Water Treatment Questions: First Time Home Buyer

[Stoogesman]

Hi everyone!!

With great excitement my family and I are closing on our new home. Today we did a 2 hour walk through and I tried to understand the water treatment system the current owners have installed but this is all new to me!

As shown in the links below, I have 3 tanks. One silver, one beige and one blue. I also have another brine tank full of salt.

I understand the softener brine tank, but am unsure of the rest of the stuff. Can anyone educate me on what all these tanks do, do they need maintained, how often? Yearly costs?

Thanks!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8XARihjorKYxiRPm8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YADRKiCbxkq8pEbT6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hntv3q8eBTXgybeD6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EedWd1YrvNKVSkEg8

 

[Valveman]

I can help with your pump system by making it last longer and deliver strong constant pressure to the house. But I am moving this to the softener forum where you will get more help with that part.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Banjo Bud]

Looks like the blue one with the flat top is your salt tank. The steel blue one is your well pressure tank. The blue fiberglass one is the backwash tank and the ivory tank is possibly a PH tank.

 

[Stoogesman]

Looks like the blue one with the flat top is your salt tank. The steel blue one is your well pressure tank. The blue fiberglass one is the backwash tank and the ivory tank is possibly a PH tank.

What about the silver tank, all the way to the left in the pic?

Do these tanks need cleaned or maintained?

 

[Bannerman]

The colour of the tanks have no bearing on what they are intended to do or the media that is within.

There appears to be an Ozone generator that is mounted on the wall. Is that currently connected and being used?

I see information that is handritten on some of the tanks. Post photos of that info as it may specify the media that is within each of those tanks.

While softener resin can remain serviceable for 20+ years, other media will typically have a lower usable lifespan.

Do you have a current lab test report for the raw well water? If so, post that report. If recent testing has not been performed, a comprehensive test should be performed.

National Labs offer a Standard Well package that is often recommended. http://watercheck.myshopify.com/?aff=5

 

[Reach4]

I suspect the silver tank is the softener with a timed regeneration.

Two others have writing on them. Post the writing.

The old owners took pride in them. They would probably be glad to tell you what they remember, if you could contact them.

A water treatment dealer will be looking to replace the softener and the almond tank. The almond tank is natural color. That allows you to shine a bright light through in the dark to see how full the media is, and how high it rises during backwash.

 

[Stoogesman]

I suspect the silver tank is the softener with a timed regeneration.

Two others have writing on them. Post the writing.

The old owners took pride in them. They would probably be glad to tell you what they remember, if you could contact them.

A water treatment dealer will be looking to replace the softener and the almond tank. The almond tank is natural color. That allows you to shine a bright light through in the dark to see how full the media is, and how high it rises during backwash.

I would to speak with the old owners but for some reason it seems taboo to do so. My agent said they probably won't even shoe up for settlement. So trying to talk to them is next to impossible.

 

[Reach4]

I would to speak with the old owners but for some reason it seems taboo to do so. My agent said they probably won't even shoe up for settlement. So trying to talk to them is next to impossible.

Your agent and the other agent does not want the deal to be in jeopardy. They don't want you to find out about the nasty neighbors or the helicopter traffic over your home. You can often talk with sellers before or after the closing. Everybody may feel better after the closing based on advice from their agent. Feel free to ask their agent about your desire to learn from the old owners. I am not a pro.

I think your agent should assist you in this. You can get change of address info from the post office, if you cannot get the info any other way. The agents will not have the worries after the closing, but make your arrangements in advance.

Normally the post office will provide change of address info for a fee, I think. https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamta...ays-and-the-little-known-loophole-to-opt-out/ describes an exception. You would still have the option to mail them a letter to the old address, and it would get forwarded.

When you change your address, you will get a bunch of mail from people trying to sell you stuff. The post office sold your info.

 

[Stoogesman]

So I spoke with the water company who installed and maintains the system shown in the pics. Here's what the guy said...

1. White tank releases air from water
2. Blue tank filters iron out
3. Silver tank removes hardness

From what I can see, the ozotech system (silver box) doesnt seem to be in working order and seems to be disconnected.

Can anyone explain more about what the white tank does with releasing air from the water?

 

[Banjo Bud]

Release air from the water? Never heard of it. I’ll be watching this thread hoping to learn something.

 

[Bannerman]

The 'white' tank appears to be the initial treatment tank directly after the well pressure tank. No media is listed on the side so it would appear that tank may be empty. Threaded into the In/Out connection at the top is a float controlled air release valve. Well water will usually not contain much air so it is puzzling why that tank was installed.

Some iron removal media filters will utilize either air or ozone to oxydize ferrous iron to convert it to ferric iron so it maybe easily removed by the filtration media below. Locating an air release after an AIO iron removal filter would be reasonable to reduce 'airy' water to faucets, but placing an air release before other treatment equipment is unusual.

 

[Stoogesman]

The 'white' tank appears to be the initial treatment tank directly after the well pressure tank. No media is listed on the side so it would appear that tank may be empty. Threaded into the In/Out connection at the top is a float controlled air release valve. Well water will usually not contain much air so it is puzzling why that tank was installed.

Some iron removal media filters will utilize either air or ozone to oxydize ferrous iron to convert it to ferric iron so it maybe easily removed by the filtration media below. Locating an air release after an AIO iron removal filter would be reasonable to reduce 'airy' water to faucets, but placing an air release before other treatment equipment is unusual.

You nailed it on the head. In the pictures there is an Ozotech box on the wall. That has since been disabled. From what the water guy I called explained, that Ozotech system used to inject ozone into the water which is pretty much oxygen. Then the white tank would remove the oxygen and some iron (minimal) then push it over to the blue tank which I was told was a carbon tank which removes iron specifically as well as other minerals.

Then the water goes from the blue tank into the silver softener.

So with that Ozotech system being disable, the white tank is still in place but doesn't seem to be doing anything, nor needed. Maybe I can remove it and go right into the blue carbon tank?

 

[Bannerman]

The writting seems to indicate 50% of two different media, but I can't see what those are. The last service date seems to be 2001 so if the media hasn't been replaced since then, it will need to be.

As recommended previously, a lab test should be performed. You don't know the water conditions to know it the current treatment is appropriate. Sometimes as a condition to an offer to purchase will be the seller provides a current lab test report.

If I was buying, I would rather choose the testing lab myself, but perhaps some of the testing cost could be subtracted from the price that is offered?

 

[Stoogesman]

The writting seems to indicate 50% of two different media, but I can't see what those are. The last service date seems to be 2001 so if the media hasn't been replaced since then, it will need to be.

As recommended previously, a lab test should be performed. You don't know the water conditions to know it the current treatment is appropriate. Sometimes as a condition to an offer to purchase will be the seller provides a current lab test report.

If I was buying, I would rather choose the testing lab myself, but perhaps some of the testing cost could be subtracted from the price that is offered?

The system was serviced and tested in January of this year. The company said the system was working well and water test yielded the water was good.

The blue tank is 50% carbon and 50% something g from what I remember. The white tank is in fact dated 2001 but has been serviced since then as well as the blue tank has been serviced.

 

[Stoogesman]

And as I said before, the ozotech device stopped working years ago and was determined it wasn't needed. So the water now goes from the well pressure tank, into the white tank then into the blue then into the silver.

 

[Stoogesman]

From what the water guy said, since the ozone system isn't in place, the white tank can be removed from the equation.

 

[Stoogesman]

I believe my system used to be setup as such when the ozone device was in place:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TccF92XeS5bJQRY36

Does this make sense?