Well water

[HatCreekFan]

Before we tapped into the well, the water was tested. The pH is fine- so I don't think we need a softener. I don't think the sediment is sand - it's just crud. Mysterious crud.

Msscamp- sand trap in the washing machine? Is there something else in addtion to the little screen thingys where the hoses feed into the back of the washer?

 

[HatCreekFan]

you should know by now how to get the things you want....cut him off....

If only it were that simple.

He's been rationed since school started back this week, and he's not a happy camper ;-)

 

[Beefy]

washing machines have sand traps in them?

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,
There are all kinds of filters out there.

3 wells here. 1 main farm well, ag only well, west side and tenent house. The pressures from all hover around 40-65 psi. The northern virginia area has high calcium content. So a water softner helps. Sediment will always be a item with wells. I use the whole house cartridge filters. Actually, the main house has 3 of them.
1st stage whole house sediment
2nd stage whole house sediment
3rd stage whole house charcoal (odor and taste)

Calcium, lime buildup happens on the hot water heater elements. It will slowly kill your hot water heater. The best thing you can do is...
approx. every 6 months, turn off your water heater, let the water cool down. Maybe turn it off in the morning and flush late afternoon.
After its cooled down some, hook up a hose to the tank, open the valve and let the calcium buildup flush out the bottom. Close valve above tank to shut off pressure. Close valve to house hot water side. Let the hot water tank totally drain empty. Open water pressure valve, and let water flow thru tank again and out hose. Take a look where you have the hose discharging, you will see tons of calcium chips, pieces. After you are satisfied with flushing, close valve at bottom of tank. disconnect hose, open valve to hot water in house, make sure pressure side valve is all the way open. Now, run the hot water faucet for a long time to make sure all air is out. After water flow is all back and no air pockets, turn your water heater back on.

Cost? I see in some earlier post they said is cost a lot. I must be missing something. A whole house filter unit from lowe's is around $31 Change the filter... depends on what you see.. the clear plastic housing let's you see how dirty it is. Maybe change it every 6 months. It will really depend on how much sediment you have traveling in your system.

 

[msscamp]

Before we tapped into the well, the water was tested. The pH is fine- so I don't think we need a softener. I don't think the sediment is sand - it's just crud. Mysterious crud.

Msscamp- sand trap in the washing machine? Is there something else in addtion to the little screen thingys where the hoses feed into the back of the washer?

The little inverted screens that fit into the connections on the back of the washing machine are the sand traps. If you are not getting sand in it, the only other thing I can think of would be hard water lime deposits.

 

[msscamp]

washing machines have sand traps in them?

If you disconnect your water hoses from the back of your machine and stick your finger in the intake connections you will (probably - it's standard up here) discover an inverted screen just inside the connections. That's a sand trap, designed to keep any sand that a well pumps from getting into the motor and burning it out.

 

[HatCreekFan]

Msscamp: okay. Those little screens are what I've been cleaning off. Just wanted to make sure that there wasn't another mysterious filter of some kind that I was missing.

 

[HatCreekFan]

Calcium, lime buildup happens on the hot water heater elements. It will slowly kill your hot water heater. The best thing you can do is...
approx. every 6 months, turn off your water heater, let the water cool down. Maybe turn it off in the morning and flush late afternoon.
After its cooled down some, hook up a hose to the tank, open the valve and let the calcium buildup flush out the bottom. Close valve above tank to shut off pressure. Close valve to house hot water side. Let the hot water tank totally drain empty. Open water pressure valve, and let water flow thru tank again and out hose. Take a look where you have the hose discharging, you will see tons of calcium chips, pieces. After you are satisfied with flushing, close valve at bottom of tank. disconnect hose, open valve to hot water in house, make sure pressure side valve is all the way open. Now, run the hot water faucet for a long time to make sure all air is out. After water flow is all back and no air pockets, turn your water heater back on.

Cost? I see in some earlier post they said is cost a lot. I must be missing something. A whole house filter unit from lowe's is around $31 Change the filter... depends on what you see.. the clear plastic housing let's you see how dirty it is. Maybe change it every 6 months. It will really depend on how much sediment you have traveling in your system.

