Littletmv
New Member
Wow, so sorry, i was away on vaca.. So much info to read... I poured iron out in the 1st tank on Friday, so its cleaned up a bit. Now, i dunno..
Why do I have 3 tanks
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Littletmv
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Littletmv
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Ok, i believe i found it. It removes, iron, sulfer and magnesium , no chemicals, something with air
Littletmv
New Member
7 years old.. I have no clue, that is why i am confused
My iron+sulfur filter uses Centaur Carbon a nice catalytic carbon media that is produced by a special treatment of a bituminous coal. While my system uses a bleach solution during the backwash/regen every 3 days, there are units that use air and no chlorine. I fill my 15 gallon solution tank every 35 days with a gallon of bleach and the rest water. The life of that media is supposed to be about 8 years. My system has been very effective for my sulfur and iron. My raw water iron is about 4 ppm.
My tank is the same size as yours with a Fleck 5600SXT controller and has a 5 GPM backwash.
What is it that you "found"?
Think "raw water test" as a priority.
Bannerman
Well-Known Member
So, Did the tank actually have 'media' in it? You had previously said the tank was empty.
In a prior photo, I was not certain if I saw some media or if I was only looking at rust residue at the bottom of the tank.
Without further clarification, we can't be certain of anything. To use air to oxidize iron, air would need to be injected into the tank, often using an air compressor which would need to operate periodically. You had been asked if there were any pumps or chemical injectors in the system.
Air or another oxidizer (ie: chlorine, pot perm, hydrogen peroxide) is often used with an iron removal media but there has been nothing you have said or shown to confirm anything such as that being utilized.
Although it has been suggested on numerous occasions to have the water tested, you have not responded to those suggestions.
In a prior photo, I was not certain if I saw some media or if I was only looking at rust residue at the bottom of the tank.
Without further clarification, we can't be certain of anything. To use air to oxidize iron, air would need to be injected into the tank, often using an air compressor which would need to operate periodically. You had been asked if there were any pumps or chemical injectors in the system.
Air or another oxidizer (ie: chlorine, pot perm, hydrogen peroxide) is often used with an iron removal media but there has been nothing you have said or shown to confirm anything such as that being utilized.
Although it has been suggested on numerous occasions to have the water tested, you have not responded to those suggestions.
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Littletmv
New Member
It costs $240 for our water to be tested. I cant afford that right now. Im just running off the twin tanks right now, until i get this figured out
Littletmv
New Member
Do you have the exact answer? By looking at the picture? Im assuming no. And that is why i posted. I am trying to find out what the heck that tank is.. Not the water quality. I just want to know the function and name of tank #1... The water quality could be different now after it was installed 7 years ago. Everyone has wells, and is pumping lots of water for sprinklers, and there appears to be more iron in our water now.
Do you know if there is any thing in the first tank?
95% of the time the lead tank is either for ph or iron........ ph media gets used up over time, the iron media will still be there.
Now if your area is way different , most water treatment companies will test the water in hopes of selling you some thing, just use one or more to get an idea.
Asking us on the form is good for a start but we are not there so for the most part we are shooting in the dark.
Finding out the water quality will give a really good idea as to what the type of equipment is in place, unless you found the paper work from the install of the equipment.
If your looking for some one to give you a 100% answer I for one can give some ideas, But I am in Alaska..... much different from the East coast.
Then there is what is in your area? Factories? Powerplants? Farms? Mines?
100+ new homes in the last 5 years with in 1 mile of where your at?
95% of the time the lead tank is either for ph or iron........ ph media gets used up over time, the iron media will still be there.
Now if your area is way different , most water treatment companies will test the water in hopes of selling you some thing, just use one or more to get an idea.
Asking us on the form is good for a start but we are not there so for the most part we are shooting in the dark.
Finding out the water quality will give a really good idea as to what the type of equipment is in place, unless you found the paper work from the install of the equipment.
If your looking for some one to give you a 100% answer I for one can give some ideas, But I am in Alaska..... much different from the East coast.
Then there is what is in your area? Factories? Powerplants? Farms? Mines?
100+ new homes in the last 5 years with in 1 mile of where your at?
More like $150 counting shipping if you use the suggested vendor and get the Well Check test... still not small money however.
You can get an iron test kit to see what level iron you are dealing with. I bought Seachem multitest iron test. Not as good as the expensive test, but good for the money.
