Water in pipes

[Jen]

This weekend we has an aerator installed to help get rid of the sulpher smell in our water. It's just a small brass thing that lets some air in the lines to oxidize the sulphur. It works great - no more smell.

It worked great for about 2 days. However, there is now air in our lines which makes all the faucets and the toilet very noisy and "sputtering." Also, since the water is not flowing at a consistent rate through our on-demand water heater, we do not get consistent hot water - it seems to turn on and off as the water and air runs through.

I see that there's a nut on the side of the aerator, I assume to adjust the amount of air in the lines? I'm waiting to hear back from the plumbers who installed it, but was hoping maybe someone would know if this is all I need to do? I was thinking of shutting it off all the way, then running the water until there's no more noise, then slowly opening it back up. How long should I wait between adjustments? A few minutes? Hours? Days?

[JoeSpareBedroom]

By aerator, are you talking about the thing that goes on the faucet? If not, where is this device installed?

[Jen]

It is a rectangular brass fixture that is installed on the water line coming into the house. It is installed right before the blue well tank in the basement.

I've tried to find a picture of it online and can't find anything similar.

[terry]

Sounds like a water system from a well? If so; could that gadget interfere with the well-pump system?

[John Gilmer]

OK.

When you have something that puts air into your water distribution system you usually need something else to take the excess air out.

We have a deep well and an "air over water" pressure tank.

The systems puts a "bolus" of air into the tank each time the pump starts. There is a float valve at the side of the tank that vents excess air.

Perhaps you need an "air over water" tank with an air level control. The tank will provide time for the sulfur to react with the air and let the excess air bubble up to the surface. The air level control will vent the air once the air volume exceeds 50% of the tank capacity.

Note that "modern" systems use a bladder type tank. It's getting harder and harder to get the type of float controlled air volume control and even the galvanized tanks.

But that's what you need.

[Jen]

Not sure what it's interfering with. It's intentionally putting a small amount of water in the line, but it's causing a lot of "chattering" in the pipes.

The water comes from the well, through the new aerator dohickey, to the blue well tank, through a Kinetico water softener, and then for hot, the water goes through a Rinai on-demand system.

I've put too much money into this system for it to not work right. :P