How do you clean clay sediment out of a well?

[Jrsavoie]

We recently changed the 1" in/out water filter 11" tall model. The cartridge bowl was about 1/3 full of gray clay packed around the filter. The filter is immediately after the bladder tank.

When we drained the bladder tank. WE did not get much sediment out of it. I was surprised. The same with the water heater - but that is after the filters.

5 days ago, I replaced the entire filter housing with a 20" x 4.5" model the same diameter as the 11"
LF-PP-005-508-B 20" x 4.5" Gradient Density, 5 Micron, Melt Blown Polypropylene Filter .

There are just 2 of us and we haven't used a lot of water. The new filter had about 3/4" of clay on the bottom when I looked today.

The 5" PVC cased well was drilled 10/26/2002.

It has always had a sediment issue. Mostly fine clay sediment that would pass through 2 micron filters.

I have a Well Tamer installed when the well was installed. https://www.wcponline.com/product-trade-show-index/listing/taming-the-well

I fear my well has filled up with clay. I have previously blow wells out with air. I saw something called a brumby pump which looks like what I need.

Is there some type of air lift pump or something that will remove the sediment better than just an air line down the well?

I have not pulled the top cover and measured how deep the well is.

The 18 gpm pump set at 44' seems to be lower on volume than it used to be.

Originally the 55' deep well, pressure tank working cycle 14 gallons,had an estimated yield of 75 gpm.

The #30 stainless screen runs from 46 ft. to 55 ft.

static water level was 18.5' below ground level. pumping level is 22' pumping 70 gpm after pumping for 2 hours.

Earth materials passed through. Black dirt 2', Yellow Clay 2 to 8', gray clay 8 to 46', Sand & gravel 46 to 55'

I called a well driller to come blow the well. Not sure when he will be available. Or if it would help out, to do what I can before he gets here.

 

[Reach4]

I called a well driller to come blow the well.

If he comes with the big compressor, take pictures, and maybe video. This needs a big engine-driven compressor.

To DIY, consider an air lift pump. This will need to have you be able to push the pipe down to 19 ft below water or more. So depending on how filled-up that well is, it might be great. An air compressor of about 8 cfm should be able to do this. Search Youtubes of people cleaning wells this way. If you have trouble finding enough info, check back.

This is something that is homemade and DIY. It is much slower and less spectacular than the big compressor, but it can be effective.

 

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[Jrsavoie]

If he comes with the big compressor, take pictures, and maybe video. This needs a big engine-driven compressor.

To DIY, consider an air lift pump. This will need to have you be able to push the pipe down to 19 ft below water or more. So depending on how filled-up that well is, it might be great. An air compressor of about 8 cfm should be able to do this. Search Youtubes of people cleaning wells this way. If you have trouble finding enough info, check back.

This is something that is homemade and DIY. It is much slower and less spectacular than the big compressor, but it can be effective.

I've been searching for some specific instructions on how to make a well cleaner. I'm close but there are still specifics I don't have figured out yet. I blew one well by hooking several little 220 volt air compressors together to up their volume. Seemed like I had plenty of air for that well.

I have 3 compressors here now that I could hook together. Seems like I only needed about 30 lbs of air. Just needed lots of it.

 

[Reach4]

I've been searching for some specific instructions on how to make a well cleaner. I'm close but there are still specifics I don't have figured out yet. I blew one well by hooking several little 220 volt air compressors together to up their volume. Seemed like I had plenty of air for that well.

The time I saw it done for about a 140 ft well, they used a 275 cfm compressor. More than the minimum for sure. They used screwed 1 inch pvc with couplers (probably schedule 80). They had a well truck with hoist, so the 20 ft long PVC was easy for them to handle. You could glue schedule 40 pipe and make sure it is very dry before putting stress on the glued joint by dropping the joint down the well. I expect 3/4 would be good. Maybe even 1/2 inch. Maybe poly pipe.

If you had a big air tank that you could quickly open the valve to the pipe, you could build up maybe 80 psi, and let it fly. I don't know how big that tank would have to be. I expect 4 gallons would not be enough. Not sure about 40 gallons.

