FullmoonGuru
New Member
About 9 yrs. ago we moved into our current house & so began my education with well systems & water treatment. I've had various problems over the years & really want to get it right so thought I would ask some questions here.
I found Budget Water USA & liked what they had so I got my water tested with these results:
Hardness CACO-3 ~ 170 10Grains p/Gal.
FE (Iron) ~ 2 PPM
MN (manganese) < 0.05 PPM
PH 7.4
Hardness level indicates high calcium & magnesium, but it was not tested.
Based on that they sold me a 7" terminox iron filter, 40,000 on demand water softener, and reverse osmosis for drinking water.
I was still having problems with orange staining and a nasty smelling toilet so I called them back. I believe I stuck my finger in the water in the toilet tank & the stuff went away from my finger? Anyway, it indicated iron bacteria so I got a chem feeder. My water was also still harder than we wanted so I put bleach (for the iron) and soda ash (to raise the ph), and water in the chem. feeder every month. When the well pump runs, the chem. feeder runs and pumps a little of this mixture into the pipe.
As long as I remember to check the chem. feeder & fill it when needed (I don't - such a PITA) everything is good EXCEPT - over time this stuff grows on the inside of the pipes and eventually clogs them up. It looks like orange dirt. The first time it happened I called BW & it turned out that I had my pressure tank after my filters. "That's media!", the support tech said. So I got the system configured right but it happened again, and again, and again... It also clogs the filter head up eventually. I just cleaned it (the filter head) for the second time & noticed that it now dribbles water all of the time out of the hose where the water goes when it's flushing.
So, I called again and this tech told me that he thinks it's the soda ash is what is sticking to the pipes. So that's question 1. I recently installed a cycle stop valve and it's getting clogged with the same stuff. It's right off the pump so the chem feeder injects after that. So that would make it seem like it's actually not the soda ash. Except that the water stops when the pump shuts off & sits in the pipe so it could be migrating backwards. Seems unlikely but I'm totally guessing here.
Question 2 is if I should buy the recommended acid neutralizer to fix the ph without having to add soda ash all the time, for the not insignificant sum of about $700?
Question 3 is about the iron filter valve. Mine is old. About 9 yrs. It gets stuck in the flushing process. I can get a new control head and valve rebuild kit for $160, but for $240 I can get the new digital controller/valve that has a separate motor (cheaper to replace) and reduces flush time from about an hour down to 20 min. or something. Not sure what brand it is but they reference Fleck & Autotrol as brands they carry on their site.
I found Budget Water USA & liked what they had so I got my water tested with these results:
Hardness CACO-3 ~ 170 10Grains p/Gal.
FE (Iron) ~ 2 PPM
MN (manganese) < 0.05 PPM
PH 7.4
Hardness level indicates high calcium & magnesium, but it was not tested.
Based on that they sold me a 7" terminox iron filter, 40,000 on demand water softener, and reverse osmosis for drinking water.
I was still having problems with orange staining and a nasty smelling toilet so I called them back. I believe I stuck my finger in the water in the toilet tank & the stuff went away from my finger? Anyway, it indicated iron bacteria so I got a chem feeder. My water was also still harder than we wanted so I put bleach (for the iron) and soda ash (to raise the ph), and water in the chem. feeder every month. When the well pump runs, the chem. feeder runs and pumps a little of this mixture into the pipe.
As long as I remember to check the chem. feeder & fill it when needed (I don't - such a PITA) everything is good EXCEPT - over time this stuff grows on the inside of the pipes and eventually clogs them up. It looks like orange dirt. The first time it happened I called BW & it turned out that I had my pressure tank after my filters. "That's media!", the support tech said. So I got the system configured right but it happened again, and again, and again... It also clogs the filter head up eventually. I just cleaned it (the filter head) for the second time & noticed that it now dribbles water all of the time out of the hose where the water goes when it's flushing.
So, I called again and this tech told me that he thinks it's the soda ash is what is sticking to the pipes. So that's question 1. I recently installed a cycle stop valve and it's getting clogged with the same stuff. It's right off the pump so the chem feeder injects after that. So that would make it seem like it's actually not the soda ash. Except that the water stops when the pump shuts off & sits in the pipe so it could be migrating backwards. Seems unlikely but I'm totally guessing here.
Question 2 is if I should buy the recommended acid neutralizer to fix the ph without having to add soda ash all the time, for the not insignificant sum of about $700?
Question 3 is about the iron filter valve. Mine is old. About 9 yrs. It gets stuck in the flushing process. I can get a new control head and valve rebuild kit for $160, but for $240 I can get the new digital controller/valve that has a separate motor (cheaper to replace) and reduces flush time from about an hour down to 20 min. or something. Not sure what brand it is but they reference Fleck & Autotrol as brands they carry on their site.
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