I bought a house that had a carbon filter which pretty much took the smell out of the well water but the water tasted rusty (even though it tested negative for rust.) Since it was an old system I bought a new mineral filtering system. It took the smell out of the cold water, but the hot was rancid. So the company sent me a chemical feeder to shoot small amounts of chlorine into the water before it went to the filter. This should work but the plumber who installed it messed something up. First he put a check valve with made the water which went to the barn quit working unless you turned the water in the house on first. He came and took that off but then the chlorine (or pool shock which we also tried) started coming out to the barn. Now both the cold and the hot water smell. I am certain that something is hooked up wrong but I don't know who to call. A regular plumber doesn't necessarily know the configuration for whole house iron filters or chemical feeders and local water companies just want to sell you their product. I need to know who to call to get it all working again, without affecting the water that goes to the barn. I have lost 3 tenants in this house in 6 months because they find the water unbearable.
Getting the sulfa out!
- Thread starter wessecg
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pitless
Well Driller, pump installer, engineer
I am not sure how to reconnect your plumbing properly, but maybe I can help on your smell problem. If you have no smell in the cold but you do in your hot then the water heater is causing sulfate in your water to turn in to hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell). The is normally caused by the anode rod. The anode rod is generally like a hex plug in the water heater.
Most people just remove the anode rod to stop the smell. The best way to fix the problem is to buy an aluminum anode rod to replace the existing magnesium rod.
Most people just remove the anode rod to stop the smell. The best way to fix the problem is to buy an aluminum anode rod to replace the existing magnesium rod.
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GrumpyPlumber
Licensed Grump
Try to post some pics of the piping and connections...point point out what connects to what within the diagram.
GrumpyPlumber
Licensed Grump
Right, whatever you do, don't leave the tank without an anode.
It does have an aluminum anode. And the cold is . . .
starting to smell again. Here is a picture of the cut off valve the company who came to install the chemical feeder put in. It made the water quit going to the barn. Then when they came and removed it, that's when nothing seemed to work anymore. The cold isn't as smell free as it was before the chemical feeder was added. The line you see is where the chlorine is supposed to shoot into the water before it is filtered. The pipe - looking at the picture is the pipe with the water coming into the house from the right, it travels left, past that t-valve to the pressure tank then to the filter. I will take a picture of the whole setup tonight.
Shucks, I can't insert an image, it's wants a url of a website. I thought I could attach it from my pc. I'll figure this out.
starting to smell again. Here is a picture of the cut off valve the company who came to install the chemical feeder put in. It made the water quit going to the barn. Then when they came and removed it, that's when nothing seemed to work anymore. The cold isn't as smell free as it was before the chemical feeder was added. The line you see is where the chlorine is supposed to shoot into the water before it is filtered. The pipe - looking at the picture is the pipe with the water coming into the house from the right, it travels left, past that t-valve to the pressure tank then to the filter. I will take a picture of the whole setup tonight.
Shucks, I can't insert an image, it's wants a url of a website. I thought I could attach it from my pc. I'll figure this out.
Can't seem to load the picture, but heres a link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17042207@N04/2195213059/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17042207@N04/2195213059/
Gary Slusser
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Correct me if I have this wrong. Well line on the right, through a lever handled ball valve, then a round handled stop valve although I can't see the handle in the picture/ or the check valve you mentioned, then the chlorine injection pump's injector (the PVC tee) and then to the left into the pressure tank and then the filter.
The problem is that the water line to the barn is teed off the water line from the well before the pressure tank. That means that when the pump is not on/running, the water flows from the pressure tank backwards toward the well to the tee and then off to the barn. So when the pressure falls to the pump on pressure switch setting, the pump stops the flow backwards from the tank and fills the tank as it supplies water to the barn until pump off. Then the pressure tank reverses the flow direction and continues feeding the barn and the process repeats.
All that means that the solution feeder can't supply both the house and the barn successfully as the plumbing is now. The check valve they installed for the feeder stopped the water from the tank back to the barn tee but, that's the only way the feeder is going to work to treat the water going to the house.
So... undo the tee to the barn and plumb it after the filter. That's the only way unless you want a second feeder, retention tank and filter, or you use raw smelly water in the apartment/barn. And you'd be better off if you don't chlorinate the water until after the pressure tank. They are not made for chlorinated water.
You need the feeder because you have SRB (sulfate reducing bacteria) in your water that uses a hydrogen ion off the anode rod in the water heater to create H2S gas. And you may have some H2S gas in the cold water. Chlorine gets rid of both of the causes of your odor. Chlorine will also oxidize the iron and any manganese in the water along with all other types of bacteria if any.
Removing the anode rod may not stop the odor in the hot water. You could increase the temp of the heater to 140f to kill the bacteria, but if there is H2S gas in the raw cold water, you'll still have the hot water odor too.
The problem is that the water line to the barn is teed off the water line from the well before the pressure tank. That means that when the pump is not on/running, the water flows from the pressure tank backwards toward the well to the tee and then off to the barn. So when the pressure falls to the pump on pressure switch setting, the pump stops the flow backwards from the tank and fills the tank as it supplies water to the barn until pump off. Then the pressure tank reverses the flow direction and continues feeding the barn and the process repeats.
All that means that the solution feeder can't supply both the house and the barn successfully as the plumbing is now. The check valve they installed for the feeder stopped the water from the tank back to the barn tee but, that's the only way the feeder is going to work to treat the water going to the house.
So... undo the tee to the barn and plumb it after the filter. That's the only way unless you want a second feeder, retention tank and filter, or you use raw smelly water in the apartment/barn. And you'd be better off if you don't chlorinate the water until after the pressure tank. They are not made for chlorinated water.
You need the feeder because you have SRB (sulfate reducing bacteria) in your water that uses a hydrogen ion off the anode rod in the water heater to create H2S gas. And you may have some H2S gas in the cold water. Chlorine gets rid of both of the causes of your odor. Chlorine will also oxidize the iron and any manganese in the water along with all other types of bacteria if any.
Removing the anode rod may not stop the odor in the hot water. You could increase the temp of the heater to 140f to kill the bacteria, but if there is H2S gas in the raw cold water, you'll still have the hot water odor too.
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