I am looking for your experiences with whole house water filters. After having our artesian well water tested, we’ve been informed of high levels of minerals (calcium, manesium, etc.) and have noticed buildup in the water lines and fixtures. The pump company said we could put in a filter either between the well and the pump, or after the pump before the supply goes throughout the house. I spoke with 2 plumbers, and one said go with the filter between the well and the pump, and the other plumber said to put the filter after the pump going into the house.
I am not a plumber, and am going to hire one of these two plumbers to do the job, but would like anyone’s experiences with this matter. I am more concerned with keeping the crud out of the water supply, than with how often I will need to replace filters.
Any specifics as to types of filters, and/or systems, will be greatly appreciated. THANKS!
Replies
A filter won't eliminate much in the way of "minerals". It will, however, eliminate silt and particulate iron to a large degree.
A standard water softener will eliminate calcium and a little bit of iron, but I'm not sure about magnesium.
Placement of a filter needs to take into account flow rates and pressure drop. Generally the highest flow rate (and therefore the highest pressure drop) is in line with the pump, before the pressure tank. Better to have the filter after the pressure tank. Certainly, having the filter ahead of the pump could cause cavitation problems under some circumstances.
But it's hard to say about an artesian setup without more info on both the current layout and the type of filter being installed.
happy?
Hello and THANKS to all who responded! The wellman and I are discussing all the options and all the information that all of you provided. I was also able to search the archives of Breaktime for info on reverse osmosis and softeners and filters. My thanks to all of those who helped out others previosly which also is helping me.
Dangerous Dan
Thanks,
Let us know what you end up going with and how well it works. That way we can benefit from your experience.
Erich
DD,
Because of the issues with water in recent years, I have started to include some crazy whole house water systems as standard items as part of the project costs. Basically I try to create the feeling with the client that "the water quality coming out of the tap in their house is as pure as bottled drinking water" thereby eliminating the need to have it delivered to their house on a regular basis and to also create a feeling of safety when it comes to their families health.
To facilitate this, I have my well driller (who also does water systems) install, as standard equipment, a string of large filters, purifiers and water softeners, installed after the pump and pressure tank, custom designed to the water test results from that particular well. After the testing, he will determine what elements are needed to create water as pure as possible.
These systems usually run between $5000. and $7000. per house. They will need to be serviced on a yearly basis. Much smaller systems are available for much less cost, but are also less efficient.
We have a lot of iron, magnesium and worst of all, radon in the water around here due to the vast amount of ledge under the houses. The system eliminates the clients fears and solidifies your reputation as a sympathetic and concerned builder.
The CM
We have a lot of iron, magnesium and worst of all, radon in the water around here due to the vast amount of ledge under the houses. The system eliminates the clients fears and solidifies your reputation as a sympathetic and concerned builder.
Radon in water is easily eliminated by unpressurized, vented storage. However you then need a pressure pump from the storage tank to the house.
You don't need a filter, you need a softener. Like the other poster said, filters remove particles, not dissolved substances. Softeners remove both calcium and magnesium and replace them with sodium.
If your water has suspended solids you may need a filter so that the solids do not clog the resin bed of the softener. But if you don't have suspended solids you don't need a filter.
If you have someone on a severely restricted sodium diet it is possible that the amount of sodium added to the water can be of concern, but for normal people and people only slightly restricted it is harmless. The amount of sodium the softener will put in the water can be calculated from the hardness of the water and a doctor can interpret the results. If the sodium is too high the patient simply drinks something other than tap water.
I can't answer you question about location. On the surface neither seems to have an advantage over the other.
I am surprised no one has mentioned a reverse osmosis water softener. No salt.
Reverse osmosis units are expensive and inefficient, i.e. they waste a considerable amount of water. There are applications where such an extreme measure is necessary, but it would be unusual. If calcium and magnesium are the only problems, then a softener would be a satisfactory choice. Testing of the water is the only way to know what treatment would be needed.
In reply to a different post, $6000 is a ridiculous amount for a softener. I have a whole house softener bought brand new from Sears for $380.
One thing to watch out for is sudden sediment release when there is turbulence in the houses water lines. A couple of times when I changed the filter at our old house, all the crud in the lines seemed to let go at once. Every fixture in the house clogged with black, brown, and gray gravely crud... and this was all in the system AFTER the filter. All the sinks needed the screens cleaned out, all the shower heads needed cleaning, the toilet fill valves were really fun too. It wasn't the filters fault, but it only happened when I replaced the filter as I had to drain all the water in the house lines.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
The solution to that is an extra shutoff valve downwind of the filter, and a tee and small drain valve between shutoff and filter.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
Evening All!
Just discussed our need for a filter and softener for our well water with our plumber (he gets his water from a well, so I figured he'd be intimately familiar with my concerns). Our pumps are downhole submersible units that are designed to handle anticipated suspended sediment loads; dissolved minerals and gases remain in solution at depth and should not affect the pump (as long as none of the gases are corrosive; e.g. H2S). After discussion, we decided that the sediment filter should follow the pump but precede the pressure tank - don't want sediment accumulations compromizing the tank's efficency. We have to change (or flush) the filter once a month. Shut-offs are installed on both the input and outgo of the water filter. Servicing the filter entails a trek into the well pit, not convinent and decidely unpleasant in the winter. Reference the mineral/gases, while a water softner ~$6,000) is the obvious solution, I do not want to spend $ or need the salt, so I might try a redox experiment.
Cheers,
De'Butant10 (Alpaca number 10 and she lives up to her name)
There are filters that are self-flushing. More $$$ though.Re the softener, you should get one heck of one for $6K -- we only spent $1900 for our Kinetico, and that's a fairly expensive brand.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
I would say after the pump.
I always put a "wye" strainer before any filter or water treatment device to catch any big items before they clog up or break an expensive filter or treatment device.
Here is some info on what you're trying to get rid of.
Iron------ Iron
Magnesium----- magnesium
Calcium---- Calcium