Seems like I only needed about 30 lbs of air. Just needed lots of it.

Yes. Compressors often have a cfm/scfm rating @40 psi, so that would be a useful number to check.

 

[Jrsavoie]

Update. Had the local well driller come and blow the well. I ran water out the hydrant - 3/4" line - unfiltered for about 8 hours and then some.

The water was still cloudy. On the advice of a guy that has done quite a bit of commercial water work, I poured 1 liter of dry citric acid and 2 pounds of citric acid mixed in 2 gallons of water down the well. Let it sit for about 8 hours and the water cleared up in about 2 hours.

The water was very clear for a while with little sediment.

It is possible that the citric acid didn't do anything but clean it up. That the fine clay sediment issue was temporarily resolved by the blowing of the well and it just took 20+ hours of running water for it to clean up - which coincided with our dumping the citric acid down the well.

That was about 6 weeks ago. We didn't have any sediment in the bottom of the filters for quite a while. Last week my wife checked and there was about an inch of clay in the bottom of the first filter - A 5 micron 20"x 4 1/2" All of our filters have the clear bowls so we can see what's going on.

Our fine clay sediment is fine enough that some passes through a 2 micron filter.

We start with a 5 micron sediment filter. Then go to a Well Tamer that is plenty old. https://www.wcponline.com/product-trade-show-index/categories/well-treatment

In would guess it needs the media changed - not sure what I would or should put in it.

After the Well Tamer we go to a double bank of filters run in parallel. 3 filters on each side. First filters are 5 micron carbon filters, 2nd are Iron filters Pentek RFFE20-BB. 3rd are 1 micron filters.

I was advised that I might want to redo our filter order. One person advised putting the Iron filter last. One person advised putting the Well Tamer inbetween the iron filters and the 1 micron filters.

I am looking into installing a spin down filter ahead of the first 5 micron sediment filter. The biggest, tightest micron I have found so far is the Rusco 2" 1000 mesh - 15 micron.

I would like to get down to 5 micron. I might not catch much at 15 micron.

Are there any spin down or similar sediment filters that are bigger, that I could get 5 micron or smaller filters or screens for?

I do not want an automatic because I do not want all that clay going into my drain. I would have to figure out a way to run it outside and then I would have to worry about winter

Are there plans to build a spin down filter anywhere on the net? I wouldn't think they would be to complicated.

I could make something with a 20x4 1/2" on top and the spin down on the bottom. Not sure how that would work.

I have had a few water professionals over. They all wanted to sell me a water softener - which would do anything for my fine clay sediment issue. Except the well driller who suggested figuring out how to filter the issue away - or a new well.

And the friend that did commercial water work.

I am confident I can get something figured out along the lines of a spin down or sediment filter.

The water is very good at the end of our filtration system. - after the 1 micron filters.m I just want to figure something out for avoiding the first filters getting loaded up with clay sediment.

I am also concerned about what all that clay is doing to our submersible pump. But this pump has lasted about 20 years. I can live with buying no more than one more pump in my lifetime.

Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks

 

[Reach4]

I think the "Well Tamer" is a backwashing filter. I expect the actual volume of clay getting pumped up is not so big. I doubt that you would have to get your septic pumped more often. I would be thinking of putting a 50 micron filter in the cartridge before the Well Tamer, and going smaller after. The thinking is that the backwashing filter would stop most of the clay, and that would backwash away. I am not a pro.

I don't know what media your well tamer uses. The media might be due to be replaced. It is possible that a different media could take care of the iron, H2S, as well as sediment down to about 5 micron. The backwash rate has to match the media.

 

[Jrsavoie]

I think the "Well Tamer" is a backwashing filter. I expect the actual volume of clay getting pumped up is not so big. I doubt that you would have to get your septic pumped more often. I would be thinking of putting a 50 micron filter in the cartridge before the Well Tamer, and going smaller after. The thinking is that the backwashing filter would stop most of the clay, and that would backwash away. I am not a pro.

