Rusty Water - Pump Placement?

[KennyG]

Hello,

I've been trying to develop and clean my well for the past 7 months during a new home construction. The well was drilled in 1998 and was never used. I've got it pretty dang clean with satisfactory test results. The problem is some rusty water will flow after a few cycles and clear up after a few more cycles.

The only thing I can think of is my well pump is sitting too close to the bottom of the well. I put in the new pump and drop pipe myself and I think I accidentally put the pump like 5 feet off the bottom due to my wrong measurements when trying to unravel the poly pipe etc. I actually hit the bottom when lowering the drop pipe to the pitless adaptor, I ended up pulling it up and chopping it and I'm sure it was only 5 feet.

The well is 67 feet with a static at 22 feet and draws down to 25 feet at 12 GPM. I can run it indefinitely without dropping any further.

Can I raise my pump to 20-25 feet off the bottom and have around 15 feet of water above the pump at draw down with no issues?

Will that solve my rusty spurt of water?

I'm installing a whole house filter but I still want to reduce this problem.

Thank you

 

[KennyG]

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Valveman]

What in the well can rust? Is the casing plastic or steel? What pump did you install? Are there any metal fittings?

 

[Bannerman]

You said you cleaned the well. Define the procedure.

If chlorine had been added to the well, chlorine will oxidize dissolved iron (aka: Ferrous or clear water iron) often present in well water, converting it to a Ferric state (aka: red iron or rust).

Suggest posting a recent full lab report for the raw well water.

 

[LakeDwellerMN]

That looks like my water filling the sink in my basement!

We switched to a 5 micron 3-stage (sediment/iron/carbon) from a 5 micron 2-stage (sediment/carbon) 4.5x10 "big blue" filter.
- Noticed our water heater anode was shot after 3 years
- Even though the 2-stage made a huge difference, water was still rather "meh"

It really helped. Our iron content was just too much for our big-box water softener to keep up with (unless we wasted quite a bit of water on back flushing/iron treatment).

I re-routed the water softener to just feed into the water heater, so hot water lines are filtered/softened (which has eliminated red/pink tint to our clothes washer).

It is NOT a perfect solution to use an iron filter:
- They need to be replaced every 3-6 months
- They cost money ($38/each when you buy a 12 pack)
- There is a small pressure drop added by having a 3rd stage (we changed to a 35/55 from 30/50 on our pressure switch)
- Carbon filter has to be replaced every 3mo like clockwork ($15/each)

I priced out the cost of a 10yr service plan on an aeration setup ($$$) vs iron filter... Iron filter won out.

 

[Peonino10]

Based on your description, adjusting the pump placement to 20-25 feet above the bottom of the well should indeed help mitigate the issue of rusty water spurts. This adjustment would ensure that the pump draws water from a cleaner depth, reducing the likelihood of rust particles being stirred up during operation.

Additionally, installing a whole house filter is a wise decision to further improve water quality throughout your home. With these measures in place, you should notice a significant reduction in rusty water occurrences.

If you encounter any challenges during the pump adjustment process or have further questions about optimizing your well system, feel free to reach out for assistance.

 

[Reach4]

KennyG: Suggested test: Get two empty clear soda pop bottles with the labels off. Fill each. Can you see the color?
Set those onto a shelf where the light is good-- maybe a window sill. To one add a few drops of liquid chlorine bleach. Watch for the color difference fairly quickly, but if not a significant change quickly, then let those bottles sit with the caps on.