Nu Trac

In my recent post on September 4 I described the installation of a whole house filter, see schematic below.

Since this was the first time I was using pex, I was concerned there could be a rupture or seepage in the basement during the night when I was not at the house and so I disconnected power to the well pump which is located deep in the ground.  The following day when I switched on the power I was surprised that the pump had to run for some time to charge the expansion tank.  I thought there could be a leak and, yes the outside faucet was leaking.  I repaired the faucet, disconnected the power that evening and the next day no water emerged from the kitchen faucet and again the well pump had to refill the expansion tank.  So I visited the other outside faucet which was fine and all the faucets in the house and the washing machine connections and listened to the toilets, and all seemed fine.  I gloomily concluded that the check valve in the well was leaking and the water in the expansion tank was leaking back into the well.

My searches on the internet advised that adding a second check valve just before the expansion tank was not a good idea and that I should have the pump pulled and replaced (minimum cost $1,200 if done by contractor) or there could be a leak in the line from the house to the well head or the well head to the pump.  But was this  really the reason?

I decided to use available instruments to determine the cause.  I shut off the water valve at C (the valve at A is always closed) and disconnected the power to the pump and noted the psi pressure reading at E and time of observation.  I did not use any water and 50 minutes later was surprised and relieved to see the psi had not budged.  So this meant that no water was leaking back to the well.  I connected power to the well pump, opened C and allowed pressure to normalize and then closed C and noted pressure at D.  Even as I watched, the meter at D slowly rotated to 0.  So there was a leak somewhere and my valuable well water was being squandered.  Again I visited all the outlets but this time, instead of listening to the toilets I removed the cover of each toilet.  And in the last toilet the water was silently overflowing into the overflow tube because the float was not shutting off the fill valve.  This will be a quick, easy and inexpensive repair and far, far better than having to deal with a bad well check valve.  And with hindsight, the diagnostics to perform were obvious, but isn’t that always the case with hindsight?

serendipity

Common sense is important but a little luck along the way is always welcome.  Yesterday at 4.30am, when I was away from the logcabin, my smart phone began chanting I had received a text and it was a “security event zone 2 alarm” at the logcabin  which meant something triggered the sensor in the kitchen and my neighbors were being awakened from their slumbers.  I quickly shushed the alarm and looked at the cameras and all was well and so I reset the alarm.  Zone 2 has been triggered twice in the past 3 months and at the time of one of the triggerings a camera in the kitchen captured a large moth flying in the room.  Was it again the moth?

This time the cameras were silent but it could still have been the moth since the camera and and the sensor are in different parts of the room.  I decided to open the sensor case to lower its sensitivity and, to my surprise a small spider emerged from inside the cover of the sensor.  I now think that this spider was hanging out in the sensor case and it triggered the alarm by crossing the face of the sensor.  I removed the spider and some nearby webs.  Hopefully this solves the zone 2 alarms.  And it was serendipitous, since I was not looking in the sensor case for an inhabitant – but I will take luck anytime.

A few weeks ago M. confronted me in the kitchen with a glass of discolored water.  “It’s dirty” she accused.  I agreed but suggested if she wanted drinking water she should use the under sink 2 stage filters I installed, which deliver crystal clear water, and not worry about the water from the faucet.  She was not appeased and said she would not shower in discolored water nor did she want the dishes or clothing to be washed in the water.   We have a deep well I explained so bacteria is not an issue and there was probably a lightning strike which shook up the ground and displaced some sediment.

I mentioned this to my neighbor across the road and he said the discoloration was iron in the water and he used a whole house filter and replaced the cartridge every few months.  Time for some research, and I found an excellent YouTube video which clarified.  Iron in well water which is dissolved or in solution is called ferrous.   When exposed to oxygen it precipitates and becomes visible and is called ferric.  A sediment filter cannot trap ferrous but will remove ferric.  So if you install a single filter where the well water enters the house it will remove ferric but the ferrous will slip by and will precipitate into ferric while sitting in the water heater or the toilet bowl.  This solved a puzzle.  Our house has an upstairs bathroom which is rarely used.  Every few months I flush the upstairs faucets and toilet to ensure there is water in the traps.  And the toilet bowl always has red/brown sediment, yet when last flushed a few months previously I had brushed the bowl clean.  How did all this sediment get into the bowl?  I now conclude the invisible ferrous in the water precipitated into ferric which settled in the bowl.

The youtube video recommended 3 filters used in series.  The 1st is a sediment filter to trap any sediment and ferric in the well water so it will not clog the 2nd more expensive filter.  The 2nd filter (Pentek RFFE-20BB) contains agents (apparently potassium permanganate) which oxidize the water and thereby precipitates the ferrous into ferric.  The 3rd filter, like the 1st is a sediment filter which traps the ferric which was produced by the 2nd filter.  Pretty neat!

