Taking iron from well water? Use filters or special pumps
Q. We have a heavy iron/sulfur content in our well water. Although we filter the water through gravel and sand, we still need to backwash every week as well as treat the water with Iron Out every three months. Can you give us the name of a company that makes a magnetic water filter? Walter D. Nall Sr. Hernando, Fla.
A. Fred F. Crutcher of Lafayette, Calif., once wrote us that he removes iron from his well water by first spray-pumping the water into a collecting tank with an exposed surface.
The iron precipitates collect at the bottom. Then he pumps the water from about two feet from the tank bottom into a pressure system, using two pumps with electrodes in the storage tank.
Check the 1980 (or later) Thomas Register in your local library, Vol. III, Products & Services, Page 4404, under the heading ''Magnetic Filters'' for a list of manufacturers. Two likely firms are the Marvel Engineering Company, 2087 North Hawthorne, Melrose Park, Ill. 60160, phone (312) 343-4090; and Flow-Ezy Filters Inc., P.O. Box 1085-T, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106, phone (313) 665-8201.
You may find other magnetic-filter companies nearer to you.