Private Water - Filtration System

[Max]

Thanks guys.

After more applications of iron out we are seeing less orange-ness but still tainted water which according to the tests we have run is drinkable. I'll continue to use iron out until I stop seeing any changes OR until I get a hold of some new resin beads. I have found it pretty difficult to find a place open on the weekend that sells the stuff, most places (Sears, HD, etc.) don't even know what resin is!!

Thanks for the HowTo steps for replacement, I'm feeling more confident all the time. I think I may need a new pressure switch, is that a separate unit or part of the pressure tank?

Cheers, Max

[mrcaptainbob]

Good for you! Maybe a bit of patiencce is all that was needed. Kind of like gettin' a flu shot. Still takes a while for results to show. That pressure switch is a separate unit and can be purchased from HD. They come in various pressure ranges: 20-40, 30-60...that type o' thing. Real easy to replace. A bit of electrical involved along with the plumbing, but very easy. Geez, this is good news.

[LazyPup]

In regards to rebuilding the filter as opposed to replacing it, you stated that it is 14 years old, and based upon the fact that you have a softener it goes without saying that you have hard water. The actual cost to rebuild would depend entirely on the type and quality of filter medium material in your system. but my greater concern would be the quality of the vessel itself. At 14 years in a harsh hardwater environment I would expect quite a bit of corrosion or scale in the vessel therefore it seems like pouring good money after bad to put new filter medium in a rusty bucket so to speak. You might save a few dollars, but in all likelihood you are just prolonging the inevitable by a year or two at the outside, and i wouldnt look for the price of material or labor to drop significantly in that time. In addition, operating a new water softener behind a filter of unknown quality might have a significant effect on the warranty of the new softener.

Now, in regard to the wall mount for your new filter, that may be a code requirement in your jurisdiction the same as the hurricane/earthquake brackets for water heaters. r,rinard=journeyman plumber

[Max]

If I said it was 14 years old then I was, at best, mistaken. From what I was told the pressure tank is 14 years old but I cannot find a label on it that says so.

I don't know if I said before but our water hardness is about 3 which I gather to be pretty damned low so maybe we don't need a softener at all? Maybe our hardness fluctuates or maybe the purpose of the softener was to remove other contaminants? I really don't know but it would have been nice to have gotten all this information from the seller (if he even knows, he wasn't the origianl owner).

I definitely agree with your comments about the pouring good money after bad, my theory includes a little risk taking. What I mean by that is PERHAPS I can fix the problem by replacing the resin and, if so, I've saved a lot of money. However, if the problem persists, I've actually wasted some money. Perhaps what we need is actually a completely different setup? Our water is actually running pretty reasonably now after something like 6 treatments of iron out and nightly regenerations, maybe that's all it needed. A part of me wants to just replace the whole damned lot anyway and thanks to the help I've had here I actually think I can do it, and do it myself. ALL of your feedback has been very helpful.

Cheers, Max

[Max]

Hello again folks, another update. Our water now runs pretty much clear, I've certainly not notices discolouration. We should run some more tests to measure the water quality.

BUT..............

We still have problems. I was watering the plants in the front yard and I noted that the water pressure was very poor so I switched the softener into passed mode to see if that made a difference and it did, the water came out at the pressure I expected. Then the water pressure died off and stopped completely. Bugger. I went inside and checked the pressure tank and the gauge was going up so the pressure tank was being replenished and when I checked the water again it was fine. Based on everything I know here is what I think needs done:
1. I think we should re-plumb the outside faucets to bypass the softener. Perhaps this is a no-brainer but it wasn't us that did the plumbing in the first place.
2. replace the water softener as it seems to be affecting our water pressure considerably.
3. check out the pressure switch and well pump relay because sometime the pressure tanks appears to not be getting replenished when expected. This has happened twice as far as I can tell.
4. replace the pressure tank. It's old and it might make more financial sense getting everything done at once?

It may have been a good idea to get everything replaced in the first place but I gave it a shot with your assistance. Things looked good for a while there but I think that spending money might be the only answer.

Thanks for everyone's help!!!

[mrcaptainbob]

Gee wizz, Max. It sounded so good there, too. My opinion on separating the outside faucets was to not do it. I came to that conclusion when I saw the stains on the brick where the sprinkler hit. Sure was evident when I came up to the house one day and saw the orange streaks! Not to mention the hard water spots left when wahing the car. The amount of salt that may be in the water (should be extemly small, if at all) won't hurt the plants, either. I've heard about the cost of the salt used if leaving the outside bibs hooked up. That amounts to pennies. Not worth it imo. There is something that's bothering me about your story. Every time there's a substantial drop in pressure, or inability for the pump to 'keep up' seems to occur when you're doing some outside watering. It's sure sounding more and more like a draw-down problem. That is to say, if you drain the well to a point that's beyond it's ability to supply enough water to the pump. Your daily household use may not be at the level of the house use PLUS heavy outdoor use. Can you dig up info on the well pump installers who last worked on it? They should have the info on that. Dang, I hate to see time, effort, money wasted....

[Max]

The connection you made there is suspicious right enough and that's why I mentioned the pressure switch / well relay. I know what a relay sounds like and that clicking noise was the suond I heard the very first time the water stopped. This led me to believe that the pressure switch was working but the relay wasn't. I will find out what I can about the well pump, there appears to be yet another label on that so it could mean that there are 3 different companies involved in the process. I should add that when the hose stopped yesterday it was after only a couple of minutes, not a couple of hours like last time and the "drought" only lasted a short time i.e. the water was back in the time it took for me to get to the basement, about 20s. Even though we have had a lot of rain lately is it still possible that we have a well level issue? So much confusion.

[mrcaptainbob]

The rain we've been having lately will not affect your well water level for a long time. In my last house I had an 80 gallon water heater that I'd drain about once every three months. Usually when I changed out the filters. I'd also let the pressure zero out so as to get as much of the 'old' out of the system before I sent new through fresh filters. The pump could handle filling the whole house piping and the water heater with no problem. But, when using the lawn sprinklers, the well would get depleted. But it did take a while for that to happen. When it did, it sounded more like the pump was sucking what little water would drain into the well and then it would spit it up. There was no 'clicking' as to what you describe. Sounds like three possibilities: A bad relay, dying pump or an imtermittent short. I presume it's a 220 submergible pump. Could be that one of the leads rubbed through it's insulation and shorts out from time to time. Could also be the pump is going bad and is overheating, causing the relay to click on/off. Maybe over 'heating' is the wrong word here. Because of possibly worn bearings it's off center at times and causes a short and that's what's clicking the relay.