Well water

[HatCreekFan]

I wasn't sure where to post this - hope it's okay here...

Does anyone else with a well have a filter in the house for the appliances, etc.? Do you have problems with sediment building up in the hot water heater, shower head, etc.? Just thought I'd ask...

Jessica

 

[WORANCH]

yes , we have lime build up

 

[Bama]

Take a sample of your water to the health department. They can tell you what is in it and what you need to filter for.

 

[MikeC]

We have some iron and sulphur. A "whole house" filtration system is not cheap though.

 

[msscamp]

I wasn't sure where to post this - hope it's okay here...

Does anyone else with a well have a filter in the house for the appliances, etc.? Do you have problems with sediment building up in the hot water heater, shower head, etc.? Just thought I'd ask...

Jessica

Oh yeah! My well pumps as much sand as it does water. Trying to do a load of laundry is an all evening thing when the sand trap gets full! Also have problems with hard water deposits on glasses and such things. CLR does a good job of removing them, but things have to soak for a while.

 

[flaboy]

Yep, just got through changing out the copper tubing on the hot side at the farm house for CPVC. The minerals just kill copper.

 

[icandoit]

On the new house we are building, we're installing PEX tubing throughout the house plus a whole house filter system. plus we are installing a water softener. I hop that takes care of things. We have county water finally but the water has an odor to it. I don't think water should have a smell to it or anything else.

Dick

 

[flaboy]

On the new house we are building, we're installing PEX tubing throughout the house plus a whole house filter system. plus we are installing a water softener. I hop that takes care of things. We have county water finally but the water has an odor to it. I don't think water should have a smell to it or anything else.

Dick

Yeah, I wouldn't drink that stuff even filtered. Get you some good old 5 gallon bottled water.

Never heard of PEX tubing. I will have to look that up Thanks.

 

[dun]

On the new house we are building, we're installing PEX tubing throughout the house plus a whole house filter system. plus we are installing a water softener. I hop that takes care of things. We have county water finally but the water has an odor to it. I don't think water should have a smell to it or anything else.

Dick

Yeah, I wouldn't drink that stuff even filtered. Get you some good old 5 gallon bottled water.

Never heard of PEX tubing. I will have to look that up Thanks.

Not a plug, but those fauwcett mounted charcoal filter deals really help wit the smell, even seemed like it helped the taste. That's what my wife said, I wouln;t drink anything that needed a filter to make it smell useable.

dun

 

[samm]

as best as i can tell....PEX is the new way to go according to the parts house, it has the capability to expand some during a freeze and is not as likley to bust like pvc or copper, ya have to buy a special tool along with the pipe to make the connections, i think we are going to try and use it when we re-do one of the rent houses.

 

[HatCreekFan]

WHat about those filters that kinda look like a fuel filter (on an outdoor tank)- has a removable cartridge - I've seen them at Lowe's.

We have a sediment problem, I guess. About every other week, I have to unscrew the shower head and knock out a few little pieces of crud- they really affect the pressure. About once a month or so I have to clean out the screens on the washer - they get all crudded up and it takes the water FOREVER to fill.

Has anyone ever had to drain their water heater to get the crud out of it? Will the buildup of lime/calcium/iron/whatever affect the heating element?

 

[preston39]

HatCreekFan,

Have not been able to prevent deposits in bottom from causing damage to lower heating element. It seems lime build up is the worse part. Just plan to clean it out and change the element quite often. Our well at the barns is bad for a water heater. We changed to a ...hot water on demand unit .....since we don't use much anyway. I am told filtering will help.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

as best as i can tell....PEX is the new way to go according to the parts house, it has the capability to expand some during a freeze and is not as likley to bust like pvc or copper, ya have to buy a special tool along with the pipe to make the connections, i think we are going to try and use it when we re-do one of the rent houses.

True! Last fall we had our old farm house re-piped with the PEX tubing. Year before had water lines freeze. Last winter nothing froze! Time will tell....

