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Iron filter for well water

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  • Jan 4th, 2019 8:21 pm
Sr. Member
Apr 17, 2007
779 posts
19 upvotes
Whitby

Iron filter for well water

Moved into a new home in sept. Currently have a pre-filter going to a softener, then to a UV. I got a kinetico RO installed for drinking and cooking water.

Now to the problem. We are noticing the toilets are staining, as well as the stand up shower base. It’s staining slightly yellow. When you look at the water there is no color. Slightly metallic smell. Kinetico guy was reading 4 parts of iron when system was bypassed. Softener brings it down to .5

If we are getting staining, there must absolutely be high iron in the water yes?

Any recommendations on iron filters? Kinetico units are close to 3k.
8 replies
Deal Fanatic
Nov 2, 2005
5355 posts
2721 upvotes
WFH
With less than 1ppm you should not be noticing significant taste or staining and a properly functioning softener should be able to easily remove 4ppm. The softener is clearly doing something but you may have got a false reading if you tested soon after regeneration. The best time to test would be immediately before a regeneration. It should still be providing soft, low iron water at that point but I suspect that yours may have lost capacity to treat the water long before the next regeneration resulting in the staining and odour you're experiencing. It may not be set to regenerate frequently enough or could simply be suffering from reduced capacity due to the condition of the resin, i.e. contaminated or breakdown due to age or an ineffective regeneration cycle.

Ensure that the softener is set up correctly for your hardness level. Make sure you have no salt bridges and that the brine well is filling and emptying fully during the regeneration cycle. Pick up some Pro Res Care resin cleaner from Home Hardware and run a couple of back to back regen cycles with a dose of this cleaner in there. There may be other issues mechanical issues with the regeneration cycle that can cause reduced capacity.

Bear in mind the Kinetico guy has a vested interest in selling you an over priced iron filter.
Sr. Member
Apr 17, 2007
779 posts
19 upvotes
Whitby
Hi, thanks for the reply. The system is new (less than a year) and we have it set to 40. It refers after 700 or 6 days I believe it is? Regardless, I’m finding it regen every 3-4 days. When we did our inspection, we realized the guy had put the softener in backwards resulting in resin going through the whole system. He vacuumed it out but I’m wondering if maybe we lost too much resin in the process?
Sr. Member
Feb 27, 2007
667 posts
558 upvotes
Do you have a resin cleaner auto-feeder on the system? If you have iron you need one as the iron will eventually foul the resin otherwise.
Sr. Member
Apr 17, 2007
779 posts
19 upvotes
Whitby
Hi, I do however I noticed I haven’t had to fill it up in a couple months? I looks like it’s moving a little bit, but not much at all. Could it be clogged?
Sr. Member
Feb 27, 2007
667 posts
558 upvotes
Possibly. Try emptying it, re-soaking the feeder string, and then trying it. Depending on your water it should be feeding between 0.5-1 oz/day to deal with the iron plugging the resin.

I'd also get the guy who installed it to change the resin, you'll have lost quite a lot if it was hookup up backwards. But if he did that I'm not certain I'd trust him to change the media either....

EDIT: I forgot to add I'd definitely avoid the kinecto guy for an iron filter, their stuff is stupid pricey for what you get. Do you have sulphur in the water as well? If not I'd look at picking up a cheap iron filter, other wise the ones that deal with sulphur are quite a lot more.
Sr. Member
Apr 17, 2007
779 posts
19 upvotes
Whitby
Funny you say that because I certainly don’t feel comfortable with him touching the system.

I’ll call around to see if someone can replace the resin for us.

This is what it looks like in the softener as of now. The res up feeder hasn’t moved much if any. I also took a pic of inside the tube it runs into. Does it look like it’s doing what it’s supposed to? I’m noticing a slight blue tinge in the water in here.

https://imgur.com/a/4Zxuw3P
Sr. Member
Feb 27, 2007
667 posts
558 upvotes
The water should have a blue tinge - the Res Care is dyed so even a small amount will turn water blue. The idea is that if you see blue in your water it's a tell that the softener isn't back washing properly - if I was concerned about it's feeding just put something under it to collect the cleaner and measure it after a day or so - should be .5 or 1 oz a day depending on the string size.

Otherwise it looks like you have the Clack Res-Up feeder? The strings in those are replaceable if you find the feeder isn't working properly.

Also 4ppm is just much past what a softener can remove; the next question is do you have the iron bacteria in your well?

https://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$departmen ... /agdex3549
Sr. Member
Apr 17, 2007
779 posts
19 upvotes
Whitby
Thanks for that. I’ll replace the wick and see if it makes a difference. It seems the water in there sits quite far below the wick (not sure if it should be touching?)

I took a sample to the local water store today and they said it’s sitting at .5ppm for iron.

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