I have a question for anyone with knowledge of home water treatment. I live in a home where water is provided by a well (no town water). When we had the water tested originally it was slightly acidic but not enough to warrant treatment. After we lived here for a while we determined that the pH changes over time and in the winter the water is acidic enough to warrant treatment. The water is also quite hard so we had a softener installed by a local outfit. We discussed the pH issue with the same guy and his recommendation was to install another tank (like the softener) and this one would be filled with marble chips. Water flowing through the tank would dissolve the marble and neutralize the acidity. The softener would then remove the added calcium. There would be a loss of pressure due to pumping the water through the calcium. This would be in addition to the loss of pressure due to pumping the water through the softener. Since our water pressure is already lower then what we would like I asked him to look into something else. He said that he could install a chemical injection system that would meet our needs but it would require periodic servicing to maintain proper pH. The servicing would be at add soda ash and water to a storage tank periodically and occasional stirring of the tank. Also, I would need to adjust the concentration in the tank to regulate the pH of the domestic water as the water from the well changed over time. The system was installed so that the soda ash solution is injected into the pressure tank and the system ran OK for about a year (warranty was for a year). There has been a repeated buildup of crud (soda ash) on the pump fittings and the installer explained that this is normal. I asked if we could use more soda ash in the tank and reduce the pump speed or stroke to reduce the frequency of having to refill the tank. I was told that according to the installers contact at the pump company that the pump should always be run at full speed and full stroke and he would/could not provide an explanation as to why this might be true. Recently we noticed that the pump was no longer pumping and is no longer under warranty. Upon investigation of the service manual it appears that this pump requires annual service (replace diaphragm). I am beginning to come to the opinion that this pump is a piece of junk. Questions for the readers are:
1) Could anyone make a recommendation for a new pump? 220V >8gpd @ 80psi I can do simple plumbing and electrical tasks myself. Any reason not to do this myself?2) Soda Ash seems a poor choice for reducing the pH. The stuff that I get in the 50lb sacks seems to have a fair amount of insoluble crud that collects at the bottom of the tank and makes it difficult to stir. Wouldn't sodium hydroxide (lye) be a better choice. I know that I need to be (more) careful with this (goggles and maybe gloves and/or respirator).
Any recommendations?