Water filter & treatment system? H2OGuy?

I just contacted Siemans Water Technologies.

http://www.water.siemens.com

Who, according to their web site, is the largest user and supplier of ion exchange resin in North America. I talked to one of their water technology experts who has 18 years of experience, 8 of which was with Culligen Corporate.

Q: Will the use of salt with "Iron Out" adversely affect the resin?
A: Absolutely not, in fact it is recommended.

Q: Will the use of 1 cup/1 gal. of "Iron Out" solution, added to brine tank once a month, adversely affect the resin?
A: He recommends using this solution once every 3 months.

Q: Is it recommended to add 1 cup of chlorine to brine tank once a month for sanitation purposes?
A: Absolutely not, the chlorine at that volume and concentration will destroy the effectiveness of the resin.

Q: Is it recommended to add 1 cup of h2o2 to the brine tank once a month for sanitation purposes?
A: Absolutely not, again this will destroy the effectiveness of the resin.

I hope this helps clarify these issues. There is an 800 number on their web site to call for technical support if interested.

Phil - Wood technology expert learning about water.

Big Dog,

I agree with your findings. Naturally, different water conditions may require slightly varying applications, but you hit it on the head and I recommend likewise.

Thank you for being clear, honest and professional in your conveyances.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

Unless you ran Amber's water test results past him, he can't make any suggestion of volume or frequency unless he is concerned about harming the resin... You should call him back and ask why not more frequently.


So Phil, what you're saying is I was right on 2 out of three or 3 out of four. Not too bad.

The one or two he says I'm wrong on, the use of the salt with the resin cleaner in it... and mixing the Iron Out in a gallon of water and poured into the brine tank part, BUT he doesn't suggest it more frequently than every three months....

You need to call him back and ask why not monthly or weekly etc.... but

I wish you had asked a resin manufacturer, like Purolite. They make quite a bit of different resins and sell them all over the world; probably more than a bit to Siemens.... Or ask Dow, or Bayer's Sybron Chemicals (or did I read Bayer just sold Sybron...) and ask them if Iron Out type resin cleaners don't harm resins slightly or otherwise with each use.

Kinda like every time you use one of your wood saws, that use damages the blade some, the same as sharpening one damages it and eventually leads to you replacing the saw/blade. It's the same concept for the use of resin cleaners and resins. You must use a resin cleaner or damage the resin anyway so it's six of one or a half dozen of the other.

Gary,

Please elaborate on what is wrong with the open chlorination system and what are the better choices your talking about?

Thanks : )

Open air chlorination allows the chlorine in the solution to escape from the water in the tank which causes it to weaken. Their lid is not air tight in the open air model. It requires a stirrer to keep the solution mixed or you get uneven chlorination. That system is quite expensive. It takes up a fair amount of floor space plus what's needed for the additional pressure tank. It is heavy so the floor must be in good shape and, it has a large number of moving part type pieces like the pellet dropper gear box, motor, stirrer, submersible pump, pressure switch, float switches etc..

I suggest and sell an erosion pellet chlorinator that hangs in the plumbing (about 14"H x 15" long and 8=10" front to back), although its weight must be supported. It has no moving parts and includes a special patented blow down (a flushable bottom drain) 12" x 65" mixing tank that is equivalent to a 120 gallon retention tank. It has a delivered price in the lower 48 of less than $800 and includes a hopper wrench, manual and a 20 lb case of 4 5lb containers of pellets.

That erosion pellet chlorinator is the original version, not the knock off version that usually doesn't work well on residential stop and start water use well systems although should work well on irrigation systems because that's what is was designed for. They look the same form the outside but, the patented one I sell, it's all PVC with unions, can be used in either/both continuous or stop and go water use applications.

I've been selling that system since the mid 1990s and they work every time as long as your well pump is properly sized. It comes in two versions; intermittent and continuous feed. The continuous feed is only for constant pressure type pumps or filling a cistern etc. where the pump does not cycle on/off until the water use stops.

Usually all POE (whole house residential) chlorination requires a turbidity filter after the chlorination. I usually propose a backwashed only filter using a special carbon. That must be correctly sized for the peak demand water use depending on the family size and number of bathrooms etc..

Amber:

Big Dog is correct,
Add cleaner every few months, if the water improves great, if it takes down the resin in a few years so what! All you need to do is replace the resin at a cost of 100 to 150 bucks. Cheep for clean water.

You did not mention a bacteria test??
If you have no Bacteria you do not need to sanitize your water...

If you have already added the chlorine to the salt tank, did it improve the smell?

If it did great, when the smell comes back add the chlorine again. And when it comes back repeat. Will it destroy the resin you bet it will. Clean smelling water is worth it.

When the time come to replace your existing water softener, look at this unit www.waterright.com they have a water treatment media that loves chlorine exchanges iron better then anything I have ever seen.

Keep away from the H202, you do not need it, buy the RO you like don't spend more then 7 or 8 hundred dollars on it.

Use your system to the end of its life and move on to testing the water for bacteria. If it is positive let us know. We will be glad to throw in our suggestions.

Just my thoughts, after 35 years in the water treatment industry.
Larry Miller,

Hi Larry. Welcome to the forum.

I take it you are suggesting a softener from Water Right using Mineral-Right's Zeolite because it is the only softening 'media' that is unaffected by chlorine.

I used to be a Water Right dealer. Zeolite requires more of it than resin which then requires use of larger tanks. Zeolite also requires higher backwash flow rates because it is much heavier than resin and that means more water is used to successfully backwash it than resin requires. So it may not be for everyone.

Their Sanitizer version produces some chlorine during regeneration and it is just enough to sanitize the softener bed. That would be good thing for a smallish amount of IRB problem odor in a softener but... the chlorine is backwashed out of the tank and not allowed into the plumbing so it is not an end all for IRB problems in the house.

BTW, if a softener needs a resin cleaner, every few months is usually a bit too long between uses and would cause rust stains in the house in most cases long before the cleaning. Thereby the homeowner would not be getting the service from the softener they expected.