38GPG | 18PPM Iron | pH 7.5 | TDS 589 - Now what???

[sdp]

Hi guys, longtime lurker, first time poster.

I was looking for DIY options to resolve my nasty iron and hydrogen sulfide issue (see headline). Everything I read online makes it seem like this much iron is going to be a constant battle of unclogging whatever unit I get, but I'm thinking the smart folks here can steer me in the right direction.

- 5 Person Home with occasional overnight guests for the kids

- Well pump can do 15GPM currently, but I could oversize if need be. Well pump feeds my business shop (minimal water use outside of toilets and washing hands), a hanger shop (very minimal use), and our house (most usage). I'm looking to put an iron removal unit in each of the 3 locations.

Question 1) Hydrogen peroxide system or Air injection?
Question 2) If air injection is acceptable, does anyone have experience with these AFW Platinum units?
Question 3) If peroxide is acceptable, does anyone have experience with these inFusion Units?
Question 4) What else am I not considering with my current situation?

Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[ditttohead]

1: H2o2, not air
2: not air
3: Uses 10X more H2o2 than a properly designed system. Definitely a no go.
4: Do not look for the cheapest solutions online.

Considering the complexity of this water, a properly designed iron reduction system should be considered. I might almost lean toward a separate source backwash but this is complex and expensive for most applications, Your water should do ok without it.

I would recommend for your house, an iron reduction system with a h2o2 injection system that is metered for the most efficient use of H202.

I am guessing you will use a gallon of h2o2 every 20 days at your house. You should use a baffled contact tank with an automatic blowdown, then a Katalox light backwashing system, and a 3 ft3 softener.

For the other locations, a h2o2 injection with KL, no baffled contact tank,

Does this make sense?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[sdp]

1: H2o2, not air
2: not air
3: Uses 10X more H2o2 than a properly designed system. Definitely a no go.
4: Do not look for the cheapest solutions online.

Considering the complexity of this water, a properly designed iron reduction system should be considered. I might almost lean toward a separate source backwash but this is complex and expensive for most applications, Your water should do ok without it.

I would recommend for your house, an iron reduction system with a h2o2 injection system that is metered for the most efficient use of H202.

I am guessing you will use a gallon of h2o2 every 20 days at your house. You should use a baffled contact tank with an automatic blowdown, then a Katalox light backwashing system, and a 3 ft3 softener.

For the other locations, a h2o2 injection with KL, no baffled contact tank,

Does this make sense?

Kind of... I'm still really new to water treatment so I've never actually installed or worked with chemical feed systems yet. Do you have links to the products that you recommend? If I can't buy them online I will try to contact our distributors and see if they can get them for me.

Also, can you please explain why H202 is recommended over air for treating iron? And is there a specific amount of iron at which air is better or more acceptable (lower limits like 5ppm?)?

 

[ditttohead]

Iron needs to be converted from ferrous to ferric for easy removal from water.

The best way I can explain it... metal will rust in air, but put it in salt water... same way air vs h2o2. The conversion from ferrous to ferric occurs much more quickly with h2o2. I usually avoid air injection at levels above 2-3 ppm. I have been successful with air up to 25 ppm, but this took a different air design. We use the iron ox system design for that. This is a large air tank with constant micronized air injection then a red-ox media...

 

[Reach4]

I'm looking to put an iron removal unit in each of the 3 locations.

Why have 3 separate units? I would guess that you wanted to have untreated outdoor water at the house, and did not want to run separate pipes for treated and untreated.

 

[sdp]

In each building the homeowner has fabricated his own galvanized holding tank and there's weepers on the well to remove the sulfur. Only problem is, he's oxidizing the iron and clogging up his lines with this setup. Pump is a 3/4HP that can do 15GPM no problem.

The 3 buildings that are fed by the well are triangulated and the well is smack in the middle. The well splits off to the 3 locations at the well site so there's no opportunity to treat it in one location and send it everywhere else without substantial earth work to get new water lines in. I think if the most cost effective and long term solution to the problem warranted a VFD for a 1HP and him feeding new lines then that's what we'll recommend. I drew up a diagram explaining his current setup.

I want to recommend 2 options for him:
1) One large setup in his basement of his home and rerun water lines out to the 2 shop locations so it's all treated in the basement of his home with just 1 set of water treatment equipment.
2) Install 3 seperate, smaller treatment setups in each location.

 

[Bannerman]

Possible 3rd option:

Build central pumphouse at the well location to contain 1 set water treatment equipment feeding all 3 locations.

 

[Hank21087]

I have read through a number of posts here and other sites in order to find an answer. I have a relatively new well, drilled just over a year ago but the water system has not been used much because house is being renovated. Water runs very brown at times and has been tested for high iron content. Reports shows 16.4 ppm iron with a standard of 0.3 or over 50 times higher than standard. County official said it was the highest he has ever seen. Turbidity was 104 vs standard of 10. I have installed filters which clean up most but the problem is I have had to replace 1 pump already with just about one year of very limited service. I cannot find an answer whether high iron content has a effect on pump durability. If so, how do I address this issue so I don't have to replace pumps so often. I have considered an air injection system to aid in the filtering process but this does not address the quality of water going through the pump (10 gpm pump hanging at 500 ft in 560 ft deep well.)

 

[sdp]

@Hank21087 The bad water quality does have a negative impact on the longevity of the submersible pump. Chem feed systems at the well are not going to help the pump as this is set so close to the bottom the oxidized iron will just gum up the pump faster. Unfortunately there's not much you can do other than try to go deeper and find a different aquifer.

 

[Hank21087]

Thanks sdp. Any other opinions or suggestions from other members?