Lab results in, recommendations needed.

[kalkaskacabin]

I got my water tested with a Kar labs 90 kit. This is for our cabin, 1.5 baths and there are 3 of us. The usage will be minimal, mostly weekends and a bit more in the summer. Recommendations please.

The results are:
Hardness 138 mg/L (as CaCO3)
Hardness (gpg) 8.1 grains/gallon
PH 7.9
Iron, total 0.42 mg/LMagnesium, total 7.1 mg/L
Manganese, total 0.032 mg/L
Tot. diss. solids, estimated 196 mg/L
Calcium, total 43.7 mg/L
Potassium, total 0.4 mg/L
Sodium, total 3.7 mg/L
Alkalinity (as CaCO3) 141 mg/L
Bicarbonate (as CaCO3) 139 mg/L
Carbonate (as CaCO3) 1.07 mg/L
Silica 10.1 mg/L

 

[Reach4]

Will freezing be a problem?

Do you have a sulfur smell in the water? (the test does not test for that) If you want to treat for H2S, a softener does not treat for that.

Were there any other things besides iron that were 50% of the MCL? Ignore numbers preceded by "<" because those numbers were below the sensitivity for the test.

Probably I would go with just a softener if no sulfur smell or other smell. Also a sediment filter before the softener.
http://www.qualitywaterassociates.com/sizing.php With iron, you will need some extra cleaning.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[ditttohead]

The only problem I see is the higher pH with the iron will likely cause resin fouling especially in such a low use application. An iron reduction system ahead of the unit would be ideal but a little costly for such a low use application. A res-up resin cleaner feeder might be a good idea to acidify the brine. Cheap and simple.

 

[kalkaskacabin]

Will freezing be a problem?

Do you have a sulfur smell in the water? (the test does not test for that) If you want to treat for H2S, a softener does not treat for that.

Were there any other things besides iron that were 50% of the MCL? Ignore numbers preceded by "<" because those numbers were below the sensitivity for the test.

Probably I would go with just a softener if no sulfur smell or other smell. Also a sediment filter before the softener.
http://www.qualitywaterassociates.com/sizing.php With iron, you will need some extra cleaning.

My cabin is in Northern Michigan so it does get cold.

I did have H2S in hot water but I changed the anode rod and that basically made it disappear. The items that I posted were the only things detected, I will try to upload the report.

 

[Reach4]

Nice water. Your extract you posted before before included the items that need attention, except for the manganese. Fortunately a softener should work on that too.

 

[kalkaskacabin]

The sizing calculator says 1,800 grains per day and 14,000 total gains of capacity for a weekly regen. Being that it's a cabin, my avg usage would be 14,000 grain per month. Would a metered valve would be best for this application, something like the Fleck 5600SXT? This would cause a long time between regens, would this be a problem with the iron? I would rather be at the cabin during the regen as I normally turn the pump off when I leave (if I had a leak I would not want the pump running for days/weeks!!!).

 

[Reach4]

A 1 cubic ft softener with a 9" x 48" tank could work with a mechanical timer such as Fleck 5600 timer version or Economizer version. I have no experience... You want to be there when the system regens. It seems to me that with the timer unit you could manually force a regen as you leave each time, and unplug the unit as you leave. That would leave the resin cleaned of iron as it sat. It would also stop any regen attempts. Just thinking.

 

[kalkaskacabin]

If I do the manual regen, I assume it runs the full cycle. Or are the units "smart" enough to know that only a few hundred gallons were treated and adjust the regen cycle accordingly? I like the idea of always leaving clean resin, even though I only used a few hundred gallons because it may be 1-3 weeks before I return.

I don't mind spending extra money if it makes it easier or just a better unit. The difference between the Economizer and the 7000sxt is not that much. I don't have any dealers near me other than the big national companies. I need to search a bit more looking at the on-line dealers.

 

[Reach4]

They don't have that feature as far as I know... Regenerating with 6 pounds of iron-reducing pellet salt to make up for up to 20000 grains of use will cost about a dollar if you get a good price on the pellets.

This does suggest an interesting idea... program for some lesser amount might work. Suppose you set it up for 2 pound of salt figuring you only use 6500 grains on most weekends. Then if you saw bigger than usual use, pour an extra gallon or 1.7 of water into the brine tank a couple of hours before triggering the immediate regeneration. Maybe too much fiddling around. Maybe not.

In the face of the iron, would 2 pounds of salt per cuft of resin but only 6500 grains having been used be a problem? I don't know.

They also sell softeners with 3/4 cubic ft of resin.

I don't know all of the available softeners, of course. Some may have this. Try searching on the term "fractional brining".

 

[kalkaskacabin]

Thanks for putting things in perspective. When I get my system I am sure I will experiment with the settings. As an Engineer, I can't help myself....

 

[ditttohead]

Variable brining... great on paper but... dont bother.

You could use a chemical drip system in the brine tank, these are cheap and reliable.