Water Filtration Done
 

Not the prettiest install but it's working.

Had new well installed. Water is pretty darn good except for Iron.
Ph it perfect, hardness low, TDS Low, etc.

I really wanted to avoid a water softener to address Iron. Partly because they are not good for the lakes.
Second it's not easy to "winterize" a water softener (still a 3 season cottage). That was my main reason for going with this that I could easily winterize it (i.e. drain it).

Those big back washing Iron filters might have made the most sense (no consumables) but I didn't see any that drain easy. And the Well folks said sucking water out of them doesn't usually go well.

I also didn't want to deal with R.O. system. They look like a pain and you have to remineralize the water.

The filters I installed are huge, 20"x4.5". The "Iron removal" filter is about $80.00 It should last about a year. Depends on Iron level, which varies. The more water we use the higher the Iron level.

Turns out most of the iron is undissolved, which is good. So a good sediment filter takes out 99% of it. But that last 1% of dissolved is the hardest to get out. Even with sediment filter, nothing was staining and you could barely taste it.

So this setup has a sediment filter, then Carbon (Block), then Iron.

I ordered a Water Meter so I can track how many gallons I run through the filter to better know when to change filters. I'm hoping I get a year out of the Iron and Carbon. The 1 micron sediment might have to change more often. Those are $10.00 each in bulk.

I also have a "Waterdrop" filter at the kitchen sink. That filters down to 0.01 micron. I LOVE the Waterdrop.

The water is absolutely perfect.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a4613e_h_d.jpg

May we ask where you purchased from?


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Sure.

This is the filter system

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LFLQTOI

But I’m using these cartridges (namely the one for removing iron).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0776ZLQ1V

And I put this in the kitchen sink

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085FYVTS7

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

So, a question:

I draw water from the lake and have a similar system with a sediment filter and a carbon filter. However, the third chamber is a UV light to kill bacteria.

That is not an issue for you or you don't need a UV light?

It looks like it would be a chore to change out your hot water heater. It appears to be blocked in but I am sure you thought of that.

It's a chore to change that water heater regardless and the filter in front is the least of my problems ;). That area is accessed through an access hole in the kitchen floor. But I put quick connects on the filter system and it's hanging on "Key Holes". So you remove the filters (because even without water in them, they weigh quite a bit), remove quick connects and lift it off. The setup weighs nothing with the filters removed (20lbs?)

Typically a deep well doesn't have bacteria issues especially with a 40ft casing into bedrock (which is the minimum this Well Company uses to reduce risk of contamination). They "shock it" any time they do work on it. Bacteria has been tested professionally, I tested it as well and so far so good. I might have it professionally tested one more time during the peak of hot summer to be sure. But at 430 feet down I doubt the temp varies that much. But Bacteria might not show a week after they shocked it and it might show months from now.

The Waterdrop filter claims to remove some bacteria as well.

Couple upgrades.

I added a water meter so I can monitor how many gallons go through the filters. I put it on the OUTPUT of the filters, so the iron would not deteriorate the meter.

I added a Z-Wave (Smart-things) Valve Control so I can shut the main water off from my phone. I always shut the water off in either house I leave. It's especially a pain in this house because the "Cellar" is in an access door through the kitchen floor.

I also mounted a Blink Camera pointing at the water meter.

30 gallons for a shower for me, 15 gallons for my wife :)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3bf8a3_b_d.jpg

Now we know why the lake level got so low last year![emoji6]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Just wanted to follow up as the the iSpring Iron filter above didn't last very long at all saw it degrading within a few weeks.

I switched to the following filters and they look very promising after 6 weeks.

Pentair Pentak RFFE20-BB 20-inch Iron filter $90.00 (80,000 gal at 1 ppm iron)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0025PPF76

Pentair Pentak CBC20-BB 20-inch 0.5 Micron Carbon $77.00

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00310OXUY

The filter order is
1 Micron Sediment (reduces iron from 3ppm+ to ~0.5ppm)
Pentair Iron (reduces iron to 0 ppm)
Pentair Carbon

Note the water is safe to drink with no filters. But not pleasant due to iron.
All my iron is undissolved, so the 1 micron takes the bulk away.

