Well Water Problem

[Paystar]

Hello everyone, I've got a question. I have a shallow well with a sand point. The water is very good, have it tested regularly and it is very clean and bacteria free. It has good taste, no odour and no problems with washing dishes, no stains in sinks or toilets. The problem I have is calcium buildup in the hot water heater tank (electric). Also get water spots if I wash my vehicles in the sun. But the water heater.......it originally lasted about 9 years then the bottom element went. Took it out and the bottom of the tank was filled with the white powder and flakes. Cleaned and flushed, changed element, lasted 6 years. Now (don't know if the water is changing or if it has something to do with the tank getting old) I only get about a year out of it before it burries the bottom element and shorts it out.
Is a water softener what I need? Or is there another solution? As far as water softeners....do they change the taste of the water? We love the taste of our water so I don't want to lose that.
What do you all think I need to do?

Thanks,
Shawn.

 

[EarPlug]

Check out this thread http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/139004-well-water-question.html

 

[Scooby074]

In our old house the water was super hard. We'd only get a few years out of a element / tank.

THe only real solution is a water softener AFAIK. It may change the taste of the water slightly. But our old water tasted excellent, even with the softener.

If you dont want that, your going to have to deal with the maintenance. Frequent draining of the tank will help things.

There are other benefits to having a softener, like using getting cleaner laundry and better showers.

It might be worth having your water checked for hardness.

 

[Skyco]

Most waters heaters I've seen have a hose bib (spigot) on the bottom. Sounds like you need to flush the tank out opening that every few months.

 

[Egon]

A water softener should solve the calcium problem. For drinking water you can always run a bypass around the softener. Also remember the backwash water from the softener has to go someplace and may not be compatible with a septic system.

 

[Kays Supply]

I install softeners for customers. It is common practice to connect the kitchen cold water line and the outside hydrants ahead of the softener. Some people don't want to drink the softened water because of the salt carry over after backwash. The outside lines can use water at a higher rate than the softener can supply. You should really enjoy a shower with the softened water.

 

[cowboy357]

We had the same Problem . after replacing the 3rd water heater in 10 years . I kill the power to it , Shut the incoming water off to it , hook a water hose to the valve on the bottom . Then I drain it & refill to flush it out about every 3 months & it seems to take care of the problem .

Ours Is Probablly much worse then yours though as it also has real fine sand in it . I put an inline water filter in it & have to change it twice a month. Probally time for a new well in Our case. Best of luck. Bob

 

[Dutch445]

All this "good" talk about soft water,
I just wish I could convince the other
half that it really is good. She is so
against having the extra sodium in her
drinking water, and not rinsing clean in
the shower.
but even with a softener, our direct
vent gas hot water heater still failed after
6 or 7 years.. they did warranty it though.

we do have the outside water, and one extra spigot in the
kitchen sink for non softened water. also
sending backwash down a footer drain instead
of into septic.

 

[CurlyDave]

We use potassium chloride instead of sodium to recharge the water softener.

If the price of the bags doesn't give you a heart attack, I think it is better for your health. Increasing your potassium intake is good for you.

 

[Paystar]

Good advice all, thanks. I know trucks and tractors, not too much else, lol. I've been using the drain on the water heater....I turn the pump off, let it drain completely, then turn the pump back on and let it flush, but nothing wants to come out. I have to literally dig it out the element opening. We don't have much problem in the kettle or with laundry or showers though. That's my other fear of the water softener.....I've stayed at friends houses that have them and can never get used to that feeling of not having the soap rinsed off in the shower.
So I guess I would still have problems with an oil fired water heater? What about the electric ones I see that have an annode rod in them?
Well I guess I'll have to make a decision. I just wanted to make sure that it was a hard water problem and not something I could cure with some sort of sediment filter system.
Curly Dave,that sounds interesting. Didn't know you could do that. Is it a lot more than the salt? My doctor is always ragging on me about having low potassium Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone, lol.

Thanks everyone,
Shawn.

 

[CurlyDave]

Today, Lowes has 40 lb of potassium chloride for $27 vs. sodium chloride @ ~ $5. I have seen it as high as $40 and as low as $15-18.

I would call that a lot more. But, we go through less than 10 bags per year. Your mileage may vary.

If $200 per year was a problem none of us would own tractors.

 

[jinjimbob]

Why do people have salt in their softened water, doesn't that mean something is not working correctly?

 

[Egon]

If there is salt in the water the unit has not backwashed properly.

The sodium in the water is from the ion exchange when calcium was removed.

 

[tommu56]

There should be very little sodium in the water because it washes sodium off the zeoite (thats why sodium go's down the drain) as a last step in the recharge process if the softener is working correctly working correctly

tom

 

[Egon]

­The solution to hard water is either to filter the water by distillation or reverse osmosis to remove the calci­um and magnesium, or to use a water softener. Filtration would be extremely expens­ive to use for all the water in a house, so a water softener is usually a less costly solution.

The idea behind a water softener is simple. The calcium and magnesium ions in the water are replaced with sodium ions. Since sodium does not prec­ipitate out in pipes or react badly with soap, both of the problems of hard water are eliminated. To do the ion replacement, the water in the house runs through a bed of small plastic beads or through a chemical matrix called zeolite. The beads or zeolite are covered with sodium ions. As the water flows past the sodium ions, they swap places with the calcium and magnesium ions. Eventually, the beads or zeolite contain nothing but calcium and magnesium and no sodium, and at this point they stop softening the water. It is then time to regenerate the beads or zeolite.

 

[The Dougster]

One solution to make draining the sediment easier/faster, is to replace the candy-azz hose bib with a 3/4-inch ball valve..... no need to shut off the water or drain the tank first... just make certain no one uses a faucet for the few minutes it take to screw in the ball ball... you'll lose maybe one cup of water...