Iron in well water is a very common problem. Everyone within a 20 mile radius of us and perhaps beyond has some type of iron in their well water. When we first moved into our dream house, I noticed two water softener bypass valves left by the previous owner. I never really cared all that much for water softeners, they tend to leave the water feeling too soft; like when you are in the shower it feels like you never can rinse all of the soap off. They also have a tendency to make the water taste slightly salty. I am not a big fan of drinking salt water. So I decided not to hook up a water softener.
A few days after we moved in, I discovered the real reason for the “water softener” bypass valves. We had Iron in our water, lots and lots of it. So I did some research iron in water and found out some interesting things. There are two types of iron found in water, soluble and insoluble. Insoluble iron already oxidized, so it is the type you see; in other words you run the water and it looks brown or orange. Soluble iron is a little more tricky, it is not completely oxidized so the water looks clear until you let it stand for a few minutes, then it turns orange or brown as the iron reacts to the oxygen in the air.
We have both. Therefore, I decided that I should use a two stage iron filter to remove first the insoluble iron. This iron is already oxidized to either (FeO) or (Fe2O3) which means the molecules are bigger and will be caught by a sand filter. The soluble iron (Fe) is taken out by the Green Sand filter, which uses an ion exchange to create the iron oxide, then removes it.
Meet the twins:
The unit on the right is the first stage, which is a sand filter (Kenmore 625.348324), also sometimes called a clarifying filter. The sand filter backwashes every three days and uses about 60 gallons per back wash. The unit on the left is a Green Sand filter (Kenmore 625.349225). It uses Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) during each backwash cycle to recoat the green sand. It backwashes every 4 days and uses about 40 gallons of water during each back wash cycle. After each backwash by the green sand filter, the water is a little pink. Running it for about 30 seconds gets rid of this effect which is due to excess Potassium Permanganate.
The filters are installed so that they may be removed from service for whatever reason without turning off the water supply for the whole house by including a service bypass loop. By turning the 1/4 turn ball valves to the vertical position, both filters are taken out of the water system.
I used 1 inch type L copper pipe for all the water connections. I like working with copper better than PVC or PEX for some reason. I suppose it takes a little bit of skill to solder a pipe, versus clamping something onto a hose barb.
I can’t wait to take my first shower! This well has more pressure than the old one did because I purchased a pressure switch with a 40-60 PSI range instead of a 20-40 PSI range.
Little update:
This is a side by side comparison of the water from my well. The water in the glass on the left is from the kitchen sink tap. It has been filtered through the iron filters described above. The water in the glass on the right is directly from the well before passing through the filters.
Update 2
After a few weeks of experimenting, I have been able to adjust the backwash schedules to once per week for both filters. I think, initially the well had a lot of insoluble iron in it because it was sitting unused. Not that we are using the water, the iron content has gone down a lot. This is time of year when it is dry out, the water table drops and for some reason, the iron problem is more pronounced than in the winter. Therefore, I think the once per week backwashing should be good for the whole year.
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So it’s working well? Hey, that could be a joke.
I think my filter is actually working better as time goes on. There was most likely junk in the pipes that is clearing up, getting rid of any bad taste.
How do you know if you have iron in your water? Is it because of brown stains? My plumber says I have iron because the water stinks, but it does not look brown like yours.
Russel, A good way to check this is to fill a drinking glass with water, then let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. If it turns brown or brown stuff settles out of the water, then you have soluble iron. If not, then you have another problem.
Is iron only a concern with well water? I, like Russel, have been to some homes where the water has a slight odor…but looks clear. These homes don’t use well water.
Mark, That is a good question. There are many things that can be “in solution” (dissolved) in a water supply. These range from trace elements of Manganese, copper, iron, sulfate, calcium, carbonate, etc. Even in municipal water supplies small amounts of these elements, plus fluoride and chloride can be found.
If the odor is a slight rotten egg smell, chances are it is soluble iron. Here is why I say that; water that has iron in it also has iron reducing bacteria. As the bacteria eat the iron, they release Hydrogen Sulfate (H2S) which is the rotten egg or sulfur smell. It may be more noticeable in the hot water.
The only way to know for sure is to have your water tested.