We're on a private well and recent lab tests (at the well and at the faucet) were positive for coliforms. All other tests were normal. We already had a water softener (Fleck 5600) in place, and it was working normally. It is less than 2 years old. With the positive coliform test, a well service did a chlorination of our system by adding liquid chlorine in our 5,000 gallon storage tank and having us use that water throughout our house for 24-hours with the well pump off. A couple of days later, we did a diy installation of a Pelican UV-8 filter. System setup: storage tank, pressure tank, water softener, UV filter, into house. We ran everything for a few days then retested. Coliforms still present at well and in house at similar concentrations. Called Pelican for help, but they would only tell us to run another chlorination of the system, which we don't believe is the answer. We called a local water softener provider. Their tests showed that the water was not being softened adequately (18 at the well, 13 at the faucet) and thus likely preventing the UV light from working correctly. We've tried tweaking the softener settings, running regeneration cycle, etc.. The local guy didn't think the one chlorination would have been sufficient to ruin the resin, but he was more than happy to start selling us stuff. He was supposedly the company's "expert" on contaminated wells, but some of his statements really made me question his expertise!! We can't seem to find any real answers without a sales pitch. Anyone have any thoughts, suggestions or experience like this? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Please help! Water softener problems causing UV failure.
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I think you need a 5 micron or smaller filter before a UV light sterilizer, because the bugs can hide in the shadow of particles.
I would sanitize the well, , tank and plumbing, although bacteria could enter at the tank. https://terrylove.com/forums/index....izing-extra-attention-to-4-inch-casing.65845/ is my writeup on deep well sanitizing presuming a bottom feeding well. Pellets can be dropped to the bottom if your well is big enough.
For sanitizing your tank and plumbing, pay attention to the pH. Lower pH makes chlorine bleach much more active.
I would sanitize the well, , tank and plumbing, although bacteria could enter at the tank. https://terrylove.com/forums/index....izing-extra-attention-to-4-inch-casing.65845/ is my writeup on deep well sanitizing presuming a bottom feeding well. Pellets can be dropped to the bottom if your well is big enough.
For sanitizing your tank and plumbing, pay attention to the pH. Lower pH makes chlorine bleach much more active.
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ditttohead
Water systems designer, R&D
The softener not producing soft enough soft water has nothing to do with it. You have several potential problems going on here. With bacterial issues a redundant system is highly recommended. "Sanitizing" your 5000 gallon tank is rarely adequate. It usually needs to be physically cleaned. Sanitizing your plumbing and tanks is more than just adding bleach... it requires adding bleach and maintaining a high enough of a residual for a long enough of a time for it to be effective. Have you cleaned the atmospheric tank?
Personally, I would recommend cleaning the tank the same way you would a pool. A good scrub brush with some sort of vacuum to get debris off the bottom. Repair your softener or course, and I am a fan of in tank ozone systems in order to help prevent biological issues from starting in the first place.
Here is a short article on how to properly sanitize your plumbing.
https://view.publitas.com/impact-water-products/2018-catalog-final/page/282-283
Where in the plumbing is your small 8GPM UV? That is the smallest we ever recommend for a whole house application, we tend to lean more toward 15 GPM units.
Here is an article I wrote on UV dosing etc. https://view.publitas.com/impact-water-products/2018-catalog-final/page/274-275
Personally, I would recommend cleaning the tank the same way you would a pool. A good scrub brush with some sort of vacuum to get debris off the bottom. Repair your softener or course, and I am a fan of in tank ozone systems in order to help prevent biological issues from starting in the first place.
Here is a short article on how to properly sanitize your plumbing.
https://view.publitas.com/impact-water-products/2018-catalog-final/page/282-283
Where in the plumbing is your small 8GPM UV? That is the smallest we ever recommend for a whole house application, we tend to lean more toward 15 GPM units.
Here is an article I wrote on UV dosing etc. https://view.publitas.com/impact-water-products/2018-catalog-final/page/274-275
