Rusty water pressure tank and water softener resin

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Ladd

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I just replace my water pressure tank as the bladder had failed and the water trapped inside was extremely rusty. Unfortunately, I have no real idea as to how long the pressure tank hasn't been working properly.

I removed the pressure tank to the back yard and drilled holes in it to drain the trapped water. The water shooting out was REALLY rusty. I'm wondering if the rusty water from the steel tank has compromised the resin bed in the softener as the treated water doesn't seem as soft as it used to be. The "water doesn't seem as soft" issue became noticeable a year or so ago and cleaning all the accessible ports and filters on the Clack head didn't improve matters.

Or is the rust from the tank a different kind of iron than the dissolved iron in water (of which we have little) and won't affect the resin bed?

If running one or two treatments of Super Iron Out or Rust Out would help (same manufacturer, slightly different formulations), are there any preferences for one or the other?

The softener salt bin usually sits with very little water in it and water is added to the bin at the start of each regeneration and sits for a while to fully absorb salt. I'm wondering if the Super Iron Out or Rust Out should be mixed with water and added to the brine tube before starting the regeneration (following directions) or if I should add it to the brine tube AFTER the salt bin has had water added to it.

Any advice pertaining to my questions welcome!

Ladd
 

Ladd

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Other than the small cost and time, running a double regeneration cycle couldn't hurt. Any answer to the question of is rusty water from a steel pressure tank that is rusting the same or different from dissolved iron, as far as the softener resin is concerned?

I've read that posting a couple of times and have got to admit that it's not clear.
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You get 3 lbs of salt in a gallon of water, so add the Iron Out to like 2 gallons of water and wait 2 hrs for the 6 lbs of salt to dissolve and then start the regeneration. Repeat without any water use during or between the 2 regenerations. Do one in the evening after getting ready for bed early and then when it is done on your way to bed, add the 2 gals and IO and set a regeneration to be done at 2 AM. A regen should be done in like 1.5 hrs.
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So is it saying that I add some mystery amount of Iron Out to two gallons of water, mix well, pour the water into the salt bin (or better, down the brine tube), wait two hours, then start the regeneration process which will add more water to the salt bin and let it sit for about an hour as the first part of the regeneration cycle?

Then repeat the entire procedure (including Iron Out and extra water) immediately after the first regeneration cycle is finished?
 
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Reach4

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I expect iron from a rusting iron tank or well casing or pipes would be ferrous -- the red stuff that you see. I would expect backwashing to remove much of that but not all, and with a softener dealing with iron, you should backwash once a week or less. So maybe go to a lighter brine refill and drop the grains capacity. At least that is what I think I remember reading. The resin can absorb ferric iron, and the brine releases that during the brining stage I think. Somebody may have better info.

Looks like 1/2 cup of Iron Out AKA Super Iron Out, but logic says it would be affected by how much resin you have. https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/garys-trick-and-how-effective-is-iron-out.47363/

http://www.qualitywaterassociates.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=194

I see your point with you having pre-brine fill rather than brine refill last. I am not sure how you would adjust the suggestion, except maybe add little to none.

Also see #12 in https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/garys-trick-and-how-effective-is-iron-out.47363/

You might want to consider testing your iron level in your water. I don't know if the http://www.ntllabs.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=NTL&Category_Code=Homeowner tests test for iron. I would like to think that is one of the inorganics they test for, but why not say so? If it is high (maybe 4 ppm or more, or maybe 2 ppm or more), you might want to consider an additional backwashing filter. I have a nice filter that removes iron and sulfur. It really improved my water quality. It uses Centaur Carbon media. The NTL
 

Ladd

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Looks like 1/2 cup of Iron Out AKA Super Iron Out, but logic says it would be affected by how much resin you have.

I have 1.5 cu/ft of resin in my water softener with a Clack head. I ran back to back regeneration cycles after upping the salt setting from 5 lbs to 23 lbs hoping that two massive salt loads would completely clean the resin. If it did, I didn't see any change, so either the resin is fouled or the problem is elsewhere. I'll try the Iron Out or Rust Out treatment next.
 

LLigetfa

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When I clean the resin with SIO, I stop the clock and the flow for an hour after the brine is sucked up. The SIO benefits from the contact time to work. My brine fill is POST, not PRE but none the less, if you want less brine fill for the manual cycle, just reduce the salt setting for the cycle.
 

Bannerman

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after upping the salt setting from 5 lbs to 23 lbs hoping that two massive salt loads would completely clean the resin.

If the quantity of salt indicated is the total amount, 5 lbs of salt for a 1.5 cuft softener is unusually low. The 23 lbs you mention is not all that massive as that is the proper amount of salt required to regenerate 1.5 cuft of resin when the resin capacity has been totally exhausted. (15 lbs/cuft X 1.5)

Perhaps if you could provide additional details including your current program settings, results from your last water analysis, the number of people in your household, the age of the softener and if there is any other water treatment being used, those details would help to identify the source of the issue.

When you state that the water 'doesn't seem as soft', that type of diagnosis cannot be measured. A hardness test of the softened water would provide a measurable diagnosis.
 

Bannerman

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I know the replies so far have not really answered your original question but it's often best to take a systematic approach to these situations.

It would seem that the rust created in the pressure tank should be filtered out by the softener so the regeneration regular back wash cycle should have then flushed any rust particles to drain.

A compromised pressure tank usually will result in the well pump short cycling as the tank reserve capacity is generally, substantially reduced. You indicate water shooting out of the disconnected tank when you drilled into it so obviously, some amount of cushion air remained trapped. If your pump is a submersible type, you would not hear the pump cycling as you would with a non submerged pump, but your water pressure would likely have fluctuated when water was run for any extended period. In essence, the well pump would have been delivering water directly so the pressure likely increased when the pump kicked-in as the tank did not provide much buffer.

Do you know the particulars for your well including bore depth, casing diameter, water pickup depth, constant gpm capacity, pump hp and capacity, the size of your pressure tank and your pump pressure settings. That info could also assist with diagnosing your issue.
 
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ditttohead

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Iron fouls resin and if left untreated, the iron can permanently foul the resin. What is your iron level? Most people who have been working in this industry for any length of time would not recommend using a softener for iron removal. If it is used for iron removal, high salt dosing and frequent regenerations and regular chemical treatment becomes important, this is not an efficient way to run a softener. If the bladder on your tank fails, this can cause excessive rusting. Also, saying the softener doesn't feel soft is not of much use. You should invest in a proper hardness test kit. I recommend the Hach 5B.
 
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