Sediment filter observations for guys on wells.

[UncleDave]

Looking at the various options for a first stage you have, pleated, string wound, and melt blown.
The melt blown dont do well with multi sized sediment, they work great as a final stage but not a first stage.
I had a pleated filter and a string wound in prior.

The string lasted longer so I figured Id go back to a string filter.

With a well you have to avoid cellulose because of bacteria growth, so all first stage well filters should be poly or something antibacterial.

This is fairly high level and visual but some determinations can be made.

Not super impressed with the Amazon special from Membrane Solutions.

Much more impressed with the Micron Filter Cartridge Corp product made in Ill.

The Membrane Solutions did come in a pretty box with a pretty wrapper telling me to flush the first 5 gallons (not mentioned anywhere I could see prior)

It's 2x 3/8 instead of a full 2.5 and is very squishy in comparison.

the Micron solutions is far denser and a full 2.5.

I'll dig up my small scale and weight them, but I can already tell who is going to win.

 

[walterjay]

String wound is by far the best for sediment removal. Pass on the pleated ones.

 

[dnewton3]

I lived on a well for 20 years; used one of the 5um string-wound filters. I would change the filter once a year; never had any problems.

 

[Chris142]

The casing should have pea gravel and sand poured around it to act as a filter. As long as the casing is not compromised you shouldn't need any filters.

Even my failing well does not put anything in my water other than rust that started when the casing collapsed last year .

 

[walterjay]

The rock wells in my area can produce quite a bit of sediment. I have seen wells impact those filters in just days.

 

[Cujet]

The shallow wells used in South Florida typically use a 2 inch wellpoint, sometimes driven down in one step. They are a simple PVC pipe with thin slots cut along a 3 or 4 foot section. There is no viable way to use this setup with some form of coarse sand or gravel around the wellpoint. The slots keep out the chunks, and the slit flows in. Often the more water pumped, such as if also used for irrigation, the lower the silt in the filter on the house.

I appreciate the input on the string wound filter. I will try one. I typically use a 20 micron, 20 inch x 4.5 inch melt-blown filter element. They seem to last and flow well for my 6 shower heads.

The issue with the melt blown ones is that they get completely saturated with silt.

 

[Ausfahrt]

Where you live makes a big difference.

Now that I'm up here in New England, I just use a simple string wound sediment filter and we drink our water straight out of the well.

Back in Florida we had an aerator, multiple filters, and a softener.

 

[UncleDave]

The casing should have pea gravel and sand poured around it to act as a filter. As long as the casing is not compromised you shouldn't need any filters.

Even my failing well does not put anything in my water other than rust that started when the casing collapsed last year .

My experience is the nature of well disposition is geographical as Ausfahrt mentions.
Sure there are problems with casings, screens and other problems, but I've seen wells 1/4 mile apart put in within a week of one another that were radically different. Few to none have told me they have no need at all for filtration, even city water has silt, but it's nice to hear you dont have to deal it.


One of the things I like about these string filters is that I can get an idea of consumption by looking at the winds as a gauge.
Melt blown are similar that way, but I've seen them plug up on the outside with variable sized sediment so thing gets inside.

After about 1 year this filter had one "wind" left before contamination bleed into the home/ hoses.
Not completely sure about this brand string filter, but it's inferior to the Micron Cart brand offering.

 

[UncleDave]

I lived on a well for 20 years; used one of the 5um string-wound filters. I would change the filter once a year; never had any problems.

What sized housing/filter did you use ?

Thanks.

 

[wpod]

The dirt is tasty and has needed minerals. I have a filter for my well water.