Water treatment
Iron and Sulfur Removal Without Maintenance
We're proud to be the exclusive Watts® dealer for the South Carolina Lowcountry.
We believe that the Watts NF-10 FiloxTM filter for iron and sulfur reduction is simply the best water filter for well water in the business. It's a pleasure to install this unit because it does what we say. And this filter requires no regular maintenance. The 10" fiberglass bottle has a 10-year warranty, and the control valve has a limited 5-year warranty. This media filter is designed to provide years of uninterrupted service. These units can be installed in a garage, basement, or pump house. The fiberglass bottle can be buried to fit into tight spaces and reduce the size of the pump house or pump cover.
How It Works
The 10" x 54" fiberglass bottle is filled to about 41" with a material (filter media) that captures iron, sulfur, and manganese molecules. It also captures other minor mineral contents. The Watts® brand name for this media is Filox®. Filox is manganese dioxide, an ore. It looks very much like black sand. It is similar but superior to filter media used by other manufacturers. Watts uses 80% pure manganese dioxide, the highest concentration in the industry.
The electronic control valve on top of the unit automatically reverses the flow of water and "backwashes" the filter media on a regular schedule. This is normally done on a daily basis in the early morning hours, but could be any frequency or duration desired depending on the raw water quality. These settings are permanently stored on the controller's program board and will not be erased even in the event of a power failure. In its' backwash cycle, the water enters the unit through the pipe in the center and goes down to the bottom, then up through the media, lifting and separating the media, and rinsing out to drain all of the iron, sulfur, and other mineral content that it has captured during the day. It's important to have good water pressure to lift the media and rinse it thoroughly; otherwise, mineral content will accumulate in the media. The backwash cycle takes 12–20 minutes, depending on the quality of the well water. The backwash cycle is followed by a 5-minute rinse cycle and a quick flush. The unit is then ready to filter the water the following day and repeats this routine on the programmed schedule.
The inlet and outlet on the control valve are 1-1/4", and there is very little pressure loss through the valve. Unlike old media filters that had "mechanical" timers, the Clack valve used by Watts is simple in design, durable, and long lasting. Under normal conditions, the Filox media should never have to be replaced. We suggest regular chlorination of your home water system, including the Filox filter, to prevent buildup (or bacterial contamination) that might coat the media and prevent it from capturing iron and sulfur as intended.
One of these installations is probably similar to yours. Watts Filox® filters are produced in a number of sizes with various control valves to accommodate flow rates over 100 GPM for commercial and large irrigation applications. Please call if you have any questions or if you would like to schedule an installation at your home.
Quick and Easy-to-Use Chlorination Systems
It is important to chlorinate your home water system periodically to prevent bacterial contamination and to safeguard against the buildup of mineral deposits and even algae that is sometimes found in well water systems. This becomes even more important when your water system includes any type of water filtration, as the filtration equipment or media may become fouled by these contaminants. This doesn't necessarily mean that bacteria or other buildup would be physically harmful to you. In fact, there are certain beneficial bacteria, and iron contained in well water is an essential part of our diet. But you don't want any type of bacteria in your water, and you don't want any type of mineral to build up that could cause plumbing problems or set up conditions for other problems, such as iron algae. Find related links to brochures that provide more extensive information about these types of contaminants.
Deep wells and shallow wells are chlorinated a bit differently. A cased-deep well can be chlorinated by simply pouring household liquid bleach (non-scented) mixed with several gallons of water into the well casing. There are some tricks and tips that make this more effective, so contact us for more detailed advice before you chlorinate your deep well.
