Sulfur Water

[big country]

We just bought a small house on 18 acres, we haven't moved in yet, but will be soon.

The well water has sulfur and iron in it. I had a water treatment place come out and tested the water this is what they found:

0.3ppm sulfur
3ppm iron
8.0 PH
5 grain hardness

65ft deep well with water at 12ft

Even with the low sulfur we are getting a pretty strong "rotten egg" smell and somewhat of an off taste (not sure if that is from the sulfur or the iron, or other minerals). The rep recommended an "Air Induction" system for the well that would solve the sulfur and iron, he gave me a quote for a water softener too for the hardness but said that 5 grains wasn't too bad and it was "up to me" for the softener (as if everything isn't up to me?). They quoted $2700 for the air inducter completely installed by them. I could also pay $1700 now and finance the other $1000 over 24 months with 0% interest if I wanted.

I know nothing about plumbing (its all plastic piping) but found "air induction" systems available online in the $1000 range but I would of course have to install it myself. Has anyone ever installed one of these? Are they hard to self install? Should I have the water treatment company do it so I have recourse if it doesn't solve the issue?

What do you guys know about this, does anyone have one of these systems? Did it solve their Sulfur and Iron problems?

The guy was super friendly and it is a local business (but a dealer for a national company). He even took 30 minutes to explain how everything with my well worked and went over it all with me even though I'm sure he didn't have to. He wasn't pushy with sales at all which was very nice. He has contacted me one time since (2 wks ago) and asked if I had any other questions.

PS - I didn't name the company that did the recommendation because I was told by the Rep that they TIGHTLY control anything relating to price/etc online (when I told him I couldn't find much about their systems on the internet) and I didn't want to get GSUS in trouble. If you are curious PM me and I'll let you know.

[palani]

Lots cheaper to catch rainwater.

[Dogman]

We just bought a small house on 18 acres, we haven't moved in yet, but will be soon.

The well water has sulfur and iron in it. I had a water treatment place come out and tested the water this is what they found:

0.3ppm sulfur
3ppm iron
8.0 PH
5 grain hardness

Even with the low sulfur we are getting a pretty strong "rotten egg" smell and somewhat of an off taste (not sure if that is from the sulfur or the iron, or other minerals). The rep recommended an "Air Induction" system for the well that would solve the sulfur and iron, he gave me a quote for a water softener too for the hardness but said that 5 grains wasn't too bad and it was "up to me" for the softener (as if everything isn't up to me?). They quoted $2700 for the air inducter completely installed by them. I could also pay $1700 now and finance the other $1000 over 24 months with 0% interest if I wanted.

I know nothing about plumbing (its all plastic piping) but found "air induction" systems available online in the $1000 range but I would of course have to install it myself. Has anyone ever installed one of these? Are they hard to self install? Should I have the water treatment company do it so I have recourse if it doesn't solve the issue?

What do you guys know about this, does anyone have one of these systems? Did it solve their Sulfur and Iron problems?

The guy was super friendly and it is a local business (but a dealer for a national company). He even took 30 minutes to explain how everything with my well worked and went over it all with me even though I'm sure he didn't have to. He wasn't pushy with sales at all which was very nice. He has contacted me one time since (2 wks ago) and asked if I had any other questions.

PS - I didn't name the company that did the recommendation because I was told by the Rep that they TIGHTLY control anything relating to price/etc online (when I told him I couldn't find much about their systems on the internet) and I didn't want to get GSUS in trouble. If you are curious PM me and I'll let you know. The rotten egg smell is H2S and that stuff will eat steel, iron plus some grades of s/s if the concentration is high enough.

[big country]

correct. My understanding is that there are sulfates in the water (sulfur dissolved in water? I'm not a chemist) that the bacteria in the well eat (they thrive in a low o2 environment) and give off H2S as a by-product (I guess the "rotten egg" smell is bacteria farts). The Air induction causes the H2S gas to evaporate out of the water and into the atmosphere, the O2 causes the sulfates to bind to it and precipitate out of the water and it can then be caught in the filter. The same process happens with the iron, it binds to the O2 and precipitates out and can be caught in a filter.

