I retired as a superintendent of a municipal water treatment plant so I have considerable knowledge of treating and testing the public's drinking water supply. I'm happy to say I would recommend what you are doing to fix your problem. The only suggestion I would make is to move your dog run to a location as far away from the well as you can.
And put some dirt into backyard to make slope, so water does not pool on top of well after every rain.... or even better, make clay / plastic umbrella so only water in the well is water prefiltered by ground, not surface water leaching down...
@@garyhennessey3621 Not properly "built" well can. There can be other relevant factors then ONLY depth. Well build to state / fed regulations should not have this problem. Regulation is usually the best saneness / price ratio solution to problem. See? Human freedom needs some regulation to stay in sane parameters. Unchecked freedom is harmful to LIFE ITSELF.
@@garyhennessey3621 Most likely no. But you can always test your water and should test your water yearly, you can't always know what is happening "upstream".
I think that in one of the episode it showed that the water level of the cistern tank was the same as the surface water. If so, this condition needs to be corrected.
STRONG RECOMMEND a sediment filter before it goes to the big tank! Otherwise the bottom of your tank will fill with crap and you’ll have floaters in there too. The cleaner you can keep that tank the better! I love the combination method. For safety! I have UV in my house once for the whole house with the sediment filter and a second time in my reverse osmosis drinking water system.
@@AmbitionStrikes For the settling tank, look at what Nate from Narrowway homestead has done. He has the outlet line for his tank on a float so that it draws from the middle of the tank, not the top or bottom. This should give you the clearest water out of the settling tank, because some debris will settle to the bottom and some will float to the top
@@AmbitionStrikesyou can also get those reusable pleat filters, if you have iron you might need to clean them with oxalic acid to clean iron off and then will look brand new, although if you are just using them as sediment filter just rinsing them is fine, would also recommend going with the big boy filters 4.5 x 20 instead of the 2 " filters, they last way longer
I work on commercial cooking equipment, I couldn't tell you how many times I've been called out for things not working and opening up the filters to find that the media still has plastic on it.
I’ve got a shallow well , 8 feet deep , but another 4 foot of extra backfill to keep surface water away . The water tested safe to use for commercial use . 👍🇨🇦
I'm sure you see going to do this in the spring, but raise the level of the ground around the well and get some grass coverage so that the water isn't a muddy soup above the well and the ground and plants are your first filter. Plus less mud.
Exactly, it is totally ridiculous to have water pooling on top of a well. Water leaching from ground is already prefiltered, so contaminating it by surface water is such a basic, obvious thing that i am not sure if they are trolling us or what.
@@Jamey_ETHZurich_TUe_Rulez The water in this shallow of a well is not pre-filtered, which is why they are getting the contamination in the first place. Everything they are seeing is just runoff that is flowing down the hill as ground water through the organic layer of soil that has built up over time. This is also where the oils are probably coming from, just like in a swamp when you see natural oil slicks from decomposing organics. Everything in that well is basically the same as the surface water, so that's why they need to treat it like they are.
Only thing I can think of is, perhaps is a filter between the source pump and the ozone-treated storage tank, just to help keep as much stuff out of that tank as possible. Eventually I can see stuff getting into the storage tank and either settling or coating the tank walls.
My thought, too. You'd want to keep solids out of the storage tank, and external filter would be ideal. The only issue I could see would be the filter/pipes freezing in the winter.
Or just get a regular well and you don't have to make stuff up. Put in a real well with a filter system and move on. You just bought a 70k truck as an experiment. You can get a regular well. I feel like I'm watching fake drama when the answers to your problems have "well" established solutions.
@@jamesa8851they have stated multiple times why they didn't do a regular well. They're on a mountian so obviously solid rock everywhere to drill through. Certainly possible but takes longer therefore more cost. Also other wells in the area had to be drilled extremely deep and still yield a relatively small amount of water.
We had a 250k water tank for our 793 residents and use chlorine. You’re correct it’s difficult to maintain the correct ppm so we installed a paddle wheel dispenser. The more water that’s used and measured by the paddle wheel, the more chlorine is dispensed. The ppm was easy to set and the output easy to capture. You obviously won’t need as big a system but it works well. Our water Wurlitzer was tested biweekly and always passed.7
I’m a water plant operator at an RO facility our main disinfectant is sodium hypochlorite (Cl2). The MCL (maximum containment level) is 4.0 PPM you have to establish at what point break point chlorination takes effect. Break point chlorination is the point at which the disinfection demand has been met, or all undesirable contaminants in the water have been oxidized. Going beyond break point chlorination increases the likelihood of forming THMs and other disinfection byproducts.
