Chemical Feed Volume

[gregp553]

My Ecosystems water softener has a small container the size of a 5 gallon bucket as part of the system that the last owner suggested I add 4 ozs. of bleach to every 3 months. We've owned the house for one year. On a well. The water has been great but when the power went out awhile ago, the "Chemical Feed Volume" Settings went to zero. At least this is what I am just now figuring out. Is there a ballpark setting for chemical volume and chemical time? For example, you could set it at 1 gallon, and .5 seconds of activation. My understanding would be a chemical release of .5 seconds for every gallon used. Any way to know a good baseline setting without analyzing the water? Am I correct that those two settings will initiate the bleach in that small container?
The biggest issue I have is that in the last month or so we have gotten the bad hydrogen sulfide smell only for about 30 seconds and only in one cold sink faucet in the upstairs master bath. No other faucet smells, hot or cold. My best guess is the setting for the bleach part of the system is not functioning.
Any help is much appreciated. The owners manual does not help me solve these issues.

 

[frodo]

if the owners manual does not tell you how to program the feeder. call the manufactue with model number

 

[KULTULZ]

There are special chemical additives to add to the brine available (if needed).

I don't think I would use chlorine bleach.

 

[frodo]

There are special chemical additives to add to the brine available (if needed).

I don't think I would use chlorine bleach.

useless facts
1/8 of a teaspoon of clorox will purify 1 gallon of water in a emergency situation

 

[KULTULZ]

useless facts

1/8 of a teaspoon of clorox will purify 1 gallon of water in a emergency situation

Continued consumption of chlorine is not an emergency situation (well, I guess it could become one).

Even municipal water(s) have too much chlorine added (not to mention fluoride) to cover filthy water.

 

[speedbump]

This 5 gallon bucket thing, does it connect to the softener with a plastic line? If so, it may be a potassium feeder for an iron filter. A softener would have a brine tank that would hold more like 30 gallons. Adding bleach now and then wouldn't hold off sulfur for that long anyway. There has to be more to this system than your telling us.

How about a couple of pictures of what you have.

 

[gregp553]

Here is the setup. Looks like two softeners connected. Yes, the small black container is attached to one unit via plastic tubing. Only the unit on the right is connected to the salt tank. The previous owner said he adds bleach every 3 months to the black container. The last shot is inside the black container. There is a float mechanism in the tube part of it. The large white area you see is like a piece of foam rubber. Thanks for the help. I should add this: Chemical feeder volume is a setting option. So is the word Chlorine. But if you select the chlorine setting, no additional choices are available (like volume settings). The instructions do not explain it.

 

[KULTULZ]

The feed option is to supply a conditioner to the brine to keep it and the media in the actual softener(s) clean, all of this depending on the condition/minerals content of your house supply (municipal or well).

Watch this video- [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr0E-kLwarA[/ame]

If you have a sulfur smell in just one supply line (after the softener) it is most likely fouled with iron bacteria. You would then use chlorine or hydrogen peroxide to clean just the one leg (or all legs ideally). This is done by introducing either chemical into the system after the softener (say a post softener carbon filter bowl). Run the tap until you smell the chlorine, then turn off the tap and let it sit awhile and thoroughly flush before using.

It may be that either the brine and/or the media is fouled. The brine tank has to be GI'd at least once a year, more depending on what you are running through it.

Have you had a complete water analysis done and do you need/have an iron filter?

 

[gregp553]

Yes, the water was tested a year ago when we bought the house. everything checked out. I have the iron content written down somewhere. 27 or something like that. Pretty high as I recall. This may complicate it further but the unit seen on the left is only connected to the black container where the PO said to add chlorine. The unit on the right is only connected to the salt bin and that is the unit that has the Chemical Feeder option in the menu. The unit on the left does not have that option in its menu.
And yes, just in the last month or two we started to get a sulfur smell from only the cold faucet in only one bathroom. Every other faucet is great. Water taste and smell is great all over the house except the one cold.
As you can see by the photos, water runs through a filter then through both units. Thanks for the help.

 

[speedbump]

That filter isn't doing much if anything at all.

The unit on the left is an iron filter. Most of them use potassium permangenate in that black bucket thing which is a feeder. If you had 27 ppm of iron, you couldn't control it. 5 ppm is a lot, so you are probably in the range of 1 to three in Detroit on a well. The softener (on the right) is a typical softener but I don't know about any feeder on a softener unless it's an add on like Kultulz said. Those items in the picture are for cleaning the mineral bed normally because of iron fouling. Since your removing the iron first, they shouldn't be needed. Adding a bit of chlorine instead of PP is a new one to me and I've sold hundreds of iron filters and softeners over the years.

 

[gregp553]

Thanks Speedbump. My 27 is probably 2.7. I understand all you've said and don't disagree. I'm sure the PO said to add bleach. In fact, he left a bleach bottle with a small measuring bottle.
Having said all of that, if I could only get that one cold faucet to stop smelling for the first 30 seconds, I'd be fairly happy.
I'll reread the input from KULTULZ and try to implement that plan.
Thanks to all.

 

[speedbump]

I am guessing that one stinky faucet doesn't get much use. Bacteria can multiply in water that is left in pipes for certain amounts of time and that's probably what your smelling. I have experienced it before in homes that were at the end of the water line where the chlorine was practically used up. So not all the bugs were wiped out. If you were to run that spigot long enough to get some chlorinated water in the pipes, the smell probably wouldn't come back so soon or often.