Thanks! I like the step by step. I probably wouldn't have remembered the 'turnin on the faucet' step when I drained it - and also would have drained HOT water, too. I've seen the filters you spoke of at Lowes - they look like it would be pretty simple to install.

I see a future for you in writing instruction manuals....

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Replies to Several Posts Here:

1. Cost? The filter units I referred to are considered high quality "professional grade" filters with long life. Not the "consumer handyman" type. You get what you pay for.

2. Water Pressure: There are two types of pressure: "Dynamic"--pressure that is maintained in the mainline when faucets, etc., are open and pump is pumping water through everything (shown on guage at your pressure tank site). "Static"--this pressure is the measured pressure at a faucet when nothing is outflowing. This pressure is only relevant with "city" water sources. The static pressure at one's pressure tank is only relevant as long as no water is flowing out and pump is not operating. Once the pressure tank has emptied down to the "cut in" point on the pressure switch, the new pressure is what is generated by the pump. For pressure measurement created by the pump only, the outflow in mainline must be great enough so tank doesn't refill and cut off the pump...this is the pressure your pump can generate at full flow.

3. Friction Loss: That PSI loss in a water line that results from water flowing through a pipe. Basis of PSI loss per 100' of pipe. The larger the pipe size, the less the friction loss.

4. Velocity: The speed of water moving through a pipe in "feet per second" (fps). For "normal" systems, usually try to keep the velocity in vicinity of 5 fps to keep "water hammper" to a minimum from the opening and closing of valves, faucets. Water hammer, velocity, friction loss effects/damage is relative to type of pipe materials (e.g., PVC, galvanized, copper, poly, etc.)

5. At the "end of a hose", the velocity is NOT the same thing as Pressure. High velocity is the result of pushing excessive amounts of water through a unit of pipe that is too small: e.g., one of those "sweeper streem hose nozzles. For a given amount of water (GPM) being pushed through a unit of pipe, with each successive decrease in pipe size, the velocity increases at a calculated rate (basic Physics).

 

[preston39]

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.

==========
samm,
Just happen to find this... may be of interest..if you plan to leave it exposed.

"Why is PEX an excellent piping material for plumbing?

PEX is ideally suited for potable water plumbing applications. It is flexible, making it easy to install and service. PEX is able to withstand the high and low temperatures found in plumbing and heating applications, and is highly resistant to chemicals found in the plumbing environment.
Although not freeze proof, PEX also provides the homeowner with many useful benefits. Flexible systems are quieter than rigid piping. The smooth interior resists scale buildup and corrosion that can affect long term pipe flow characteristics. PEX is also very freeze- break resistant. Finally, PEX systems have attractive installation costs when compared with rigid materials. PEX is the best piping material for many plumbing applications, but not for outdoor or UV exposed applications. "

http://www.ppfahome.org/pex/faqpex.html

 

[samm]

preston thanks for the info, we are planning to redo a rent house and to also run water down to the barn and get rid of the miles of water hose, we will have all under ground or under the house in our case, i will be so happy with running water and hopefuly soon after lights at the barn too.......our barn is 78 years old

 

[icandoit]

HatCreekFan wrote:
Before we tapped into the well, the water was tested. The pH is fine- so I don't think we need a softener. I don't think the sediment is sand - it's just crud. Mysterious crud. Smile

I'd be getting that water tested as fast as I can. You don't need mysterious crud going into your body.

As far as PEX tubing goes, it's very flexible, well, not that flexible, and seems to be easy to install. Yes, you do have to buy a special crimping tool, about 80 bucks, to crimp your fittings. We have an equipment room in the new house where I've put in a manifold system to bring all the PEX into so I can break them down to just one tube to go into the line coming from the meter. It seems to work for me. I'll let you know when we heat this baby up. Right now, I have a hose connected to the line coming in so I can test for leaks. I'ts been there for a week now and I've not had a leak anywhere. I'd like to tell you the bursting strentgh of the PEX tubing but I don't seem to be able to find the information. I have so much information for the new house right now and believe it or not, it's really all orginized into notebooks, so I must have just passed over the paperwork.

We are also going to put a tankless water heater in so hopefully, we'll never run out of hot water and with the whole house filter installed, we won;t have any problems for awhile with any kind of buildup of crud.

Dick