hello to all! I know this is an old post I am replying too, but BettaBore is available locally to remove iron oxide and manganese build up on pumps and borehole water. Apologies if I misunderstood the discussion
hello to all! I know this is an old post I am replying too, but BettaBore is available locally to remove iron oxide and manganese build up on pumps and borehole water. Apologies if I misunderstood the discussion
I'm also looking at using my wellpoint water at least for the toilets in my house and maybe for the baths and showers also. I had the water tested a few years ago and apart from some easily filtered particulates it came back as potable. So far I've just used it for irrigation and it's always been crystal clear and doesn't leave stains on walls etc and I installed an outside tap for topping up the swimming pool. My wellpoint produces about 25-30 litres per minute with the existing setup. It's direct off the pump and controlled by a pressure switch set at 4 Bar with a 20 litre pressure tank to prevent the pump rapid cycling but no storage tank as such.
The logistics of supplying the toilets or the entire bathrooms are a bit daunting. It's a 3 storey house with the geyser in the attic. There's 4 bathrooms, 2 on the ground floor and 2 on the first floor and the only easily accessible pipework is around the geyser in the attic.
Has anyone else been through this kind of exercise? I'm open to suggestions and advice.
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
I found these guys and for me they're the best : Equilibrium Water - www.equilibrium-water.com
Not the cheapest, but they're the few that actually look at your water and don't sell you a "fit for all" solution that break down after a month. In term of quality there is nothing bad to say about them, reliable and adaptive, I highly recommend them.
I have a borehole and use for it for the garden.I had it tested and the iron contain was low but when using it in the swimming pool I notice iron stains ever now and again.Chlorine drops iron out of the water so best to pump into a tank , add chlorine and then take off the water to the pool.
My brother in law is a civil engineer and specialized in water treatment plants.I sent him my test results and have pasted his comments below.
The lab has done a chemical and physical water quality analysis, but not a microbiological water analysis. Without the microbiological, you don’t know what the bacteria count in the water is, and therefore you must not drink this water, or brush teeth, etc . The water will taste salty anyway, because of its high chlorides. Even with a microbiological analysis I wouldn’t drink this water because the quality could change without you knowing it (somebody installs a septic tank)
In terms of physical water quality:
1. EC is quite high – the water will cause minor corrosion – at risk are your washing machine, taps, toilet floats, etc
2. pH is fine
In terms of chemical water quality
1. The water is very hard – you will get severe scaling of geyser elements, you will struggle to get soap to lather, and your pipes will build up a calcium “plaque”, just like cholesterol in the arteries over a few years
2. The calcium and magnesium are slightly high and this is why the water is hard
3. Iron is not too high, but the coloration effects of iron is normally considered in conjunction with manganese which wasn’t analysed, so its hard to tell but I don’t think you will get much colouration of laundry, pool tiles etc
4. Otherwise the chemical concentrations are fine
In short. This water cant be drunk without treatment. It can be used for non-potable use but the hardness will scale your geyser and pipes (over a few years), and the corrosiveness will cause minor corrosion of metallic items. You can use it on the garden and in the pool.
I think you should set up your system to feed the garden and pool at least. If you want to go a little further then also connect your bathrooms, toilets and laundry and see how it goes. If you are unhappy with anything in the house you will be able to remove the hardness with ion exchange softening, or remove the iron with simple oxidation. If you plan to use this system for a long time (a few years) then you should at least soften the water to avoid blocking the pipes. I don’t know what types of plants are available for household use, but I’m sure somebody out there will have an of-the-shelf package plant that wont cost a fortune
Hi there AnyaSDS
Can you tell me more about BettaBore? We have Fe in our wellpoint water and would like to investigate whether it is cost effective to remove the iron for use in the pool and possibly the toilet. Thanks
Hi Justine,
The best would be to have a water analysis, this will give you the characterization of your water and enable a company (like us ) to suggest you with the best way forward (sometimes to make it potable is just a small step further).
Feel free to visit our website www.equilibrium-water.co.za we have diy solution free for you to download aswell.
BR
Antoine
Hi Eugene.
There are a few methods that you could use to remove the iron from your well water, they are as follows.
1) GAC KDF Filters
2) Chlorine Method
3) Aeration Pumps
4) Sand Filters
They all require different processes
Iron is an RO Systems worst nightmare, it destroys the membranes so I'd advise you to remove the iron before passing the water through an RO system.
Mail me your water test results and I'll advise accordingly.
Last edited by Dave A; 30-Sep-17 at 03:59 PM.
Dear Eugene
I have been reading up on ground water purification for the past two years. I wanted a system which was cheap and effective. I wanted to put my red iron filled well point water through a system where I can use it in my house and also drink it.
I did the following.
I got two thousand litre flow bins and one two and a half thousand storage tank. On the first flow bin I installed a normal swimming pool sand filter. I then pump my well point water (very red to a point where it stain the walls) into the flow bin and filter it through the swimming pool sand filter. I add half a cup Chlorine to the water and pump it for about four hours. The chlorine oxidises with the iron and the iron is then catched in the sand filter which I backwash out. After four hours the red water becomes sparkling clean like a normal swimming pool.
When the water is sparkling clean I pump it over to the next flow bin. The only problem then is that the Chlorine and chloramine is very high. I then add Potassium Metabisulfite to the water which takes out both chlorine and chloramine from the water. This chemical works immediately with immediate effect. The potassium
metabisulphite reduces the PH to about 5.7. I then add soda ash which takes my PH to about 7.1. This water is now iron free with no bacteria. Colourless, odourless, germ free drinking water.
Metabisulfite is what the use in wine, cooldrinks and lots of foodstuffs. Metabisulfite is also an anti oxidant and a preservative. I have been using my system for quite some time with great success. I produce about 4000 lt of clean drinking water which I then pump into my storage tank for home use.
Cost involve in this mini water purifying system is very minimal.
You can definitely contact me for more information. I am not a salesman wanting to sell you filter systems that does not work.
Regards
Theo
Jughead (06-Jan-18)
Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.