Seeking insight-prevent clogged system

[Es_sayd]

Hello. Seeking help.

We have a 450’ well, sediment filter, high efficiency iron “cleer“ filter, and water softener that is two years old. The first year before the iron filter and softener, we thought our water was amazing, like a spring. Eight months in, we began experiencing intermittent orange-brown water at our far water lines. The less water use…the more brown water.
Our well was professionally sanitized (bleach flush)…then shortly after, a popular commercial water softening company shared our condition from high iron.
We installed the sediment screen filter, the HE Iron Cleer filter, and Softening system. All was good for eight months, with exception to cleaning the sediment filter every 3-7 days. That issue was orangish-brown mud which we believe is Iron Bacteria. The local water systems share our water is good, no bad bacteria. The water runs clear as well.
Fast forward, our Cleer Filter began failing continuously (Right at a year old). It’s always the seal-pack and/or motor to move the seal-pack plunger. Failure would occur within a week. The service calls and maintenance quickly broke us.
Unfortunately, we believed the HE Iron Clear system would counter the Iron challenges. In the manual fine print…is has one section that states the system doesn’t work against Iron Bacteria, which we believe is our main issue.
I helped that company tech with the system and can take apart, clean, and replace the system. The plunger/pack seal is difficult to move At times. The cleaning is the iron bacteria (orange-brown buildup). Rush away products is what they use…and it works good for cleaning, but doesn’t solve the issue.
My question or request for help is what else to add? Is there any recommendations? Is there something we can do to eliminate the Iron Bacteria before the Iron Cleer system? it appears as though a UV Filter would help eliminate the Iron Bacteria…but our problem exist before the Iron Filter, not after it. We don’t want an unnecessary filter…but want to resolve this. Our neighborhood has eight homes, and none of the others have this issue.

Looking for help. None of the four local drill companies, the seven plumbing companies, or the commercial softening company have any ideas.

if it helps…other info, the water direct out of the well is clear (not muddy) has a lot of air in it. The water almost appears milky until the air dissolves. The well has been pulled and inspected…it looked new (PVC was clean). We ran a camera into the well…there is definitely air bubbling up from well below the pump. It’s not sulfer. We know that during one of two early well treatments, that chlorine pellets, like for a pool were poured into the well. That was two years ago as well.

thank you for reading the long story. SD

 

[Bannerman]

To ensure we are all on the same page, since you highlighted the word 'cleer', I anticipate you are referring to a Culligan High Efficiency Iron-Cleer Whole House Iron Water Filter?

If so, Culligan appear to offer 2 models, a 10" diameter model containing 1 ft3 of BIRM media, and a 12" version containing 1.5 ft3 of BIRM. Which version do you own? How often is it being backwashed?

we began experiencing intermittent orange-brown water at our far water lines.

Please clarify what is meant by 'at our far water lines'. Does this mean the issue is occuring at only certain faucets that are located at the greatest distance from the water treatment system?

Most Iron within well water will be typically in a ferrous state as it will be fully dissolved in the water. This is often called 'Clear Water iron" as the water will be initially clear with little if any color to suggest iron is present. As ferrous iron is fully dissolved, it cannot be removed using a simple sediment filter.

When ferrous iron is exposed to air or an alternate oxidant, then it will begin to be converted to a ferric state whereby the iron will become a solid (rust) which will often impart a color to the water, and the heavier iron particles will precipitate out as rust debris.

To remove ferrous iron, it will need to be converted to a ferric state so that it maybe filtered out using an appropriate filtration media. BIRM is such a media, but because BIRM supports a lower Service flow rate compared to an identical quantity of more modern media such as Katalox Light, KL is now generally recommended.

As chlorine is an oxidant, adding chlorine into the well will have oxidized some of the ferrous iron within the well, which will result in a greater amount of ferric iron debris now accumulating in your 1st stage sediment filter compared to the ferric iron that was present prior to chlorination.

As we do not know your well water chemistry, we won't know if your 'cleer' system is sufficiently sized, nor will we know if it will be the most effective or even an appropriate method to remove the considerable amount of iron that is seemingly present in your well water.

If you have not already done so, have your raw well water tested by a qualified testing lab so as to obtain a comprehensive report. The test most often recommended on this forum is 'WaterCheck Standard' offered by National Labs.

National Labs

 

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[Es_sayd]

Bannerman, thank you for your time and insight. It’s extremely helpful and gives us a direction to pursue. Thank you again.

 

[Es_sayd]

Bannerman, I didn’t answer your questions.

yes, it is a Culligan Cleer system. They have never shared two versions of the system which is very beneficial.

For the far side reference….our house has a water distribution manifold and continuous lines to each outlet. There is air in all the lines. The longest lines (far side of house, and furthest away from manifold) experience air spurts the most.
prior to the filter and Culligan system, those lines would experience discolored orange-brown water the most. When draining the tub/sink…a slimy oily brown film would be left behind.