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

We have a 60+ GPM 5HP pump in well that is about 70' deep. Was drilled in 2002. After several sand problems, pump crashes, pressure switch burnouts, etc., we had a new pump & shroud & check valve put in along with a special "Cycle Stop Valve". The CSV regulates the pressure (and rate water enters PSI tank) and delivers a constant pressure whether or not we're pumping 10 GPM or 70 GPM. Sand problems have virtually eliminated. And, frequent cycling of pump has ceased.

We have a stainless steel mesh filter unit for the house...clean it every couple of weeks...no sand in house.

Our water is "pure" and very drinkable (even though it is a little on the "hard" side...use Vinegar to soak faucet nozzles clean as well as use "Lime-Away" as needed. Nobody has gotten sick or died from our well water...probably costs about 1/10 cent a gallon if that much....

 

[HatCreekFan]

RunningArrow: How's your water pressure? The stainless mesh filter - where is it located? Is it just an in-line filter?

 

[flaboy]

We have a 60+ GPM 5HP pump in well that is about 70' deep. Was drilled in 2002. After several sand problems, pump crashes, pressure switch burnouts, etc., we had a new pump & shroud & check valve put in along with a special "Cycle Stop Valve". The CSV regulates the pressure (and rate water enters PSI tank) and delivers a constant pressure whether or not we're pumping 10 GPM or 70 GPM.

Don't you just love those submersible pumps.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

RunningArrow: How's your water pressure? The stainless mesh filter - where is it located? Is it just an in-line filter?

The filter is located in-line on our 1" mainline to the house. It is about a 120 GPM rating capacity (if you use a much larger filter than the amount of water you need, then you have to clean the filter much less often!).

The stainless steel mesh filter can withstand cleaning under fresh water with a steel brush. I wouldn't ever use one of those "mass marketed" paper or cartridge filters (or one with a poly or nylon screen)--expensive to keep replacing and clog easier.

We have a 2" line down in the well hole and a 2" mainline on our property. Have a couple of 1.5" branch lines and 1" line off of main to house. All of our freeze-proof faucets to our stock tanks have a 1" line to them. All of our pipe is Schedule 40 PVC.

Our "dynamic" water pressure varies between 35 and 50 PSI at our well head piping with all faucets/sprinklers running; up to 60 PSI with just 1 or 2 items discharging. By using 2" mainline, we virtually eliminated friction loss pressure. As long as we have 25-30 PSI at our pasture sprinklers and pasture faucets they work fine. Our longest mainline run is about 1000'.

Check with your area Landscape Irrigation supply house and/or a well supply house for these filters. One very good filter brand is Amatek (black housing); other brands have a clear plastic housing (are several mfg's of these--all about the same). Expect to pay between about $50 and 250. for a decent filter (1" - 2" water pipe size) and 30 to 100 GPM capacity.

 

[HatCreekFan]

Interesting stuff. THanks so much for the information.

Now if I can convince The Spouse that a filter would make my life easier, all would be well.

We don't have near the pressure you do - I'm thinking that our pressure is usually less than 30 PSI. It was rough at first when we moved back here - in our old house, the water pressure was great- beat your skin off in the shower great. Do you have more pressure because of the pump, regulator, pressure tank, 2" main?

 

[msscamp]

WHat about those filters that kinda look like a fuel filter (on an outdoor tank)- has a removable cartridge - I've seen them at Lowe's.

We have a sediment problem, I guess. About every other week, I have to unscrew the shower head and knock out a few little pieces of crud- they really affect the pressure. About once a month or so I have to clean out the screens on the washer - they get all crudded up and it takes the water FOREVER to fill.

Has anyone ever had to drain their water heater to get the crud out of it? Will the buildup of lime/calcium/iron/whatever affect the heating element?

May want to check into a water softening unit. My parents well doesn't pump sand, but it does have incredibly hard water. They installed a water softening unit and don't have any more problems. If your well was pumping sand, you would know it just from the sand trap in the washing machine.

 

[Medic24]

Well, Hatcreek, you should know by now how to get the things you want....cut him off....trust me it works in my house... when ever I want something she won't buy me, I simply cut her off from everything... not even a smile or a hot meal for days!

Thank goodness for gravity fed spring water.