Plumbing Question

[lukem]

At some point I'm going to have to replace all the old galvanized in my house (the ID is probably 1/2 of what it used to be due to corrosion and my flow and pressure are getting pretty low) and I'll be going with Pex.

Whoever laid out my house was a fool and I have some crazy long runs from the main supply, up to the water heater, then double back to the bathrooms. Pex will make those long runs a breeze.

Pretty sure you can pick up the crimper at a box store for what you'll spend on glue for PVC.

 

[raybonz]

Most of our wells and springs use gas chlorine from tanks the size of helium tanks. Easy enough to move around and dependable. This new well has a touch of ammonia which gobbles chlorine up and since we are required to produce finished water with 0.5 ppm of chlorine I need to chlorinate the raw water to 3.5 ppm which is like swimming pool water. When I'm running 2000 gallons per minute that will burn up a lot of chlorine. We would have been swapping clylinders every day. The onsite generation of chlorine not only saves in gas cost but also in labor and safety since moving and hooking up the gas cylinders is relatively risky. We are actually one of the last places to go to onsite generation. Seems to be the new rage.

The manganese doesn't cause the egg smell, that's from sulfur. Often found in the same places though. My personal well has an iron and sulfur problem that I plan to fix up this summer.

Red iron is easy to address but clear water iron is not but I suspect you know this.. My water softener with GE Osmonics Autotrol 455 head and fine mesh resin handle 13.2 ppm very well. With 3 full time family members it runs about every 12 days.

Interesting information! I can see where creating your own chlorine makes lots of sense from a cost saving and safety standpoint. What is the most economical and effective way to deal with sulfur/swamp odor? Funny thing is sometimes it comes and goes.. I'll live with this unless it is inexpensive to correct which I suspect will not be the case..

Thanks,
Ray

 

[Highbeam]

What is the most economical and effective way to deal with sulfur/swamp odor? Funny thing is sometimes it comes and goes.. I'll live with this unless it is inexpensive to correct which I suspect will not be the case..

With a large system it is activated carbon. The AC does a great job of grabbing sulfur. You can add AC to residential systems but a better way is to use a system like pyrolox or greensand that is meant to deal with iron/manganese/sulfur which usually shows up in the form of hydrogen sulfide at the tap. If you need to soften, then AC is probably cheaper. If you have iron and sulfur but no need to soften then a greensand or equivalent is probably cheaper.

 

[raybonz]

With a large system it is activated carbon. The AC does a great job of grabbing sulfur. You can add AC to residential systems but a better way is to use a system like pyrolox or greensand that is meant to deal with iron/manganese/sulfur which usually shows up in the form of hydrogen sulfide at the tap. If you need to soften, then AC is probably cheaper. If you have iron and sulfur but no need to soften then a greensand or equivalent is probably cheaper.

Good stuff HB! Wish I'd talked to you before all this equipment was installed but that may have been before I came to this forum.. At the time my main concern was clear water iron and the fine mesh resin water softener was my best and least expensive option. The main source of hardness here is from the calcite acid neutralizer. You could make a fortune dealing with iron here!

 

[Highbeam]

You removed 13 ppm or iron with a softener, that's pretty good. Did you totally eliminate staining in your tubs, toilets, and dishwasher?

 

[raybonz]

You removed 13 ppm or iron with a softener, that's pretty good. Did you totally eliminate staining in your tubs, toilets, and dishwasher?

Yes no iron stains anywhere, all white clothes stay white.. This system is supposed to handle 25ppm.. Fine mesh resin is the reason..

 

[heat seeker]

Whoever laid out my house was a fool and I have some crazy long runs from the main supply, up to the water heater, then double back to the bathrooms. Pex will make those long runs a breeze.

Might be a good time to move the water heater...

 

[lukem]

Might be a good time to move the water heater...

Not that simple. It is propane so I'd have to put in a new vent for it if I moved it. The builder really should have had the main water supply come in closer to most of the central plumbing instead of the extreme opposite end of the house.

I guess when this heater dies I could replace it with electric and move it, but then I'd be looking at an expensive wire run. I'd rather just run some Pex and be done with it.

 

[tim1]

I bought the wirsbo tool on craigs list for 150.00 and have used it time and time again. I buy the red and blue tubing and the manifolds and love it. Done the pipe, copper, cvc,pcvc, and all the others, this is the best! If I have a really long run, will get the clear, but not that often. Great stuff. I use plastic fittings, not to say they are the best. Tim

 

[dave11]

I will try and find the water test reports. I think i might be confusing the results.

I have a piece of pex and some shark bite fittings as a temp patch to have water in the rest of the house. Those things are handy but freaking expensive!

That's why you buy the tool--so you can use pex fittings, which are dirt cheap, vs sharkbite, which are very expensive.

 

[Highbeam]

That's why you buy the tool--so you can use pex fittings, which are dirt cheap, vs sharkbite, which are very expensive.

I like sharkbites and use them, I even have a tee buried in the wall. But. I do not intend to buy them again unless I can't make a crimp fitting work. The tools are now cheap and the sharkbites are still expensive. Honestly, though I've never had a failure, I'm a little nervous about the possibility of those sharkbites leaking someday. They go on so easy, too good to be true.