Inlet on HP-7 tank constricted

[LLigetfa]

I have the micronizer less than a foot from the inlet of the HP tank but it cannot be placed close enough to not foul the line with iron as the fouling starts within inches of the aeration. I have a pressure gauge immediately after the micronizer and I have a second gauge on the top (air side) of the Wellmate HP-7 tank.

I had noticed a significant drop in pressure and volume at the faucets. Watching the pressure gauges while the pump was running, I observed 10 PSI more before the inlet of the tank than what the tank pressure showed. Obviously the inlet is constricted which limited the GPM fill rate. The fill rate is already somewhat limited by the micronizer.

I used a flat metal bar that was a perfect fit for the ID of the 1" pipe feeding the inlet but it was not long enough to reach the bend where the inlet makes a 90 degree upturn into the tank. That helped reduce the pressure drop by 5 PSI for now while I contemplate how I am going to clean out the rest. The following pic shows the inlet and outlet where the taller side is the inlet. Obviously it is threaded into the base of the tank.

From the looks of it, it may need to be removed and attacked from both sides. ISTR that the inlet and outlet pipes with threads on one end are glued in. I have unions threaded onto the ends so probably won't need to cut the pipes and glue couplings assuming the base will rotate with the part. Possibly I can reach into the tank from the top by removing the AVC.

Plan B might be to buy a replacement part (#CH10991-1) to have on hand in case this goes sideways on me.

Plan C is to buy a complete new HP-7 and convert this old tank into a UT (contact tank) by replacing the top threaded AVC with part #CH14938 and use the existing outlet as the inlet.

Plan D is a variation on C but keep the AVC in place and have the outlet also be the inlet. That would essentially double the draw-down and the contact time. Eventually the air might get absorbed and water-log the tank but since the water is aerated by the micronizer, in theory it should take a long time if'n it even happens.

So, while I had the water shut off and the micronizer removed to clean out what I could reach of the inlet, I decided to replace it with a new micronizer that I had purchased as a spare 2 years ago. Wouldn't you know it, the damned think leaked both at the rubber air check and at the bypass O-ring. I guess the rubber must have dried out just sitting there. Who knows how long it might have sat before I bought it. I do have a couple of spare rubber air checks and a spare O-ring so can swap them if I can't get the leaks to stop. The rubber air checks are very finicky to install where they need to lubed up with soap and care taken not to distort them while tightening.

I got the old micronizer cleaned up but it needs a new bypass. The old bypass is brass and got eroded by the water. I'm going to try to buy a stainless steel one which hopefully will resist wear.

 

[ditttohead]

Do you have a water test you can post? Iron is a pain to treat sometimes and it clogs everything.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[LLigetfa]

I have not tested the water in a long time. It has a lot of iron, manganese and hardness. Iron filter was rebedded around 9 years ago.

I purge the 3/4" copper line between the precipitation tank and the iron filter periodically by overfilling the HP tank with air so that it moves forward through the line. I plan to upsize the line to 1" copper.

 

[LLigetfa]

Looks like I am a victim of my own frugality and for living in a remote Canadian town. My local dealer considers what I have as obsolete even though when I contacted Wellmate in the US, they said that the parts are available. I guess I will have to contact Wellmate in Canada to see if is also available in Canada. As for the Waterite micronizer, my local dealer always sold me parts for it in the past so not sure why that changed. I guess I need to contact Waterite to see of parts are still available.

My local dealer said they no longer sell the Patterson style iron filter and they are trying to sell me on a model that builds up a reserve of air during the backwash cycle and then uses it during the the service cycle. He swears by it but I am somewhat skeptical that there would be enough contact time.

Aside from being frugal and not wanting to replace the HP tank with a captive air tank, there is a secondary reason I want to keep the micronizer. It serves as a dole valve to limit the GPM draw on my problematic well. If I draw the water too fast, it motivates sediment that not only fills the casing but also gets ingested into the pump, HP tank, and iron filter. A neighbor had the same issue with his well and had a new 150 foot well drilled at a cost of about $8000. My neighbor on the other side of me had to go more than 300 feet and at that, had to frac it at considerable cost.

Lastly, there is considerable smell to my water and I wonder how well the iron filter he is trying to sell me on would do to remove the smell. My current system with the micronizer cranked to max the amount of air, still leaves a little bit of smell that I notice in the shower.

 

[ditttohead]

The AIO type of systems tend to work fairly well. Iron and Air makes for a fairly quick conversion form Ferrous to Ferric. H2o2 is the quickest. If you have a sulfur odor the H2o2 injection is a slam dunk. But do you want to incur the additional cost and maintenance or can you live the with the stink?

 

[LLigetfa]

I much prefer using air rather than H2O2. I've not looked into my dealer's offering as to whether it is a single or two tank system but I have some space constraints. The house has a crawlspace with less than 4 feet of headroom. There is plenty of space for the HP-7 tank but the iron filter and the softener are both too tall to fit entirely in the crawlspace. I got around that problem by having them stand at the entrance but there is only so much room for media tanks and related plumbing.

If need be, I could use a concrete saw to cut a hole in the crawlspace floor and sink the media tanks down in the hole. I did just that in a former home.