I’ve got a client with water that has moderate amounts of Iron (enough to stain stuff red) and Hydorgen Sulfide (enough to stink).
I’ve been researching the treatment options and, like everything you read on the internet, there is something wrong with all of them. The local dealer is suggesting a Provector unit by Watersoft, followed by a filter of yet to-be-determined media, with a backwash head. The Provector is a Venturi-style aerator. Drawbacks seem to be clogging of the venturi over time.
The water is also slightly hard, and slightly alkaline, neither of which really need to be addressed, but bears upon the solutions available for the Iron and Sulfur.
I also stumbled upon a technology called a dissolved oxygen generator that looks promising, but can find little information other than the promotion material that the company has.
Anybody here know anything about any of this stuff?
Steve
Replies
Contact the folks at http://www.abundantflowwater.com/ . I found them to be honest very helpful, and cheaper than almost all the local alternatives.
There seem to be a whole lot of shysters in the water treatment biz. If you do an advanced search there is a good bit of info on the subject. Treatment solutions should be tailored to the specific issues you are having, if you have your test numbers the guys at the link above can recommend a system.
Like Tom said there are a lot of knownots out there when it comes to filtering water.
Water filtering comes with a lot of biased opinions on what works best. There is no cost effective cure all system.
Having the water tested by a 3rd party is the first thing. I usually recommend treatment first, filtering second.
All systems require maintenance, and the parts don't last forever.
I have installed D O G systems, but they were quite large & not set up for a home use. Like most things water treatment for large scale systems are now being made smaller for individual systems. The technology is sound & not fly by night, although the company making the product may be------ buyer beware.
If you use a D O G system plan on filter change out on a shortened schedule.
After treating I prefer a 10 micron large capacity filter for the whole system, & then a multistage 5 micron system at the drinking sources.
I don't have to treat my water at my house, but I do run that filter set up. It is the same set up that 90% of the Starbucks shops run with the other 10% running a R.O. system.
Hi Bill,Good to have you back. I knew you would know about this stuff.I had to deal with this at my own house about ten years ago. I had a little bit of everything, including iron bacteria and e-coli. Gotta love living in the country. I wound up installing a chlorine injector pump, contact tanks, and an activated carbon filter with a backwash head on it. I gives me good water, but the injector pump is fussy and needs to be paid attention to.This client's water is staining things red, and we just put in a custom white tile shower with white grout. So we want to primarily take care of that to protect the new bathroom. In addition it has hydrogen sulfide, which stinks.The water has been tested. The iron is .37 ppm, hydrogen sulfide is approximatey .4 ppm, PH is 8.18, and hardness is 5.5. Pretty clean otherwise. No bacteria, so we don't need to chlorinate or UV.From what I've read, it seems like these are relatively low levels of iron and sulfur. The hardness and PH we don't care about. It seems softening alone would normally take care of the iron and sulfur at these levels, but the PH being high seems to rule that out.The next avenue to take care of both the iron and sulfur seems to be oxidation and filtration. The main question in my mind is the method of oxidation. Is some kind of mechanical oxidation needed at these levels, or is a simple contact-oxidation media in a backwashing filter enough?The dealer wants to sell me a Provector unit by Watersoft. It consists of a venturi nozzle to introduce oxygen, followed by an aeration/precipitation unit which is basically a tank filled with wiffle balls. After that comes a filter with a backwash head filled with a filter media, not sure if it would be straight activated carbon or some kind of blend.I've read that the venturi is prone to clogging and needing service. That's why I was curious about home-sized the D.O.G. seen here:http://www.aquaprosolutions.com/index_files/Iron_Removal_Water_DOG.htmComplicating the whole thing is that this is a seasonal house and will be subject to freezing over the winter.Steve
I knew you would know about this stuff.
I don't "know" all there is about this stuff, but do have some familiarity with it on larger scales.
I make no claim of being a treatment expert, my experience comes more in the installation of these systems more than the design stages.
I was heavily into treatment/filter systems back in the mid 90's as I was seriously looking at opening a specialty shop just for water filtering systems.
Water D O G is based out of Minnesota & have a good reputation according to Reeves journal, & Plumbing Engineer magazines.
Water DOG won't do squat on the hydrogen sulfide IIRC, you need charcoal for that. It will get rid of the iron though.
I haven't heard of these clogging issues on an air introduction system, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Freezing is always an issue with any rigid plumbing device & steps should always be taken to protect equipment from sub freezing temps.
Thanks Bill.
We use aerators for sulfur but this is Florida so that stuff can be outside. You don't want that thing near the house.
Our last house had about the same thing you are describing. Never did figure it out. Eventually we moved.
I had a large softener on it so it cycled less often and a small RO unit for drinking water. It was a pain to take care of the system.
We moved to the foothills of the rockies and imidiately noticed the great water quality. Nothing like snow melt for water.
I put my first Provector in about twenty years ago. I didn't understand the science of the system, but the home owner did. It worked great for just what you're talking about. Customer's love them, no chemicals to add. They like all units will require periodic maintenance.
Another similar system is Nelsen Corp.'s Terminator.
You can also use a green sand filter backwashing with Potassium, or chlorine.
Basically, you oxidize the water, it changes the form of the gas or iron and it's filtered out.