[Dogman]

correct. My understanding is that there are sulfates in the water (sulfur dissolved in water? I'm not a chemist) that the bacteria in the well eat (they thrive in a low o2 environment) and give off H2S as a by-product (I guess the "rotten egg" smell is bacteria farts). The Air induction causes the H2S gas to evaporate out of the water and into the atmosphere, the O2 causes the sulfates to bind to it and precipitate out of the water and it can then be caught in the filter. The same process happens with the iron, it binds to the O2 and precipitates out and can be caught in a filter. In high concentration it can kill you, but that is mainly dealing with oil/gas wells.

[big country]

Yes but we are talking about 0.3 ppm.

From the H2S wikipedia page

0.00047 ppm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parts_per_million) is the recognition threshold, the concentration at which 50% of humans can detect the characteristic odor of hydrogen sulfide,[15] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_sulfide#cite_note-14) normally described as resembling "a rotten egg".
Less than 10 ppm has an exposure limit of 8 hours per day.
10–20 ppm is the borderline concentration for eye irritation.
50–100 ppm leads to eye damage.
At 100–150 ppm the olfactory nerve (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfactory_nerve) is paralyzed after a few inhalations, and the sense of smell disappears, often together with awareness of danger.[16] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_sulfide#cite_note-15)[17] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_sulfide#cite_note-16)
320–530 ppm leads to pulmonary edema (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonary_edema) with the possibility of death.
530–1000 ppm causes strong stimulation of the central nervous system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_nervous_system) and rapid breathing, leading to loss of breathing.
800 ppm is the lethal concentration for 50% of humans for 5 minutes exposure (LC50 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LC50)).
Concentrations over 1000 ppm cause immediate collapse with loss of breathing, even after inhalation of a single breath.


This thread is all about getting it treated too :) So are you saying I should pony up the $2700 and have them install the system to fix the issue in my well?

[Dogman]

Yes but we are talking about 0.3 ppm.

From the H2S wikipedia page


This thread is all about getting it treated too :) So are you saying I should pony up the $2700 and have them install the system to fix the issue in my well?


No not saying that!

Tho it will be a pure bitch to get rid of it.

Good luck in your endeavors!

[big country]

Lots cheaper to catch rainwater.
I plan on having a rain catchment on my barn eventually for water to water the garden/animals. I don't think a rain catchment provides enough water for showering/laundry etc though maybe it does? Water pressure would be interesting to work out with a rain catchment.

rain catchment is also dependent on the weather where my well will be less so. I plan on doing both :) though the house will be strictly on the well unless a SHTF scenario crops up and I cannot power the pump (I have a well bucket that will fit down the 6" piping)
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Water___Buckets___Galvanized_Well_Bucket___550202# 550202

[BabushkaLady]

To be honest with you; I wouldn't do anything with the water until you move in and then decide you can't stand it!! If the previous owners used it and it is tested "safe" give it a try.

One of the beautiful things about having your own water is that you know what isn't in it; ie: fluoride and chlorine.

In one city where I worked, there were these pipes with water gushing out on the side of the road. It smelled of sulfur. Anytime you drove by, people were always filling water jugs.

I would also put a filter in the house and look into special laundry detergent. I do remember something about laundry smelling like rotten eggs. Can't remember the solution to that though!

[ximmy]

Congrats on the house and land... double congrats on a off grid well!! ...and a healthy one at that "65ft deep well with water at 12ft"

My finance guru says the alterations are worth $1700.00

"They quoted $2700 for the air inducter completely installed by them. I could also pay $1700 now and finance the other $1000 over 24 months with 0% interest if I wanted."

The extra $1000.00 is for good service...

Check to be sure the alterations indeed fix the problem, you need money back guarantees...

I agree with the Babushka... you may find the water situation agreeable once you move in and become accustomed to it.

fix other issues first... ;D