Acid Neutralizer--Replace or Empty and Refill?

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DYI13

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I have a 13 year old Kenmore Acid Neutralizer ( 625.348241) that has been working fine, but it now appears that the well water PH has dropped and the calcite mineral can no longer get the conditioned water PH up to 7.0. The treated water is at 6.4 (tested by a lab), and the untreated is around 5.5, 5.6 (tested by me with a strip). I was going to try a mix of magnesium oxide and calcite mineral, but first I have to empty the tank (it is around half full now). Problem is, there is only one way to get into the tank--from under the control head--and there is not a lot of room (around 4 inch diameter with the tube running down the center). Also, the neutralizer was only designed to handle untreated PHs of 6 to 6.7, and apparently our well water has changed.

Should I just bite the bullet and buy a new neutralizer, or try to empty and refill the Kenmore? If you think I should buy a new one, suggestions are appreciated (4 br, 2 1/2 bath house). If you think I should try to empty the Kenmore, any tips?

Thank you very much!
 

ThirdGenPump

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The actual PH doesn't matter. What matters is if the water remains corrosive even after the neutralizer. To test this you test a first draw sample for copper. I think a lot of people including professionals get much to tied up with PH. Acidic water isn't always corrosive and alkaline what can still be corrosive. What matter is what it's doing to your pipes and what it's absorbing as a result.

You can siphon out calcite with water. A 5/8ths drain-line tube is what I use. It's a slow process. You can't stick the drain-line too deep into the bed or it will clog. You're vacuuming off the upper layer. Add water as needed. It's much faster to muscle it out and flip it upside then flush it with a hose. I wouldn't bother trying to re-use wet calcite.

That Kenmore is at a disadvantage because of it's sizing a 48 inch tank doesn't allow as much contact time as a the taller tanks. I'd only consider 10-48's for a neutralizer if there was a actual height limitation.

Re-bedding with a calcite/corosex mix will make a difference. It does need to be mixed dry. Corosex clumps badly if it isn't separated.

If you were paying for labor I'd tell you to toss the Kenmore, they aren't very good units, and not having a dome cap makes adding bed more time consuming. Having to pull of the control head risks lifting the distributor each time, if it's forced back down that can lead to failure, cleaning calcite out of piping is very time consuming.

With you working on it yourself, it's minimal investment to experiment, might be worth it to you to just re-bed and see if that fixes things for you.

Check in at the water softening forum, that's where the treatment guys hang out, they have more experience with these things.
 

DYI13

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Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I will attempt to empty the Kenmore tank and refill with NS mix (it's the only calcite/mag oxide mix I can get locally). I'll be back for recommendations on the correct forum if I bomb out.

One more question--can I put the drained calcite/water into my septic system, or should I drain it to my yard?

Thanks again!
 

ThirdGenPump

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Depends on you local code. In my area code prohibits discharging and treatment equipment into a septic. As we are also in a freezing climate, drainline will freeze above ground, so the standard is to put in drywells for treatment equipment.

I'm not an expert in septic systems. In my experience wouldn't hurt the septic.
 

DYI13

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Thanks for all of your help, ThirdGenPump, you saved me a lot of money. I shopvac'd the unit to remove most of the mineral, added NS Mix, and now my PH is 7.2. No problems!
 

sim510

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The actual PH doesn't matter. What matters is if the water remains corrosive even after the neutralizer. To test this you test a first draw sample for copper. I think a lot of people including professionals get much to tied up with PH. Acidic water isn't always corrosive and alkaline what can still be corrosive. What matter is what it's doing to your pipes and what it's absorbing as a result.

You can siphon out calcite with water. A 5/8ths drain-line tube is what I use. It's a slow process. You can't stick the drain-line too deep into the bed or it will clog. You're vacuuming off the upper layer. Add water as needed. It's much faster to muscle it out and flip it upside then flush it with a hose. I wouldn't bother trying to re-use wet calcite.

That Kenmore is at a disadvantage because of it's sizing a 48 inch tank doesn't allow as much contact time as a the taller tanks. I'd only consider 10-48's for a neutralizer if there was a actual height limitation.

Re-bedding with a calcite/corosex mix will make a difference. It does need to be mixed dry. Corosex clumps badly if it isn't separated.

If you were paying for labor I'd tell you to toss the Kenmore, they aren't very good units, and not having a dome cap makes adding bed more time consuming. Having to pull of the control head risks lifting the distributor each time, if it's forced back down that can lead to failure, cleaning calcite out of piping is very time consuming.

With you working on it yourself, it's minimal investment to experiment, might be worth it to you to just re-bed and see if that fixes things for you.

Check in at the water softening forum, that's where the treatment guys hang out, they have more experience with these things.


Do you know of a good place to get a copper test? Is there a home kit that is accurate or does it need to be sent to a lab?
 
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