New water softener system opinions please

[Jaylivi]

I recently bought a home with well water. The pump and pressure tank were recently replaced prior to my purchase, but it has no additional equipment. I believe i need to treat for iron and hardness.

test report: iron 2.61mg/l, hardness 400 mg/l, sulfate 52.8mg/l, nitrate .15 mg/l

I've found this a difficult online research project - it is hard to find good unbiased info. Would anyone be willing to advise me on a whole house system - include specific brands and possibly a website? I typically like to learn everything I can before making a move, but unfortunately my renovation schedule is being pushed back because of this issue. Plan b is to use Pelican and spend $4,500... yikes.

 

[ditttohead]

The problem is most companies believe their equipment is the best... and their design is the best...

When it comes to iron reduction, many factors need to be considered. Dissolved oxygen levels, pH, ORP, manganese, H2S temperature etc all need to be considered. A simple and common treatment method is the use of a chlorine injection system, contact tank, and carbon backwashing system with a softener . This is a fairly large system design but it works the majority of the time. Other systems use manganese dioxide ore based medias in a backwashing tank that works great, sometimes. The factors listed above will determine the actual effectiveness. Local water treatment companies usually have the best solution as they tend to be aware of the local water conditions and how to properly treat the issues that are common in your area. You will read online that everyones system is better than the other guys, this is simply marketing garbage. We manufacture dozens of designs for iron reduction for many different companies. Some are the simple for areas that have ferric iron or high levels of DO, other designs utilize air pockets, air injection, chlorine or other oxidant injection etc. Even the medias inside the tanks vary from company to company depending on the local water conditions.

Some companies will even recommend using just a softener, let the resin do the work.... this is effective but has its own major problems and drawbacks. The primary problem is incredible inefficiency.

Do you have any more information on your water?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jaylivi]

Do you have any more information on your water?

Thanks for your reply dittohead.

Other than ph 7.8 and no E.Coli/Coliform, and what I mentioned in the first post (test report: iron 2.61mg/l, hardness 400 mg/l, sulfate 52.8mg/l, nitrate .15 mg/l), I don't know anything. The water has a reddish tink, and the copper tubing I cut into had red sediment buildup. The house was constructed in 1955. I'm replacing the entire water system, with the exception of the newer holding tank.

I guess I'm going to be happy if I get a good system without spending a fortune. Can you recommend a company?

 

[ditttohead]

PM sent

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

Get a CLACK water softener with a 48,000 grain media bed... It will take out up to 4ppm on Iron
and I am not sure if you are saying that your water is 4 or 40 parts hard......

for a little bit more money you could spring for a 64,000 grain unit and it will take out 6ppm

if you get a CLACK unit you will find them very dependable.......

Here are some pictures of units we have installed in our area and we have well over
25 parts hard with lime in city water

https://www.yelp.com/biz/weilhammer-plumbing-indianapolis-3

 

[ditttohead]

A softener will typically remove iron with relative ease, it is a highly inefficient way of doing so. As a proponent of keeping the water softening industry from being heavily regulated, just ask California, Texas and may other areas... it is not recommended to use softeners for iron removal due the poor efficiency. It has been discussed in detail many times on this website, but I will go over the basics again. Ultimately it is up to the end user.

Hardness as calcium and magnesium are calculated in GPG or Grains per Gallon. A grain is equal to 17.1 ppm of hardness. In order to effectively reduce iron, a softener uses a compensated hardness equation. This equation helps to reduce the fouling that is commonly associated with iron reduction thereby reducing the efficiency of the resin even further.

Iron as compensated hardness is equated at 5 gpg per ppm. In other words, to remove 1 ppm of iron, you would be using 88 ppm of hardness capacity. To add insult to injury, when using a softener to reduce iron from the water, the use of high efficiency settings should not be done without chemical stripping of the resin bed. High salting is highly inefficient, and is recommended anytime a softener is used for iron reduction. This type o inefficiency adds considerable high tds salt waste into our waste stream, whether it be local rivers, waterways, or ground water supplies. It is akin to making cars that get 8 MPG, regulation is fairly easy to promote when we give the people wanting to regulate our industry the ammunition ourselves. I have been told by many companies they can do it with low efficiency settings, low salting, infrequent regeneration schedules etc., and this is true in some water conditions, and in some applications. In general, it is not the case. Low pH water is more likely to find success with better efficiency settings. There are many other factors to consider, far too many to do in a forum setting. Dissolved oxygen levels, pH, ORP, etc.... This topic typically covers over an hour in one of my training seminars as the issue is far more complex than what most companies understand.

Iron reduction systems used to be complex, difficult to get to work, high maintenance, noisy, wasteful etc. Modern medias and the introduction of some simple programming available in many control valves now has made iron reduction quite simple.