advice....I plan on sending samples to our local analytical lab, they are EPA, NSF, DOD, and all that other crap for hundreds of tests...

The RO filter is brand new, I believe me and the online vendor have determined that low water pressure through the membrane is not allowing for optimal performance. He too is looking into various nitrate filtration options for me.

One more question...would the softener in my basement need to be replaced? It was installed in 1981(known due to label on it). As far as I know it has been idle for at least 2 years or more. It is a resin tank and a brine tank with a timer flushing control on top.

Thanks for all the advice here, although I'm beginning to wish we had never bought a home with a well.

They may have broken the bolts off when they put the cap back on...

Most ROs require a minimum of 40 psi to work right.

I say the old softener won't work right so it's by-passed and it's a time clock model which will use more water and salt than a new correctly sized and salt efficient demand/metered softeners. I'll suggest that the most important part of a softener is the control valve because they are the only part that has moving parts in it. So the quality of the control is critical to the long service free operation of a softener. I suggest the Clack WS-1 control valve is the best control valve on the market today. It was invented by three ex-Fleck engineers and has a new design with new materials but the same one moving part (piston) in the water stream design as Fleck valves. The next best is the Fleck 7000SE. It doesn't require any control valve specific sppecial Fleck tools to work on it as most other Fleck valves do. You can find both with a search for them inside "". As you may know, you can save substantial bucks by buying from an internet dealer and install it yourself or hire it done.

Gary
Quaity Water Associates

Good news..I realized that my aquarium test kit was testing for nitrate ion, and the EPA standard of 10mg/l is for nitrate as nitrogen. I picked up one of those $10 home water test kits from the local big store. Nitrate from my tap is around 20mg/l (test at 17mg/l in June/05) the RO water showed nitrate was undetectable (by $10 kit standards), pH was 7.0, hardness looked to be in the area of 5-10grains, and the water was pretty alkaline. I haven't run the iron test yet. I think I'll have the water tested for coliform at the lab here and make a decision based on that. I may add a softener for the meantime and if the coliform is negative, I will wait on the disinfection equipment for now. Thanks for the help.