@@garyh4458 we actually use chloramines to disinfect our water the chlorine residual lasts longer but it’s not as potent. Chloramines are a byproduct of ammonia and sodium hypochlorite coming into contact. I don’t think they wanna go down that road though lol
Wouldn't break point only matter if there was significant amounts of NH3 for the chlorine to react with to become chloramines. THM could definitely be a concern because I'm not exactly sure where this water is coming from and the level of organic material in it based on this video.
isn't the recommended distance at least 50 feet from live stock, etc (your kennel) from the well? from the camera footage, appears about 7 paces when you carried the water, could be contributing to the issue.
Riley, there might be a cheap improvement: Put a tube around the ozone dispenser. It should be a little shorter than the usual water level. I expect the rising air bubbles will take water with them and so the water will be more moved. That movement should improve the decontamination since always different water will pass the ozone source.
As another person that has now worked, and still working at a water treatment plant 17+ years now - level 3 certification). I agree with what others have said , regarding moving your dog run, sloping your yard properly, etc. What I don't agree with, is your thoughts about chlorine, and its so called difficulty to use and dangers. I personally would be chlorinating first and foremost. The reason being neither oxone or UV leave any form of residual disinfectant. Adding just a small amount oc CL2 to your cistern tank will prevent any algae and scum build up in the tank and the rest of your piping, and your water throughout your whole property will be safe. You only need to maintain a residual of free chlorine of around 1 ppm. The easiest most effective way to do this is with a proper low range test kit (loose those strips, they are very inacurate!!!) and to manually "batch" (fill your taank) your water so you know how much you are treating. This will also make life easier and overall cheaper on both your filters and your UV system, and ensure that your watrer is safe and clean for you, your family (baby especially) your dogs, etc. Don't forget, chlorinating drinking water is the absolute largest by far, advancement in human health in all of history!! The myth that it is not safe is exactly that.
Three things to consider, 1.) sediment filter before the holding tank 2.) pumping/filtering system runs when you have sun, to avoid battery draw down 3.) RO or UV system that fills a buffer tank in the house, pre consumption.
RO is definitely the way to go for cooking and drinking. Though keep in mind chlorine will break down the RO membrane material, giving it a metallic taste.
When you install your RO system, be sure to include the re-mineralization stage. Water becomes acidic when run through the RO filtering. A third stage that re-mineralizes (is that a word?) will improve the taste and bring it back to slightly alkaline. I use a counter top system, an RKIN U1, because I didn't want to fill up the cabinet under our sink and I wanted something portable. It also makes cold and hot water including a separate setting for baby formula.
One of the first things you need to do is compact the fill around the pump casing to stop the flow of ground water around the casing. Number two, raise the level of the grade at the casing to help divert the surface water away from the casing. Slope the grade away from the casing and improve the drainage of surface water away from your well.
@@ronblack7870Yes, but not just the immediate area. The water is coming from the entire slope, percolating down and moving thru the rocks and soil. However big the mountainside is that slopes in that direction, that is their water source for the shallow well.
I agree with John. Your basic much larger first filter should be outside and protected from freezing. It will be grey water coded as it will keep sediment from your system, and allow the inside step filters from "Constant" replacement. In RV's we see this, and it will make it much easier on a maintenance schedule.
I worked at a water treatment facility about a decade ago and what you’re doing is exactly what we did but on a larger scale. But we released the “Poo” water into a local river.
@@michaelmcginn7260the "water treatment facility" cleaned the water then dumped it into the river... Id think you were dense, but all the thumbs up worry me
When you said, " do I want to spend time by myself"....., I had to take deep breath cause 99 per cent of my time is by myself, and I'm very bored with myself. I retired in January ' of 19 and cant seem to make much progress toward my camping goals. But I hope to very soon. Thanks for your soft talking to all of us about this subject.
Had a similar system for lake water. I added a ceramic cartridge filter at one sink for drinking. Just one more layer of protection. 21 years drinking from lake no issues.
