I have well water, it goes through a typical sediment media filtration system before it goes to the house. I didn't measure flow/psi at the house, but I took the pump from 65-70 up to 90 for this experiment, getting great flow and pressure simultaneously in the entire house. I can run laundry, dishwasher, and shower and get great pressure throughout all at once. Softener system is salt crystal.
I did a water test, and got very small trace of lead at the faucet with typical for well water iron content (which has been the case for 15 years). The fridge filter gets rid of all of that with no issues, and rarely needs to be replaced. The fridge filter for drinking water lasts a year, if not more, without any signs of being clogged up.
So considering that I only really need to get rid of some iron and trace metals, I figured why not install a DIY whole house system. I didn't feel like spending thousands of dollars considering I have never had any serious complaints about my well water other than the trace iron causing discoloration of toilets an stuff.
The system I installed is a waterdrop wd-whf21-fg, considering its amazon prime and its under 200$ I didn't mind experimenting. Installed per instruction, made sure water flowed through both filters, everything worked as intended, and have a bypass valve with dual side shut offs to the filters.
The filters are rated at 5 micron, while the sediment filter system at the well is also...rated at 5 micron (according to the internet. yes, this is the sediment media filters that have the sand looking like stuff inside). My pipes are pex 3/4" so I just used 3/4" to 1" fittings on both sides. Easy job.
The first day, we had a slight drop in pressure (while we were on the dynamic 40-70psi set up). Nothing really to note, everyone went about their day.
Over the weekend, so within about 4 days, we lost pretty much all pressure. If there is even ONE faucet open in the house, everything else barely functions properly. If you have the laundry going, good luck taking a shower. Hot water was especially affected. I thought, there is absolutely NO WAY that it could get clogged up in 4 days, when its rated at 12-15 GPM and up to 90 PSI.
So I took the filters out, and inspected them. They looked white and clean, and sure, the first filter that is supposed tod o the metals and sediment, was a bit murky but that is because I disturbed the filter, once flushed, water was crystal clear coming out. I then installed the carbon filter, primed the system with the pressure release valves, and let her rip. Pressure did not return to normal at all. I tried increasing the well pressure up to the maximum rated 90 psi, no avail.
The moment I turn on the bypass valve, water pressure is fantastic, so I know its the filters. Contacted water drop, they immediately sent me replacement filters no questions asked, so that is good.
My questions really is...is this normal?? Considering I haven't had any issues with my water before (other than trace metals and hardness if I forget about the salt), and that smaller, fridge filters last what seems like ages, how could something this big clog up in 4 days? As a matter of fact, over the 4 day weekend, there was almost no one home! Did a few laundry runs, and a few showers, and your usual stuff, but a lot less water than we normally use.
In my opinion, I feel like the rating is actually a lie, because there is no way I am getting the rated 12-15 GPM up to 90 PSI. It feels more like 2-3 GPM at 25 PSI.
I probably could spend money and install pressure gauges and such, but I feel the bypass valve already tells me what I need to know, and that is the filters are not being able to meet their rated spec. Again, I have been living without water filtration like this for 15 years without a single issue from our well water, its clean enough to drink according to testing, no sediment gets by, ever, past the filter at the well, and the media has been changed regularly as per required maintenance.
I did a water test, and got very small trace of lead at the faucet with typical for well water iron content (which has been the case for 15 years). The fridge filter gets rid of all of that with no issues, and rarely needs to be replaced. The fridge filter for drinking water lasts a year, if not more, without any signs of being clogged up.
So considering that I only really need to get rid of some iron and trace metals, I figured why not install a DIY whole house system. I didn't feel like spending thousands of dollars considering I have never had any serious complaints about my well water other than the trace iron causing discoloration of toilets an stuff.
The system I installed is a waterdrop wd-whf21-fg, considering its amazon prime and its under 200$ I didn't mind experimenting. Installed per instruction, made sure water flowed through both filters, everything worked as intended, and have a bypass valve with dual side shut offs to the filters.
The filters are rated at 5 micron, while the sediment filter system at the well is also...rated at 5 micron (according to the internet. yes, this is the sediment media filters that have the sand looking like stuff inside). My pipes are pex 3/4" so I just used 3/4" to 1" fittings on both sides. Easy job.
The first day, we had a slight drop in pressure (while we were on the dynamic 40-70psi set up). Nothing really to note, everyone went about their day.
Over the weekend, so within about 4 days, we lost pretty much all pressure. If there is even ONE faucet open in the house, everything else barely functions properly. If you have the laundry going, good luck taking a shower. Hot water was especially affected. I thought, there is absolutely NO WAY that it could get clogged up in 4 days, when its rated at 12-15 GPM and up to 90 PSI.
So I took the filters out, and inspected them. They looked white and clean, and sure, the first filter that is supposed tod o the metals and sediment, was a bit murky but that is because I disturbed the filter, once flushed, water was crystal clear coming out. I then installed the carbon filter, primed the system with the pressure release valves, and let her rip. Pressure did not return to normal at all. I tried increasing the well pressure up to the maximum rated 90 psi, no avail.
The moment I turn on the bypass valve, water pressure is fantastic, so I know its the filters. Contacted water drop, they immediately sent me replacement filters no questions asked, so that is good.
My questions really is...is this normal?? Considering I haven't had any issues with my water before (other than trace metals and hardness if I forget about the salt), and that smaller, fridge filters last what seems like ages, how could something this big clog up in 4 days? As a matter of fact, over the 4 day weekend, there was almost no one home! Did a few laundry runs, and a few showers, and your usual stuff, but a lot less water than we normally use.
In my opinion, I feel like the rating is actually a lie, because there is no way I am getting the rated 12-15 GPM up to 90 PSI. It feels more like 2-3 GPM at 25 PSI.
I probably could spend money and install pressure gauges and such, but I feel the bypass valve already tells me what I need to know, and that is the filters are not being able to meet their rated spec. Again, I have been living without water filtration like this for 15 years without a single issue from our well water, its clean enough to drink according to testing, no sediment gets by, ever, past the filter at the well, and the media has been changed regularly as per required maintenance.