So let's say you don't get that test. I would put that controller back on and trigger some backwashes. See if it helps the iron situation later. You can trigger an immediate backwash by holding the Extra Cycle button in for 5 seconds, and you can schedule a backwash at the regular time by just pushing that button momentarily.
Removing as much iron as you can in advance leaves less for the softener to do. Since your softner has been dealing with a lot of iron, that should get some Iron Out cleanings too. It is going to be easier with the softener tanks, because you can put the Iron Out into the brine tank. Then kill the power late in the brine draw (brine tank almost empty) and let the Iron Out be in contact with the resin for a while.
Bannerman
Well-Known Member
Are there any labels identifying who had installed the equipment or provided service? If so, that company may have kept records on the water condition at the time and they might be able to tell you the purpose of the lead tank.
We still aren't certain if there was media in it or not. While you previously indicated that the tank appeared empty, when R4 asked how old the media was, you replied 7 years.
The photo you provided, was not conclusive as it does not provide depth perception. We are forced to rely on you to provide a description and clear answers to the questions asked as we're not there to look ourselves.
Your tank dimensions are 10" diameter X 54" high. As that is the upper limit appropriate for a Fleck 5600 in filter duty, as Dittohead mentioned, if any media is to be installed, it will be restricted to light weight media requiring a backwash requirement of 10 GPM or less, assuming your well and pump can provide that volume of flow.
While I appreciate a water test can be a costly undertaking, none of us can know for certain what the equipment was intended for as we don't know the contaminants and specific quantities contained in your water . Testing is the only method to determine a suitable treatment specific to your water conditions. That includes the appropriate capacity of water softener to install and the programming required. While you already operate a softener, assuming the lead filter tank was for iron removal and as that filter is now not functioning, your softener is now being forced to deal with a quantity of iron which was not intended when it was sized and installed.
In addition to Akpsdvan's suggestion to request a local water treatment dealer perform an onsite test under the hope of selling you new equipment, you might just take a sample to the dealer to save him/her a trip. You could also contact your county agricultural service to see who they might recommend. as you may be able to have your water tested at reasonable cost at a local college. Our local Home Depot have containers for no cost testing through a mail order service.
As mentioned, a further option is to obtain your own Hach test kits for water hardness and iron, but that is not comprehensive so as to reveal other containments and bacteria.
A current water test is often a condition to an offer to purchase. Assuming a test wasn't requested when you purchased, a seller will sometimes pass-on prior test result reports, well depth documents and equipment receipts and manuals to the new purchaser.
We still aren't certain if there was media in it or not. While you previously indicated that the tank appeared empty, when R4 asked how old the media was, you replied 7 years.
The photo you provided, was not conclusive as it does not provide depth perception. We are forced to rely on you to provide a description and clear answers to the questions asked as we're not there to look ourselves.
Your tank dimensions are 10" diameter X 54" high. As that is the upper limit appropriate for a Fleck 5600 in filter duty, as Dittohead mentioned, if any media is to be installed, it will be restricted to light weight media requiring a backwash requirement of 10 GPM or less, assuming your well and pump can provide that volume of flow.
While I appreciate a water test can be a costly undertaking, none of us can know for certain what the equipment was intended for as we don't know the contaminants and specific quantities contained in your water . Testing is the only method to determine a suitable treatment specific to your water conditions. That includes the appropriate capacity of water softener to install and the programming required. While you already operate a softener, assuming the lead filter tank was for iron removal and as that filter is now not functioning, your softener is now being forced to deal with a quantity of iron which was not intended when it was sized and installed.
In addition to Akpsdvan's suggestion to request a local water treatment dealer perform an onsite test under the hope of selling you new equipment, you might just take a sample to the dealer to save him/her a trip. You could also contact your county agricultural service to see who they might recommend. as you may be able to have your water tested at reasonable cost at a local college. Our local Home Depot have containers for no cost testing through a mail order service.
As mentioned, a further option is to obtain your own Hach test kits for water hardness and iron, but that is not comprehensive so as to reveal other containments and bacteria.
A current water test is often a condition to an offer to purchase. Assuming a test wasn't requested when you purchased, a seller will sometimes pass-on prior test result reports, well depth documents and equipment receipts and manuals to the new purchaser.
