Whole House Water Filter + Pirate Plumbing...

[glaufen]

Hi! Thanks in advance for any advice...

So: I’m looking to install a whole house water filtration system (by which i mean a couple of GE GXWH40L units in-line, since no one’s been able to explain to me why I should spen $300-$1,000 on a packaged system). The install looks fairly straightforward... except: the previous owner of this house apparently worke for the water company & DIY’d the connection to the main city water supply. Coming in from city pipes, I’ve got 1/2” copper-to-pvc in a hatch-accessed crawlspace. It’s not actually bad in terms of clearance for the equipment, but my concern (as a novice) is that transitioning from 1/2” to 1” (for the filter housing inlet) will create a serious drop in water pressure at exactly the point where it needs to be forced through the (two consecutive) filter(s). Photo of (wrapped) pipe attached)

Is this a thing? Should I not be concerned?

Again: thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Maximus_Slime]

I'm not sure running two of these filters inline will be of any benefit.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[glaufen]

I'm not sure running two of these filters inline will be of any benefit.

...10 micron (or 5?), followed by carbon—at a minimum, should make the carbon last a lot longer.

 

[Reach4]

but my concern (as a novice) is that transitioning from 1/2” to 1” (for the filter housing inlet) will create a serious drop in water pressure at exactly the point where it needs to be forced through the (two consecutive) filter(s).

Don't worry about that a bit. Expanding to bigger pipe will not reduce the pressure in any meaningful way. You are thinking of the pressure if there was a very large flow rate. A bigger path through a filter cartridge is good.

You have other things you could worry about. One would be the pressure drop from supplying a whole house through a 1/2 inch pipe. While 3/4 is still fairly common for existing houses, new construction uses 1 inch and more. I suspect that pipe is just supplying part of the water for the house, and the 1/2 inch is fine.

You could worry about the city finding out that you have a connection that bypasses the water meter, and you knowing about it. I am not saying that water bypasses the meter. I don't know.

 

[Dj2]

"the previous owner of this house apparently worke for the water company & DIY’d the connection to the main city water supply. "

It's OK to do, if the connection is after the meter. Since anything after the meter is the homeowner's responsibility and not the water supplier, the homeowner can do the connection himself or hire a plumber to do it.
BTW, Utilities really dislike and sue people who bypass meters. But as mentioned above, you didn't say that.

What's not adding up is why did he use 1/2" main? How big is the house?

But back to the filters: you can use other filters with 3/4" inlet and outlet. With these whole house filters, it's important to replace filters on time, or you see restricted water supply.

 

[glaufen]

Thank you both—much appreciated.

House is ~1,500 sq.ft, with 1.25 baths (and it’s about 100 years old, though the pirate plumbing is obvs much more recent). The whole ‘meter’ question is a bit of a mystery; we get billed, but during renovations neither the plumber, electrician, nor handyman were able to find any other point at which the house is fed by city water.

Getting ready to do the install... fingers crossed!