I've always liked the sand, pebble, gravel, fiber/mesh stepdown filters. I think they call them biofilters. Have more good bacteria in the system to kill the bad bacteria. I suppose thats kinda what you have but I think I would want a double stack cistern. I really want to know what that oily stuff was in your samples.
All of my drinking and cooking water goes through a reverse osmosis filter system from Culligan. It's a low flow system, so you can't run the whole house on it, but it will take out all bacteria and solids including minerals. It even removes chlorine. I'd add that to your kitchen water supply for drinking and cooking. I have a fridge with water and ice dispenser hooked up to it as well.
I have a drilled well had the same problem we had it tested coliform in the water . I also have a sediment. Filter in the system. I ended up putting a 15 gallon per min UV filter and that worked . I noticed when not using the water for a while the cold water will get hot when you first turn on the cold water caused by the UVLight . I might have put in one that was a little big 10 gallon might be the right size.
we have a shallow well and treat with the UV lamp alone. Tested perfectly and never had any issues. Just remember to change the lamp and sleeve when you are supposed to.
I used to manage the water system in a seasonal park and a couple of summer camps. At the start of each year I'd sanitize the wells. Over chlorinated the well and run the pump to charge a hose that I used to flush the sides of the well casing. Then fill all the water lines with the chlorinated water and leave for 48 hours. After that I'd run all the faucets until I could no longer smell the chlorine. Start at the source and you'll have less problems
The use of sand filters for pumped 20:2920:29 eptic tank effluent is the basis of many home installations. These large look sized filter beds really clean the organics out. Orenco Systems in Oregon is a vendor. That would be a primary treatment. A secondary treatment should follow. There are large filter tanks commercially available. I recommend after filteration a local water quality company. A tertiary treatment after removing any heavy metals and organics would be to distill or Reverse Osmosis for truly pure drinking and cooking water in the kitchen.
We're in year 6 of rain harvest 2000sqft roof -> 3 x 2500gal tanks. We do tanks -> pump -> 20micron -> 5micron (for UV) -> UV -> house and all works perfectly. We use big-blue 20" filters and change them once per year (~20,000gal) and change UV bulb ~1.5yrs. We put chlorine (bleach like you had) in the tanks for the 3 x summer months of no rain / hot water / stagnating water in the tanks. No ill affects so far and FYI - all approved by the city. :)
We collect rain water at our recreational off road cabin. It six miles from the nearest road the 2nd story roof it to steep for animals. I’ve been drinking the water for 20 years after I run it through a few FDA approved trash cans plumbed to catch the floaters and sinkers from trees before it goes into two tote tanks.
Well I was about to say you should put in a bypass loop so you can bypass the filter system for maintenance and that would also include isolation valves for working on the system filters......but 18:30.... I also recommend having a drain on the incoming side before the filter shut off so when you have the filters out you can still get water to clean them to some extent. The house I live in has filter system but they never thought you would have to change the filter because once the filters out I need it to be able to rinse the casings out and such and then there's no way to get water because it literally came to the main valve and went to the filter. I added a hose spigot after the main valve then went through a T into the diverter one way to the filter in one way to the bypass valve. Now we have a lot of sediment in my water so I don't actually wanna run the house on the bypass but it's there in case filters have to go off-line for a extended period of time. Then on the opposite side of the filters there's another valve which then tees back up on the other side of the bypass valve. We're on a shared well and it's big enough that it has to be maintained and monitored by a water company, unfortunately this also comes with the requirement that they dose the system with bleach every so often and since we're close to the well occasionally will turn on the tap and be like Yep the automated thing ran.
Great videos. One suggestion is any thought of putting a water sensor on the floor below water filtration system under sink. It will let you know if you are having any type of leak before it gets bad. Great videos.
I put a rain water catchment system in for an outer island home in the San Juan Islands a couple of years ago. We got salty water in the well we had drilled. So to build a home on the property we needed a permittable water system. We are using UV with a three stage pre-filter. We collect water from our roof into two 3,000 gallon cisterns. The system has worked great so far. The softest water I have ever experienced. The UV system is more sophisticated than what you have with some distinct similarities. I’m happy to share the system design with you if you want to look at it.
Dependent on your sediment levels you may want to use a filter press and adding Flocculant Settling Agent Clarifier to the well will bind even bacteria together.
