I'm looking for help solving water problems. I live in Southern New
Jersey and have a private well. The well is 60 feet deep with a 4 inch
steel shaft.

Recently our neutralizer went bad (the company tha has been servicing
it says it needs replacing). They suggested installing a salt based
softener.

Our main water problems are acidity and iron. Secondarily hardness. I
have been looking around for various salt free and chemical free
solutions and really have not found much.

Along with our iron our well was tested positive for iron bacteria.
The test was performed by a company selling water treatment equipment.
And based on what I have been reading about iron bacteria we have
symptons (red slime in our toilet tanks). But the water runs clear
from the tap. But you can taste a slight iron taste.

I have read about shock chlorinating the well. And was ready to do it
because it seamed like the only solution then I read things saying not
to do it because it could actually make the problem worse! I really
don't want to use chlorine anyway.

Raw water characteristices:
pH 5
Alkalinity 40 ppm
Chlorine 0 ppm
Hardness 3 gpg
iron 3ppm
TDS 68 ppm
nitrate 2ppm
Nitride 0ppm
copper 0 ppm
mananese 0 ppm


I don't know a level of iron bacteria just that it is present.

As far as systems I have been considering here are the three that I
have found which seem to fit my needs.

1) www.raindancewatersystems.com - iron-max plus system. Includes
chemical injection to inject chlorine (to deal with iron bacteria) and
potassium carbonate to adjust pH.

2) www.waterproblems.net - neutralizer + iron ox product. Would need
to deal with iron bacteria seperatly. I saw mention of a chlorine
pellet system that mounts on well.

3) www.waterdepotinc.com - neutralizer + chemical free iron removal
system. Again I would need to deal with iron bacteria seperatly.

Does anyone have any experience with these systems. Or suggestions for
others that may be options.

I kind of like option 1 because our old neutralizer had a tendency to
fill with iron. And with the feed pump concept it seems that wouldn't
be an issue.

I also wonder if leaving the well alone is better than chlorinating.
Just chlorinate once the water is in the house to kill iron bacteria.
Then remove iron from the water. Again if someone knows of a system
that can deal with iron bacteria and doesn't need to use chlorine - I'd
be much happier.

I also think that I should get some sort of carbon filter after the
iron filter to then remove any chlorine that is in the water. Don't
want to injest that!

Thanks for any help.
Dave Sugar

"Dave Sugar" wrote in message
...

I'm looking for help solving water problems. I live in Southern New
Jersey and have a private well. The well is 60 feet deep with a 4 inch
steel shaft.

Recently our neutralizer went bad (the company tha has been servicing
it says it needs replacing). They suggested installing a salt based
softener.

Our main water problems are acidity and iron. Secondarily hardness. I
have been looking around for various salt free and chemical free
solutions and really have not found much.

Along with our iron our well was tested positive for iron bacteria.
The test was performed by a company selling water treatment equipment.
And based on what I have been reading about iron bacteria we have
symptons (red slime in our toilet tanks). But the water runs clear
from the tap. But you can taste a slight iron taste.

I have read about shock chlorinating the well. And was ready to do it
because it seamed like the only solution then I read things saying not
to do it because it could actually make the problem worse! I really
don't want to use chlorine anyway.

Raw water characteristices:
pH 5
Alkalinity 40 ppm
Chlorine 0 ppm
Hardness 3 gpg
iron 3ppm
TDS 68 ppm
nitrate 2ppm
Nitride 0ppm
copper 0 ppm
mananese 0 ppm


I don't know a level of iron bacteria just that it is present.

As far as systems I have been considering here are the three that I
have found which seem to fit my needs.

1) www.raindancewatersystems.com - iron-max plus system. Includes
chemical injection to inject chlorine (to deal with iron bacteria) and
potassium carbonate to adjust pH.

2) www.waterproblems.net - neutralizer + iron ox product. Would need
to deal with iron bacteria seperatly. I saw mention of a chlorine
pellet system that mounts on well.

3) www.waterdepotinc.com - neutralizer + chemical free iron removal
system. Again I would need to deal with iron bacteria seperatly.

Does anyone have any experience with these systems. Or suggestions for
others that may be options.

I kind of like option 1 because our old neutralizer had a tendency to
fill with iron. And with the feed pump concept it seems that wouldn't
be an issue.

I also wonder if leaving the well alone is better than chlorinating.
Just chlorinate once the water is in the house to kill iron bacteria.
Then remove iron from the water. Again if someone knows of a system
that can deal with iron bacteria and doesn't need to use chlorine - I'd
be much happier.

I also think that I should get some sort of carbon filter after the
iron filter to then remove any chlorine that is in the water. Don't
want to injest that!

Thanks for any help.
Dave Sugar




Wait for Gary's answer. He seems to know his water stuff. Might take him a
day or two to find your message.

[[ This message was both posted and mailed: see
the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for details. ]]

In article , Wade Lippman
wrote:

Can't help, but just wonder what a neutralizer is.

A neutralizer is a device that goes in the water system. Sort of like
a softener. But is makes the water more neutral (in terms of acid).
Neutral is a pH of 7. Acid has pH lower than 7 and alkaline has pH
above 7.

