Very hard water, iron, manganese, sulfates and high TDS ADVICE WANTED

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HardWellWater

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I have well water with this $500 analysis:
Iron 1,290 ppm
Mn 0.321 ppm
Hardness 900 ppm = 52 gpg
TDS 1,400 ppm
Turbidity 1.4 NTU
Sulfate 670 ppm

This result was tested AFTER I shock chlorinated the well with 6 gallons of Chlorox. I did this because of the "rotten egg/sulfur" smell I had in the water. The odor was in BOTH hot and cold but very much stronger in the hot. The water heater is 20 years old and does sit for long periods in between drawing hot water. The water is softened with an Braswell Genus twin tank salt unit - set on max regeneration (every 6 gal I think). The culligan guy came and measured the hardness at the tap and said it measured "2" implying that the softener is working. Running the hot for long periods of time did not eliminate the smell. So I shocked the well.

After shocking the well, the water ran clear for 30-60 minutes while we waited to smell the chlorine. It never smelled like Chlorine so we eventually stopped running the water and just let it sit for several hours. When I started running the water again, it ran BLACK for half an hour and then clear for a few minutes and then RUSTY colored for 30 min and finally CLEAR. That's when I took the above sample. There is a very faint odor of sulfur that goes away after running for a few minutes.

I am thinking to either replace the old softener with a newer one HE salt softener unit from Culligan (as the Brawell is basically not supported by anyone anymore) OR an Pellican Iron/Manganese filter (Chlorinator and green sand filter) followed by a Carbon filter and perhaps a Non-salt "softener" from Pellican. Either of these would be followed by an RO filter for drinking. I like the idea of the chlorination as I think it will handle bacteria, etc that may show up down the road and I understand it is necessary to clump the Iron/Manganese to allow it to be filtered out. The carbon is attractive as well for it will remove odors and the chlorine. I like the idea of No-salt as it is a pain to refill and adds cost and add salinity to what gets dumped ( into the septic field and eventually the creek )

All this stuff is expensive so I am seeking some advice:
-The culligan guy says his HE softener will remove the Ca, Mg, Mn, Iron and soften the water and the RO will handle the TDS.
-The Pellican guy says his system will remove the Iron, Mn and keep the water from building up scale.
-What happens to the Sulfates??

I am thinking to go with the Pellican system but worried that the water will still be hard. Any experience with Pellican non salt softeners out there ? Any comments for advice in general? Where can I get a reasonably priced test done?



 

Reach4

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You left pH off of your report.

I presume you meant 1.290 ppm iron.

Pelican is spelled with one l. I suggest searches that use that along with fake or fraud to get different points of view. I am not saying they are total frauds unless they say they make soft water without salt or electricity.

http://watercheck.com/ aka ntllabs.com is often recommended.

I have a system that uses Centaur Carbon catalytic carbon before my softener. It works for my sulfur and iron. I will message you a link of what I bought. I bought the same system that a friend used.
 

hj

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ONe thing they do not tell you is WHAT HAPPENS to all the stuff they "remove". Since it does not backwash, it either stays in the softener and accumulates or is dumped back into your water system.
 

HardWellWater

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You left pH off of your report.

I presume you meant 1.290 ppm iron.

Pelican is spelled with one l. I suggest searches that use that along with fake or fraud to get different points of view. I am not saying they are total frauds unless they say they make soft water without salt or electricity.

http://watercheck.com/ aka ntllabs.com is often recommended.

I have a system that uses Centaur Carbon catalytic carbon before my softener. It works for my sulfur and iron. I will message you a link of what I bought. I bought the same system that a friend used.

Yes the iron was 1.290 ppm and the pH was 7.4. Thanks.
 
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