I am wondering if there is something wrong with my neutralizer or if I need a rebed of the calcite. (Related: should I get a new tank?)
Background:
Raw water is Hardness 4.21 gpg
> PH 6.03
> Iron .064
> TDS 120
I have two 2.5 cu foot neutralizers (13 x 54 inch tanks, with Fleck 7000 controls)
piped in parallel via a one inch pipe from the well pressure tanks. The tanks are set at 30-50 psi. The pump refill rate is 19 gpm. There is a softener after the neutralizers. Our water usage is approximately 250 gallons per day.
This system has worked well for 7 years. Recently, however, I can’t get the ph up to 7. In the past, I did manual regenerations whenever the ph dropped to 6.7 or below. This would happen only 2-3 times per year. (My original installer told me not to do automatic regenerations because they just waste calcite, and I didn’t have enough water usage to justify it. I realize now that advice was probably not correct, but I wanted to make it clear that for a number of years the units were only backwashed a few times a year. I would replenish the calcite about 1-2 times per year, each time needing about one bag per tank).
When I regenerate the second neutralizer (i.e. the second in the path, although they are in parallel), the backwash will increase the ph, from, for example, 6.5 to 6.7. But when I backwash the first neutralizer, there is no impact on the ph, in fact, it sometimes gets worse, getting more acidic. I realize that the ph can actually change over time given the well conditions, but even a drop of .2 is disconcerting. (I use an electronic testing unit that has been calibrated).
The backwash cycles appear to be working fine, I can hear the valves open, I can see the water coming from the drain. At the drain, I’ve measured the rate of drain water, and it is just over 6 gpm for both units. I’ve read on this forum that a higher backwash rate is needed, but this system did work and it was sized by professional. He recommended a parallel system instead of series to maintain pressure in our 3 story house. (And I’m not sure if I’m measuring the backwash rate correctly, the 6 gpm is what I get at the drain during the backwash).
The backwash water is a little cloudy, and if I shine a flash on the tank during the backwash it appears that the calcite is in suspension, although that is hard to tell. After the backwash the calcite level drops by about 1/2-3/4 of an inch. The backwash is set to 10 minutes, with a 10 minute refill, which is how the Fleck’s were programmed from the supplier to be used as neutralizers.
I’ve tried multiple backwashes back to back. I did add a small amount of corosex to the second neutralizer (not the one that appears to be giving me problems) and that helped a little, but didn’t solve the problem.
Does this sound like a problem with the backwash/Fleck, or do I need a rebed?
If a rebed, my plumber, who has only done a few, says that it is often just cheaper to buy a new empty tank, because it can be hard to get the material out if it has hardened.
We’ve had some leaks in the copper pipes from pitting, and I’m assuming it is from the low ph.
Any suggestions for what I should do would be very much appreciated.
Background:
Raw water is Hardness 4.21 gpg
> PH 6.03
> Iron .064
> TDS 120
I have two 2.5 cu foot neutralizers (13 x 54 inch tanks, with Fleck 7000 controls)
piped in parallel via a one inch pipe from the well pressure tanks. The tanks are set at 30-50 psi. The pump refill rate is 19 gpm. There is a softener after the neutralizers. Our water usage is approximately 250 gallons per day.
This system has worked well for 7 years. Recently, however, I can’t get the ph up to 7. In the past, I did manual regenerations whenever the ph dropped to 6.7 or below. This would happen only 2-3 times per year. (My original installer told me not to do automatic regenerations because they just waste calcite, and I didn’t have enough water usage to justify it. I realize now that advice was probably not correct, but I wanted to make it clear that for a number of years the units were only backwashed a few times a year. I would replenish the calcite about 1-2 times per year, each time needing about one bag per tank).
When I regenerate the second neutralizer (i.e. the second in the path, although they are in parallel), the backwash will increase the ph, from, for example, 6.5 to 6.7. But when I backwash the first neutralizer, there is no impact on the ph, in fact, it sometimes gets worse, getting more acidic. I realize that the ph can actually change over time given the well conditions, but even a drop of .2 is disconcerting. (I use an electronic testing unit that has been calibrated).
The backwash cycles appear to be working fine, I can hear the valves open, I can see the water coming from the drain. At the drain, I’ve measured the rate of drain water, and it is just over 6 gpm for both units. I’ve read on this forum that a higher backwash rate is needed, but this system did work and it was sized by professional. He recommended a parallel system instead of series to maintain pressure in our 3 story house. (And I’m not sure if I’m measuring the backwash rate correctly, the 6 gpm is what I get at the drain during the backwash).
The backwash water is a little cloudy, and if I shine a flash on the tank during the backwash it appears that the calcite is in suspension, although that is hard to tell. After the backwash the calcite level drops by about 1/2-3/4 of an inch. The backwash is set to 10 minutes, with a 10 minute refill, which is how the Fleck’s were programmed from the supplier to be used as neutralizers.
I’ve tried multiple backwashes back to back. I did add a small amount of corosex to the second neutralizer (not the one that appears to be giving me problems) and that helped a little, but didn’t solve the problem.
Does this sound like a problem with the backwash/Fleck, or do I need a rebed?
If a rebed, my plumber, who has only done a few, says that it is often just cheaper to buy a new empty tank, because it can be hard to get the material out if it has hardened.
We’ve had some leaks in the copper pipes from pitting, and I’m assuming it is from the low ph.
Any suggestions for what I should do would be very much appreciated.