water filtration

[ric]

I have a cistern that I use for a water source. Water is pumped from the cistern, then chlorine injected, then stored in 120 gallon settlement tank to allow the chlorine time to work, then charcol filtered as it is used in the house. My question, is this the best way to purify cistern water? I don't dump any chlorine in the cistern as this tends to cause the PH of the water to increase which reduces the chlorines ability to kill bacteria. The chlorine injector seems inconsistent in delivering chlorine correctly which seems to lead to a moldy smell in the water.
Any best practices suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. ric

 

[MikePA]

I've seen devices that use an ultrviolet light to purify the water. Water enters one end, passes through a clear glass tube which is housed in a stainless steel box that also contains the UV light.

I've also seen water filters that are installed right after the pressure tank. They use a long (about 12"), cylindrical filter. Different types of filters are available, e.g., filters for odor, iron, etc. The top of the unit has a large handle that can be turned to Filter, Pass Through, and Close.

 

[TerryinMD]

Have you had your water tested just for safety's sake? The water smelling moldy after being treated doesn't sound very good to me. You may have other problems. Chlorine does not remove all contaminents.

I kind agree with Mike about having the UV and inline filter. Kill the bugs before the inline and have the inline remove most of the other junk. Wouldnt hurt, well, except to the pocketbook.

Terry

 

[MikePA]

If you do go with the UV or the filter, make sure they are securely mounted, particularly the filter. When I had one, it was just hanging from the water pipe, which was fine for normal use. However, changing the filter, requires unscrewing the clear plastic container which put some stress on the pipes. Also make sure that things are plumbed so that, if need be, you can bypass everything. I did this so I could work on the devices without shutting off water to the entire house.

 

[dmccarty]

Get the September or October 2001 edition of Fine Home Building magazine. They have an article on cisterns and filtration systems. The article discussed UV purification and some filters as well.

Seems like we just had a conversation on TBN about filtration and purification. You might want to do a search.

Hope this helps...
Dan McCarty

 

[Devildog]

Ric, If you are getting a moldy smell after a charcol filter then your filter needs replaced which means your carbon has been depleated. Lots of bad things can grow in the filter unless there is a way you can backwach it. The reason I say this is because carbon whether it be a Granule activated or anthricite will remove all taste and odors, it also removes chlorine. Our filters here at the waterplant have 4 different types of media. Now If you have recently replaced your filter then you might want to go ahead and flush your system, espeacially the dead ends like outside faucets that are very seldom used if used at all. I could go on for awhile, so check the 2 possibilities out and then we can go from there.
____________________________________________________
Take care, Jim

2001 B7500 HST 302 Fel R4 Tires, Befco BRB60
Semper Fidelis

 

[ric]

Jim, The charcol filter in my system is 60 inches tall and 8 inches in diameter. It auto back flush cycles every 4 days for 30 minutes. I know it is working I heard it running a few nights ago. This filter is three years old and has a life expectancy of 3 to 5 years according to the manufacturer. I thought it might be faulty too until I opened the cistern and got the same odor. The odd thing is this odor comes and goes without me doing anything. Any ideas? ric

 

[HarveyM]

Our home system feeds a spring into a cistern, then through the UV just past the pump/pressure tank, and following that I have a solids filter and water softener. The water always tests pure in the house and tastes fine. Measurements at the cistern are pretty high in cauliform (spelling?) bacteria, so I put a lot of stock in the UV method.

 

[Devildog]

Ric, You have a small package system. They are excellent for home use. It sounds to me that the carbon has lost its effectiveness. What we do here is send off a sample and have it evaluated. You should check with the manufacturer and see what needs to be done to have it checked out. carbon removes chlorine, actually carbon removes all taste and odors that is why I believe you are getting that odor. You also might want to think about shocking your cistern with some HTH which is high test hypochlorite, another form of chlorine, to remove that smell and kill any other forms of bacteria in there. I hope Im not confusing you, Its really hard to evaluate a system and not being able to look at it.

Harvey, The UV system is one of the best there is but on a but on a large scale the cost effect versus the cost of chlorine that kills us. So I just have to keep sniffing the gas.
____________________________________________________
Take care all, Jim



2001 B7500 HST 302 Fel R4 Tires, Befco BRB60
Semper Fidelis

 

[ric]

Jim, Before posting this I suspected the charcol filter might be the problem due to the length of time it's been in service. This problem appears to have been masked by a problem with the chlorine injection pump. The pump seems to work and the solution is mixed right but for some reason it's not delivering enough chlorine like it was so I upped the pressure and volume a little on the pump. After talking with the vendor for the charcol filter I think I understand it's operation better than they do. Anyway, I suspect the charocol and gravel mix has probably all backflushed out of the contanier slowly over the last 3 years and now does not work. I verified this by checking the chlorine in bypass and online the level is the same and since the levels are so low if this was working there would theoretically be none present. The low chlorine level is another issue and maybe just an adjustment we'll see today. Luckily this is a rechargeable charcol unit and I will put in new charcol and gravel this week when it shows up. Today I will flush the household system for a short time using the higher injector settings if they work to see if the chlorine levels come up. If they don't I will be dumping 72 ounces of laundry chlorine in the inlet side of the cistern and run the hose until I smell chlorine. We have a 25,000 gallon cistern that is partly full so using the 1 ounce to 100 gallon rule of thumb 72 ounces should cover the 7,000 gallons in the tank. I then plan to flush the house lines, close them and let them set for 8 hours to kill whatever might be in the pipes. Then I plan to hose down the inside of the cistern without falling in and wait and see what happens. Boiled some water for drinking. Take a slightly chlorine enriched shower and wait to see what happens. Thanks for you help. Looked at the UV systems they are pricey, but they do kill coliform and everything else very well. More later, ric Jim, when were you in the crotch?

