Softener and acid neutralizer questions.

[Bigbacon]

I'm looking to install a water softener and an acid neutrilizer.

water test results just in case
PH is about 5.1-5.2
Hardness 12 GPG
Iron .5ppm
TDS 42 PPM

I was looking at some Fleck products.

the AN was a 1.5CU tank, downflow system. If I did the mix of calcite/corosex would that be enough to get the PH up at 6.5ish or higher? Is the tank size enough?

Since it is a downflow system, should I still put a sediment filter before or after it?

My only other concern is flow rate. We are on a well system and we get about 5 GPM out of it. is that going to be a problem at all with a system like this? Will the backwash have trouble because of the low rate? 1" copper from the pressure tank if that matters.

With the softener, we have some iron, .5ppm, will the softener get rid of that or do we need something else? Things I read always seem 50/50 on this.

Again I was looking at a 1.5CU AN with Fleck 5600 and a Softener 1.5CU, 48,000 with the same Fleck 5600sxt head.

2 people in the house.
3 full baths.

we had a Culligan person come out here and they recommend their 1.0 CU stuff but no way I'm paying them 4000 dollars for it all when I can do it myself. I just need to make sure I buy what will work for our needs.

 

[ditttohead]

5 GPM... what size pressure tank do you have?

A simple Hydra type of filter would be fine before the system assuming you dant have a lot of sediment.

Iron can often times be reduced with calcite as the pH changes the iron can start to precipitate out. Not a guarantee but it is likely to work ok but the softener will take care of the rest. Be sure to add citric acid to the brine tank occasionally to keep your resin in good condition.

We have several companies combining AIO with calcite effectively. This is a simple design that helps oxidize the iron prior to being neutralized with the calcium/corosex.

 

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[Bigbacon]

i'd have to look at the tank size. Maybe I just didn't do the math correctly follow the formula I found on some website. I often wonder if the tank pressure is just set to low or needs to be adjusted.

it kicks on at like 25psi and runs till 45psi.

is 5GPM from a well good? i have no idea.

 

[Reach4]

My only other concern is flow rate. We are on a well system and we get about 5 GPM out of it. is that going to be a problem at all with a system like this? Will the backwash have trouble because of the low rate? 1" copper from the pressure tank if that matters.

1. 5 gpm is low for backwashing a 10 inch calcite tank , but a 5 gpm pump may deliver 6 gpm or more at 30 PSI depending on the static water level. A pressure tank could be almost empty when the backwash starts, so it may not be able to contribute to the flow rate. A controller that could deliver 2 backwash cycles with an interval between should work because the pressure tank would contribute significantly during at least one of those backwashes. Most 5600SXT controllers will not do that. The Fleck 5810 SXT will, and the XTR2 is supposed to be even more flexible. But I am thinking the SXT could be suitable here, since I envision that two backwashes would be enough.
2. 1 inch copper is good for way more than 8 gpm flow. So is CPVC and PEX.
3. Copper.... I would replace that with 1 inch or bigger plastic while changing things. PEX or CPVC. The reason is that the acidic water is going through the pipe before the acid neutralizer.

 

[Bigbacon]

all new pipe was going to be PEX so from the pressure tank it would be copper till the new pex, pex between all devices and the pex back into the existing copper. I have to run the pipe about 6 feet from where the water comes out of the tank because of where the electrical panel is in the crawl space. so that would all be PEX.

now what about using an upflow for the AN? I know they are supposed to be not nearly as good for home use but it does remove the backwash issue. I'd rather not though.

As long are you aren't suggesting i replace all the copper in the house.

 

[Reach4]

If you went with upflow AN, I would add a big ball valve that would let you run maybe 7 gpm through the the filter periodically. That should act like a backwash, I would think. I am not a pro. Backlighting a non-painted tank in the dark should let you see the level of calcite, but should also let you see the fluffing up by the backwashing. How often? I don't know.

If doing it manually, you could ensure that the pressure tank was nearly full before starting the process. Do that by either running water, or engaging the pressure switch manually by gently poking the armature with an insulator. The switch will cut off like normal. Your poke just gets it started.

Also add a boiler drain after the AN unless the ball valve doubles as that. You can mount a GHT pressure gauge or fill your water bottle with free "mineral water". Also a good place to sample the water if you want.

 

[Bigbacon]

my system was going to have ways to by pass everything with ball valves if needed and a way to flush things. so if something ever broke I could isolate just that one device and cut it off and leave everything else running.