This led to us reaching out to Culligan. Their solution was the HE Cleer Iron Filter and a softener. It worked…

Backflush = nightly.

However, just a year later…the HE Clear system began failing. they replaced the pack seal…but it failed again within 3 days. They replaced it again…and another fail.

In disassembling the Cleer upper housing, there wasn’t any obstructions…just a light buildup of the Iron Bacteria in ferric state. I cleaned it entirely…and it worked for a week. In checking again…it was still clean.
in every example…the fault code flagged the pack-seal/motor…getting stuck in backflush everytime. Culligan replaced the motor with one off an older system. It worked for three months and the issues returned.

For the air, our well team removed the well and inspected the pipes, pump, and all. They couldn’t find anything. you can hear air directly from the well when open. It sounds like a soda that was just opened. This led to a camera. They noticed air bubbles rising from well below the well pump.

This is the extent of everything.

Water running from well is extremely clear, smell and taste is good, but air is present.

We have no idea where the air originates, but belief is it’ coming from 2 cups of chlorine pellets dropped directly in the well over a year ago…attempting to el the Iron Bacteria.

Culligan Iron Filter continuously jams or gets stuck in Backflush…though a relatively new system.

it’s bypassed until we can find a solution. Result…getting out of bath either smells like iron,or a feeling of silky smooth (depending on softener cycle).

We don’t know what we don’t know. We know we need a water sample. We wish we didn’t have to switch a sediment vu-flush filter every 4-7 days. We wish we knew what was causing the Culligan Cleer failure…all we can point to is the ferric Iron Bacteria. All of this is what we’re trying to resolve.

Digging a new well was mentioned…but that’s an expensive experiment when the issue may simply follow to the new location.

Any thoughts or recommendations are welcomed. We’re working on the water sample.

The photos:

1. A 50% tub day before adding the systems. Some days were dirtier…some less.
2. Leftover residue in the tub.
3. The Sediment filter (100 micron) after a week. we clean it each week To get it clear.
4. the filter screen. It’s very fine sand and the Iron Bacteria or basic iron in ferric state.
5 & 6. The inside of the Cleer system at 1.5 years.
7. After cleaning. With the new pack seal…it worked for a week…then they replaced the motor. At that time, it still looked clean/new…not like pic 5.

 

[Bannerman]

They have never shared two versions of the system which is very beneficial.

I assume your use of the word 'shared', to mean offered.

When I review the Culligan website, I see the two sizes of High Efficiency Iron-Cleer Whole House Iron Water Filters already mentioned. I remain uncertain on which size unit you possess.

The presence of solid iron debris does not necessarily signify iron reducing bacteria (IRB) as you are assuming. Chlorine is an effective disinfectant for all types of bacteria, but because you recently shocked the well with chlorine, I suspect your issue is likely not IRB, but more likely ferric iron particles which are being pumped into your water system.

Because of the quantity of sand and iron entering your sediment filter, to reduce/eliminate the debris, perhaps it would be beneficial to thoroughly flush out your well.

When a well is newly drilled, it is usually beneficial to 'develope' the well by pumping out water at the maximum flow rate possible. When there is significant debris present, the well driller may be hired to use an engine driven air compressor to blow out the well, blasting water and debris out through the top of the casing, or to utilize a larger pump to pump out the water and debris onto the ground. Often, the exsisting pump will be sufficient, particularly when the large diameter supply pipe is disconnected before the pressure tank, so the pump can deliver the maximum flow rate with the least back pressure possible. While many wells will provide clear water after pumping for only a few hours, some require 24-hrs or longer of continuous pumping.

Your sediment filter appears to be undersized for your current requirements. Perhaps it may be suitable after the well is flushed, but another alternative is a back flushing sediment filter such as the Atlas Filtri Hydra. Opening a valve will cause the screen to be cleaned without removing the screen, and an optional battery operated purge kit is offered which will cause the screen to be purged automatically on a schedule such as daily.

When there is significant accumulation on the filter screen, I suspect flow to the Cleer system will be reduced and may not be sufficient to allow the Cleer system to fully backwash as intended. Since a large amount of particles smaller than 100 microns will pass through the 100 micron sediment filter, those small particles maybe accumulating within the internal components within the Cleer system, which maybe why the valve is failing so frequently.

Everyone operating a private well become their own water supplier. Almost every well owner that posts on this forum is advised to obtain a comprehensive lab report on their water conditions for not only safety reasons, but also to assist to identify which treatment methods if necessary, will likely to be most effective. When there is a significant issue with water conditions, then a lab test is pretty much mandatory. All any of us can do at this point is to speculate since we don't fully know your water condition specifics.

 

[Es_sayd]

Thank you again. I’m grateful for your time…that was significantly more insight than I/we anticipate. I’m talking with our well team tomorrow…add a water sample direct from the well…and more.
“Thank you”!