# iron in well water



## gardenparty (Jan 29, 2015)

So we finally moved into the new house, didn't think the day would ever come. The well was drilled last year, 400 feet deep, 22gpm for flow but and here is a big but, we have very high iron. The water is soft, no residue or scale appearing on the faucets but very definite yellow/red tone to the water with staining of the sinks and toilets. I am looking at getting an iron removal system but outside of culligan don't know who would sell these units. Anybody have any recommendations for suppliers of either an oxidation system or greensand?


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

gardenparty said:


> So we finally moved into the new house, didn't think the day would ever come. The well was drilled last year, 400 feet deep, 22gpm for flow but and here is a big but, we have very high iron. The water is soft, no residue or scale appearing on the faucets but very definite yellow/red tone to the water with staining of the sinks and toilets. I am looking at getting an iron removal system but outside of culligan don't know who would sell these units. Anybody have any recommendations for suppliers of either an oxidation system or greensand?


How many PPM?


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## Rexticle (Nov 12, 2011)

Like Red said a lot depends on your ppm. You may be able to get away with an air injection system or you may have to go with a chlorination system or ozone. 
Is there a slippery film on the inside of your toilet?


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

I would stay away from Culligan...once they have you hooked there is no one else you can get parts from 


. Look into the clack systems that have the air injection systems .... they work very well indeed..


of course you can always rent a unit from someone too.....


Check out this guys web site he has it all there for you to see....

http://thewaterfilterestore.com/products/automatic-back-washable-carbon-filter


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## mtfallsmikey (Jan 11, 2010)

Redwood said:


> How many PPM?


 And usually where there's iron, there is sulphur...


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

mtfallsmikey said:


> And usually where there's iron, there is sulphur...


And PH will be another factor in the equation which some treatment methods work better in certain PH ranges...

Best just show the whole water quality test results...


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## paultheplumber1 (May 1, 2014)

99% of the homes with high iron content in my area are treated with an acid nuetrilizer and then through a softner. With a brine tank. Sometimes when it's really bad I've seen aspirator added. I have a cuno/aqua pure rep who also works at my supply house. He takes a sample and decides and the system and provides service/support for the systems.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

paultheplumber1 said:


> 99% of the homes with high iron content in my area are treated with an acid nuetrilizer and then through a softner. With a brine tank. Sometimes when it's really bad I've seen aspirator added. I have a cuno/aqua pure rep who also works at my supply house. He takes a sample and decides and the system and provides service/support for the systems.


A softener is only good for about 7ppm max...

After that special resins may be needed to avoid clogging...


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## gardenparty (Jan 29, 2015)

The sulphur is minimal, the water already soft so I don't want to go the water softener route. We don't have the full results back just the potable pass indicating that it is below Canadian guidelines for everything. The guy at Culligan told me they don't give a price for self installs because too many plumbers screw them up. I have never installed one but they sure as **** did not look that complicated.


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## paultheplumber1 (May 1, 2014)

I'm not an expert on filtration but I'll share what I think I know or at least what I've been told. After the water passes through the nuetrilizer it is extremely hard and that's part of the reason for the softner to be added after the nuetrilizer. The media commonly added to the nuetrilizer is a type of calcite. To touch on Reds point I belive that if the iron ( depending on the type) is above 5ppm it then needs to be put through an aspirator before it enters the neutrilizer. I've only had to install one in the last 20 years. It went before the extrol tank. The water on that job was the dirtiest well I've ever seen. Again not sure if it's the best way to do it but that's what most homes around here have. There's a just softner company that I do installs for that sells Lancaster brand units. And there's a decent size company called Aqua science that install this same type of system around New England. I Know the customers I have that have culligan units hate having to deal with them and regret ever calling them.


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## mtfallsmikey (Jan 11, 2010)

Allow me to geez for a moment.... years ago we used iron filters with potassium permanganate, which ate up the plastic parts in the filter....guess they are still using greensand?


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## mtfallsmikey (Jan 11, 2010)

I sold Myers and Lancaster filtration equipment, both had Fleck control heads, easy to set up and get parts for.


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## czplumbing (Nov 24, 2014)

Yes flex control timers are easy to install and very easy to get parts for. Probably a neutralizer, softner, and if you have sulfur smell a carbon filter . Size the filters and filter timer according to the size line and also factor in how many bathrooms you have because you don't want to have any flow restrictions with water pressure. Yes all these will have to be serviced and yes down the road depending on how bad the iron is you may have to re-bed the tank and put new material in it. Get a water test . A general potablilty test or if you are by farm land you may want to do a more extensive test to see if you have any nitrates in the water. Get a test


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## mtfallsmikey (Jan 11, 2010)

Speaking of iron filters.... Does any manufacturer make one that can be drained down for the winter, for use in a summer cabin, etc? At the in-laws place...they have a Campbell cartridge filter, of course there is too much iron/sulphur for it to work.


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## paultheplumber1 (May 1, 2014)

The ones I winterize I remove the head, tag it and store it at my shop for the winter. I remove the standing water with a small hand transfer pump. I winterize probably a dozen or so homes every year that have treatment systems. Been doing it this way for years


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## Ncplumber84 (Dec 30, 2014)

I put a boss iron filter in at my home and it made a huge differnce not perfect but way better than it was. Got it from Home Depot it it was 300-400.


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## czplumbing (Nov 24, 2014)

Ncplumber84 said:


> I put a boss iron filter in at my home and it made a huge differnce not perfect but way better than it was. Got it from Home Depot it it was 300-400.


The problem with home depo stuff is when something breaks like a pistons or the seals go bad you will have a hard time finding parts or you very well may have to replace the complete unit and depending on how bad the iron is seals go bad every few years


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

czplumbing said:


> The problem with home depo stuff is when something breaks like a pistons or the seals go bad you will have a hard time finding parts or you very well may have to replace the complete unit and depending on how bad the iron is seals go bad every few years


Might be okay with name brand stuff.
But when you see a Glacier Bay Water Softener..........:vs_shocked::vs_poop:


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## seank89 (Dec 17, 2015)

Honestly the best one I've installed is the Iron Break III by Charger http://www.chargerwater.com/ It removes Iron, Sulfur and manganese and it handles the entire house with no replaceable cartridges or filters. It effing rocks. The only thing I'll tell everyone, when it backwash's it pumps out between 9 and 11GPM. You better have a floor drain that can handle it. I've been putting them in for 6 or 7 years. 

Sean K


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