I would suggest filtering the water before it enters the tank. Keeping sediment out of the tank will make it easier to clean the tank and keep it clean. Additionally, have you considered using activated charcoal as part of your filtration system? The activated charcoal filter and ozone generator may well kill everything, leaving the UV light as a failsafe backup. And since you can make activated charcoal using wood and heat, you shouldn't have any real costs in that regard other than the work to create it, which should be easily manageable.
Old Farmboy here. I ran across y'alls channel when I noticed the pole barndominium project. Wanted to see the differences. I grew up in the Lower Rio Grande Valley(actually a delta). We don't have seeps in our area but the 1st water table is at around 9 to 14/15 feet where we were at. Not the best tasting water. A lot of wells were at 25 to 30 and there were no bacteria problems as long as the wells were placed properly and not next to a feed lot. Not sure about giardia as we did not have it until recently. So, I first had to go back and look a couple of times to assure myself that you had a solid plastic corrugated pipe. At first I thought it was an actual perforated pipe and almost yelled "don't do it mabel" . The idea was innovative but there are several problems, I think, with the set up. It was innovative though. I did not read all comments but I think your has several possible problems concerning yield and bacteria, etc. Here are some suggestions 1. You needed to turn that pipe about 85 degrees and penetrate the leach pipe with a solid pipe You would get more production during dry periods if you had a larger collection ability. The gravel inside of the cloth does not really do that. You basically need to have a "reverse leach field" to gather more water. Infiltration into the pipe is regulated by surface area as well as pressure. Most wells where I grew up tried to gather from 10 to twenty feet of and or gravel sometimes from two trends. 2. Coliform bacteria as you noted is an indication of contamination. In Texas, at least, the test is not specific to harmful bacteria, just bacteria. Your well could never pass inspection in my old county. The casement is sketchy. It is in a relatively low spot. The soil level needs to be a good bit higher, essentially surface water should run away from the well---If water is running over the well and it is not properly set water can run back down in the hole.. Also, you should have a minimum 2 foot by 4 inch or more cement slab. You are too close to the dog run (In Texas some counties consider that livestock and 150 distance). Don't know where your septic system is but in Texas that starts at 100 feet and can vary by county and soil type. 3. Your sump pump could be where the bacteria came from. Yur water probably has organic content at that depth) I recently bought property in the Hill Country to retire and had the well tested.(hadn';t been used for about 10 years and the lid looked funky) The first thing they did as they put the submersible in was to shock the well with chlorine. 4. As far as drinking this water even after filtering, and UV. Not all water is drinkable in its natural state. Has nothing to do with fam chemicals (or organic farmers overuse of (uncomposted) organic fertilizer for that matter) or industrial pollution. The water takes on what it passes through. My cousins DID NOT drink their well water. The plants loved it. Actually felt good to soak in. However, it had a ton of magnesium in a form and amount that human could not tolerate. Wish you well
I grew up with multiple wells and springs in the neighborhood. The shallow wells were tested regularly. When the well itself tested positive for chloroform a gallon of bleach was added to the well. Flushed through the system until the smell of bleach came out the tap. 24 hours later retest. Repeat until the test remains negative. After a pattern was established the process would be repeated on a regular interval.
One thing you have to say about Riley, HE DOES RESEARCH!!!! Excellent presentation Ole Salt! Yeah, as others have mentioned the dog run is close. You could put down a catch pan in the dog run, Hardee Har Har. I think back to my childhood at how many people got their water from shallow dug wells. I also remember folk getting illnesses traced back to the "bugs" U found in Ur untreated water. We had a 5'dia X 25' deep shallow well but only used it for outside work. We had city water.
At our dry cabin on an island in Minnesota we drink lake water which gets tested twice a year for heavy metals, arsenic etc. For drinking water we boil it for 20 minutes to disinfect and then use a gravity flow carbon filter to reduce volatile organic compounds and improve the taste. We can also fill jugs at a public spring on our way to town to go shopping.
Shelf water, only problem if any would be it might dry up for a short period of time sometime. Had a friend of mine who watered from one for his cows. Had been 12 years since it stopped before. 5 months later it started again and it’s now been over 2 years running. Love what you’re doing, have a well on my farm I’ve never used, you got me thinking.
As several others have already mentioned. A coarse filter directly from the source, so the fine filter lasts longer. Another (harder) option is to dig deeper to get rid of the surface water that seeps down and give it more time to filter.