In my case the water coming out of the ground has pH of 5 (acid). And
the neutralizer (when it was working) bring the pH back to 7 so it
doesn't corrode the pipes and such.

Hope the explanation is clear.

Dave Sugar

In article , Wade Lippman
wrote:

Can't help, but just wonder what a neutralizer is.

A neutralizer is a device that goes in the water system. Sort of like
a softener. But is makes the water more neutral (in terms of acid).
Neutral is a pH of 7. Acid has pH lower than 7 and alkaline has pH
above 7.

In my case the water coming out of the ground has pH of 5 (acid). And
the neutralizer (when it was working) bring the pH back to 7 so it
doesn't corrode the pipes and such.

Hope the explanation is clear.

Dave Sugar

"Dave Sugar" wrote

I'm looking for help solving water problems. I live in Southern New
Jersey and have a private well. The well is 60 feet deep with a 4
inch
steel shaft.

Recently our neutralizer went bad (the company tha has been servicing
it says it needs replacing). They suggested installing a salt based
softener.

They didn't offer to replace the mineral or repair the control valve? If
not why not, it isn't hard to do if you know how. And it doesn't cost
much for the minerals. But a softener doesn't buffer acidity so a
softener can't replace yours. Although there is one brand that uses
zeolite which will raise pH some but near as much as you need.

Our main water problems are acidity and iron. Secondarily hardness.
I
have been looking around for various salt free and chemical free
solutions and really have not found much.

The salt free stuff usually doesn't work anyway. There is no chemical
free acid neutralizers or softeners. The things that are advertised as
salt free are anti scale and descaling devices, not softeners.

Along with our iron our well was tested positive for iron bacteria.
The test was performed by a company selling water treatment equipment.
And based on what I have been reading about iron bacteria we have
symptons (red slime in our toilet tanks). But the water runs clear
from the tap. But you can taste a slight iron taste.

Has the IRB actually caused your equipment any problems?

I have read about shock chlorinating the well. And was ready to do it
because it seamed like the only solution then I read things saying not
to do it because it could actually make the problem worse! I really
don't want to use chlorine anyway.

Chlorinating/shocking the well can cause very dirty water for a few
days or longer. It can also cause certain types of bacteria to form
slime that chlorine can't penetrate.

Raw water characteristices:
pH 5
Alkalinity 40 ppm
Chlorine 0 ppm
Hardness 3 gpg
iron 3ppm
TDS 68 ppm
nitrate 2ppm
Nitride 0ppm
copper 0 ppm
mananese 0 ppm


I don't know a level of iron bacteria just that it is present.

As far as systems I have been considering here are the three that I
have found which seem to fit my needs.

1) www.raindancewatersystems.com - iron-max plus system. Includes
chemical injection to inject chlorine (to deal with iron bacteria) and
potassium carbonate to adjust pH.

2) www.waterproblems.net - neutralizer + iron ox product. Would need
to deal with iron bacteria seperatly. I saw mention of a chlorine
pellet system that mounts on well.

3) www.waterdepotinc.com - neutralizer + chemical free iron removal
system. Again I would need to deal with iron bacteria seperatly.

Does anyone have any experience with these systems. Or suggestions
for
others that may be options.

I kind of like option 1 because our old neutralizer had a tendency to
fill with iron. And with the feed pump concept it seems that wouldn't
be an issue.

Then it wasn't backwashing at the right gpm or long enough. You won't
like the solution feeder after you've had one awhile. They are difficult
to get set right and you'll get tired of mixing the solution. As a
dealer I don't like them at all. In some cases if you have a problem
with the strength etc. you may have to drain the retention tank and
start over.

I also wonder if leaving the well alone is better than chlorinating.
Just chlorinate once the water is in the house to kill iron bacteria.
Then remove iron from the water. Again if someone knows of a system
that can deal with iron bacteria and doesn't need to use chlorine -
I'd
be much happier.

If the IRB isn't shown to have caused the AN filter a problem, don't
worry about the IRB. And if it gets worse then shock the well.

I also think that I should get some sort of carbon filter after the
iron filter to then remove any chlorine that is in the water. Don't
want to injest that!

Chlorine with your pH will not be a good oxidizer. Chlorine's oxidation
ability is poor at pH below about 7.0. So you'd have to raise the pH
first and then add chlorine to be able to use it to remove your iron.
And then, regular carbon is not good as a turbidity filter media to
remove your 3 ppm of iron after it's converted to ferric iron (rust).
With low pH, iron is best removed by ion exchange. So if you went with a
softener to remove the iron and then a solution feeder to raise the
pH.... you'd still have a solution feeder to baby sit.

I'd suggest repairing or replacing the present AN filter with mixed bed
sacrificial mineral and the na softener sized correctly to remove the
additional hardness the AN filter adds and the iron that will be left
over form the AN filter treatment. Raising the pH with the AN filter
will cause some of the iron to convert in the filter. That's why it's
critical to have enough water at the right pressure to successfully
backwash that filter.

If you are interested in installing the equipment yourself, or getting a
buddy to help or hiring someone to install it for you, I can do a lot
better (hundreds better) than the prices those web sites offer. I offer
Fleck or Autotrol control valves and have been doing water treatment for
15 years here in central PA. E-mail works.

Thanks for any help.
Dave Sugar


Gary
Quality Water Associates