Water softner problems

[7790billb]

I have lived in this house for 36 years and always have had a water softner. Last fall I read an article that said that one should change resin after 15 to 20 years and our water softner was not producing the softness that I like so I purchase new resin and put in the fine resin that is suggested for well water. Now I have so much iron coming through that dish washer gets red inside and the dishes get stained red also. So to try and solve the problem I put on a new control head, which is a Pentair Autotrol 460i still having the same problem. I use iron out with each batch of salt put into the brine tank. The brine tank is 8 inches by 40 inches. The grain of iron per gallon of water has been set as high as 50 does not help and the capacity has been set as high as 40 no help. The factory has asked me to put the two settings back to 30 and 24 so I have. I also have put the salt setting as high as it goes but still no help.

So if any one has any good ideas I sure would like to hear them. The only thing that is not new is the tank and that does nothing except hold water.

 

[Reach4]

You would do well to get your untreated water tested for hardness and more importantly iron. However your symptoms are probably a pretty good test too.

What you really would benefit from is a backwashing iron filter. Katalox Light is effective and works with a moderate backwash level. It also can deal with other things including sulfur. It is expensive media but highly acclaimed stuff. I use an iron+sulfur filter that is effective for me: Centaur Carbon. It has even a lower backwash rate than Katalox Light. I had thought that if I had to replace the filter or the media at some point, I would switch to Katalox Light. But reflecting, the Centaur Carbon is doing very nicely for me, so I might reload with that after the 8 or 10 year expected media life. Centaur Carbon is not at all cheap media either. There are other effective media to take out iron. Those require much higher backwashing rates. Anyway, if you get rid of the iron before the softener, it will make things much easier for your water softener to make your water great.

Space wise, a backwashing iron filter is like having a second water softener. But the backwashing filter goes first thing.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bannerman]

As your posting suggests that you didn't experience an 'iron' problem prior to replacing the resin but the issue started directly after installing the new resin, there could be an issue with the resin itself- not necessarily an iron issue.

There had been a recent post where the poster was experiencing a color issue with the water exiting his new softener. I recall that his new resin was defective. As I don't have the opportunity right now to look, you may wish to search this site for 'defective resin', 'color issue' or similar. (SEE BELOW)

As Reach4 suggests, it is advisable if you haven't for some time, have your water tested to determine the composition so you will know the hardness amount and if there are other elements that may require treatment. You may also wish to obtain a Hach test kit so you can periodically test the hardness of the raw water so as to ensure the appropriate settings for your softener. Since we all become accustomed to soft water over time, a 'feel test' is not a good indicator of softener function.

You didn't mention of replacing the gravel under-bedding but did mention installing fine resin. Fine mesh resin is intended for a high iron water but is not generally recommended as the resin may pack too closely and thereby restrict water flow through the softener. A gravel under-bed is recommended as it helps to distribute water flow throughout any type of resin.

Edit to add: https://terrylove.com/forums/index....tener-install-yellow-water.60733/#post-450838

While that poster's issue was yellow water, perhaps the brand or type of resin may influence the color thrown.

 

[ditttohead]

Well water should be tested periodically. I assume you are on your own well. http://www.ntllabs.com/Merchant2/me...NTL&Product_Code=9003&Category_Code=Homeowner
This is a great company to work with for water testing. If you have iron above 1 ppm, an iron reduction system ahead of the softener should be installed. Fine mesh resin may help with iron, but... softeners in general should not be used for iron reduction due to the low efficiency and poor performance that occurs.

You may also be experiencing a common issue with highly softened water and old pipes. The soft water will remove a lot of the old build up and this can cause the problem you are experiencing.

Test the water before the system, right after the system, and in the house to get a good idea of what is going on. If your system is producing iron/hardness free water, but the water in your house shows iron, then you know the problem.

 

[Reach4]

More good ideas related to iron and sulfur: if you have not sanitized your well for 5 or more years, I would do that. http://www.moravecwaterwells.com/ is the procedure I like. I think it can help with iron and sulfur. This would be in addition to other considerations. It is a good DIY process for doing during fairly decent weather.

If you have not flushed your water heater for 10 years, I would do that too. I would search for that term. You might be surprised what you flush out. If you are more adventuresome than most, you can change your anode. I put in a powered anode.

 

[Reach4]

This is a great company to work with for water testing.

If the well check test cost less than $150 including shipping, it would be nicer. However it is cheaper than the one I went with, and it may have more informative results. Mine, with the mass spectrometer technique, might have been useful with a well that might have been contaminated with complex organic chemicals.

For a deep well with the casing extending above ground, I might do my own testing. The reason that matters is that such a well is very unlikely to be contaminated with surface stuff. If you sanitize, any well will come up free of pathogens, and it will stay that way until you do well work IMO.

A Hach-5B plus an iron test plus narrow range pH paper would do most of the important stuff. http://www.hach.com/hardness-iron-and-ph-test-kit-model-ha-62a/product?id=7640217329 is about the price of a well test. However the professional well test checks for manganese, which can impact your choices of water treatment. I now have the Hach 5B, some narrow range test paper, and a Seachem Multitest iron test kit. That was even cheaper to put together, but the Hach stuff is probably superior.

My thoughts only; I am not a pro, and I have one well.

 

[7790billb]

Thank you for all of your suggestions. I will get to work and see what I come with and how to solve the problem.