We are on a well but fetch our drinking/cooking water from machines in town even though the well was tested and treated. Our property and those around us have had livestock and poultry for decades. Municipal water service is available but keeps getting uranium warnings. I’ve started rain catchment for the garden.
Make your own sand and charcoal filter and put it inline before the rest of them. When a shallow well is pounded down here we just use a sand point. Less contamination. So, sand point with jet pump. Many houses around this area use this method.
Treating bacteria is much cheaper than treating hard water from a drilled well. I would also recommend that you treat the well with a high concentration of chlorine (20 ppm). Circulate the water through your system and use a return hose to rinse the 10-foot plastic pipe on your well access. The only issue with super chlorinating the the well is that you will need to wait 4-7 days for the chlorine concentration to fall below 4 ppm. You only need to super chlorinate when you open the access pipe. 10 feet of dirt is very good isolation from surface bacteria. Also, air seal the access port. We only use super-chlorination, particle filtration, and a UV light.
Super chlorination also increases the chances of producing THMs and other treatment byproducts. I wouldn’t do that just figure out when youve reached break point chlorination and go from there.
i would add a stage of kdf55 after the UV. just to make sure the water is taking care of 100%, up flow on the filter will ensure long life on your kdf, and the maintanence is minimized, use a big blue like the ones you have on the UV, but 4"x20" instead of 2.5"x20", hope this helps...
Here in nz. Private farms use the UV method. I would highly recommend filling in the hole above the well, and slope it so ground water runs off and doesn’t leach into the well.
Are you going to get your newly filtered water tested with a full panel test? That would be interesting. You might have other contaminants that are not caught in the new setup or not.
on your video i saw 2 mistakes. 1) on the cartridge filters installation you touch the filters with bare hands. Probably you transfer some bacteria from your hand to the filters. When you change it, try to use gloves. 2) you must not touch the glass tube or the UV lamp with your bare hands, because our hands produce oil, the you leave oily/greasy finger print that create shadow, so the UV light doesn't reach all the bacteria. So the gloves is a must in this kind of jobs Just some friendly advises. Keep the good job and nice videos coming.
Agree. Also, wipe down your hoses and equipment with chlorox before dumping them into the well. Contaminated mud is not your friend. Get a sediment filter as the first stage the water hits before going into your tanks. They auto backflush the sediment out periodically. Lastly, hard pipe everything. Use PEX and bury it (better freeze resistance than copper or CPVC)
We did a shallower one because it was perculating. out at surface ....but flush tanks and collect at thaw fill tanks ....use till next spring flush again and so on works great
With your system using something that needs power as your last and only defense against contamination of your home, I would strongly encourage you to have some form of additional battery backup on that filter unit, and maybe even something active that alerts you of a failure in that device. You will not be happy if/when your power goes out long enough for your water pipes to get enough contamination that you get sick.
One big problem besides filtering water and a very dangerous one, No GFI outlets, I would definitely research thet when you are running water near outlets and extension cords.
@@BrianKrahmer I'm not a licensed electrician, but a 30 year low voltage contractor, NEC 406.9(B)(1) 210.52 (C) 3. I do not know if there has been updates as I've been out of the trades for the past 4 years.
Great test! But the ozone was way overkill for a 5-gallon bucket. Good job Riley! How I would use the water: I would want just a basic filter to filter out the stuff it kills. Then, I would use it normally. I feel lucky, here in Florida, I get well water from a water district just north. This water tastes great and tested not only clean, but with some of the valuable minerals we like in water. peace
might be a good idea to use a simple filter between the water pump and the tank to make sure there is no build up of sediment or trash in the tank itself
Look up a product called E-spring water filter. We’ve used one for over 20 years on our acreage and on city water for a short few years. Awesome product.
Your water might not be as contaminated as you think. You might have made what is called a sampling error. I have experience with sampling, testing, and treating water systems. You might have inadvertently contaminated your first sample by using that pump. Coliforms are literally everywhere and on everything we touch. It is just a matter of how much. Unless you disinfected the pump and hose. Then, run it long enough to get rid of disinfectant. You also want to disinfect the faucet where you sample from first. Another thing is never sample from the surface of a container or source. As you pointed out, you saw something floating on the top of the water. There are always contaminates floating on the top. If you are dip sampling, you must cap the devise and open/close it under the surface. There are specially designed samplers for sampling tanks on long poles. To get an accurate sample from your well, you would have to disinfect the well pump it out until the water tested free of chlorine, then do a proper dip sample.
