Need Iron filter and water testing suggestions, please help!

[Frozen Tundra Dreams]

I recently purchased a property in upper Michigan. There is no info on well cap. It looks to be a 6" steel casing. From what I can tell, it is only 20-40 years old. All faucets and shower heads were plugged with brown sediment goop. runs brown for a second after sitting a few days. I suspect this is ferrous iron? the water hardness is 180 on free test strips from Menards. I am looking into well water testing, but my local municipalities only test for bacteria it seems. Unless these other items are tested for and not mentioned on website.

I have done some research and almost pulled the trigger on a water boss iron filter where you have to recharge with Potassium permanganate, but I prefer a system without having chemicals or recurring costs. I have come across air injection systems.

So, when looking online, you are bombarded with snake oil salesman and a slew of Chinese rebranded junk. Is there a particular brand, or valve type etc I should stick too. I see birm, fleck, etc. I am just beginning to understand all this so please bare with me.

Please let me know if there is a way to get water tested on the cheap. I am tempted to bring in sample to Culligan, but I enjoy avoiding salesman at all costs. I am open to other suggestions.

 

[kk0710]

You just bought the house... did you not have an inspector? Or maybe where you are they don't do well water testing? In upstate NY that is par for the course that an inspector does water testing.

I know nothing of the kind of filters you are discussing but they aren't water softeners it sounds like but A, I wouldn't let the idea of "chemicals" bother you, everything is a chemical, and B, I'm not sure there is any system that has zero recurring costs.

Water softeners can remove a certain amount of iron though but you need to tested it to see how much you have. You said your hardness is 180, I assume that means 180ppm? If true that gives you a hardness of around 10gpg... which as I type out really doesn't help with your question but most people reference hardness that way.

My recommendation is check to see if anyone local does water testing, or call your inspector back. I know you said "local municipality" but not sure if you covered all of your options. The water company where I live does it, there are pool places that will do it, even the health department I believe. Here I believe it's all free but even if you have to pay for it it is worth it. But I would say if you can't find anything, just call culligan and tell them you're interested in getting a filtration and softening system and they will test for free and give you a quote... you aren't obligated to buy anything. Just make sure you ask for the specific results. If they say you have high iron ask them how much. Culligan is real good at trying to abstract things away so the customer can't make informed decisions.

Also, is there any possibility you have some galvanized plumbing? The tub in one of my bathrooms has some and it will run brown for a second after sitting.

Not an expert, take what I say with skepticism

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bannerman]

With a private well, you are your own water utility and you are fully responsible for the safety and quality of water supplied to your family & guests.

A National labs Water-Check standard well test is most often recommended as it provide a comprehensive report of the water quality including identifying the amount of whatever is contained in your raw well water. When considering water treatment, the lab report will often save money as it will assist to determine appropriate treatment methods instead of trial and error methods which maybe inappropriate or less effective when considering all water conditions.

NTL Labs

plugged with brown sediment goop. runs brown for a second after sitting a few days. I suspect this is ferrous iron?

Ferrous Iron is also called 'clear water iron' or 'dissolved iron' as it will remain clear while fully dissolved in the water. Once ferrous iron is oxidized by oxygen, chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, ozone or pot perm, it will be converted to a Ferric state, whereby the resulting iron solids will precipitate out from the water as rust.

While a softener may be utilized to remove a small amount of ferrous iron, since each ppm of ferrous iron will deplete 85 ppm (5 grains per gallon) of softener capacity, and as additional ongoing maintenance is always required, a softener is not an efficient iron reduction method.

More efficient dedicated iron reduction methods are recommended, but treatment usually involves converting ferrous iron to ferric, then filtering out the solid rust particles, either by precipitation and/or using backwashing iron filtration media. Treatment usually requires a water pH of 7.0 or higher, and additional contaminants also need to be considered, which will be specified in the lab report.

 

[Reach4]

Also look into ozone injection. I don't have a unit to suggest. The ozone is generated locally with an ozone generator powered by electricity.