Well company is coming out next Friday, 10/3, to service and clean (sanitize) the well, the pump, and the entire system.
Well water question.
- Thread starter ProjectBazza
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Two questions, if I may:
1. Is your filtration system upstream of your pressure tank, or downstream?
2. Would you mind if I sent you a PM or three as things come up?
Thanks.
Jim
68gtxman
I used to reMember
Hi Jim, sure, you can PM me. The pressure tanks (I have two to reduce the start ups on the well pump - the well guy said my pump will live forever) are the first things on the incoming line (after the tank pressure controller). The filtration systems are downstream from them. After the pressure tanks, I have a sediment filter and then the flow goes to a water softener and then the H2O2 system. Only one treatment system is in operation at a time (while the unused system is set to bypass).
Bryan
68gtxman
I used to reMember
Also, about the two pressure tanks, having two reduces the chance that one becomes water logged without me noticing it. That is the fastest way to kill your well pump. I check both each year to ensure that neither have failed and became water logged.
68gtxman
I used to reMember
This is a bad photo of my systems.
Thank you! I couldn't make out how your system was plumbed, but it almost looked as though your filtration was upstream of the tank, which is "Not Good". (I like the idea of having two tanks, and I may just have to look into doing this myself!)
We're having our system "shocked" (my term) Friday morning, and the well company says the system needs to just "sit" (or soak) for 24-30 hours before I can flush it Saturday afternoon sometime. Looks like we'll be staying at a Holiday Inn Friday evening.
I have Qty (3) different water samples out being tested right now, and in the meantime I'm researching filtration systems and weighing options. More than likely I'll be in-touch offline once the results are in, and thanks again!
Jim
68gtxman
I used to reMember
Sure Jim! FYI, after your well and plumbing is shocked, expect to have to pull the incoming water lines to things like dishwashers, washing machines and the like. This is because the chlorine treatment will break loose all kinds of crud inside your plumbing and the incoming water lines on appliances will likely have screens that will catch this. My dishwasher clogged to the point it wouldn’t let water pass at all. My relative’s washing machine did the same thing after her well was shocked.
You don’t have to preemptively do this, just be aware of this possibility if an appliance suddenly stops working.
Yeah, we had to do this when we installed the Kinetico softener when we bought the place 3 years ago. I was amazed at the amount of "gunk" that came out of the pipes, and to his credit the Kinetico guy did warn us that this would happen. If memory serves it took about 5-6 months for everything to clean-up....
For the life of me I don't know how the previous/original owners lived with that water for all those years!
68gtxman
I used to reMember
When I bought my home in 1986, I found that the previous owners lived here with their water softener turned off. All of the sinks, toilet and shower were severely rust stained. I don’t know what they did with rust colored white clothing. The water softener wasn’t damaged or clogged, just turned off. I guess they just couldn’t carry down 80 pound bags of salt anymore.
Well (no pun intended), our well failed the choliform bacteria test in a BIG way, and long story short: While “shocking” the well the techs discovered that our “pitless” may be cracked and needs replacing. They’re going to scope it next Tuesday, and if that comes up positive (for cracks), that would explain everything (the bacteria, the smells, the dirt and sand in our filters…..)
And it’s a HELLUVA lot less money that an entirely new well, which is what we thought we had initially this morning.
Got our fingers crossed!
And it’s a HELLUVA lot less money that an entirely new well, which is what we thought we had initially this morning.
Got our fingers crossed!
Damn, this is taking a long time! Flushing the chlorine out of the well took almost 5 hours, and so far I’m at 55 minutes and counting on just the water heater. Once that’s done I can start running taps and toilets, but how long is that going to take?
And to think I get to do this all over again once we get the “pitless” replaced (if that is indeed the only issue).
And I thought watching paint dry was boring!
And to think I get to do this all over again once we get the “pitless” replaced (if that is indeed the only issue).
And I thought watching paint dry was boring!
One mystery solved. They tried running a camera down the well casing this afternoon, but they only got down 4-5 feet before they found the well casing was not only cracked, but completely broken, leaving the well open to the topsoil. Both of the guys that were here said they’ve never seen this before…..
Picture taken from the top of the well casing with my phone. The light is from the camera, and the black area at the 2:00 position is the broken casing.
Picture of what the camera shows:
Picture taken from the top of the well casing with my phone. The light is from the camera, and the black area at the 2:00 position is the broken casing.
Picture of what the camera shows:
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Professor Fate
Push the button, Max...
That's ugly... gotta make you wonder if somebody backed into it at some point in the past.
We all stood there and looked at this….and looked at it…..and looked at it…..and looked at it some more. No ideas!
The well company is waiting for Gopher State One Call to come out and locate all of the utilities, and once that’s done they can start digging. Hopefully once they get it out of the ground we can make a more informed “guesstimate”. I’m hoping we can get it done this week, as we’re living out of bottled water right now (cooking, washing, etc), and it’s getting old.
To be continued……
68gtxman
I used to reMember
The worst feeling is when you realize that living in your home without running water is more like camping out and having to haul water. This must be what our ancestors felt like before having running water in your home was the norm. Makes you appreciate modern conveniences more!
Good luck my friend!
Thank you!
Yes, just last night my wife and I were talking about how we take modern conveniences for granted....until they stop working.
Professor Fate
Push the button, Max...
Maybe if you've got a nearby neighbor who you're on good terms with, they'll let you run a long hose from their house over to yours- on a temporary basis, of course...
Thanks for the idea, but we're ok. Unbeknownst to us we've been living with this for some time, and thankfully we do have pretty decent filtration in the house, but now that we are aware of it we're not using the well for washing food, cooking, or drinking water. Showering, toilets, washtubs, etc: Sure.
Plus, when I consider that idea a little more, I'd have to run so much hose over to the neighbor's (500 ft+), there wouldn't be much pressure left by the time it got to the end of the hose!
MobileCustoms
You can twist perceptions, reality won't budge
That's how I do it too. works great
Somehow I missed this on the first go-round, sorry!
Regardless, that's essentially what the well company did last Friday, but it took me almost 12 hours to flush the system when they were done. Looking at it now, with 20/20 hindsight, it all makes sense, as the chlorine was leaching out (of the cracked casing) and into the soil while they were "shocking" the system, and then when I went to flush it, it all leached back into the well again.
But we got 'er runnin' scared now!
I just got the call, and the well company is coming out "first thing tomorrow morning".
And given that it's our 11th wedding anniversary....not sure how to complete this thought or where I was going with this!
And given that it's our 11th wedding anniversary....not sure how to complete this thought or where I was going with this!
68gtxman
I used to reMember
Good luck! May it be only a brief outage.I just got the call, and the well company is coming out "first thing tomorrow morning".
And given that it's our 11th wedding anniversary....not sure how to complete this thought or where I was going with this!
Thank you! We have 5 gallon buckets at each toilet, wash basins and “rinse pitchers” at most sinks, and about 10 gallons of drinking water in the kitchen. I think we’re ready, and right now we’re just waiting for the show to begin.
Oh! My 90 year old father is coming over to “supervise”, as well!
Good luck! You can never have too much supervision.
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****, Steve! You sound just like my Boss at work!
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