Sediment Filter 2

[Catmaster100]

I called my well man and he said to flush out the system again from the tap before the filter.

I stopped at a well supply store and asked if they had any washable sediment filters. They didn't.

I have a small spin out filter (marked Cambell) that I keep taking apart and rinsing to remove sediment. The store has these filters in different meshes and I would like to get one to remove more crud before it clogs up the sediment filter. At $100 apiece, I can't be changing them each month.

The mesh number on the spin filter is "100" and I would like some advice on what smaller size mesh to get to trap more of the sediment.

Happy Father's Day everyone!

Carmine

 

[Bob NH]

What kind of cartridge are you paying $100 each for? How big is it (diameter/length/type) and what micron rating? The Harmsco PP-BB-20-1 http://www.harmsco.com/uploads/pdf/harmsco_polypleat_catalog.pdf has an area 4 times the area of a 2.5" x 10" cartridge and has a list price of $75.

The usual practice is to put something like a string-wound filter before a very fine cartridge. I install systems that use a 1-micron absolute final filter with the best string-wound filter that is available. The string-wound filter collects most of the dirt and is inexpensive (about $3 for a 10" long 2.5" diameter cartridge).

A strainer of any kind will not remove enough to significantly improve the life of a fine cartridge filter.

When cartridge expense becomes significant ($100 per month for a household is very expensive) it is usually more economical to divide the flow by doubling the number of cartridges.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Speedbump]

What is it you are trying to filter out?

bob...

 

[Gary Slusser]

Blocking up a 100 mesh screen says that you need to remove it and your cartridge filter and run off the well until the water is visibly clear; without running the well dry and ruining your pump.

BTW, neither of those should be between the pump and the pressure tank/switch.

I sell 4.5" x 10 or 20" sediment cartridges for much less than $75, and that includes delivery to your door.

 

[Bob NH]

I sell 4.5" x 10 or 20" sediment cartridges for much less than $75, and that includes delivery to your door.

So do I, and so do lots of other people.

I was only pointing out that $100 for a filter cartridge that the original poster was talking about is a lot of money compared to the list price of $75 for a 4.5" x 20" 1-micron-absolute cartridge that is certified to meet the requirements for removal of cryptosporidium from public water supplies.

Most filter cartridges sell for substantially less than list price, and stating the cost without stating the performance has no real meaning.

A lot of cartridges that are labeled with various micron ratings remove 50% or less or particles of the rated size. I know that because I did particle count tests on lots of cartridges that were rated 0.5 micron, 1 micron, and 3 micron and found a lot of them that didn't remove 50% of the rated size or 90% of 5 micron particles.

 

[Gary Slusser]

Yeah and the homeowner can't tell the difference between water filtered to.5 micron and and that filtered to only 5 micron, so in reality there's no need to filter that low; especially on a point of entry basis.

 

[Alternety]

Gary, why must you persist in your claims that particles that visibly impact water clarity must be of the "minimum visible particle size". It is wrong for more than a single particle.

 

[Bob NH]

Do you feel it's important to use filters and other equipment that is cerified, and certified by whom?

Thanks,
Andy Christensen, CWS-II

It is important that a cartridge be certified if you are relying on it to meet a government-imposed standard for removal of a particular organism or a particular size particle in a public water system.

The surface water treatment rule requires 99.9% removal or inactivation of giradia cysts (about 5 micron) and 99% removal of cryptosporidium (about 3 microns). Systems with filters that are tested and certified by the manufacturer are accepted by some regulatory agencies as meeting the requirements for removal. The agency that I work with accepts systems that filter and disinfect the water as meeting the requirements, and part of the basis for that certification is the certification of the cartridge.

They also accept conventional systems with coagulation and filtration but small systems (seasonal with less than 20,000 gallons per day usage) are not going to install such a system, and it is unlikely that they would have qualified operators for such a system.

There is a lower level of operator qualification for very small systems using only cartridge filters and disinfection.

You can use an old sock or a pair of used panty-hose if you are just filtering your own well water for your own benefit.

I recently saw a household system that has a simple 10" yarn cartridge filter. I was amazed at how much fine sand was collected in the bottom of the housing after about 3 months of usage. There was also some in the filter.

 

[Leejosepho]

Yeah and the homeowner can't tell the difference between water filtered to.5 micron and and that filtered to only 5 micron ...

Except in my case, at least, and the .5s also nearly eliminated staining in the toilet bowl.

 

[Gary Slusser]

Yeah but you're special. No mechanical cartridge type filter will remove stain causing 'contaminates' like tannins, iron, manganese etc..

 

[Gary Slusser]

I have removed a few thousand old softeners from 3-4 years old to 30 years old, and dumped the resin tanks myself to be able to get rid of the resin and tanks. The vast majority were installed on private wells.

I have never seen a build up as you say you have. Frankly, unless a softener has water running through it but is not being regenerated, there is no way for anything to build up in the resin tank.

Depending on the salt used, there is always dirt in the salt tank and it comes from the salt that has been used. It can also come from using hard water for brine refill. I use control valves that use softened water for brine refill and another feature that prevents the need to clean the brine tank.

 

[Speedbump]

I have never seen a build up as you say you have. Frankly, unless a softener has water running through it but is not being regenerated, there is no way for anything to build up in the resin tank.

Ditto!

bob...

 

[Gary Slusser]

Old softeners that we remove and empty also have a collection of foreign matter in them.

Here is a brine tank with dirt in it. It had two inches under the grid of solid dirt. The softener was about 8 years old but hadn't done a very good job in a long time. We were able to take of it for her.



Andy Christensen, CWS-II

That salt tank has a lot of dirt in it caused by the type of salt used. That has nothing to do with the type of softener she had. So instead of you cleaning her salt tank you sold her a new softener? If so shame on you.

 

[Gary Slusser]

Gary, why must you persist in your claims that particles that visibly impact water clarity must be of the "minimum visible particle size". It is wrong for more than a single particle.

Of course I wasn't talking about cloudy water problems. I was talking about installing a filter because of "sediment" concerns when the water is visibly clear.

 

[Gary Slusser]

Oh, well....

As I said, hard water brine refill had nothing to do with the dirt in her brine tank. But if you disagree, please correct me with facts instead of unsubstantiated claims.