Oh and the WaterDrop filter I had at the kitchen sink was still making the drinking water pristine even when the iSpring iron filter stopped doing it's job. However the WaterDrop filter probably wouldn't have lasted that long having to do that much work.

I also moved the clear filter canister from first to the last stage. The first stage where sediment removes the bulk of iron was hard to see anything after a couple weeks because of all the iron (still had great flow). So I moved it to the last stage. If the Iron filter is doing it's job, that last stage should remain relatively clear.

Even when using the iSpring Iron filter in the 2nd stage, it was pretty clean. But you could see some evidence of iron. I have to wonder if I could find a 0.1 micron or less sediment filter if that could get rid of all iron more cheaply. Without clogging up to fast. The water drop is not designed to do iron. But it has a 0.01 Micron sediment first stage and was still removing all the iron.

I also bought this filter wrench which makes changing filters a breeze.
Superb Wrench SPBW-2 Heavy Duty Metal Water Filter Wrench

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Superb-Wr...meter/37843535

Hopefully your running full scale on the water testing and consulting with people who reading and recommending the proper filtration…..

Water was tested by the Well company. And I independently tested it several times. It’s only iron (which is not a health concern but an annoyance). There are many ways to remove iron, some have side effects and some are costly short term and some are more costly long term.

This is the way I chose for now. Cheap in the short run and no side effects. But in the long run a little more expensive. I was thinking of this being temporary but it’s working so well right now I might keep it when the house is rebuilt. If I can get a year or more out of a set of filters I think it’s a win.

Our last house, just around the corner, had the exact same issue, just iron. It had a very large iron removal tank and softener (typically how it’s done). The salt back wash brine killed a bunch of trees near the house. I switched to potassium. Which is very expensive but much better for the environment. But the water was too soft. Water right now is perfect, not to hard not to soft. Ph is perfect too.

It’s not rocket science.

I’ve probably tested the iron 20 times (both dissolved and undisolved).
But honestly our taste buds / nose are about as accurate.
We noticed every glitch with our nose and then confirmed it with a test.
We can probably sense the difference between 0.1ppm and 0ppm of iron, basically your nose doesn’t want any iron.

Inquiring Minds ......
 

Hi Mr. (Ms.?) Mswlogo,
I was wondering what prompted you to install a solenoid valve on your main water line vs installing a 2-pole relay on the electric supply to your pump VFD?
I would think a relay would be less expensive & much easier to install; with similar results.
Thankyou for your time & effort,
J

I considered it.

I had the valve from my previous house. The shutoff on the previous house was after the water treatment system which could back wash (it was based on gallons and/or time). I may end up with something similar in the end. The current filters are temporary, but they are working pretty good now so who knows. House is supposed to be torn down in Feb if all goes well.

The water pump controller is not a simple pressure valve with a storage tank type setup. It's a Continuous Pressure system and goes through a lot of calibration motions when it comes up. So I'm not sure it would be great to be turning that off and on. The well also has a self drain setup. So if there is a small leak it would drain the pipes all the way back to the water table (which is a long ways from the house). I only close the valve to prevent a flood in the house (broken toilet or water heater). The controller can also sense if the well is being over drawn and shut itself down.

Also you do not want an "active coil" type relay for something that is normally on. You'd want some sort of BiStable relay (doesn't change state when it loses power (in either state), it stays where you left it when power is restored).

The valve is a breeze to install, 20 minutes tops, two hose clamps.

BTW this is how my filters are looking. Water flows from right to left.

The filter on the right is the 1 micron sediment filter. It takes out 99% of the undissolved iron (all my iron is undissolved). Cheap filter does most of the work.

The center filter is the Iron Filter (expensive).

The left filter is a 0.5 micron carbon (expensive)

I moved the clear filter casing to the last filter, rather than the first. Since the first filter is hit will the bulk of the iron it fogged the glass up and you could not see anything after a couple weeks. So the glass was useless on the first stage. Moving it to the last stage filter I could monitor how much iron is getting to the last filter.

I've run ~6,000 gallons through and you can see there is no sign of iron. And fairly clean water is hitting the "polishing" filter.

