Culligan Iron Cleer problems.....

vnvet said:

Ok will do....any idea how to get that lead head off?

Click to expand...

I hope that there are unions before and after the head, if so then undo the unions and that head should unscrew counter clock wise..

If there are no unions then.. what kind of pipe is in use? copper? if so then 2 sharkbite couplers will work to put it back together after you cut the pipe..

private message me if you need to ..

I strolled up the road to my neighbors place to see if he has the same system and ask if he'd had any problems. His system isn't even close to what i have....I figured he'd have the same seeing I told the salesman I wanted whatever he had sold him to remove the sulfur smell. He has a softener, with the salt, and a charcoal canister on the wall. I asked what removed the sulfur smelll and he said the charcoal canister...he changes it whenever he starts to smell a little sulfur....cartriges cost him $30.00.

Softeners don't remove the sulfur smell do they??...can I solve this problem by adding a charcoal canister like he has?

No, softeners don't take the sulpher smell out. A charcoal filter will as your neighbor will attest.

Peter Griffin said:

No, softeners don't take the sulpher smell out. A charcoal filter will as your neighbor will attest.

Click to expand...

Right, softeners are not made to remove the h2s.. A charcoal filter or carbon filter will remove the h2s, and depending on the level of smell as to how much carbon is needed for the job at hand.

Like if all that you have is h2s and it is very strong one idea would be to find a used 5600(softener valve to pull chlorine once a month to run through the carbon) 2 cubic feet of carbon put that in and on the lead tank remove the rest of the equipment and replace the carbon maybe every 3 years.....

Simple keep it simple... fewer things in the water flow to reduce the pressure..

Just goes to show that Culligan is not an honest operation, when the salesman came I told him I wanted what my neighbor had to take the sulfur smell out because he was happy with what he had...he asked if I wanted soft water, I said no..just want the sulfur smell gone...and he sells me this Iron Cleer.....and we have no iron. I think I'll just turn it over to my lawyer. Thanks for all your help !!

I suggest that you have your water tested. The (apparent) fact that something is plugging up the air injection system suggests there is something in the water that is being oxidized by the air injection. Testing will establish whether there is iron and/or manganese in the water as well as the level of those contaminants but probably won't be very useful for the hydrogen sulfide--which you know you have.

Maybe if more took your course of action they will listen...

Sad that it has to go that way, but some times it is the only way.

vnvet said:

Just goes to show that Culligan is not an honest operation, when the salesman came I told him I wanted what my neighbor had to take the sulfur smell out because he was happy with what he had...he asked if I wanted soft water, I said no..just want the sulfur smell gone...and he sells me this Iron Cleer.....and we have no iron. I think I'll just turn it over to my lawyer. Thanks for all your help !!

Click to expand...

Just a couple of thoughts about pursuing the matter with a lawyer--I think you said, or implied, that the system Culligan sold you took care of the sulfur problem for a couple of years before it stopped working and that after a service visit it worked again for a couple of weeks before again stopping working. If I have reasonably summarized the facts then the salesman sold you equipment that did what you asked "just want the sulfur smell gone". I think you also told us that there was no charge for the service call when the unit was fixed for two weeks so it is not clear what course of action you would pursue on the repair.

vnvet, you have an air pump system. The compressor adds air to the first tank and maintains the volume of air in the tank. Usually the compressor runs with the water pump for part of the pump run, yours may not do either. The black part you took apart opens and closes to maintain that head of air, so it has to vent excess air. It looks like they do that through the drain lin of the filter.

The air vent tank has a water inlet diffuser that is used to break up the column of water in to many different streams as it enters the tank. It will be installed on the bottom of the in/out head. It can block up. If the black part (vent) blocks up air can't be vented and that can cause a flow reduction.

The tank bottom will have a build up of any oxidized material (mostly from iron (rust) and if not flushed out etc., it can block up the very narrow slits in the distributor tube's bottom basket. The basket allows water into the bottom of the distributor tube, to go up through it and out to the filter. The line from the first tank into the filter inlet can block up too but that happens only with iron or IRB (iron reducing bacteria). IRB can also block other things like the mineral in the filter. Some air vent tanks have a bottom drain to allow them to be flushed to keep the bottom clean.

You have a terrible installation that does not allow the equipment to be worked on such as in your situation. It is right up against a wall and you will have to cut the lines to/from it to unscrew the head. Usually that's not a problem if you have room to do it but you'll have to pull the tank out to unscrew the head because the wall and filter are so close. Use unions to reinstall it.

Before you do anything else make sure the compressor runs and the vent vents air. If so then clean the diffuser and bottom basket if needed and the bottom of the tank if there is no drain. If there is a drain you should have full line pressure and flow out the drain, if not take the tank apart and clean things.

If that tank is all good, the filter control and/or mineral is probably blocked up. Or, that disposable filter cartridge past the filter is. Before you do anything remove that cartridge and see what happens to your flow.

You say something about your well pump runs frequently and for short lengths of time. This equipment should not have anything to do with the operation of the pump or pressure tank; unless the compressor has raised the pressure in the first tank too high but even then your pump should run longer than 5 seconds was it? You should check the air pressure in your pressure tank with no water in the tank. It should be 1-2 psi less than the turn on the pump pressure switch setting. I. E. 30 on 50 off would be 20-29 psi with no water in the tank. If the pressure is not right adjust it. That can also cause your pressure/flow problem.

