Which is best whole house sediment filter?

[rosenb]

We live on a well that produces clean tasty water, but which has some sediment in it. There is enough sediment that it clogs up the washing machine intake, and the faucet screens. We were told by the folks who installed the well pump that we need a whole house sediment filter; they sell the American Plumber Heavy Duty Water Filter for $55. My questions are:

1.) Is this a good solution?
2.) There seem to be many filters out there; what's the best(price and performance) for what seems to be a moderate problem
3.) Should the filter go on before the pressure tank? If not, where?
4.) Do I need to drain the hot water tank and the pressure tank-the well has been there for five years, but this is a vacation house that gets used about 2 months per year.

 

[Bob NH]

I like the double length Big Blue size filter, which uses a 20" long 4.5" diameter cartridge. One 5-micron rated cartridge should last all summer.

You would also need two pressure gauges, one of which you may already have.

Whether the filter goes before or after the tank would depend on characteristics of your pump and tank. There are differences of opinion among those on this forum regarding whether the filter should be before or after the tank.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Speedbump]

Bob won't come around to our way of thinking on this one, but never put a filter or anything else between the pump and tank. Since they are going to do nothing but plug up with harmless junk in your water, they can hide the pressure switch from the pump and let it make very high pressure and/or burn up.

In my opinion there is no such thing as an in line whole house filter. Since they don't remove anything that is normally complained about in water. Like hardness, iron, sulphur and manganese.

bob...

 

[Bob NH]

"In my opinion there is no such thing as an in line whole house filter. Since they don't remove anything that is normally complained about in water. Like hardness, iron, sulphur and manganese."

They want to remove the sediment that is clogging equipment in their house. A large cartridge filter is a cost-effectrive way to get the sediment out of the water.

"never put a filter or anything else between the pump and tank. Since they are going to do nothing but plug up with harmless junk in your water, they can hide the pressure switch from the pump and let it make very high pressure and/or burn up."

That is why the choice depends on the pump, tank, and controls, including a relief valve if necessary.

I do engineering. Engineering is the process of applying science to find solutions to problems.

 

[Speedbump]

It doesn't take much sediment to clog a washing machine hose screen or aerator on a faucet. But the damage and the headaches that can be caused by these filters far outweighs the benefits. If you noticed the $55.00 price for the "Heavy Duty Water Filter" you know what filters I am talking about.

As for the engineering to find solutions, I do service and see a lot of the engineering done by the first guy that was there and I am usually the one who has to tell the customer what will really work since the first fix didn't even come close to curing the problem.

bob...

 

[rosenb]

Now I'm even more confused

Thanks for your contributions, but I'm feeling more confused after reading them. Speedbump cautions against putting a filter between the pump and the pressure tank, because the filter may keep the pressure tank from "knowing" how much pressure the pump is putting out, and thus cause the pump to burn out because the pressure tank never reaches its shut-off threshold.

That makes sense, but what about putting the filter AFTER the pressure tank, but before the hot water tank. Would that work?

Roger

 

[Speedbump]

Yes that would work, but your still wearing out the pump. But it's better than having sand in the home.

bob...

 

[Gary Slusser]

If that "sediment" is in the screen on the hot water side of the washer, the problem can be water hardness; and no "whole house" filter can remove/prevent it, but a water softener would.

We can't see particles less than 45 micron, so a 50 micron cartridge would do just fine; while a 5 micron would plug up much sooner.

There should never be anything between a submersible and its controlling pressure switch that can block up. If there were a blockage it can damage the drop pipe and drop the pump down the well or otherwise damage the pump.

 

[vleespet]

filter

I have the same problem and I just ordered a sediment filter from Rusco called the sediment trapper model with stainless steel screen.You can order different size screens with it.
You put this model after pump and before blattertank and it has a flush valve.
I'm just going to try it before digging a new well
since it is clear i just want to see actually how much sand goes through the line.But don't forget to flush otherwise it can become major problem.The only thing you loose is a bit of pressure
Just check it out....anybody experience with these valves?You can buy an automatic flush with the filter but that's around $500.

http://www.rusco.com/html/whybetter.html

Ron

 

[Alternety]

The size of visable particles probably depends on things like the material reflectivity. I have particles that have been determined by a lab to be less than 0.5 microns and they are very visable. Even a small container of water has a white cloudy appearance. X-ray crystalography determined the particles to be a clay. The concentration in the water is so low that a liter of water did not provide a sufficient sample for real accuracy in X-ray identification.

Before you go spend a lot of money on a filter of x microns, you might want to have a lab test for particle size. Obviously if you have identifiable chunks of little rock this may not be of interest. See if you can get some lab filter papers with different filtering size and see how small things get. It may be a mix of sand and something smaller.

In my case these particles also seemed to have bound to them (or a component of the clay) the arsenic and manganese I was going to have to remove.

It took a universty lab to figure it out. The normal labs I tried (4 altogether) could not provide a definitive analysis.

 

[rosenb]

Next step in filtering sediment

Thanks for all the perspectives in how to handle this problem. I think I will start by using just one of those appliance filters, and put it on the cold water intake to the washing machine. That's my major problem, because the washing machine is one of those stackable units, and its crammed into a small space where its tought to get out.

The advantage of using just an applicance filter for a non-plumber like myself, is that I can use the plastic pipe to plmb it, and just extend the supply line so it comes out next to and above the stackable washer-dryer, where I can easily replace filters.

The only other places that plug up are the screens on the faucets in the sink, and they are easy to clean every month. I can also drain the hot water tank every six months or so, which seems to be the other place where sediment gathers over time.

Any problems with this approach?

Roger R

 

[Gary Slusser]

I think you need a water test for hardness, this 'sediment' sounds like hardness scale to me.

Put some of the sediment in vinegar an hour or more and see if it dissolves, maybe fizzes, if it does, it's scale, if not then filter it.

 

[vleespet]

rusco

I installed my 3/4" rusco sediment filter in between my pump and tank and works really well.I catches the sand before it gets in the house.
And it is flushable so no clogging.
I bought the one with the 100 mesh stainless steel screen...I think i'll buy the 140 or 200 so it will filter more out.
I flush it every couple of days(once a week is fine)
I also had my washer and faucets clogged up but no more of that so far

http://www.rusco.com/html/whybetter.html

Ron

 

[arnie]

Install a sediment/rust filter for the whole house. They are inexpensive and will save you a lot of time cleaning each faucet screen and washer screens. The appliance filters are very small, and they are mostly used for small consumption applications like waterlines in fridges and icemakers. They don't last long, and are more expensive than the the whole house filters. Get a 5 micron filter and it will take care of your problem.