From: paul100@aol.com (PAUL100)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Date: 10 Nov 2004 00:11:57 GMT
Subject: Re: home water treatment (pH)
>Subject: home water treatment (pH)
>From: Mike Schloss schloss_NO_S_P_A_M_PLEASE@zk3.dec.com
>Date: 11/9/2004 4:47 PM Eastern Standard Time
>Message-id:
>
>I have a question for anyone with knowledge of home water treatment.
>I live in a home where water is provided by a well (no town water).
>When we had the water tested originally it was slightly acidic but not
>enough to warrant treatment. After we lived here for a while we
>determined that the pH changes over time and in the winter the water is
>acidic enough to warrant treatment. The water is also quite hard so we
>had a softener installed by a local outfit. We discussed the pH issue
>with the same guy and his recommendation was to install another tank
>(like the softener) and this one would be filled with marble chips.
>Water flowing through the tank would dissolve the marble and neutralize
>the acidity. The softener would then remove the added calcium. There
>would be a loss of pressure due to pumping the water through the
>calcium. This would be in addition to the loss of pressure due to
>pumping the water through the softener. Since our water pressure is
>already lower then what we would like I asked him to look into
>something else. He said that he could install a chemical injection
>system that would meet our needs but it would require periodic
>servicing to maintain proper pH. The servicing would be at add soda
>ash and water to a storage tank periodically and occasional stirring of
>the tank. Also, I would need to adjust the concentration in the tank
>to regulate the pH of the domestic water as the water from the well
>changed over time. The system was installed so that the soda ash
>solution is injected into the pressure tank and the system ran OK for
>about a year (warranty was for a year). There has been a repeated
>buildup of crud (soda ash) on the pump fittings and the installer
>explained that this is normal. I asked if we could use more soda ash
>in the tank and reduce the pump speed or stroke to reduce the frequency
>of having to refill the tank. I was told that according to the
>installers contact at the pump company that the pump should always be
>run at full speed and full stroke and he would/could not provide an
>explanation as to why this might be true. Recently we noticed that the
>pump was no longer pumping and is no longer under warranty. Upon
>investigation of the service manual it appears that this pump requires
>annual service (replace diaphragm). I am beginning to come to the
>opinion that this pump is a piece of junk. Questions for the readers
>are:
>
>1) Could anyone make a recommendation for a new pump? 220V >8gpd @ 80psi
> I can do simple plumbing and electrical tasks myself. Any reason not
> to do this myself?
>
>2) Soda Ash seems a poor choice for reducing the pH. The stuff that I
> get in the 50lb sacks seems to have a fair amount of insoluble crud
> that collects at the bottom of the tank and makes it difficult to
> stir. Wouldn't sodium hydroxide (lye) be a better choice. I know
> that I need to be (more) careful with this (goggles and maybe gloves
> and/or respirator).
>
>Any recommendations?
>
>
>
>
>
>
I am runnign an injection pump here. I cannot recommend a pumpthat runs on
220v. I am running a Sears brand pump. I dont know who makes it ,but it runs
on 120V. On my pump I us eit at low to mid speed. I just up the concetraton of
the chemicals until I get the water the way i want it. I never liked running
at full speed since I had to make a new batch of chemicals up... To elimanate
the crud in the tank. I always mixed the soda ash in a bucket with hot water
then poured it into the main tank. I hope I helped. Paul
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