Does Anyone Us a Water Sistern/Settlement Tank

[A6gal]

I have very hard water and am currently using a filter and water softener which is changed out every month for about $75 a month or $900 a year. Without it my clothes get a orange tint from the iron after a couple of washings.

I was thinking about getting water from the local Water Supply Company but a meter is $3500 and then I'd have to buy pipe to pipe it about 300 yards from the meter to the house, then pay a monthly service fee plus water usage for the rest of my life.

Someone suggested a water sistern/settlement tank. I checked and found a dealer who sells them for $1 per gallon and suggested a 1500 gallon tank which would make it $1500 plus a small delivery fee. My question is does anyone have one of these and are you satisfied with it? I remember my grandparents having one and I loved to press my face against it on hot summer days because it was always damp and cool but I cannot remember if they had problems with the quality of their water.

 

[3MR]

you also have to have the rain to fill it.

 

[A6gal]

you also have to have the rain to fill it.

That probably was how my grandparents sistern worked. Hadn't really thought about that.

I was thinking about pumping water into the sistern from the well, then the iron and minerals would settle to the bottom resulting in better quality water to the house.

 

[HAY MAKER]

I have one on my water supply A6gal,what is it you want to know ?............good luck

 

[A6gal]

I have one on my water supply A6gal,what is it you want to know ?............good luck

Just wanting to know if one would work sufficiently enough to filter out the iron and minerals making water suitable for household use.

 

[Herefordcross]

Let

 

[HAY MAKER]

I have one on my water supply A6gal,what is it you want to know ?............good luck

Just wanting to know if one would work sufficiently enough to filter out the iron and minerals making water suitable for household use.

Well I suppose that would depend on the quality of your water to start with,remember you need a filter, to filter.
Water storage tanks will settle some minerals in the water and if there is any smell like sulpher they help that also if you fill them from the top and let the water spill out a perforated pipe.
Also they save your well pump as they still have the lift but not the pressure.
water is plenty heavy and when you have a pump lift say 300 feet and then put it under 50#'s of pressure,you are working that pump pretty good,much better to get you a storage tank and let your well pump fill it,then get you a pressure tank and pump,sucking out of the storage tank,sure makes working on a pump alot easier if its in a pump house instead of 300 feet under ground,also it never hurts to store water,with a level indicator,if your well pump has ever quit you know what I mean.
But to answer your question I would say yes they will settle enough minerals in water to be acceptable for house hold use and if not you can get in line filters that are pretty reasonable.
I have mine piped so that if the pressure pump quits,I can open/close a couple valves and throw a switch,then I am back on my well pump for pressure,this will buy you time if your pressure pump quits,if your well pump quits,you have the 1500 gal. storage.....sorry to be long winded and I hope this helped............good luck

 

[backhoeboogie]

I have very bad water. Sulfur. Out of the well head it smells like rotten eggs. I have a tank with a level switch on it. The water hits the holding tank and aerates. The fill line has a series of holes in it that spray the water out which helps as well. I still get lime tho. This area is full of lime. About every 6 months I vacuum out the hot water heater.

From the tank I have a booster pump that pumps into my pressure tank and to the house. The pressure switch regulates the house pressure. This renders me paying to pump the water twice so to speak, but it is atleast bearable.

So I do use a tank and I do fit the category your are speaking of and yes it does help the situation very much. I drop chlorine tablets down the well head periodically to "shock" the well. ABout once a year I siphon out the tank and place a 2 inch flexible poly hose against the bottom which vacuums out the tank pretty much the same way you would vacuum out an aquarium. All the sediment gets sucked up the hose from the bottom of the tank. Much of it is lime which if finer than iron. I have iron too. Once it is vacuumed, it goes out onto the back acreage. It actually helps the grass and the sulfur is good for natural insecticide.