Note: The "Pro's" don't tell you if the iron is dissolved or undissolved iron. You have a lot more options dealing undissolved iron vs dissolved. I bet most wells are exactly like mine in this area. My guess is the expensive filters will last me 2-3 years.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e59a8e_b_d.jpg

Someone privately messages me that he (jokingly) thought it would be easier to pickup a gallon of water at the local grocery store than go to the bother I have.

I thought it would be more fun to share my response.

We drive by a spring that people come from all over to fill their jugs. It's less than 2 miles from us.

It was a royal pain in the ass. The worst of it was waiting for the person in front of you filling 10 one gallon jugs. When we were lugging water, we used about 5 gallons every 2 days. That's just the two of us (and two small dogs). That was for drinking, cooking and brushing our teeth. That would come to about $1200 year and 900 plastic bottles from the grocery store.

You don't want any iron in your pipes, period. You don't want to brush your teeth with it, flush with it, wash cloths with it. And most of all not take a shower in it. Even at 1ppm it's just not as refreshing. It's tolerable, just a real nusance. Never mind drinking it, which is perfectly safe.

The primary purpose of the filters is to remove the Iron. The water is near perfect accept for Iron. pH is like 7.2 and hardness is low. Part of the reason I didn't want reverse osmosis or a water softener because it would screw that up.

The expensive filters I'm using are $100 each. And the cheap filters are $5 each.
My guess is I'll use about 3 cheap filters a year and 1 each of the expensive filters every 2 years. We also have an ultra ultra filter under the kitchen sink that is $40 for 19,000 gallons.

6 * $5 + 2 * $100 + $40 to filter about 40,000 gallons.

That's less than 1 penny per gallon.

It would probably cost more for salt in a water softener (which is bad for the lakes BTW).

Hello Mr. Mswlogo,
Thankyou for the reply.
I did neglect to take into account the VFD's boot routine. It surely would not appreciate being turned off/on like the family toaster. Considering what these things cost, I certainly don't want to tempt fate. So, I will go the valve route.
Red Hat / ASCO is the valve for me; proven reliability and parts available anywhere.
J :)

Oh one other thing I had not thought of. If someone flushes a toilet or turns on faucet with power off and no shutoff. It will almost instantly drain back to the water table. Probably like 30-40ft of head. That kind of stirs things up. Again if it was a traditional system the storage tank would cover it.

I can just imagine, on some dark & stormy night when the power has failed at around 2am, an unknowing person gets out of bed to discreetly use the toilet without bothering to turn the lights on; flushes the toilet and .... SUCK SSSHHHHhhhh ...... not for the faint-of-heart! lol! :eek:
Hopefully, the system has a functioning check valve; maybe two; to prevent such an occurence!

It’s not a huge deal if it happens. I just wouldn’t want it to happen unnecessarily. Mostly it might stir up sediment in the well. I tend to see more crap come through when I have shut it down for service.

I think the only check valve is down at the pump. There is no check valve at the house, by design. It’s a 3 season cottage. So they set it up that way to protect anything from freezing. Line up near house is not that deep due to ledge. It very quickly drains to a safe state.

Once the new house is in I might have that self draining valve taken out.
It’s mounted on the “pitless” adapter 16ft or so down.

So my remote valve IS my check valve :)

Well it’s time for a do over on the water treatment.

Filters worked on the cottage but I want something with lower maintenance for the new house.

I thought I had a lot of undissolved iron because the sediment filter took out so much. After some discussion with some folks they suspect it’s oxidizing in the sediment filter. Undissolved iron is orange colored water. Mine is clear.

Anyway I learned a lot since.

And ordered this filter.

https://www.cwts.ca/products/whole-h...x-filter-media

I’m so glad I got the “constant pressure” well pump because one requirement of this filter (media) is a fairly high backwash rate of 13 gpm. It’s because the media is on the heavy side.

Choosing the right filter (media) was more complicated than I expected. PH matters, water temp matters, backwash requirements and more.

Also the company I bought from recommended not putting any sediment filter in front. As that loads up, your flow rate goes down. If you drop below the requirement for the media in the filter, it’s ruined.

This site is awesome to get help on all sorts of DIY plumbing, heating etc.

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php

Water softeners add salt to the water. Better, is a water conditioner. Magnetic water conditioners are applied to the pipe. The chemical makeup of the substance is changed, no salt added.

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I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic