Twin Tank Water Softener + Ozone Iron Filter in Orono, MN
A Twin Tank Water Softeners usually works better than a single tank system. Twin softeners use soft water to rinse and flush which improves water quality. They use less water, salt, and are perfect for families with heavy water use.
So how could a client with a Twin Tank Water Softener AND an Iron Filter still have lousy water? Our client in Orono, MN had rusty, smelly, hard water. Not all the time, but just enough to drive them crazy.
This is our “Installation of the Month” for January, 2014. You’ll see how Premier Water used better technology “correctly” to solve their problems.
Understand Your Well Water Problems or FAIL
Water quality determines the solution. It can’t be overlooked. This well in Orono, MN had several water quality problems:
- Iron level was 10x over the staining limit
- Iron Bacteria produced a rotten egg smell
- pH over 7.2 will oxidize Iron and change chemical form
- Water Hardness was 4x higher than the national average
This well water had both high Iron AND high pH. A softener cannot remove all the iron with water like this. An Iron Filter was necessary to stop rust stains.
The old filter almost worked, but it didn’t control Iron Bacteria. The bacteria destroyed the old filter by plugging it with slime. Iron Bacteria needs to be killed with a disinfectant like Chlorine or Ozone.
The high level of water hardness is similar to city water in Orono, MN. A professional-grade Water Softener is a must to prevent scale and water spots.
Better Technology for Better Water
The original Culligan water system used a 13” Birm Iron Filter and a Fleck 9000 Twin Water Softener with 10” tanks. It was close, but not perfect.
Ozone Iron Filter
First, we focused on stopping Iron Bacteria. Our client didn’t want to mix up chemicals or have chlorine in her water. She chose the Iron Curtain Blaster.
The Iron Curtain Blaster is a compact filter system that uses Ozone as a natural disinfectant. Ozone is very powerful. Its a nice alternative to chlorine. There’s no chemical smell or taste. Excess ozone just breaks down into oxygen.
The Iron Curtain Blaster also saves space over the standard 2 tank Iron Curtain Filter System. That helped us keep everything serviceable in this small well room.
The old Culligan Iron Filter was only had 5/8” inside. The drain line was even smaller. It’s no wonder the system became totally plugged up. It was physically impossible for the system to flush itself clean!
The Iron Curtain Blaster uses a special 13” plate to improve flow. We ran a new 1” drain line so the system could properly flush without restriction.
Now the water was iron-free, and Iron Bacteria-free. The Water Softener only had to remove hard water and could operate more efficiently.
Newer, Better Twin Tank Water Softener
This family of 5 had huge swings in water use with heavy laundry days, sports, and travel.
A Twin Tank Softener makes perfect sense for this family. 2 alternating tanks can supply unlimited soft water – even on high use days.
The old Twin Tank Softener was nice, but it was too big. It would sit idle for long periods of time. This caused Iron and Hard Water to foul the system. The resin inside was breaking down and forming channels. The water was never perfectly soft – even though the system was using 4-5 bags of salt a month.
We used the Hellenbrand ProMate 7.1 Water Softener. Smaller 8” tanks could supply enough volume and only clean every few days. The full 1” flow and distributor plates also helped improve water pressure the family needed.
The ProMate 7.1 valve has 59 parts. This improves service and reliability over the 200+ parts that were wearing out in the old Fleck 9000 valve.
Best of all, the ProMate 7.1 uses high efficiency, up flow technology. Our system uses 60% less salt than the Culligan Fleck 9000 softener.
How it All Turned Out
Well water can be even better than city water. You get to choose how good your water will be.
Our client was sick of their low water pressure, smelly, rusty, hard water. They wanted to fix it all. And we did!
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| 408ppm TDS | 415ppm TDS |
| 7.27 pH | 7.30 pH |
| 3.0ppm Iron | 0.1ppm Iron |
| 0.15ppm Manganese | 0.0ppm Manganese |
| 20gpg Hardness | 1gpg Hardness |
Now the water is clean and clear. No smell. No stains. No more hard water spots. They even have better water pressure!
About Premier Water
Premier Water is based in Chanhassen, MN. We provide local service in Minneapolis/St. Paul and surrounding counties. Our clients range from small residential homes to large commercial/industrial plants.
Is your Water Treatment System failing to perform? We can diagnose and clearly explain your water quality, and available solutions. Give us a call or email to get started today!