Flipperman2a2w
Member
I have a well in a vacation home in the mountains with considerably high iron (over 20ppm). The previous owners of the house had a Birm filter in place that they used to backwash periodically and a water softener.
I tested the flow rate on the well about a year ago and only got 2.5-3gpm. The tag that is on the well says it should yield 20gpm, but the well is almost 5 years old. As I understand it, the geology below our feet can change and cause flow rates to drop. The real bummer is that the 2.5-3gpm isn't enough to properly backwash any iron filter, let alone one that is filtering the amount of iron we have.
In any case, I was fooling around under the house the last time we were on vacation (because that's what I do to relax), and I discovered a Hydro-Charger that is plumbed into the PEX supply line. It was dripping a tiny bit and had some rust on it. I shut the water off, drained the pressure tank, and unscrewed the nipple on the Hydro-Charger. There was some rust and gunk on it that I cleaned off. After reinstalling the nipple, it no longer dripped, which makes me think it was clogged or not working properly.
My questions:
1. Why was there a Hydro-Charger installed? Is this to oxygenate the water and create larger iron particles that can be filtered out?
2. MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: I read that Hydro-Chargers can significantly reduce the flow-rate from the well. Is it possible that my well is actually yielding 20gpm, but the Hydro-Charger was/is restricting the flow rate down to 2.5-3gpm?
3. Would I be better off getting rid of the Hydro-Charger and installing a retension tank with an electric air injection pump?
The people who owned the house before us lived there for about 3 years full-time. I just can't believe that they were changing the filter media every month because the flow rate was too low to backwash. Maybe the Hydro-Charger got clogged, stopped working, and caused the iron filter to fail?
Water treatment folks have been trying to sell me the Greensand (due to my low backwash rate), but I don't want to mess with all the chemicals. Someone else told me I absolutely had to chlorinate to filter the iron, but that's more chemicals and a separate charcoal filter to get the chlorine back out. I'm not crazy about changing the filter media as often as every other trip (or the cost), but it doesn't make sense installing a more elaborate system in a vacation home that we visit 5 or 6 times a year...
I tested the flow rate on the well about a year ago and only got 2.5-3gpm. The tag that is on the well says it should yield 20gpm, but the well is almost 5 years old. As I understand it, the geology below our feet can change and cause flow rates to drop. The real bummer is that the 2.5-3gpm isn't enough to properly backwash any iron filter, let alone one that is filtering the amount of iron we have.
In any case, I was fooling around under the house the last time we were on vacation (because that's what I do to relax), and I discovered a Hydro-Charger that is plumbed into the PEX supply line. It was dripping a tiny bit and had some rust on it. I shut the water off, drained the pressure tank, and unscrewed the nipple on the Hydro-Charger. There was some rust and gunk on it that I cleaned off. After reinstalling the nipple, it no longer dripped, which makes me think it was clogged or not working properly.
My questions:
1. Why was there a Hydro-Charger installed? Is this to oxygenate the water and create larger iron particles that can be filtered out?
2. MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: I read that Hydro-Chargers can significantly reduce the flow-rate from the well. Is it possible that my well is actually yielding 20gpm, but the Hydro-Charger was/is restricting the flow rate down to 2.5-3gpm?
3. Would I be better off getting rid of the Hydro-Charger and installing a retension tank with an electric air injection pump?
The people who owned the house before us lived there for about 3 years full-time. I just can't believe that they were changing the filter media every month because the flow rate was too low to backwash. Maybe the Hydro-Charger got clogged, stopped working, and caused the iron filter to fail?
Water treatment folks have been trying to sell me the Greensand (due to my low backwash rate), but I don't want to mess with all the chemicals. Someone else told me I absolutely had to chlorinate to filter the iron, but that's more chemicals and a separate charcoal filter to get the chlorine back out. I'm not crazy about changing the filter media as often as every other trip (or the cost), but it doesn't make sense installing a more elaborate system in a vacation home that we visit 5 or 6 times a year...