A shallow well is chlorinated in a little different way. Since there is no casing, there is nothing to pour the chlorine mixture into. So on our shallow well systems, we install a brass ball valve on the actual well pipe so that chlorine can be injected into the well and straight down into the aquifer, where it is allowed to sit for a period of time. We make up a funnel that screws into the ball valve to make it easy to inject the chlorine mixture into the well. (See yellow figures 1 and A) You simply fill the funnel, slowly open the ball valve, and allow the mixture to go down. Looking into the funnel, you close the valve before the liquid level reaches the ball valve. This whole process takes only minutes, and if the actual well were chlorinated once each year, you'd be miles ahead of most people (who don't do it at all). Again, the well only needs to be done once each year, or 18 months.
On deep and shallow wells, we install a pellet chlorinator that allows you to periodically chlorinate your house plumbing and fixtures in just seconds. (See red figures 2 and B) You simply close the ball valves on both sides of the chlorinator (B), then open the spigot to drain the water from the chlorinator into a cup, then open the ball valve on top and drop in 10 or 12 chlorine pellets (that we provide). Then you would cut the water back on. That's it. It takes only a matter of seconds, and it is so easy that you can do this every 6 or 8 months.
To summarize, the actual water well only needs to be chlorinated annually. The house could be chlorinated every 6 to 8 months. With our custom-made chlorinator, it's so easy that there's no reason not to do it. This really should be done periodically to protect your water system from bacterial contamination and to safeguard your filtration equipment and your family's health.
These units are intended to make it easy for you to periodically chlorinate your water system. They are not intended to add chlorine on a continuous basis. Some types of water conditioning systems actually inject chlorine on a continuous basis. This defeats one of the best aspects of having a water well at your home. Nationally, homeowners spend literally billions of dollars each year to remove chlorine from their city water. Enjoy all natural, chlorine-free well water.
U-V Light Disinfection Systems
I'm continually amazed to meet people who are building a beautiful new home (sometimes a multi-million dollar home) and spare no expense in perfecting some of the minor details. I meet people who are spending thousands of dollars on interior molding or the landscape. But for some reason, when it comes to the water that they and their family are going to be drinking and cooking with every day, the emphasis seems to be more about "slapping a well down and hooking it to the house." This doesn't seem to make sense when often the water well, pumping equipment, filtration, chlorination, and U/V protection can be installed for about $5,000. It could be more, depending on the type of well installed and other factors. But you get the point. A good water well system with filtration and U/V protection should be installed on every home, whether it is a mobile home or a multimillion-dollar home.
Today, U/V protection is simple, affordable, and requires little maintenance, which can normally be performed by the homeowner. We installed this particular system at a nice home that is supplied by a deep well. The water quality was relatively good but had a fairly strong sulfur smell. The Watts NF-10 Filox filter removes all of the sulfur smell and any trace of iron content. It also filters the water to 20 microns. Then the water passes through a 5 micron pre-filter and the Watts® WUV-12 U/V System, which kills any bacteria that may possibly have been introduced during chlorination.
The actual U/V lamp is not a hard part of the unit. It can be lifted right from the top of the stainless steel housing, as shown in the picture. Water enters the unit and passes between the stainless steel housing and a sturdy, perfectly pressure-sealed glass tube inside the housing. The ultraviolet light emitted by the lamp effectively kills bacteria at flow rates up to 12 gallons per minute.
The glass tube needs to be removed periodically and cleaned. This would be approximately every 6 months, depending on the quality of the water. The glass tube is easily accessed by removing the lamp and unscrewing the seal at the top. The glass tube is then easily removed. We install the 5-micron whole-house cartridge filter you see pictured here (blue) with each U/V installation. This prevents particulate and some mineral content greater than 5 microns from dimming the glass tube prematurely. The Watts Hydro-Safe filtration system is an excellent choice for your home if your well water doesn't require iron or sulfur removal or if you want to add another level of protection to your drinking water. The Hydro-Safe unit is a 3-step filtration system that has:
1) A.02 micron replaceable cartridge filter that is rated for cyst reduction and the removal of sub-micron particles.
2) An ultra-fine activated carbon powder is added to the cartridge filter to improve taste, odor, and clarity.
