Well water issues help

[Bobcatfred]

Hi Guys

I have a dug well feeding my house a low 5-6gpm using a shallow well jet pump.

I currently have a standard size 5micron sediment filter and a Trojan UV filter.

The problem we have only occurs in the spring and early summer then disappears in the late summer/fall and winter. There is a rotton egg smell (H2S) as well our water tests 0.5ppm clear water Iron and 17grains hard. The smell is stronger on the hot water side but is also present in the cold water as well as I said during the winter no smell is present at all.

I replaced the sediment filter with a 5micron carbon block it and took the smell away for a few weeks then the filter clogged.

I obviously don't have enough flow to back wash many of the filters on the market and do not have thousands to spend on this issue.

I want to install a water softener but want to solve the smell issue before I install the softener.

Would replacing my current standard housing filter with a BB 20" with 5mircon sediment filter feeding another BB 20" housing with a KDF85 cartridge filter then to my softener followed by my UV filter solve this issue?.

[ditttohead]

H2S and BB filters are a bad combo. The capacity is simply not there for residential flow rates and capacities. We sell a lot of these filters to companies that are trying to keep the equipment low priced. The number of problems that occur with this design is very high compared to properly designed backwashing tank systems regardless of the media types we use in the filter cartridges.

[Bobcatfred]

Thanks for the reply!

So I guess there is no low cost solution to h2s?.... We only have this issue 3-4mths a year so i want to avoid spending thousands.

What should I look at that my 5-6gpm could back wash with out running my well dry?.

The cheapest thing I have found is a POE CD ozone generator for $1500 that would be preceeded by a sediment filter and followed by a carbon filter then to my softener.

[Bobcatfred]

Thoughts on a dual Tank up flow 7" tanks top tank with KDF 85 media and lower tank with GAC with BB 5micron as a pre filter.

Thoughts on salt free softeners would be greatly appreciated looking at the simply soft unit......

Cheers guys thanks again!

[ditttohead]

Will probably work.... Salt free softener? Unless it is the "Hybrid" by Pentair, or a whole house RO system, salt free softeners are not softeners. A softener removes hardness. Salt free conditioners are very hit and miss on customer satisfaction. True salt softeners have almost no performance complaints.

I would recommend contacting a company that sells more traditional equipment. The upflow units are neat, but in my opinion, they have a very limited market and application. Their are some highly specialized medias that work well in an upflow configuration, but their cost is considerable and they must be applied very carefully in order to work correctly. GFH is used by many of our customers for hydrogen sulfide removal. it converts h2s as follows 2 Fe(OH)3 + 3 H2S → Fe2S3 + 6 H2O. It is very effective, the kdf85 works similarly but... this is a difficult process to do correctly and to have it last with minimal maintenance. The filter cartridges for whole house softening are popular since they are so cheap, but they are not very effective.

[Gary Slusser]

Bobcatfred, you have too much hardness, iron and H2S for the use of UV. And if you have any IRB (iron reducing bacteria) that prevents UV use also.

A chlorination system would get rid of the iron, H2S and all types of bacteria including all types of reducing bacteria. You'd remove the chlorine and any sediment (rust) caused by the chlorine with a backwashed Centaur carbon filter and then a softener for the hardness if you wanted soft water.

How did you come up with the well pump putting out only 5-6 gpm?