Softener for hard well water

[skbrook]

We purchased a home a few months ago that is on well water. The previous homeowners did not maintain a lot of stuff in the home, so we immediately replaced hot water heater, removed the small Whirlpool filtration and softener systems that had been installed, and had the local plumber install a whole house sediment filter and replumb everything (the pipe setup was pretty jenky when we got here). Luckily the well is awesome (one of the best he's seen in the county according to our local well company), but the water is very hard with a lot of iron. When we had the plumber out, we decided to first try filtration only without a softener, but it has become apparent we have no choice but to install a softener again. We moved to a very rural area, so the nearest softener sales are a couple of hours away, and each of those only sells one particular system. These forums have been awesome for educating us on selecting a softener system, but there is so much information out there, and sometimes conflicting information, that I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask this forum for validation on what we think we need.

Water hardness is 43 gpg, alkalinity 120, pH 7, copper at 2.0 ppm, and iron at 4.0 ppm. Nitrite, nitrate, and chlorine all at zero. County water test negative for presence of any bacteria. 3 people in house, about 2800 sf with 2.5 baths. Both hot and cold water have sulfur smell from taps throughout the house and orange staining is present on all toilet and shower surfaces. Given all of that, we think we have decided on Fleck 5600SXT 80,000 grain with 8% resin and KDF 85 media guard. We also plan to install an under sink reverse osmosis system with separate faucet for drinking water and to also connect to the refrigerator water line (undecided on brand of RO system at this time). There actually was a RO system installed when we moved in, but the air gap is leaking uncontrollably and neither us nor the plumber can figure out why, so we figured might as well replace that too. Thoughts? Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Old]

Check the line that runs between the drain and the RO faucet. A clogged line will cause the RO drain water to leak out of the air gap vent hole instead of flowing down the drain.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[skbrook]

Check the line that runs between the drain and the RO faucet. A clogged line will cause the RO drain water to leak out of the air gap vent hole instead of flowing down the drain.

Thanks old - forgot to mention that we did look at the line - no sign of any obstruction in it. Kind of puzzling, but given the state everything else was in the house, probably best we replace it anyhow.

 

[Bannerman]

That's a high amount of iron for a softener to deal with and a softener cannot remedy the sulfur issue. There are various methods to remove the iron and sulfur prior to the softener including chlorine injection and/or media filtration such as Katalox Light.

 

[skbrook]

Thanks Bannerman - I was still a little unsure whether or not the setup I suggested would be enough to deal with the iron. A neighbor with similar water is using the chlorine injection as well, so I'll look more into that and the Katalox.

 

[ditttohead]

The KDF85 media guard would likely be overwhelmed with that level of iron. A chlorine injection system, contact tank and carbon system would be a good start. Be aware that there are many ways of doing chlorine injection. Stay away from the knock off cheap Chinese made chemical injectors. I have worked with way too many of these that fail after a year.

A simple chlorine tablet system may also work. What is your current well pump set-up?

 

[skbrook]

Thank you dittohead - I think this is what you are asking for - if not, my apologies for misunderstanding the question. Well depth about 300 feet > pump > pressure tank > whole house sediment filter with 5 micron filter cartridge > Whirlpool central filtration system (basically just another sediment filter). This was the setup the local plumber first put in, but after researching more ourselves we discovered we obviously need much more than this.

 

[ditttohead]

Chlorine or h2o2 injection, contact tank (optional, can be added later, increases system performance and reduces maintenance), KL or GAC system, softener, fairly simple design and it will give you some fairly acceptable water.