 

[ric]

Update, I figured what's not working, now all I have to do is figure how to fix it. The charcol filter is working okay but I am going to recharge it this week. The chlorine injector is the problem even though it's working and injects chlorine it's not pumping against pressure for some reason and the chlorine is running down the outside of the feed line. It has done this off and on for two years but always injected chlorine into the water correctly until about a month ago. I chlorinated the cistern and almost right away the chlorine levels came up. PH even went down some. The so called vendor who installed this to start with plumbed everyting too short and used the wrong fitting so I'll need to cut everyhting apart and start over. Anyway when the chlorine came up I loaded all the house lines with chlorinated water to kill whatever might be in the lines then turned the filter back on and so far no smell. We'll see how long this lasts. More later, ric

 

[heehaw]

run the hose until I smell chlorine!! i know i sound like a
broken record, but hear goes again; according to the clorox co., if you can smell the chlorine, it is older/weaker than if you cannot smell the chlorine!!! they have a toll free number;800-292-2200; and are usually very helpful with questions about uses of their product.
heehaw

 

[Devildog]

Ric, Glad you found the problem. Usually the venders are more helpful than that. Here we have 3 machines that inject chlorine into our system which is 130 psi but we treat about 14 million gals a day. Also here in Va, the rule of thumb for proper well chlorination is 50 PPM and let it set 24 hrs to flush the system thoroughly. 2 PPM (parts per million) kills but we carry about 4 PPM in ours to make sure/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif They dont teach to much on cisterns here because there not allowed for drinking purposes unless they have been grandfathered in. But there is nothing wrong with them at all if properly cared for, our neighbor has one that he uses with no problems at all.


On Edit: I was in from 1978-1984
___________________________________________________
Take care and let me know the outcome, Jim

2001 B7500 HST 302 Fel R4 Tires, Befco BRB60
Semper Fidelis<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Devildog on 10/22/01 06:08 AM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[ric]

HeeHaw, I am not exactly sure what you are referring to regarding the chlorine odor after adding it to the cistern. Could you be a little more specifc, seems as though I have missed your previous posts on this subject. Thanks. ric

 

[ric]

Jim, 1969 to 1975: grunt, motor t, mechanic, armor, PFC - private f*****g citizen. 64 ounces to 7,000 gallons gave me over 10ppm on my tester. City water around here is 2 to 5 ppm that I know of at the tap. At home after injection we have about 2 ppm usually, after filtration it 0 to .5 ppm. More later, ric

 

[Devildog]

Im checking in to cisterns now, I dont know if my comment was right about not using them anymore for drinking purposes?

I was a 0361 morterman/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif At the time you dont think about it but it was some of my best years growing up, Living paycheck to paycheck and the biggest decision was which club to go to.
___________________________________________________
Take care Bro, Jim

2001 B7500 HST 302 Fel R4 Tires, Befco BRB60
Semper Fidelis

 

[heehaw]

several years ago, i noticed that i could not smell the clorox when i mixed it in our chlorinator;i kept adding more and more to try to get the "smell": i thought it was my smeller; but the a friend that uses it in his pool told me the same thing; so i called the clorox company; if you can smell the chlorine in the clorox; it is not as strong as it is if you cannot smell it; the older the clorox gets, the weaker it gets and the stronger the smell; so be careful trying to use your nose to adjust the amount to mix. if your not using clorox as a chlorine source, this probably does not apply.
heehaw

 

[ric]

Jim, Got all the plumbing parts I need to lay this out this week. Pickup the charcol and new injector tomorrow. Have an idea how to add a couple ball valves in the line so I can shut off everything with very little mess or time lost waiting to drain off the lines. Cistern is still holding at 10+ ppm and no mold smell.

Mortarman, talk about a tough job. Which was the heaviest, the base, the tube or the round? Never looked like you guys were having any fun humping that stuff through the boonies. There were good times for sure, seen and done things and been places I'll never forget, but once was enough.

More later, ric

 

[ric]

HeeHaw, I get it, very good point, never really thought about the shelf life of Chlorox. We use it regularly and only what we need so very little sets around getting stale. We did purchase some pool chlorine which is 12% instead 5.25% like Chlorox and it does not have all the additives like Chlorox does. It also mixes up easier than Chlorox because it's in 1 gallon jugs like Chlorox used to be. With the old Chlorox we mixed 1 gallon with 4 gallons of water to fill the injector tank. The new concentrated version of Chlorox in less than gallon jugs makes it messy to fit the right mix in the tank. The pool version is 1 gallon to 8 gallons of water which allows us to run the injector tank almost empty, flush it out then fill it full very easily. Thanks for the very useful and timely tip. ric

 

[MikePA]

ric and Devildog,

Thank you for your service to our country!