Typical filters are 20” in height and enclosed in big blue tubes and therefore called big blue filters.  I researched prices and found I could get a better deal (>10% less on a comparable basis) from an independent rather than big A, except for one of the filters which I ordered from big A.  A few days later the packages arrived.

Plumbing technicals

When I lived in London I completely replumbed an old house including installing a gas furnace and 17 radiators and a pump and 3 thermostat controlled motorized valves.  I used copper pipe and soldered all the joints except for a few compression fittings.  It was much easier to solder a joint in the U.K than in the U.S.A. because, for amateurs like me, there were the wonderful Yorkshire capillary fittings, which had solder rings.

The process was simple – you clean the pipe and the fitting into which it will be inserted, smear both with flux, and then heat with a butane torch until the solder appears at the rim of the fitting where the pipe is inserted.  And it always worked and was just as easy for vertical fittings as for horizontal.  Here I have often battled establishing capillary action to suck the solder into the joints of larger pipes (1” or greater) and it is frustrating after you have finished soldering to find that one joint leaks.   Disassembling the pipes takes time and removing all the water drops also takes time (I used to push bread down the pipes to soak up the moisture and then flush it when all was done).  So I was keen to explore alternatives to copper soldered fittings.

Today there are at least 6 different methods (soldering, compression, glue, pex – cinch, pex – crimp, pex – expander, sharkbite) to connect water pipes and fittings, and there are at least 4 different pipes to choose from – copper, cpvc, pvc and pex.   The house has cpvc ¾” pipe and I decided to use pex-crimp and transition with sharkbite.  If this all sounds like gobblydegook I will try explain.  CPVC is a plastic type pipe, somewhat flexible which is glued into fittings.  Unlike PVC, it is good for hot as well as cold water and the glued fittings seem reliable and are cheaper than copper/bronze fittings.  But once glued, it is glued and you have to cut the pipe if measurements were off or a change of mind.  Sharkbite is expensive but easy to assemble just push the pipe all the way into the fitting and you are done, and it is easy to later separate the pipe from the fitting.  And sharkbite is a great way to transition from copper to cpvc or to pex.  Pex pipe (a form of polyethylene) is flexible like CPVC.  For the pex-crimp method you position (carefully) a copper ring near the end of the pipe, insert a fitting into the pipe, and with both hands position the clamp mouth of a large tool over the ring and (with some effort) close the arms of the tool which crimps the ring tight over the fitting.  And then you are done.  Pex-crimp is cheaper than sharkbite and a nice feature is you can loose fit and position all the fittings and when you are satisfied then crimp all the rings on the fittings.  And after it is crimped you can still rotate the pipe if necessary.  And, if you make a mistake (I haven’t yet) you can cut off the ring and re-use the fitting.

A disadvantage with pex is the fitting goes into the pex pipe and this reduces the internal diameter of the pipe and impedes water flow more than with copper and cpvc where the pipe goes into the fitting.  In London  I used a pipe bender for 15mm (0.6″) and 22mm (0.9″) copper pipe which produced wider bends and less water friction than elbow fittings.  So now it bugs me to use 0.75” internally restricted pex pipe for the main flow to the house.  I considered transitioning to 1” pex but there was less availability and greater cost, so I decided to wait and see.

installation

First I had to decide where to mount the 3 stage filter in the basement.  It would have been best between the expansion tank and the water heater but there was insufficient space so I reluctantly decided on the right side of the expansion tank. Reluctant because it took the water flow through a number of 90 degree bends.

Next, how to secure to concrete wall.  I considered concrete anchor bolts but decided to install a wood wall against the concrete basement wall.  I bought a 12ft long, 2” thick, 12” wide (nominal) plank, cut into 4 boards each 3 ft long and stacked them horizontally (see pic above) and held vertically in place by 2×4’s at each end.  The top of the top plank rose above the concrete apron wall and I secured it with 7” bolt screws into the base of the vertical wood studs.  I screwed the filter housing to the wood wall.

Next for the plumbing.  Below is a schematic of the installation:

The blue colored pipe lines are what I installed plus valve A.  When valve A is closed, water flows through C to the filters and then returns via B to the original pipe.  I can bypass the filters by closing B & C and opening A.  I used CPVC all the way to sharkbite valves B & C since I know that glued CPVC will not leak and I am still learning with pex.  Pex commences from valves B & C to the filters.   I installed a 4th valve at D which allows me to bleed the system (after closing B & C) for removing valves, winterizing the system if I am away, and to inspect the quality of the incoming water.  In addition to the existing pressure valve at E I installed another valve at D.  As sediment accumulates in the filters there will be a difference between D (higher) and E and when it is greater than say 15 psi, it will be time to change.  As previously mentioned filters 1 & 3 are the sediment filters and 2 provides the oxidizing action to precipitate out the ferrous.

