What's coming out of my well?

[Terry McCloud]

Hello all, to provide a little background I have had a ton of issues with my new house and the well that came with it, first attempt pulled so much sand it needed to be repaired but company was out of business so someone else did it. That was a yr ago and still issues. 65' steel casing 160' deep well. I have a whole house RO and before the RO is a 5mic sediment prefilter. The inside of all of my piping is coated in a black sooty material, and my prefilter clogs up ever 5 days with a black sludgy material that is so thick I can write in it with my finger. Water destroyed my RO membrane in less then a year. Some companies are recommending a backwashing prefilter of various types while others are saying my well is shot and I need a new one. Any thoughts? Help is very appreciated!

Oh water tests out at about 3ppm iron before any equipment and my catalox? Filter after the RO when backwashed came out orange water for a long while .

 

[WorthFlorida]

Any neighbors with a well and do they have similar problems? Drilling a new well on your property maybe the same water quality. Was the well always a problem and is it the same age as the house? The best person to ask is a local well drill company that has been in business a long time, if there are any left in your area.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Valveman]

If you can find a good one a local well driller would be a good source. Iron maybe prevalent anywhere you drill? I always like to work on the problem in the well if possible. Check into a pellet chlorinator or the Sulfur Eliminator to get to the iron while it is still in the well.

 

[Terry McCloud]

Any neighbors with a well and do they have similar problems? Drilling a new well on your property maybe the same water quality. Was the well always a problem and is it the same age as the house? The best person to ask is a local well drill company that has been in business a long time, if there are any left in your area.

I had another well driller who just drilled down the road from me earlier this year. He stated his casing and well depth were similiar however he among others have stated the last company is known to short case what they stated they installed and also use cheaper casing material. I will work on getting a more complete water testing profile.

 

[Reach4]

If you can't deal with this at the well, you will want a backwashing filter that can remove sediment and iron. There is more than one way that can be done.

This would usually be followed by a water softener which feeds the house and RO.

Usually PVC is the preferred casing. How big is your casing? 4.5 inch OD 4 inch ID, or what?

 

[Terry McCloud]

Some pictures. That is the prefilter a day after it was removed from housing and it was originally black but once it dries a bit it is that clayish brown color and still sludgy. The other pic is the system water from well straight to prefilter 5mic then to booster pump and to membrane. I'll measure steel casing when I get home

 

[Reach4]

What is going on?

What is that silvery column above the jet pump? Could that be UV?

Why 2 pressure switches? Two pumps, one submersible and the other shallow well? One for irrigation and the other for the house?

That sludge does indeed look like clay-dirt. A backwashing filter before a cartridge filter will be the deal. A backwashing filter

 

[Terry McCloud]

Water runs from well, thru prefilter, then through the booster pump you see into the silver cylinder which is the RO membrane. Then out to holding tanks. The pressure switch in the cabinet is a reverse type and only allows the bottom cabinet pump to kick on if it has enough pressure, say 5psi min or what not. The pressure is turned off and on by the black inline solonoid above that pressure switch and that solenoid is controlled by a float switch in the holding tank. Also the casing is 4.5 inches outer diameter.

 

[Reach4]

Water runs from well, thru prefilter, then through the booster pump you see into the silver cylinder which is the RO membrane. Then out to holding tanks. The pressure switch in the cabinet is a reverse type and only allows the bottom cabinet pump to kick on if it has enough pressure, say 5psi min or what not. The pressure is turned off and on by the black inline solonoid above that pressure switch and that solenoid is controlled by a float switch in the holding tank. Also the casing is 4.5 inches outer diameter.

Got it. Makes sense now. Except why the extra pipe into the well? I am thinking you might be using that as the waste water from the RO. If that is the case, that would seem to be concentrating the stuff that the RO membrane rejects, unless you have a whole lot of irrigation usage.

Usually you want to run the water thru a softener before the RO to make the membrane last longer.

If you put sludge in a glass jar with water, and shake, how long to settle?

 

[WorthFlorida]

What county are you in? Take a sample of this material and bring it to your co-operative extension. Usually someone, (a hydrologist) will know what is underground and at what level this material is from. If not they may know who you can contact. Co-Ops workers are always eager to help.

University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science drives & supports all co-ops in the state of Florida.
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/find-your-local-office/

 

[Reach4]

What county are you in? Take a sample of this material and bring it to your co-operative extension. Usually someone, (a hydrologist) will know what is underground and at what level this material is from. If not they may know who you can contact. Co-Ops workers are always eager to help.

University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science drives & supports all co-ops in the state of Florida.
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/find-your-local-office/

Will they also analyze the water?

 

[Taylorjm]

So is your booster pump to raise the pressure before it enters the RO membrane? Or is it to pump the water back out from the holding tanks with RO water?

 

[Terry McCloud]

Booster to pressurize water into the RO membrane which then flows into holding tanks. I have a submersible in one of the two tanks to send water into the home.