 

[gregp553]

I am guessing that one stinky faucet doesn't get much use. Bacteria can multiply in water that is left in pipes for certain amounts of time and that's probably what your smelling. I have experienced it before in homes that were at the end of the water line where the chlorine was practically used up. So not all the bugs were wiped out. If you were to run that spigot long enough to get some chlorinated water in the pipes, the smell probably wouldn't come back so soon or often.

I wish all that were true. That's what makes it so difficult. It's our master bath so we use it daily and when I follow the lines from the water softener, it looks like the first stop in the line that goes straight up to the shower in that bathroom. I believe that the sink branches off from that shower somewhere up behind the wall. The sink backs up to my closet and I was thinking about opening the drywall to look at the sink's plumbing behind the wall. Not sure what that would do for me but I really want that smell to go away.

 

[KULTULZ]

That filter isn't doing much if anything at all.

The unit on the left is an iron filter. Most of them use potassium permangenate in that black bucket thing which is a feeder. If you had 27 ppm of iron, you couldn't control it. 5 ppm is a lot, so you are probably in the range of 1 to three in Detroit on a well.

The softener (on the right) is a typical softener but I don't know about any feeder on a softener unless it's an add on like Kultulz said. Those items in the picture are for cleaning the mineral bed normally because of iron fouling. Since your removing the iron first, they shouldn't be needed.

Adding a bit of chlorine instead of PP is a new one to me and I've sold hundreds of iron filters and softeners over the years.

!!!Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit...!!!

I was trying to cipher the plumbing on what I thought was a two tank water softener and the one on the left is an iron filter.

Learn something every day.

The cleaner (black bucket) is then used to clean the iron filter media. There is no system installed to clean the water softener brine and/or media.

Two factoids learned today...

THANZ Frodo!



...uh... That should read THANX speedbump... ...sheesh...

 

[KULTULZ]

...when I follow the lines from the water softener, it looks like the first stop in the line that goes straight up to the shower in that bathroom.

I believe that the sink branches off from that shower somewhere up behind the wall.

I really want that smell to go away.

Is the odor from the hot side, the cold side or both?

 

[gregp553]

Is the odor from the hot side, the cold side or both?

The odor comes from one cold faucet only. Second floor. First bathroom on the copper pipe run off the water softener. This problem developed in the past month or two.

 

[KULTULZ]

The odor comes from one cold faucet only. Second floor. First bathroom on the copper pipe run off the water softener. This problem developed in the past month or two.

Sometimes also, a bad smell will come from the drain if it is fouled and may confuse as to the source of the odor. Just a thought.

Without a post filter it will be difficult to introduce chlorine or peroxide to the post softener supply line(s). There are cleaners available to put into the brine tank and that should clean the brine, the softener media and downstream piping. This is also a$$-u-ming the iron filter is functioning properly.

Read this- http://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water_Softener_Cleaning.php#WSCleaners

 

[gregp553]

Sometimes also, a bad smell will come from the drain if it is fouled and may confuse as to the source of the odor. Just a thought.

Without a post filter it will be difficult to introduce chlorine or peroxide to the post softener supply line(s). There are cleaners available to put into the brine tank and that should clean the brine, the softener media and downstream piping. This is also a$$-u-ming the iron filter is functioning properly.

Read this- http://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water_Softener_Cleaning.php#WSCleaners

I believe I will try the cleaners this weekend. I suspected the drain like you said and eliminated that by putting a pan in the sink and keeping the drain closed. It's definitely the cold line only. I like the thought about the iron filter. It has a bar graph on the display that shows how much efficiency the system is working at, up to 100%. In the year I have lived here it has never moved off of 100%. Maybe it's that good. I forced a recharge last night so I will see if it changes. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

[frodo]

how old is your water heater? I would suggest that your anode in your W/H needs replacing

Not everyone has had the experience of having the smell of rotten eggs wafting from their water heater. But if you have, you won't forget it. Chances are good that the sulfurous smell is caused by anaerobic bacteria setting up quarters in the magnesium and aluminum elements of the heater, creating gas. It smells terrible, but is generally harmless. Before calling in a plumbing contractor, you may want to add a quick flushing procedure as part of your home improvement routine.

Most water heaters come equipped with what are called "sacrificial anodes." The moniker applies because these anode rods are comprised of metal that gives itself up to dissolving agents in the heater instead of allowing the corrosives to gnaw at more vital parts. In so doing, the anodes protect the heater, but they also emit hydrogen gas in the process that bacteria feed on.

Launch a Pre-emptive Strike on Bacteria
In many cases, you can nip the stench before it overwhelms your environment. You can call in a plumbing contractor to assess the anodes. If you're told to remove the anodes, be advised that it can stop the smell, but greatly speed up the degradation and rusting of your water heater.

Another option is to have them install an aluminum-zinc alloy anode. Check and see how many anodes there are in your current water heater. Some models employ two of them. While an aluminum-zinc anode cuts down on generating bacteria, it may not be effective if you're using a water softener along with the water heater. In most cases, it's better to try the flush first.

Turn off the cold water valve to the heater and open a hot water line in the bathroom or kitchen and drain some hot water from the tank. There's an access valve on one side of the tank. Pour several pint bottles of hydrogen peroxide into the access valve. It kills off the bacteria. Chlorine bleach works as well, but it can create gases and vapor you don't really want in your home.

You should run a little of the peroxide-water combination out of the open hot water lines, but keep the balance of the solution in the hot water tank for several hours to do the trick. Close it all up, run fresh cold water into the heater, let it flush through, and you're done!

 

[KULTULZ]

Also-

Check your waters pH balance, both before and after the softener (test strips available) as the softener will have an effect on pH and may lead to accelerated anode rod deterioration.