Down at the farm 20 miles away there is very good water. It is pristine. The problem is the water table there has been dropping and dropping. The next water well will be in the 450 foot deep proximity there. There is not much lime in the water but plenty of lime in the soil. We have lots of mineral content in this whole area in general.

 

[Pooog1]

Growing up we had a cistern in the ground and water full of iron to the point that we didn't wash clothes in it and all the fixtures were rusted (tub, sinks, and everything it touched). We did drink this water for years and were used to it. The cistern we had was by the well in the ground and used as a holding tank so that when all the cows would want to drink at once we had the reserves to handle it. My experience has been that water with allot of iron in it sitting in a cement cistern only makes the rust problem worse. It collects on the bottom. The pipe running from the cistern was also on the bottom and so you would always get the rust that had settled to the bottom. I would research this prior to doing it. Maybe talk to a well know well driller (one you can trust) Good luck!

 

[HAY MAKER]

Pooog1,on these newer tanks ,they have a 2 inch drain on the bottom for cleaning and about a foot up they have an outlet for your drinking water,that way you are above the settlement.............good luck

 

[Pooog1]

Pooog1,on these newer tanks ,they have a 2 inch drain on the bottom for cleaning and about a foot up they have an outlet for your drinking water,that way you are above the settlement.............good luck

Ahh...Isnt it nice how we can evolve!

 

[A6gal]

Thanks for all the input. I will do some more research before my final decision. You have all given me some more information to ask questions about that I had not even considered.

 

[john250]

I was thinking about getting water from the local Water Supply Company but a meter is $3500 and then I'd have to buy pipe to pipe it about 300 yards from the meter to the house, then pay a monthly service fee plus water usage for the rest of my life.

[/quote]

If you have a good public water supply company, hooking on is something to consider. Put the lines in the ground properly and you won't have maintenance for at least 20 yr. No cost for pumps, their operation and maintenance. And the water has to meet quality standards for health threats. Almost always adds value to your property.

 

[A6gal]

I am considering that option but I don't like the thought of having that monthly bill. But as you mentioned it does cost money to run that pump which will show up in my electric bill I guess as opposed to a water bill each month.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I am considering that option but I don't like the thought of having that monthly bill. But as you mentioned it does cost money to run that pump which will show up in my electric bill I guess as opposed to a water bill each month.

Electric bills are cheaper, once you get behind the initial cost for well and equipment. The bad thing about public water is that you are always at someone else's mercy. Then they come along and tell you when you can use their water and when you can't etc.

 

[john250]

I am considering that option but I don't like the thought of having that monthly bill. But as you mentioned it does cost money to run that pump which will show up in my electric bill I guess as opposed to a water bill each month.

Ask your water company what their minimum bill and their median bill runs. How many gallons do you need?

 

[Pooog1]

Boy we can't wait until we can get some rural water (public) in our area. We have all signed up for wanting it everywhere around us. It's going to cost us around $45-50 per month but it's a relief to not have to worry about the quality of the water and headache of having a well. We'll still keep the well for the pens and such but we'll have a switch in case something ever happened to the well. It's tough having a pump go out on you when your busy. It never seems to be a good time!

 

[HAY MAKER]

City/county water is not an option around here,its not availible and if it was I am to far off the county road to run it,but with water prices high and only going higher,I would sure hate that being my only water source for watering cattle,might get expensive.
Believe if I had the choice I would use city water at the house and well water at the pens ?..............good luck

 

[sackshowcattle]

I had an option of city water and didn't take it. The tap cost more than to have the well drilled around here. Plus seen it the same way were we use to live. Started out just a few dollars a month now in that area some of my friends are yelling about restrictions because of the drought. Plus to keep a little lawn around the house watered and a couple of show animals watered the bills are 120 to 250 a month depending on how green they want there lawn. One thing about city water. Cities will find a way to charge you more each year and who knows what that increase will be in 20 years. The electricity on my well broken down is about 7 dollars a month way less then the 65 a month they wanted for me to be on the water tap.