Hydrogen Peroxide System Fouled Up

[flyguy]

EDIT: Moved the proper forum here: https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/hydrogen-peroxide-system-fouled-up.87633/ per Bannerman's recommendation.

Hi everyone. I had a local water treatment company install an H2O2 system a couple of years back when we moved to our new home to rid us of the sulfuric iron and the smell that goes with it. The guy initially installed an ozone generator with a carbon backwash tank, and when that didn't work, added a Stenner pump and an H2O2 pump. That system worked very well for about a year, and then over the past 12 months, we have noticed a steady decrease in the consistency of water quality. Some days it's great, some not so great, and some pretty bad - seemingly with no rhyme nor reason.

I've called the guy back twice now, and it is exceedingly clear he has no Earthly idea what he's doing - and he finally admitted to me after I asked him a number of questions that he couldn't answer that he'd never installed one - things I wish I'd known $2,500 ago, but that's on me I suppose....

So....a few questions, as I've decided that it's probably better that I just educate myself and fix it so I know it's done right this time and so I better understand the system do I know what to do in the future.

1.) When my local guy installed the system, he insisted that there is no routine maintenance to the system other than refilling the H2O2 as needed. I found this hard to believe then, and after reading up a bit, it would appear that he was dead wrong. The question is - what should I be doing to it, and how often? I know for sure I should be replacing the tube in the Stenner every 2-3 years, but see conflicting reports on the rest. Any advice would be appreciated.

2.) One forum I read also recommended that you run a couple of backwash cycles with the Stenner set at 100% to flush and "reset" (my words, not his - just my interpretation) the resin. I tried that....and after running several cycles, I noticed that the Stenner actually does not run at all during the backwash cycle. Is that right, or is something hooked up / programmed wrong? Sure doesn't make logical sense to me at all that it wouldn't inject H2O2 during the backwash cycle.

3.) Our water pressure went to pretty much nothing a couple of weeks back, which finally caused me to declare war and dig into it. I began troubleshooting the things I know to do after being on a well for 20 years....tested the pressure tank and checked pressure when empty, checked the pressure switch to be sure it was adjusted correctly, etc. All that checked out. It finally hit me (should have tried this first...) to bypass both the H2O2 system and the softener. As soon as I bypassed the H2O2 system, the pressure bounced from 1.2-1.4GPM to 6 GPM (with two shower heads and a bathroom faucet running - about hat it should be) - instantly. I knew then that the H2O2 system was the culprit. I took off the maintenance cap where the venturi, etc. is located, and it was an absolute disaster - plumb full of slime and scale (see pics). I cleaned everything out as best I could, put it all back, ran a couple of backwash cycles, and cleaned it again - there was a bit more there, but it was far better. Did that a couple more times just for good measure, and things appeared to return to normal. Now, two weeks later, we're right back to where we started - just over 1GPM with the filter in the circuit, and normal pressure when bypassed. Has this thing been fouled to the point of no return? Should I replace the media? I would assume there is some routine maintenance that would have prevented this. Perhaps the H2O2 not running during backwash created the situation?

Lots of questions, so sorry for the long post - just wanted to get all the details out there in the hopes I could get some help. I would also gladly pay someone that really knows these systems to help me troubleshoot this over the phone if this is not a simple answer.

Thanks in advance for any guidance anyone can offer. Hope you have a great week!

-Wes

 

[Bannerman]

This topic maybe best posted in the water softener forum as that forum regularly deals with water treatment issues in addition to water softeners.

Your photos show the internals of a back washing control valve which I assume belongs to an iron & sulfur reduction system located prior to the water softener. As such, do you know which specific media and the quantity of media is contained?

Include photos of your current equipment and list all settings including for the Stenner pump and the strength of H2O2 being injected. Also post the current lab report for your raw well water

 

[Sponsor]

 

[flyguy]

Thanks, Bannerman. I'll repost now in water treatment, along with the all of the info you requested, excluding the media type/amount and water test results, which I do not have.

 

[Bannerman]

A lab report is necessary when planning any treatment system, or when attempting to diagnose problems with an existing system.

Is the Iron quantity to be removed 0.5 ppm, 5 ppm or 50 ppm? Are there other minerals or metals present that will influence appropriate treatment methods? Water pH will also factor into how treatment will need to be performed. Have conditions changed from when the system was first installed and so is the existing system appropriate for current conditions?

I anticipate your invoice from when you purchased the iron filter should specify the media and quantity. The tank dimensions will assist to estimate quantity, but will not identify which media it is so maybe your supplier kept records?

Other information needed will be your water system flow capacity. Each media has specific backwash requirements so if your well and pump cannot satisfy those requirements, then alternate treatment options may need to be considered.