Re: Iron In Water

Just to be clear:
I was advocating a whole house filter - not a whole house warrantee.
It sounds like a whole house filter is needed.


The other post about a filter AFTER the softner is also advised.
I too had a "resin in all the pipes experience."

It was like thick blood coming out of all the faucets.
Scared the kids to death.

I now have a filter after the softener.
I also have a second regulator and run high pressure through the
filters and softner and then re-regulate down to about 60 pounds. -
Very nice and consistent flow.

I was able to clear the pipes by back flooding water some how...
Perhaps through the kitchen sink and draining it out of the water
heater.
What a mess.
I can't believe I was able to clear the pipes....

----------
Regarding the rust, I too tend to think it is "something else".
We had a plumber do some work and later started to get rust in one tub.
I was sure that he had used a piece of black pipe, but he was sure that
he hadn't and had all sorts of things to blame it on.

I had the plumbing R&R'd about year later by someone else to install a
shower . The rust was all caused by a 1 inch by 3/4 black pipe nipple.
There rest of our house in copper or brass and there is much
electrolytic action between those elements to the detriment of the
iron.

Check you pipes.


----- sad news ----


I tend to think that at this point any effort you spend on this
softener is a waste.


You used to have a filter, but it clogged SO MUCH that it was
removed????
Where would that gunk have gone???? (into the ?softer???? YES!)

Get a coarse (25 TO 50 MICRONS) filter and leave it on.
Get a big one.
Change it as needed.
Are you sure you are seeing IRON and not SAND????


You don't have a manual.
You can't find a serial number.
Can you find the brand to go to the web site?
Is it a sears?

If you have some free time and
If you do wish to continue... (and I advise again continuing except as
an educational experience for you)....

The salt need not be removed.
As I said, A hose from the hot water drain will make all the brine that
you need.
It will melt the rock salt just fine.

You can force recycles by moving the clock or digital timer.
Some units have a "recycle now" button.

Often there is a "screen" in the softner siphon inlet.
It is likely clogged base on the other data you provided.


You asked if you "have to add water" -
Normally you do not.
A float control and timer limit the amount of water added.
BUT -
since you don't know if you have brine, then you should fill salt tank
until you see water flowing out the overflow drain from the salt brine
tank.
Then you will know you have water and brine.
Fill from the top with hot water.

Then mark the height and see if water draws down when cycling.
I doubt if it will.
At that point you will need to clean the siphon inlet and screens.

---

You have referred to condensation twice.
You have referred to a "filler tank".
Are you referring to the SALT brine tank or the pressurized RESIN
tank?

It doesn't really matter where the condensation is.
That is because the condensation is ONLY indicating that the cold flush
and clean water is flowing.
****It doesn't tell you about the brine.****
It doesn't tell you if you have brine.
It doesn't tell you if the brine is being siphoned through the resin
bed.
You MUST observe it being drawn down in the tank to know.


It will be fun if you enjoy this sort of thing...
But download some kind of a manual to find the theory.

Try Sears.com for a manual - anything well help you get a handle on the
process.

Good luck!
Phil


drbill28@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
Thanks guys,

We don't have the manual for the softener. We can't even find a model
number anywhere. But, I went over to her house today to check it out.
It appears water is flowing through the filer tank as condensation
forms on the surface. I opened the salt tank and dug around. It
appears that under the salt they put in it which was Morton's Rust
Remover Pellens is a rock salt. Not sure what kind but it's the exact
consistency of the salt you put in your driveway, all crushed up. It's
pretty hard packed. I only had to dig down 4" to reach it and it
appears to be solid down to the bottom of the salt tank so it's over
half full of this stuff, I think it might be solid. So my first step
will be to see if we can get that salt out of there.

There used to be a filter that was installed inline for sediment, since
those things would clog about weekly with their water quality. It
appeared to have been removed in favor of the water softener. I guess
there's no point and doing anything else since obviously that salt
isn't going to let that tank fill up.

Do you have to add water yourself to the salt tank or should it do it
on it's own, there's only one line going to the salt tank.

Thanks,
Bill V

Tom G wrote:
<drbill28@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1155183149.267373.274760@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello,

My sister bought a new home recently. Her well was tested before it
was closed. It was found to have a Ph of 6.6, Hardness of 110ppm, Iron
level of 0.88ppm. I do not remember the rest of the numbers. But the
water comes out with a brownish color and cloudy. It stains the tub
and toilet. Even replaced the hose to the rinser on the sink because
it was clogged.

The problem is that they have a water softening system. It's either
not working or it's not effective. The salt level never goes down,
according to them they haven't added salt yet since they moved in
because the level never dropped. I'm not sure how the system pulls
salt from the salt tank. But it's never wet inside. The main tank for
it is clearly running, it gets condensation on it from water running
through it. They don't know if it was maintained well or not. But
we're trying to figure out if it's even working right. If it needs to
be replaced, or was never the right thing that the past owners
installed in the first place. What could be wrong, what could they do
to get rid of the rust color? Any help would be appreciated. I can
try and supply any additional info if necessary.

Thanks,
Bill V.

Assuming the mechanics are working properly, sounds like a salt dome has
formed. In humid areas (basement), if too much salt is added to the
machine, the salt at the top of the pile will stick together and form a salt
dome. The salt under that will dissolve but once that is gone the softener
gets only water to cycle with and of course doesn't work. Try pouring very
warm water on the top of the salt and use a broom stick to bust up the salt
until it falls down into the tank. That being said, 110 ppm of hardness is
pretty hard. I used to sell units for Sears and we had a city well in
Chandler, AZ that gave out with 108 ppm. We weren't allowed to sell units
in that area. It is possible to use a softener but you might have to put
more than one softener in line to do the job. As for iron...a softener will
handle some iron but usually not the type of iron that causes the rust
stains in the tubs, sinks and around the fixtures. You may have to add an
iron filter which is kind of like a softener in appearance but uses a
different type of process to remove the iron. Check out the water shop at
Sears.com for more info. (no longer affiliated with Sears in any way, shape
or form) Did the previous owner provide a whole house warranty as a sales
incentive to your Sister. If so might be, calling in a serviceman would be
the way to go.

Tom G.

.

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