3) A stainless steel U/V chamber with a 254 nanometer U/V lamp that destroys bacteria, viruses, and other harmful microorganisms.
THIS UNIT PROVIDES OUTSTANDING FILTRATION AND U/V PROTECTION. IT IS EASY TO INSTALL, AND WE INSTALL IT FOR A VERY REASONABLE PRICE!
People ask us all the time, "Is my water good?" We explain the two aspects of water quality, which are:
1) Its' esthetical quality (mineral content and smell) that make it unpleasant or stain your sinks and laundry, and 2) its' bacteriological quality. Your water could have iron content significant enough to stain everything in the house and hydrogen sulfide content enough to gag you. but be completely bacteria-free. Then again, your water might taste great and seem like bottle-quality water, but it has some bacteria content that would be harmful for you and your family.
We encourage you to consider installing a good filtration system and U/V protection on your water system. Peace of mind is affordable.
Water Softeners
The Watts Filox® media filter for iron and sulfur removal (explained above) does such a good job at filtering well water that it is normally not necessary to install additional treatment equipment. But occasionally the water will have such a high TDS (total dissolved solids) content or be so hard that it requires additional water softening. The primary problem noticed with exceptionally hard water is spotting on dishes or on the glass shower door. Occasionally, on a newly constructed home, the cost of the entire water system, including filtering and softening, is well within the owner's budget, and he or she just wants to be sure that the water quality is the best possible.
We install a complete range of water softening equipment at a very affordable price. The unit pictured here is a dual-medium water softener and filter. The lower section contains a media that softens the water, and the upper section contains an activated carbon media for additional improvement in taste and clarity.
Whole House Reverse-Osmosis Systems (R/O)
Pictured here are two of the whole house's reverse osmosis systems that we recently installed. These are Watts R4x40-2 residential units and are rated for approximately 4,400 gallons per day. The units are factory-complete with pre-filters, product and reject flow meters, low and high pressure gauges, and an electronic pre/post TDS meter.
These systems require minimal maintenance and start up and shut down automatically to keep the storage tanks full.
For larger residential applications, we typically. install about 3,000 gallons of storage capacity in two tanks, as pictured. In our geographic location, R/O systems require a deep well for the raw water supply. The treated water (called product water) is stored in tanks such as these, and the house is supplied by a separate pump from these tanks. All of our systems feature a reliable Grundfos® MQ series constant velocity pump to supply the home. These pumps have a flow rate of over 20 GPM but are very quiet. The MQ series has a simple, user-friendly control panel with indicator lights for on/off and auto-reset functions. It also has auto shut-off and alarms for both run-dry and over-heat conditions. They simply apply constant pressure to every fixture in your home.
We also sell, install, and service the complete line of Watts® commercial and industrial R/O systems with product water flow rates of up to 100 gallons per minute. Pictured on the right (Figure 8) is the Watts 14-06 commercial R/O system rated for 10,800 gallons per day.
Call for a quotation, reference, or professional advice.
Aeration Systems
Occasionally, raw well water contains such high levels of iron or hydrogen sulfide gas that it is necessary to pre-aerate the water prior to other filtration. Aeration increases the usable dissolved oxygen content of the water and precipitates the iron or sulfur molecule (i.e., brings it out of suspension) so that when the water makes contact with the filter media, these molecules are captured much more easily. Aeration is not that involved, but it has to be done properly. The water should never come into contact with unfiltered air or be exposed to the atmosphere. Many times I have seen poorly conceived (and even more poorly installed) aeration systems that are no more than a tank that allows the water to sit open, exposed to the atmosphere, where it is also exposed to mosquito larvae and algae. That's something you don't want to think about when you're brushing your teeth in the morning. Talk to us for good advice.
Links to Related Sites / Products We Sell
We sell and install a complete line of Watts E-Treat and conventional under-the-counter R/O systems. Under-the-counter R/O systems are affordable and provide ample amounts of filtered, biologically safe, bottle-quality water for drinking and cooking.