You can install a pressure gauge on the vent tank head if there is plugged 1/4" hole. And then used to check/adjust the psi out of the compressor can be adjusted only if needed and no one but Culligan can tell you what it should be.

p.s. thanks for serving.

Looks like you have bypass valves there, so bypass the whole setup and let me know if your pump still cycles and if your water pressure increases.

When the system is bypassed the pump runs normally and the pressure increases.

Bob999 said:

Just a couple of thoughts about pursuing the matter with a lawyer--I think you said, or implied, that the system Culligan sold you took care of the sulfur problem for a couple of years before it stopped working and that after a service visit it worked again for a couple of weeks before again stopping working. If I have reasonably summarized the facts then the salesman sold you equipment that did what you asked "just want the sulfur smell gone". I think you also told us that there was no charge for the service call when the unit was fixed for two weeks so it is not clear what course of action you would pursue on the repair.

Click to expand...

Agreed....selling someone more than they need isn't illegal. There were 2 service calls over a 10 day period, one was $170.00 the other was no charge.

If the pump acts normally with the bypass shut off then the air control pump is putting more air into the tank than it should. No matter though because this is not something that you can adjust or fiddle with. You are going to have to get the Culligan man out there again. On the upside though, they should not charge you for the call.

My guess is they will now go back to their original diagnosis and tell me I need a rebed for $700 +.

vnvet said:

My guess is they will now go back to their original diagnosis and tell me I need a rebed for $700 +.

Click to expand...

And yet a service guy has also told you that you didn't need to rebed it and did something and it worked fine for a couple weeks.

All water treatment equipment requires maintenance at times. An air pump system requires a bit more and sooner than others because there are more parts, like this first tank and the compressor and the vent.

Look at the bottom of your control valve and see if there are separate inlet/outlet connections where the control attaches to the tank or not. If not then you have an industry standard tank and the valve simply unscrews out of the tank and you could rebed the tank yourself right in your basement in an hour or so IF it needs to be done. You can buy the mineral from Culligan if they will sell it to you or online for much less than they will want. Rather than it being Birm, it may be Centaur carbon of regular carbon. It may be something like Cullex which used to be Pyrolox.

Before you do anything else, get raw water tests for iron and pH. Hardness would be good too, and manganese if you could get it.

Did you read my last reply?

I suggest you study my last reply, print it out or have it on your monitor as you call Culligan and get the manager or the owner of the dealership on the phone and calmly explain the situation and ask how the system works. Ask questions based on my reply and get an idea of what was done on the last service call. Find out what media is in the filter if they'll tell you. Tell him there is no pressure gauge on their system and ask how they can check or adjust the pressure of the compressor without a pressure gauge.

I think I mentioned this in my last reply but, you or they should add a pressure gauge to the air vent tank or plumbing there so you can see the pressure in it.

Ask if there shouldn't be a check valve on the inlet to the vent tank.

The discussion here has zeroed in on the problem being with the air injection system and with the air injection tank--your answer to Peter's question about the well pump operating normally when the system is bypassed strongly suggests the problem is with the air injection system. There is no media in the air injection tank--the media is in the second tank that has the box on top that is labeled Iron Cleer. The fact that the service tech was able to get the system working without replacing media further supports the diagnosis that the problem is not with the second tank with media. Gary's suggestion of trying to get more information about your system from the installing dealer is, in my view, a good one.

I am guessing that space was/is at a premium where your system is installed but if you end up opening the system up I join the other posters in urging that you do the reconnection/reinstall after repairs with an eye to future service--that means using unions whereever a pipe needs to be broken and installing separate bypases for each part of the system--air injection and filter--so they can be separately bypassed and serviced.

I am still going with the first tank, the one that gets the air as to the reason for the lower flow rate.. some thing is in the inlet or outlet of that tank that is cutting down the flow through the total system.

Gary Slusser said:

And yet a service guy has also told you that you didn't need to rebed it and did something and it worked fine for a couple weeks.

All water treatment equipment requires maintenance at times. An air pump system requires a bit more and sooner than others because there are more parts, like this first tank and the compressor and the vent.

Look at the bottom of your control valve and see if there are separate inlet/outlet connections where the control attaches to the tank or not. If not then you have an industry standard tank and the valve simply unscrews out of the tank and you could rebed the tank yourself right in your basement in an hour or so IF it needs to be done. You can buy the mineral from Culligan if they will sell it to you or online for much less than they will want. Rather than it being Birm, it may be Centaur carbon of regular carbon. It may be something like Cullex which used to be Pyrolox.

Before you do anything else, get raw water tests for iron and pH. Hardness would be good too, and manganese if you could get it.

Did you read my last reply?

I suggest you study my last reply, print it out or have it on your monitor as you call Culligan and get the manager or the owner of the dealership on the phone and calmly explain the situation and ask how the system works. Ask questions based on my reply and get an idea of what was done on the last service call. Find out what media is in the filter if they'll tell you. Tell him there is no pressure gauge on their system and ask how they can check or adjust the pressure of the compressor without a pressure gauge.

I think I mentioned this in my last reply but, you or they should add a pressure gauge to the air vent tank or plumbing there so you can see the pressure in it.

Ask if there shouldn't be a check valve on the inlet to the vent tank.

Click to expand...

I did read your earlier reply Gary, Thank you...I will work my way through the list, starting with the water test.

Here is a link to a description of an aeration system with diagrams. It may not exactly match your system but I think you will find it useful in understanding the description Gary has written.

http://www.pwgazette.com/aermax.htm