Premier Water Blog » Water Softener

Case Study: Complete Well Water System Overhaul in Deephaven, MN

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:41:20 +0000

Local author and financial expert Rob Severson had typical Deephaven well water: rusty, stinky, and hard. He had rented a water softener for years, and it kind of worked. They still fought rust stains, cringed at the odor, and they had to buy bottled water. They were ready for an upgrade.

“I was in the middle of a kitchen remodel and didn’t want my new appliances to get destroyed like the old ones. We had constant rust problems that were affecting our home and my wife’s hair too.”

Rob contacted Premier Water to design a water treatment system to meet his needs:

Completely eliminate the iron and odor issues, not just a “partial solution
Minimal salt used by a water softener
Clean, fresh tasting water – without bottles!
Eliminate the lifelong expense of renting, bottled water delivery, and heavy salt use

Of the 3 packages we designed, Rob chose a great package using the following systems:

Hellenbrand Iron Curtain Filter

Hellenbrand H125 Iron Curtain System
We started with a dedicated 2-stage iron filtration system as it would solve a majority of the water problems. In Step 1, water is sprayed through a compressed pocket of air inside a 13”x54” pressurized aeration vessel. As the water and air mix, the iron molecules and hydrogen sulfide gas precipitate out of the water. In Step 2, a 13”x54” filter vessel is used to capture those precipitated molecules and periodically flush them away. The unique design of the filter vessel uses 30% less water to clean and gives 40% better filtration than other filters on the market.

Hellenbrand Water Softener

Hellenbrand H125 Water Softener
Step 3 of our new water system used the Hellenbrand H125 light commercial water system to remove hard water scale from the iron-free water. By removing the iron first, we were able to use 59.6% less salt. The new system regenerates on a metered/on-demand schedule and uses variable reserve technology that precisely adjusts to changing water use. The previous system regenerated with salt and water every other day – even if no one was using water! With the Hellenbrand iron filter and high efficiency softener, we were able to reduce salt by almost 80%.

Hague RO3500 Reverse Osmosis

Hague RO3500 Reverse Osmosis
Step 4 – provide clean drinking water. Private well systems operate at much lower water pressure than city water supplies. Reverse osmosis membranes become less efficient, and produce lower quality water under these circumstances. We used the 4 stage Hague RO3500 because it has an integrated non-electric, water-driven pump. This pump allowed us to overcome the pressure limitation and deliver a steady stream of pure, fresh drinking water.

Complete water system

Conclusion
The entire system was neatly installed along a wall in the basement mechanical room. All 3 iron filter and softener tanks have dedicated bypass valves and can be easily disconnected for future service/cleaning. The reverse osmosis system was wall-mounted at eye level to make future filter changes a snap.

Our client now has soft, iron-free, odor-free water throughout the entire home. The water coming through his refrigerator is pure, clean, and fresh!

“You did an excellent job setting up my system and explained everything thoroughly to me. I now give my water 5 out of 5 stars!”

Water Quality BEFORE
Hardness: 19gpg
Total Iron: 7ppm
TDS: 355ppm

Water Quality AFTER
Hardness: 0.5gpg
Total Iron: 0.0ppm
TDS: 25ppm

Click here to download this case study as a PDF

5gpg is the average national hardness
0.3ppm iron is the limit before staining begins
100ppm+ TDS decreases ice cube clarity

Premier Water is a Chanhassen, MN based company that provides residential and commercial water softening, filtration, and purification solutions. Capabilities range from small point-of-use systems up to high volume whole-house/whole-business applications. Please call (952) 479-4553 for more details.

30th Anniversary of Fleck 5600 Econominder Water Softener Valve

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:53:34 +0000

In 1980 Andy Fleckenstein introduced the 5600 valve to the water treatment industry. This iconic valve is still sold today, mostly unchanged from the original design. While it’s far more reliable(average life of 10-12 years) than the rotary valve softeners sold at Sears, Home Depot, Walmart, etc., it is becoming a little outdated.

The Fleck 5600 valve is available in 2 configurations:
1. Time clock control head
2. Metered control head

Fleck 5600 Time Clock Valve

Water softeners that use time clock control heads are no longer considered a legitimate technology by the Water Quality Association (WQA) as they regenerate unnecessarily which wastes water and salt. These units can be identified by the set of push/pull pins on the face of the unit. These pins determine the days the system will regenerate. Older units actually used screws – the pins were a far more user-friendly concept!

Fleck 5600 Metered Valve

The metered, or on-demand, version of the Fleck 5600 is often referred to as the “Econominder” valve. These control heads have a large dial on the front with numbers indicating gallons of soft water. They also have a cable running out of the back of the head connecting to a large plastic dome. Inside this dome there is a turbine that measures water volume much like a city water meter.

We have repaired and replaced 1000′s of water softeners using these valves over the years. While they were relatively reliable, they are quite inefficient compared to the modern Hague WaterMax and Hellenbrand H125 water softeners we carry. The digital controls in the WaterMax and H125 have replaced the “clunky” mechanical controls and a large number of gears and springs found in the old Fleck Control Heads.

Nonetheless, the Fleck 5600 was a very popular valve in the 1980′s and 90′s, and is still found in many homes today.

Case Study: Arsenic and Iron Removal – Plus Salt-Free Softening in Shorewood, MN

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:07:05 +0000

Well water in Shorewood, MN is known for high levels of iron, hydrogen sulfide, and water hardness. In the last few years, a surprising number of wells have tested positive for arsenic levels 3-7 times the legal limit.

Old Water System

Our client had been renting a softener and an iron filter from another company for over 10 years before we met them. Both systems were undersized and required constant service as they were not capable of handling the iron level in the water.

In late 2009, the homeowners heard rumors about high Arsenic in the Shorewood, MN area. After talking to local residents, they contacted
Premier Water to see what could be done.

We collected a water sample and had the water tested at a state certified lab. The results came back with 34.1ppb – 3.4x the legal limit for Arsenic.

“For 10 years, we had been buying organic food, and cooking it in water full of Arsenic. We couldn’t believe it. We wanted to make sure our kids could have a safe drink of water anywhere in the home.”

Why the Previous Water System Failed:

Iron Filter was too small and could not support the water flow rates this family required

Softener frequently ran out of salt

It had ZERO EFFECT on the Arsenic Levels!

New Water Treatment System

Our client wanted to start from scratch and take advantage of the new technology we had to offer. We designed a system with guaranteed iron and arsenic removal, plus salt-free softening.

The system we designed uses a 13”x54” Iron Filter that processes water roughly 7x slower than their previous system. This results in superior iron removal and initial arsenic precipitation and reduction.

We followed the iron filter with a Pureoflow Whole-House System that uses a proprietary membrane designed by GE Water & Process Technology. This membrane is actually designed to soften hard water – something that would destroy a normal membrane. The Pureoflow was successful at softening the water, reducing the TDS level, and the Arsenic levels were reduced well below the EPA limit!

“Our old rental equipment required constant service and used so much salt. We had ongoing problems with iron stains and were not confident the other company could handle Arsenic.

We love our new system – no rust, no salt, and NO ARSENIC!”

System Performance BEFORE:
Hardness: 21gpg
Total Iron: 4ppm
TDS: 261ppm
Arsenic: 34.1ppb
System Flow Rate: 5gpm

System Performance AFTER:
Hardness: 0gpg
Total Iron: 0ppm
TDS: 21ppm
Arsenic: 1.15ppb
System Flow Rate: 22gpm

5gpg is the average national hardness
0.3ppm iron is the limit before staining begins
10ppb is the legal limit for Arsenic

Click here to download this case study