The Watts Hydro-Safe filtration system is an excellent choice for your home if your well water doesn't require iron or sulfur removal or if you want to add another level of protection to your drinking water. The Hydro-Safe unit is a 3-step filtration system that has:
1) A .02 micron replaceable cartridge filter that is rated for cyst reduction and the removal of sub-micron particles.
2) An ultra-fine activated carbon powder is added to the cartridge filter to improve taste, odor, and clarity.
3) A stainless steel U/V chamber with a 254 nanometer U/V lamp that destroys bacteria, viruses, and other harmful microorganisms.
THIS UNIT PROVIDES OUTSTANDING FILTRATION AND U/V PROTECTION. IT IS EASY TO INSTALL, AND WE INSTALL IT FOR A VERY REASONABLE PRICE!
Counter-top filters
Counter-top filters are an excellent choice if you want an affordable, easy-to-install final filter to fill your water bottles with or for cooking. We do not install this filter. We order them in bulk and sell them for a very reasonable price as a service to our customers.
Pump Enclosures
We sell various types of pump enclosures "AS IS," including the "rock" pump covers you see here, if you want to install them yourself.
Call us for pricing and information.
Fully installed insulated fiberglass pump covers with ventilation and freeze protection.
We install a custom-insulated fiberglass pump cover, which is as nice as any pump cover you can buy or build. The cover has an automatic vent that closes and opens at about 40° to allow ventilation during warm weather and hold heat in during cold weather. This foam-insulated cover adequately captures heat from an efficient flood light to prevent damage during freezing temperatures. The cover is hinged on a base made of treated lumber and has a galvanized handle for easy access. I install plastic that acts as a moisture barrier and prevents weeds from growing around the pump and gravel to keep the area around the pump clean. And finally, I install a brass hose bib on a galvanized riser outside of the cover so the cover does not have to be lifted to access the hose bib. This particular cover does not have a lock, but a hasp lock could easily be installed to deter theft.
This is an ideal pump cover, as it protects the water system and allows plenty of access for future servicing. If you build or have someone build a pump house for you, do something similar to this. Make the pump house as light as possible so it can be moved, or hinge one full side (or the whole top) to allow plenty of access to the equipment.
Trenching
We install water lines and do trenching for electrical drops. If you need a lengthy run of pipe installed or if the power company is requiring that you provide the trench for a lengthy electrical service, let us know if we may be of assistance. We'll give you a fair price for digging the trench.
Light Crane Service
We have a light crane that we use for pump hoisting and other light lifting. Give us a call if you need a hand.
We are an authorized dealer for Koshin America Pumps
I use Koshin pumps in my business, so I acquired dealer authorization from Koshin America. They are a good company, and Koshin pumps are the very best fluid transfer and trash pumps that I have ever worked with. They outlast other similar industrial pumps that I have used (and that cost much more) by 3 to 1.
If you are in the market for a dewatering pump, sump pump, or transfer pump, I can obtain one of these for you at a very competitive price. Call for pricing.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
Healthy Living and Prevention – A particularly good page full of information concerning our personal health.
Water Bureau Home Page – Navigate to all topics related to the Water Bureau.
Residential Well Program – Navigate to all topics related to private wells.
Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project:
The household water well system loan program is designed to assist low- to moderate-income individuals needing loans to construct, refurbish, and service their household well systems. The purpose of the program is to target loans to significant numbers of homeowners (in seven states) whose geographically isolated households lack water service but for whom it is not feasible to be connected to new or existing community water systems.
Wikipedia Links of Interest:
Ultraviolet Water Disinfectant
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Private Ground Water Wells
United States Environmental Protection Agency: Private Drinking Water Wells
Municipal Water Purveyors
Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority
Mount Pleasant Waterworks
South Island Public Service District
Hilton Head Public Service District
Broad Creek Public Service District