Water flow seems fine notwithstanding all the 90 degree turns although I may, one day, replace the line from filter outlet to B with 1″ pex.  I bled the water heater and it produced a lot of really brown discolored water which accumulated over the years.

And now that I have clear water throughout the house I will replace the clogged aerator inserts in the faucet spouts.  So far so good.

postscript – see my post dated Sept 9 for water loss issue I identified and corrected.  Which made me think that I really needed to install a water meter.  I happened to have one handy and I used 1″ pex from the filter through 2 90 degree elbows and then returned to 3/4″ pex.  See picture below for result.

The house on the property has D log wood siding.  The “D” describes the shape of the log as seen in cross-section, one side is flat and the other has the shape of a D.  The house was built in 2002 and when I purchased it 10 years later the siding was neglected.  I engaged a well recommended painting contractor who provided a 5 year guarantee.  He recommended, rather than a transparent varnish which would show the wood grain underneath, that we use a block stain which required less annual maintenance.  The first day they pressure washed the exterior with a bleach solution – actually sprayed is more accurate since the black mold and loose paint was not disturbed.  I took photos showing black mold remaining on the surface and contacted the manager and questioned whether it made sense to paint on top of black mold.  With much patience he assured me they were professionals, they had “killed” the mold and it was a good base on which to paint, they knew what they were doing and all would be fine.  Each subsequent year paint peeled off and the only comfort was they came back each year and after the obligatory pressure wash/spray ($250) did some scraping and repainted.  Aggrievedly they told me they were losing money on each visit.  I had little patience.  I pointed them to the barn which I had pressure washed and scrubbed before painting and which for 5 years had retained a pristine appearance.  They provided imaginative explanations which held them blameless as to why the barn looked good and the house did not.  Then the 5 year guarantee ran out and I was on my own.

I try to be self sufficient but scraping and painting from a ladder 3+ stories high does not appeal.  And M. provides frequent horror stories from hospital roundings of guys my age who fell off ladders and are now done.

So what to do?  I should mention that  after the third year, peeling paint was a problem only on the sides facing the summer afternoon sun (west and north).  The first two years it was a problem most everywhere because they had not properly prepared the surface before painting.  But once they had scraped the loose paint and repainted, it was the sides facing the afternoon sun that deteriorated.

I remembered in New York I had a similar problem and solved it by applying oil based primer as the foundation on the wood surface and then regular latex paint.  Perhaps this would also work in the South?

But who would do a thorough paint job for me?  I contacted a local contractor but he didn’t impress and the quoted price for just the chimney and a small area was ridiculous.  I spoke to a guy who looked like a painter (skinny, the previous guy was overweight) and he was motivated but did not have insurance.  Does my house insurance cover a painter fall?  The answer from the broker was confused.  I decided if any painting was to be done, the painter had to have adequate insurance.  I had my neighbor over who builds log homes and he said wood siding needs annual maintenance and I should go with HardiePlank type siding (allura fiber cement siding)  which he could install.

the vexing blunder

I mulled this over and suggested we leave the D log siding on the lower 2 levels and just do the 3rd level and gables in fiber cement siding.  My thought was I could easily maintain the lower 2 levels.  He said this would look silly and M. agreed with him, so I gave the go ahead.  We agreed on 3 phases – the chimney first, then the long north side and finally the east/west sides.  Most of the siding on the south side is covered by roof overhang and is easily accessible and in good condition.

Then came the long side of the house which was also competently done.

Weather was in the 90’s and after the north side was done I made an upsetting discovery – the a/c took longer to cool down the house.  I went outside and leaned a 5 ft fiber cement siding and a 5ft D log board against the north side of the house facing the sun.  Then placed my hand on the sun facing sides – both very hot, then the shadowed sides – the cement board was hot, the D log board only warmish.  So the wood board had greater thermal mass and that’s why the house had always been so well insulated in the summer and the winter.  I felt sick, my first priority has always been to conserve – energy or rainwater, and now I had unwittingly removed good insulation.  I delayed the next phase and pondered what to do.  Eventually I decided to have fiber cement board on just the 3rd level and gables of the east and west sides, and leave the wood in place on basement and ground level.  And the contractor suggested it would help some if I caulked all the windows and doors which abutted the fiber cement siding (apparently it is accepted practice not to caulk these areas).

Since the scaffolding would be lowered after the fiber cement siding was installed I suggested extra payment if they would sand and paint the peeling areas.  The contractor agreed.

Worth mentioning – yes I got proof of adequate insurance coverage, the flashing was also replaced with fiber cement  boards and I pre-painted all the siding before it was installed.  Finally on the west side I sanded to bare wood all the boards exposed to the setting sun using a 5″Makita disc sander 4,500rpm with #50 and #80 7″ abrasive discs, which produced some circular scarring.  I then painted with oil based primer, then latex primer, then 2 coats of acrylic flat paint.  Time will tell if this treatment holds up to the fierce Georgian summer afternoon sun.