Travis Slagle
New Member
Hi guys-
We bought a one acre property with a known sand problem, and have city water to connect to as a backup measure.
300' well
Pump at 180'
Water level at 120'
New Grundfos pump
7.5gpm Dole flow restrictor at pump inlet
Lakos TwistIIClean filter installed
Problem statement:
The well is producing enough sand that we have to purge the Lakos filter multiple times per day. Sometimes it makes it through an entire shower without a drop in pressure at the showerhead, sometimes not. We have to purge it before almost every load of laundry or dishwasher load. In addition, 7.5GPM is insufficient flow for our home (2 adults, 4 kids). I have tried turning on the sprinkler system once, and don't even have enough flow to find out what the issues are with it. The pump company installed the flow restrictor in an attempt to suck up less sand.
The pump company is coming out today to put a camera down the well and see if the casing has failed. I am also going to have them remove or increase the size of the flow restrictor and possibly change the pump level.
The neighbors in this area all have similar issues, but usually call the well company to come out and 'tweak' the setup when it gets worse. They change pump level or flow and get it to settle down.
I have been considering installing a Lakos Sandmaster or similar centrifugal filter with an auto-purge valve. One concern about that solution is that the sand we are getting is a wide range of sizes. Some of it is beach sand sized. I am confident the Sandmaster would take care of that sand. But there is also a MUCH finer sediment that doesn't settle out for multiple hours. When it does it creates a sticky paste. I don't know if the Sandmaster would deal with this particle size. If not, and I have the TwistIIClean or similar filter after the Sandmaster, I might spend thousands and not have an improvement! Some of this fine sediment does get through the TwistIIClean because we have a Berkey filter in the kitchen for drinking water. The fine sediment is getting trapped in the 'dirty' portion of the Berkey filter.
Does a centrifugal filter such as a Sandmaster make sense?
Are there other solutions out there that I should research?
Does anyone make an auto purge valve that is based on pressure drop across the filter rather than time?
We bought a one acre property with a known sand problem, and have city water to connect to as a backup measure.
300' well
Pump at 180'
Water level at 120'
New Grundfos pump
7.5gpm Dole flow restrictor at pump inlet
Lakos TwistIIClean filter installed
Problem statement:
The well is producing enough sand that we have to purge the Lakos filter multiple times per day. Sometimes it makes it through an entire shower without a drop in pressure at the showerhead, sometimes not. We have to purge it before almost every load of laundry or dishwasher load. In addition, 7.5GPM is insufficient flow for our home (2 adults, 4 kids). I have tried turning on the sprinkler system once, and don't even have enough flow to find out what the issues are with it. The pump company installed the flow restrictor in an attempt to suck up less sand.
The pump company is coming out today to put a camera down the well and see if the casing has failed. I am also going to have them remove or increase the size of the flow restrictor and possibly change the pump level.
The neighbors in this area all have similar issues, but usually call the well company to come out and 'tweak' the setup when it gets worse. They change pump level or flow and get it to settle down.
I have been considering installing a Lakos Sandmaster or similar centrifugal filter with an auto-purge valve. One concern about that solution is that the sand we are getting is a wide range of sizes. Some of it is beach sand sized. I am confident the Sandmaster would take care of that sand. But there is also a MUCH finer sediment that doesn't settle out for multiple hours. When it does it creates a sticky paste. I don't know if the Sandmaster would deal with this particle size. If not, and I have the TwistIIClean or similar filter after the Sandmaster, I might spend thousands and not have an improvement! Some of this fine sediment does get through the TwistIIClean because we have a Berkey filter in the kitchen for drinking water. The fine sediment is getting trapped in the 'dirty' portion of the Berkey filter.
Does a centrifugal filter such as a Sandmaster make sense?
Are there other solutions out there that I should research?
Does anyone make an auto purge valve that is based on pressure drop across the filter rather than time?