I don't know what media your well tamer uses. The media might be due to be replaced. It is possible that a different media could take care of the iron, H2S, as well as sediment down to about 5 micron. The backwash rate has to match the media.

Yep the Well Tamer is a backwashing filter. I am guessing the media should be replaced. For at least 2 years, I've done some searches, asked some people and know nothing about how to go about replacing the media or what to replace it with. So I just let it keep cycling like it is.

5 micron is our first filter now. Total amount of clay removed from filters this year is 4 1/2" diameter x 8" tall. Depends on where it lands, That sticky stuff could definitely plug a tile.

The fine clay we have will pass through a 2 micron filter. When we first had the Well Tamer and a 4 filter bank after it, we would still get toilet dusting after a 2 micron filter. It wasn't until we went with a 1 micron filter at the end of the bank, that we really got clear water

 

[Reach4]

Yep the Well Tamer is a backwashing filter. I am guessing the media should be replaced. For at least 2 years, I've done some searches, asked some people and know nothing about how to go about replacing the media or what to replace it with. So I just let it keep cycling like it is.

If you were to identify the DLFC (drain line flow control) gpm and tank diameter, we could probably guess what media is in there and what media might make a good upgrade.

How about a picture of the control valve, with any easy-to-remove cover off.

 

[Jrsavoie]

Thanks. I will post again as soon as I get a chance. The control unit for the well tamer is the Autotrol 440

 

[Reach4]

The valve may be 155 or 255. Their DLFC is called a "backwash control". It is on the right side. It has a tool hole shaped like an asterisk. It has the word BACKWASH and a number. I think that number is not in GPM.

What is your number, and what is your tank diameter? For example, maybe 9 inches and BACKWASH 14,

 

[Jrsavoie]

Do to a myriad of health issues we're still fighting this.

Had a few professionals over. All they wanted to do was sell us a water softener.

We need a large regenerating iron filter that will also remove some other stuff.

The old Well Tamer has been removed.

I currently have 7 of the larger 1" filters installed. It's getting time to change them again.
The first filter is a 5 micron 20 x 4-1/2" then it still goes to the parallel 3 banks of 20 x 4-1/2 filters. That start off with iron filter - different from the iron filter previously listed.
Then a 5 micron carbon filter and finished with the 1 micron filters.
I need a high capacity backwashing iron filter or something.
Do they make one that backwashes by volume as opposed to time?
We don't use much water when we're not home.

In the summer we use a lot of water filling sprayers, power washing and watering plants.
A fair amount of that goes on year round.

Yes We use filtered water for all of the above. Our sprayers and pumps have been lasting years instead of months.
We have also cut way back on buying drinking water since the last filter change. With the different iron and carbon filters.

I need somebody to spec and sell what we want.

I'm sure the local water guy that sells bottled water isn't starting off with a water softener and I doubt he has a water softener inline at all. He asked me if I wanted a system like his. I said spec it and shoot me a price. He never did.
A new well is probably about $12,000 now. And a new well may be better, but it will still need some kind of system behind it.
I'm wide open to suggestions or water treatment professionals contacting me.
It's about time to change our cartridges again - that's not exactly cheap either.

If I don't get an iron filter or something installed, I will add more cartridge filters in the hopes of them lasting longer.
Maybe end up with 2 triple banks of 3 filters.

From what I could tell after the last filter change that might just do the job without killing the flow.

But what a pain and I think unnecessary expense.

Not exactly a space saver either.

I'm west of Morocco, Indiana about 30 miles. South of Kankakee, Illinois about 20 miles.

 

[Jrsavoie]

Do they make a regenerating filter that activates on gallons as opposed to daily or a certain time span?
Sometimes we leave for a day or a week and use no water at all. I took a little trip last June and was gone until September

 

[Reach4]

Demand regen is possible. Not normally done. Generally the same valve housing as for a softener, and you would use the softener piston. The filter setups normally don't have the meter. The fact that you buy a unit with a meter does not mean that you won't be able to program for timed regen. So not more expensive initially, but pretty expensive to convert later.