Iron in cabin well water

[swandog]

We have a season cabin with a new well. The well is around 60' deep. The problem we have is that there is alot of iron in the water. If you fill a white tub with some water and leave it sit for a few minutes it will start to turn orange. Also when people are washing dishes their fingernails start turning gray/black...So has anyone else experienced this and what is the best way to fix it? Why would fingernails turn black? I appreciate your input.

thanks

Doug

[Eric Wettschreck]

The best way to remove iron from your water is with a Manganese/Greensand filter. They are very similar in looks to a softener. The fiberglass vessel is filled with Manganese Greensand. The sand carries a "Charge" for lack of a better term. This charge oxidizes the iron, and the sand in the vessel filters the iron out. When the filter is full, it backwashes similar to a softener only it uses potassium permanganete vice brine solution. The added bonus to these filter units is they also remove Hydrogen Sulfide (rotten egg smell) very well also.

Sometimes, depending on the quality of the ion exchange resin, a softener will remove some iron. From the sounds of your situation, however, the ppm of iron in your water is too high for a softener to remove it all.

The grey/black fingernails usually comes from bacterias in the water that feed on the iron. When they come in contact with harder skin surfaces ( finger and toe nails, etc) they discolor.

[sparcebag]

Boiler we have heavy concentrations of manganese,turns toilet black,was tested and told no filters fine enough for Mn. what to do there?? and the smell is there also and iron,but the Mn is our problem, tried BigIron they told me this.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Manganese greensand filtration will also help you with your problem.

Standard cartridge filtration will not get out the smaller Manganese particles. Say, 20 micron and smaller (Nominal). With With Manganese Greensand, the particles will oxidize and therefore become much larger. This is how it gets the iron also. With heavier concentrations of Mg you may have to set the head to regenerate more often than if you were going strictly after iron, but it will get it out.

The problem with regular cartridge filters like the ones you can pick up at Menards is they just arn't fine enough. If they were, they would be constantly plugging. Plus, micron ratings come in 2 types, nominal and absolute. If I say cartridge filter "X" removes particles to 20 micron nominal you have to take that with a grain of salt. Filter manufactures are allowed to rate their own filtration. Meaning, If filter "X" removes 50% of the particles to 20 micron, it can be called a 20 micron filter, nominal. If it removes ALL particles to 20 micron, then it's a 20 micron absolute filter. You will be hard pressed to get an absolute rating unless you want to spend a fortune.

I have a bit of an issue with the water treatment industry. Some companies are very ethical but many are not. Most homeowners don't speak the language and therefore are somewhat at the mercy of the company.

If a company told you they can't fix your problem they either do not deal in that type of equipment, and therefore, honestly can't fix your problem then they are a fairly honerable establishment, or they are incompetant. I'd like to think the first scenario is true. It's not unlike many other industries.

A 2 cube Manganese Greensand filter, for residential use, costs about a thousand dollars to build. How much an average Joe can buy one for, and have installed, I'm not knowing.

[swandog]

Thanks for the info...since this is a seasonal cabin how would one drain one of these units in the fall?...I assume they are more of an upright fixture.

Doug

[Eric Wettschreck]

Honestly, I've never drained one. I spose you could disconnect the inlet and outlet piping, add a little air to the inlet and force the water out the outlet. Kinda like winterizing an RV.

You do NOT want to lay the unit on it's side to drain it out. The sand bed is layered and disrupting the layer is bad.