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Littletmv
New Member
What is to understand?
It is a Fleck 5600 SE....
It is the Fleck/Pentair
It is the 5600 valve
It is the SE control.
Again what is to under stand about the valve?
The valve is the valve, the tank is the tank... the media is the question as just about any media can go into the tank, some better than others.
It is a Fleck 5600 SE....
It is the Fleck/Pentair
It is the 5600 valve
It is the SE control.
Again what is to under stand about the valve?
The valve is the valve, the tank is the tank... the media is the question as just about any media can go into the tank, some better than others.
Bannerman
Well-Known Member
Those two labels were attached at the time the valve was manufactured by Pentair. It confirms that it is a Fleck 5600SE by the '56SE' identification and shows who in the factory tested the valve for proper operation.
As the valve is not being used on a water softener, there is no Brine Line Flow Control (BLFC) indicated. As no Drain Line Flow Control (DLFC) number is shown, I only assume there is no flow restriction in-place when in backwash mode.
As neither label relate to who installed or serviced the unit, now inspect the softener for that information as I expect that the first tank (lead tank) and the softener were supplied by the same local company. Some suppliers, not all, will often attach a label to make it easy to contact them again for future service, supplies or additional equipment.
To clarify:
1) after looking into the tank after the valve was removed, was there anything in the tank or was it empty? (other than water, residue and the riser tube)
2) you had said about having cleaned the tank with Iron Out. Did you dump out the tank's contents? If so, what came out? Post photo.
3) are there any pumps, compressors, chemical feeders, tanks or other devices either connected to the plumbing before the 1st tank, or connected directly to the Fleck 5600? If there is anything, even if you don't know what it is, post a photo.
4} as we have not actually seen your Fleck 5600, post a photo of the valve and controls, front and back.
As the valve is not being used on a water softener, there is no Brine Line Flow Control (BLFC) indicated. As no Drain Line Flow Control (DLFC) number is shown, I only assume there is no flow restriction in-place when in backwash mode.
As neither label relate to who installed or serviced the unit, now inspect the softener for that information as I expect that the first tank (lead tank) and the softener were supplied by the same local company. Some suppliers, not all, will often attach a label to make it easy to contact them again for future service, supplies or additional equipment.
To clarify:
1) after looking into the tank after the valve was removed, was there anything in the tank or was it empty? (other than water, residue and the riser tube)
2) you had said about having cleaned the tank with Iron Out. Did you dump out the tank's contents? If so, what came out? Post photo.
3) are there any pumps, compressors, chemical feeders, tanks or other devices either connected to the plumbing before the 1st tank, or connected directly to the Fleck 5600? If there is anything, even if you don't know what it is, post a photo.
4} as we have not actually seen your Fleck 5600, post a photo of the valve and controls, front and back.
Littletmv
New Member
Mystery solved, I emptied tank.. Clearly carbon bed. Use to back wash only. I believe the twin tanks should've been installed prior to carbon tank, to prevent major iron build up!!
Not necessarily, in fact probably not IMO. It might be catalytic carbon (maybe even Centaur Carbon) -- which is not at all the same as activated charcoal carbon. A Centaur Carbon filter should be on the front. I don't know about getting air in with that controller though. The people who put in that dual tank softener were not cheaping out, and I really doubt they would have put Coconut charcoal in that position. Now the way that it would make sense to have activated carbon there is if it was preceded by a chlorine or other oxidizer injection system.
ditttohead
Water systems designer, R&D
Notice the piston is proprietary, meaning it could be an AIO, or chlorine regeneration system design or something else. The softener almost always goes last in a system design. Carbon, iron reduction, pH control, arsenic reduction, just about everything except for Anion resin regeneration systems go ahead of the softener.
Did you order a water test yet? Hard to really do anything without that first, otherwise it is just a guessing game.
Did you order a water test yet? Hard to really do anything without that first, otherwise it is just a guessing game.
What arsenic media are you using if it is going to be working on iron?
Arsenic media that I know does not play well with iron.
Now it is not to say that if you oxidize the iron it will pull out arsenic.. but it would need to be checked after to find out the level of arsenic after that form of treatment.
Arsenic media that I know does not play well with iron.
Now it is not to say that if you oxidize the iron it will pull out arsenic.. but it would need to be checked after to find out the level of arsenic after that form of treatment.
