Question about needing a prefilter

[Dwassner]

I have lived in the house 6 years. Installed a single tank softener when we moved in, I believe a Fleck 9100 or something similar to that, don't quite remember

We normally have 2.0 ppm iron and 22 gpg hardness. I have it adjusted to 0 ppm and 0 gpg. Has been like this for 6 years.

Question: what is the black junk that clogs up my shower head? I also get the same black water coming out for the initial purge after turning the water back on when making a repair.

Our water is pretty clear straight out of the tap, but we only drink the RO stuff.

Is this black water sediment buildup? Do I need a prefilter?

 

[ditttohead]

A "pre-filter" is a very wide open description. I would recommend considering some extra filtration... if your softener is pulling the iron out and you are ok with the salt usage then a post filter might not be a bad idea. If you just want to add some filtration for some slightly better water a simple 2 stage 4.5"x20" sediment filtration unit may be a good idea. A 5 micron followed by a micro-d or similar filter. https://view.publitas.com/impact-water-products/2018-catalog-final/page/222-223

I would also highly recommend regularly cleaning your resin with citric acid. You may also want to consider replacing the resin occasionally due to the iron levels.

The black junk can be a multitude of things. Iron sludge is common, cleaning your softener should help. You may also want to check your sacrificial anode in your water heater.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dwassner]

thanks for the response.

We are OK with the salt usage and the softener is pulling all the iron and hardness from the water.

How do you clean resin with citric acid? and how often should this be done? I use a scoop of iron out with each bag of salt that I put in the holding tank.

Since the water has no iron in it, wouldn't the black stuff no be iron related?

I have an indirect Lockinvar Squire hot water tank, and I thought these did not have a sacrificial anode...

DW

 

[Reach4]

Since the water has no iron in it, wouldn't the black stuff no be iron related?

Black stuff could be sediment. I would use a sediment filter before a softener myself, even with city water.

Black stuff could be a sulfur compound. This could even occur with city water.

Do you have a sulfur smell?

I would flush the water heater. Water heater (WH) flushing can be done different ways. The simplest is to
1. Turn off the WH water, and put the WH in vacation mode, if it has one. Otherwise off.
2. Open a hot water tap to pass air.
3. Drain the WH completely. Usually you would use a hose to direct the water. (take a look at the first water; it may be impressive.)
4. Turn the water supply on fully for a few seconds, and turn off. You are trying to cause turbulence to the bottom of the tank.
5. Do steps 3 and 4 several times. If you have a way to monitor the drained water, you could judge by what you are getting out.
6. Turn the water and WH back on. Close the hot water tap once the air has been expelled and just water is coming out.

 

[Dwassner]

Do you have a recommendation for which sediment filter?

We nearly always have a sulfer smell. Sometimes it is strong and sometimes its weak.

 

[Reach4]

Do you have a recommendation for which sediment filter?

We nearly always have a sulfer smell. Sometimes it is strong and sometimes its weak.

If you get a backwashing filter that goes before the softener, that can take care of the sulfur smell. It can remove the iron, letting your softener just soften.

If you want to consider this, the first question is how many gallons per minute (gpm) can your pump provide for backwashing? Katalox Light (KL) is well-recommended media. It handles iron, H2S, and more. With 1.5 cubic ft of media, that needs about 8 or 9 gpm of backwashing. You should also consider how many gpm you use. I am not sure how many people consider that, but if you plan to put high flow through a filter, you might consider upsizing. Bigger requires more backwash gpm. Were I buying new, I am not sure which way I would go. From just reading, I would go with the KL, but my experience has been flawless with my water. Water differs.

A backwashing filter takes out most incoming solids, so there is little for a filter cartridge to get after. I ordered my cartridge filters before deciding to get the backwashing filter. I went with 20x4.5 cartridges in Big Blue housings. One would have been plenty, but I have 3. I keep one housing empty, and change the cartridges maybe every 1.5 years.

My iron+sulfur backwashing filter uses Centaur Carbon, and uses 5 gpm backwash. It works very well for me, but my iron is substantially less than yours. I got it mainly for the H2S (sulfur) smell. My unit injects some bleach during regeneration every 3 days, and then rinses that out before the filter goes back into service. I have my backwashing filter right after the pressure tank, and I use a sediment filter before the softener.

The water after the filter is nice for drinking because it maintains the calcium and magnesium. Because I would need to fill a water jug in the basement, I usually drink the softened water.

Sanitizing a well will normally help with a smell for at least a while, and it offers some other advantages.

A water heater anode can contribute to H2S production. If your smell was mainly hot water, you might just consider a powered anode. It protects like magnesium, but it does not contribute to H2S.

A Fleck 9100 is a dual tank softener, so you may have a Fleck 5600SXT or some other.

 

[Bob from accounting]

Did you ever get a preFilter for your softener. If so what did you get and how did it work for you.
We too are on city water. Looking into a preFilter prior to hitting the softener. Lots on the market to explore.

 

[ditttohead]

Typical city/municipal water would not need a pre filter. If you just want to cath the random chunk of ??? then the hydra would be a simple choice.

 

[Colchicine]

I know this is an old thread but for the sake the archives and others that might find this...
Just yesterday I was looking at Sharkbite fittings and came across a flexible hose and ball valve combo. Read the top review:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005O19OTS/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1#customerReviews

I had the same issues as others...black flakes in my bath tub. When I removed the aerators from my other faucets, I noticed the flakes in there as well. I bough a brand new fridge less that 6 months ago, and about 3 weeks ago it notified me that I need a new filter, so I am assuming it is from the degradation of these hoses. I looked over my entire water system, and the rubber from these hoses were the only thing that I could pinpoint to be the issue. I bit the bullet and replaced these hoses with copper. When I took the hoses off, I cut them open with a utility knife and found that the rubber inside the hoses was shredding off and going into and out of my water heater and throughout waterlines in my house.

 

[Bob from accounting]

Colchicine,
Thank you for your link showing this issue with the sharkbite hoses creating these black debris. This was very eye opening. Just last night I installed one from Home Depot as I could not get the solder to melt and gave up, in an emergency I installed this to get the job done and water back on. So now I wonder how long I have until this breaks down into my system. Grrr.
Thanks for the heads up here. Really informative.

 

[ditttohead]

Use stainless corrugated flex lines, not the rubber hoses wrapped in stainless mesh.