Water Softeners and Air Filtration Systems - New question about softeners / filters

Hello. I had a recent post called water softener issues. Since that post I have learned quite a bit more (I think). We had a tech come out and look at our system on yesterday. I know that some of what he was telling me was obviously part of a sales pitch. He did test my water and explained that it was really hard and had a lot of iron. He said hardness was at 18 grains and the iron was at 2.0. There were 2 systems down in my basement when I moved in. 1 for iron and 1 for softening. The tech explained that these were not maintained well and he pulled out some of the resin from the softener and it was really dark. He said that because of the iron content I would need to have both replaced and quoted me the top of the line replacements at $4800. I am a younger guy with 2 little kids and a wife so there is no way I can afford something like that. Does anyone have any suggestions on cheaper alternatives? I want to have both the iron filter and the softener because the iron and hardness are so high (and the water reeks like eggs. I don't want to go to work smelling like a nasty omelet.), but I don't want break the bank either. How can I tell what softeners and iron filters would be strong enough for me? Any advice would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom

Tom,

Read your post and noticed the date. Do you still need info? If so, I'll be glad to help.

Hello -
If you are still offering help, I could use some and would appreciate it. Noticed the original poster didn't respond so I thought I would chime in. I have a private well, very hard water and high iron content. I currently have a Big Boss water softener (installed 2001) and some type of iron filtering tube under the house that was installed not too long by a local company (for the previous owners of the house). Who when I asked them exactly what it was just told me I shouldn't really worry about it, it was to help with the iron, but that I needed additional iron filtration and they would be happy to sell me such a system for approximately $2K. That number didn't include anything to address the hardening. Also, "their" system would need to be maintained by them. Needless to say, I never called them back.
So, I'm looking to replace their "tube" and my Big Boss solution with something that will handle both the iron and the hardness and not break the bank.

Thanks,
Mike

Mike,
Would love to help but I need some info. How hard is the water and how much iron do you have? A company that won't tell you anything or "has" to maintain your system is not the kind to be dealing with.

Hello -
Here is the info you asked for:

Iron: 5.0ppm
Hardness 3.0GPG

Does that help?

Thanks,
Mike

With 5 ppm iron, a softener only may not get it all out. I have put softeners on 6 ppm iron and the customer was very happy with the results (less than .5 ppm). If you go with an iron filter as well, there are several different media you can use. Birm is a good media that does not use a regenerant. Then the softener will pick up the hardness.

Hello -
Here is the info you asked for:

Iron: 5.0ppm
Hardness 3.0GPG

Does that help?

Thanks,
Mike

Could I guess your pH is around 5.5? That would need to be addressed, too.

Big Boss advertises up to '10ppm' iron removal but I find that very optimistic, especially for a packed bed softener.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

Thanks for the responses and info, very helpful. The reading I have for the pH is 7.0
The company that manufacturers WaterBoss/BigBoss also make an iron filter. I haven't been too displeased with the BigBoss that was installed when I bought the house. It's almost 7-8 years old and after I made a few adjustments it cleared up the water quite a bit. So, I don't know that I would be absolutely opposed to buying one of their iron filters and another of their water softeners, see how that works.
However, from reading many of the posts on this site I understand something with a Fleck valve/controller is highly regarded and I've seen softeners for comparable prices to the WaterBoss products with the Fleck setup.
With my pH reading at 7.0 would a better iron filter and better water softener address this? Or would I still need something else to take care of that?

Thanks again,
Mike

An iron filter and a softener will take care of water. Do you really need to purchase another softener? You stated that with a few adjustments the water cleared. I say add some iron out to the softener and monitor the water quailty. If it's not to your likeing, buy an iron filter.

Good luck with your adventure