Water softener sizing for iron

[kapster]

I'm hoping to get some advise from people that have dealt with a similar situation. Our water tests 11 gpg, 1ppm iron. Our current softener is a 24k and iron goes right through it. By calculation we should be around a 32k for regening once per week. I've read you have to watch going to long between if iron is involved, 7-10 days max is what i was told.

Online reseller recommends a 40k, and local plumber recommended a 48k. Am I missing something, if I go larger there's going to be alot of times where it regens by a day override rather than the capacity. Does this make any sense?

 

[DGersic]

I don’t think the softener does anything for iron. But the guy at https://www.softenerparts.com/ has always given me good advice. Ask him, see what he says to do.

 

[BurtEggley]

my understanding is that it takes special filtration to get rid of iron. Also, there are different types of iron molecules so each has to be dealt with.

 

[22-W]

A water softener is for hardness, not iron. That is quite a bit of iron for a regular softener to handle.

 

[kapster]

Everything I read says upto 1ppm of clear water iron they can handle, above 3ppm for sure need an iron filter. If its ferric iron visible out of the tap it don't take it out. People ive talked to say go with a softener and add iron filter later if needed. You compensate 3-6 grains per gallon for every 1ppm iron when programming them.

I should note the 1ppm iron was tested by a water softener salesman, not a lab. A lab test I did said .09 which shouldn't even be staining plumbing. So I think it fluctuates somewhere between the two.

 

[mike93lx]

At my last place in MA, I had a separate unit for the iron, along with a softener and arsenic filter.

 

[jblnut]

We ran with a softener and peroxide in the well for a year after the new house went up. We put a back flushing iron filter in and ****, the issue is solved. Still running the peroxide to keep the lines clean. Our iron was also right on the edge of where a regular softener “was supposed to work” but it didn’t. Softeners are not for removing iron, they’re for removing calcium and magnesium. The little bit of iron they may remove is a bonus and not to be counted on.

To make the problem go away you’ll need a dedicated iron removing device.

 

[gizardlizard]

Check into the iron curtain.

 

[kj_mustang]

My water tested at 15 hardness, .05 iron, and high on Manganese. I put in a Katalox Light media filter system plumbed before water softener 10 years ago and it has worked great.
Some media types work better for different things in your water.

Iron and Sulfur Filters

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[pcmeiners]

update...miss read the OPs iron amount, thought it was 11 ppm, so the following is more than the OP needs.

I have a decent amount of iron, both in Ferric and ferrous form, not as much as you, also some manganese oxide The filter linked below is what I have for ferric iron; any smaller and you need to clean it often. In the filter basket I placed pool filter fluff balls and a porous down tube, the filter is cleaned twice a year. If I had a standard "whole house" filter I would be changing the filter every month or less. For ferrous iron I have an aerator and Katalox light which converts the ferrous iron to ferric iron which is cleaned out with the Katalox light@ filter backwash.
So you can buy a "home owner special" water filter for less than a hundred dollars ( for ferric iron), change the filter every month at a cost or go with the linked and clean the ferric iron filter twice a year or less . The aeration tank is also linked, which is setup before the Katalox light tanks. If you go with a smaller home owner filter at least get a stainless filter housing (10") linked below, though with that much iron I do not recommend it as it is too small.
As to the filtering ability, I can place a glass of water on a window sill 3 week later there is NO sediment, or wash may car or windows with NO spots. As to Katalox light, it also removes heay metal and nucleotides.

Pardon Our Interruption...

Aer-Max Aeration Systems – Pure Water Products, LLC

Aer-Max Aeration systems for Iron & Hydrogen Sulfide Removal

www.purewaterproducts.com

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[Bill Bowman]

We installed a whole house filter, and they recommended a salt called Red Out. Seems to work well for past 5 years or so. Whole house filter, is typically changed twice a year.

 

[littleboss]

Have Culligan give you a free estimate. Then use their data.

As far as iron, between my softener and the Iron Out powder that I add mine does very good

 

[dcg9381]

Have Culligan give you a free estimate. Then use their data.

He's already got the data. 40k-48k probably too big for culligan and they are in the "service industry" - they make money on servicing their stuff on a regular basis. I'd use one of the online retailers that sells systems with a Clack or Fleck valve - those valves are what you want... And their costs is typically a fraction of what I'd pay a "water specialist" here.

 

[NORTON'S SHOP]

My community well is high in iron and other non wanted minerals. When I replaced my softener, the dealer strongly recommended a iron filter be installed as well. He said without the iron filter, the softener would last about 3-5 years. I did as recommended and everything is still working fine. This was twenty-two years ago.

 

[steves_001]

@jblnut
“Still running the peroxide to keep the lines clean”

What are you using for hp? Injection system?

 

[jblnut]

@jblnut
“Still running the peroxide to keep the lines clean”

What are you using for hp? Injection system?

A clutched Stenner pump that runs when the well pump runs. I have a line running to the bottom of my well so when the pump runs it ***** it in right away.

It’s 34.5% Peroxide and comes from Leedstone in Melrose MN. A 55gal barrel lasts around 2 months by the chicken barn (separate well) and a 15gal barrel lasts around 2 months on the well that feeds the house and cattle barns.

I can get pictures of the setups if you’d like.

 

[steves_001]

Thanks for the details. You must run a lot of water. Basically the HP removes the hydrogen sulfide build up right? Or is it doing more? Seems like a lot of HP use?

 

[kapster]

Have Culligan give you a free estimate. Then use their data.

As far as iron, between my softener and the Iron Out powder that I add mine does very good

Do you know how much iron ppm your dealing with?

I'm adding a sediment filter as well. I think its worth a shot to try the sediment and a larger / new softener first with the numbers i have. If it doesnt work I'll get an iron filter. Even if I have to change the media every 5 to 10 years, its pretty cheap compared to the extra unit / extra water usage load on the well.

 

[pcmeiners]

As a note I had a Culligan filter system, inherited from the previous owner, the company never cleaned out the system. The softener tank had tons bugs in it, I dumped the service fast.

 

[tlc1976]

My old house had iron sludge in the water. 14 on the hardness scale. Culligan was quick to put in a softener, and it did help things, but not totally. I don't remember what size softener, but it wasn't that big, it just barely fit in the crawl space between the floor joists, about 40" tall with the control head, maybe 30" tall for the salt tank. It was set to regen every day. I also used the rust remover salt based on some recommendations by coworkers.

Later at one of the HOA meetings, they said a softener wasn't what you needed. They said you needed a filter, and one of the HOA board members sold the filtration system to clean up the water supplied by the HOA owned and run system. Sounded like a racket to me. I just started using faucet/pitcher filtration for my drinking water, and the rest was what it was.

 

[Blk88GT]

I have iron issues at my place and the softener wouldn't cut it. I ended up installing an Iron Breaker 3 ahead of the softener. It was a game changer.