Yet Another Water Softening Advice Request

11 years ago

Until recently, I had a three tank, Fleck system), which had many leaks due to its age. The Fleck Vendor stated the valves could not be replaced due to their age. Due to the leaks, I took the entire system out of service and looking to replace my system and any piping. I have spent the last few months reading this forum for advice.

Hopefully the info below will be enough for some good recommendations so I can draw out what the system will look like, and then come back for any additional answers.

Thanks in advance for any support.. Jim

Water Source: Well
4 people ( 2 adults, 2 boys 14-11)
3.5 baths with 4 bedrooms
No Jacuzzi tub but an outside spa and pool.
Water Flow Rate is about 11-12 gal per minute
Holding tank = Xtrol WX-350 (120 gal)
1Ã¢ÂÂ pipe from well into Xtrol holding tank then 1Ã¢ÂÂ brass connections. I can upsize/downsize from here with the optimum solution but house pipes go from main piping of 1Ã¢ÂÂ to feeder pipes of 1/2Ã¢ÂÂ.

The backwash from the previous system ran from the equipment up the wall to a ÃÂ½Ã¢ÂÂ flexible clear hose which ran along the ceiling and connected into my septic system.

I had a State certified independent water lab conduct the test. They came to the house and obtained the samples. There were over 90 individual tests performed broken up into Microbiologicals (2); Inorganics (30); Trihalomethanes (4) Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" None Detected; and Volatile Organic Compounds (56) Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" Non Detected

I do not think it is wise to detail all 90+ tests so I will show the tests most identified in this forum.

Microbiologicals:
Total Coli: Absent
E. Coli: Absent

Inorganics:
Aluminum Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" ND
Arsenic Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" ND
Calcium: 24.9mg/L
Copper: 0.107mg/L
Iron Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" ND
Lead: 0.002mg/L
Magnesium: 9.32mg/L
Manganese: 0.130mg/L
Mercury Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" ND
Nickel Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" ND
Potassium: 7.9mg/L
Silica: 13.0mg/L
Sodium: 10mg/L
Zinc: 0.016mg/L
Alkalinity: 48mg/L
Hardness: 100mg/L
PH: 5.2 pH Units
TDS: 160mg/L
Turbidity Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" ND
Chloride: 13mg/L (is this natural for a well?)
Fluoride Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" ND
Nitrate as N: 6.4mg/l
Nitrite as N Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" ND
Sulfate: 51.0mg/L
All others = ND

Trihalomethanes Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½" ND

Volatile Organic - ND

Am I thinking incorrectly that my pH will need to be increased and by doing so, the Hardness, Calcium and Manganese will go down? Will the pH also stop the faucets from staying green?

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Comments (3)

User
11 years ago
pH: You are correct - it should be raised. Doing so should eliminate your green deposits. Manganese will not be affected by the pH change.

There are three methods for increasing pH.

1) calcite/corosex blend (90:10 ratio). If your water pH was greater than 6, you would only need calcite. Since your pH is closer to 5, you will need the blend. This feeder consists of a tank and control valve (the same type used for softeners). It would backwash periodically and would need to be recharged every several years with more calcite blend. This will increase the hardness of your water.

2) soda ash feeder. This would consist of a mix tank, chemical feed pump, contact tank and flow meter. You would have to dissolve 2 - 3 lb soda ash per gallon of water. This system works very well, but would require much more effort on your part. It will not change the hardness of your water.

3) Sodium hydroxide feeder: This method is most applicable with extremely low pH and would require you to deal with a very caustic chemical so I wouldn't recommend it for the average homeowner.

Since you have the pool and spa, coupled with water that is not very hard right now, I recommend option 1. You will need to get a larger softener, but you will already need that to get the flow rate you want anyway. There is a caveat with this recommendation, however. Calcite blend has a service flow rate of 3 - 6 gpm/sqft and a required backwash flow rate of 8-12 gpm/sqft. You will need to determine the max flow you can achieve at the location where you will place the equipment. If you have a spigot at your pressure tank, that is the place to get a flow rate. A bucket of know volume and a stopwatch will do the trick.

Determine your max flow to start and then we can go from there.
golfer38
Original Author
11 years ago
Alice,

Thanks for the quick response. In my initial flow rate, I got between 10-11 gpm from the spickot right after my Xtrol pressure tank. So I am not sure if this is what you may be looking for.

In using an online calculator, with a 1" pipe (out of pressure tank) and 10-11 gpm it tell me my velocity is 4 feet ps and 245 fpm.

Thanks, Jim
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User
11 years ago
Sorry, I missed the flow rate you had provided. An up-flow calcite blend neutralizer will work just fine.