Well & Conditioner. Need guidance, out of my element

[Derek R]

So my wife and I just bought a new (to use, built in 92) home to raise our 18mo twin boys in. We were both raised on city water, but our new residence has private well, private septic. I'm completely lost on both topics, but, just focusing on the private well now.

Side note: home was empty for 6 months before we purchased.

This is the layout of our system:
Well pump > Stenner 85mhp40 chemical pump (they left a empty bottle of 8% food grade hydrogen peroxcide) > Culligan Super S automatic conditioner > Culligan N8 custom water conditioner > supply line for house.

There is also a additional 3 stage DuPont water filter system at the kitchen sink that preludes a drinking water tap.

1. What is the purpose of the Stenner Chem pump and the H2O2?

2. The only thing I know about the softening system is that salt goes in the brine tank. The question about that is a lot of people have told me that there brine tank has very little water

in it, where my float is set to hold about 3/4 of a tank.

I have yet to put salt in the system bc I want to make sure the water level is accurate.

Water from the faucet does have a rotten egg smell to it.

Can you help point me in the right direction?

 

[Reach4]

I would contact the old owners and ask what they know.

The two big pieces for the softener are the brine tank and the media tank. What are the height and diameter of the media tank? That will tell you approximately how much softener resin there is. The amount of water that should be added each regeneration is about 3 to 4 gallons for each cubic ft of resin. The added water dissolves 3 pounds of salt per gallon. The resulting brine gets sucked down during the brining stage.

Your tank is probably one of these sizes:
8" x 44" 0.75 cu. ft. ( 24,000 grains )
9" x 35" 0.75 cu. ft. ( 24,000 grains )
9" x 40" 1.00 cu.ft. ( 32,000 grains )
9" x 48" 1.00 cu. ft. ( 32,000 grains )
10" x 35" 1.00 cu. ft.( 32,000 grains )
10" x 40" 1.00 cu .ft. ( 32,000 grains )
10" x 44" 1.25 cu. ft. ( 40,000 grains )
10" x 54" 1.50 cu. ft. ( 48,000 grains )

The grains part is a marketing designation useful in comparing sizes. The actual softening capacity is less than that number for a system set up for efficiency.

The hydrogen peroxide is probably there to react with iron. Your system probably turns on the Stenner pump whenever the well pump runs. Some solid iron will collect in the pipe to the pressure tank and the pressure tank. There should be a spigot behind the bucket. Turn off the pump and drain that periodically to remove solids.

I don't know your systems. One thing to consider is to have Culligan come in and do a tune up. Culligan equipment is fairly proprietary, and it is harder for DIY than for some others.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bannerman]

First off, you will need to obtain a lab test of the raw water. Right now, none of us know what is in the water or how much. Unlike city water, there is no one other than you to ensure the water is safe for consumption or to determine the appropriate treatment method.

Reputable labs include:

http://www.ntllabs.com/

https://www.karlabs.com/watertestkit/

 

[ditttohead]

Totally agreed. It is nearly impossible to give advice, nor is it wise to... until a proper water report is completed. Since you are now your own municipality, this means periodic testing need to be done.

In general I would guess you have some issues with iron, h2s, hardness, possibly manganese, and some other items to be aware of are radioactivity, arsenic, fluoride, chemicals, and much more. A good water analysis will allow us to better diagnose the system. All that being said, in general Culligan systems are proprietary, repairing them can be quite difficult as parts availability is hit and miss. Do you know how old the system is? It may simply be time to replace/upgrade it. The picture doesn't show it to well but it appears the h2s stenner pump runs when the pump runs and is simply tied into the pressure switch.

 

[_John_]

Looks like you have a common setup for hard water with a rotten egg smell.

H202 injection to oxidize sulfur/iron/Mn (etc.), backwashing filter to remove solids produced in oxidation process (can be variety of medias), and softener post filter.

Water test would be nice of course, but that's what it looks like your equipment is likely for IMO.

Unless your H2S is very high, your water shouldn't smell if the injection is properly set and the oxidant is fresh.