@@Adam-zq8fitotally agree, and the prefilter and UV light should always be there even if it didn't fail the test. It's always better safe then sorry and sick.
There was one surprise in this video. When you (Riley) took a mouthful of that tainted water, I was shocked that Courtney didn't scream loud enough for me to hear in Portland OR. Of course that probably means that Oliver was close enough to have been affected by the shock wave so she restrained herself and "only" raised her voice. But Riley I do have a request, back in December 2002 I had myocardial infarction and I have been trying to avoid having another. Don't drink the impure water.
Its ground water.. not tainted... all of our ancestors drank that water from the BEGINNING OF TIME... Yes its safer to filter, but the earth does a LOT of natural cleaning all by itself or else ALL THE ANIMALS that exist would be dead.
The UV light breaks down pex over time. The stainless line on the right side is great and should probably add the same to the left side where you currently have pex.
The UV light is inside of a canister. It's not coming in contact with PEX t all. Therefore it's not going to break down the plastic. You need to educate yourself kid
Riley, is the large plug below the sink running 220/240 volts? If it is why are you placing a Water filtration system anywhere close to it????????🤔🤔🤔🤔 I really hope I'm wrong somehow but I know what a 220 volt plug receptacle is .. Relocate the water filter someplace SAFE!😊 Ty.
Great educational video today! When you add the humor into the video, it makes it much more memorable. I hope this makes a less worrisome water source for you. We love you guys.
I feel like a reverse osmosis set up would be easier and sure fire way to sanitize your water since literally only water can get through. No dirt, viruses or bacteria.
They are probably trying to avoid it if they can because reverse osmosis wastes a lot of water. Great system if nothing else works but bad if you limited water.
@@C_J_81 I work at an RO plant 85% of the water we pull out of the ground is useable the other 15% we have to discard. I agree RO probably isn’t the best way to go with one single well
@@Adam-zq8fi interesting to know... We had a small 1,5kW worm pump RO, to produce water for a pasteurizer (is that the correct word, i don't know...). What i could read on the flow meters, Its efficiency was not more than 50%. I am pretty sure, that it's not comparable to your RO, your power consumption is more likely measured in MW 🤣
Reverse osmosis cleans everything out! The water doesn't have any minerals, that's dangerous for the acid concentration in the stomak and over all unhealthy, as the body needs minerals. Reverse osmosis water is also very aggressive, it destroys almost every metal except stainless steel.
Some thoughts. 1. Look at prevention. Can you move the dog kennel? Can you do anything with landscaping etc to keep water from flowing into your well? 2. You can treat the well itself with chlorine. Wouldn't be a bad idea to try to knock down the existing bacteria once you are ready to start using. 3. Definitely put a sediment filter in at the well. It can help prevent a bunch of issues later.
Great job Riley! All your info is so helpful as well as the info in the comments. Can you put a layer of gravel around the well so the ground is not so messy?
I use Ozone and UV together, creating Advanced Oxidation. If you install your UV light, downstream from your Ozone-saturated water, the product will be more clean, higher ph and mineralised 😊
Dont forget to get some type of alarm for if the uv light goes out, and you might want to consider raising the filtration system higher so that you dont get into trouble when you try ro replace your bulbs.
Very good. With the cost of a well in your neck of the woods you can purchase a lot of filters and UV light bulbs before you ever come close to digging and maintaining the typical solution. Hope it develops into a long-term solution.
Look into stenner Peristalic pumps if you want to chlorinate. I have one on my well. It is chlorinated as it comes into my home which then goes to a contact tank. Then goes through a whole home water filter and softener. After that it goes through a carbon block filter then on to all fixtures. After all of than essentially no chlorine is present at the fixture.
Riley you did good work here..hypo(bleach)...and biosolphate...should remove your hypo residual...a hypo drip before the pump volute..causing the impeller to be your mixer...then when it goes through to your 2 stage and uv light and the impeller for your flow counter can also act as your mixer for biosolphate...I hope I gave enough info for your research dept. To clear up any questions.
My cousin spent many years installing rainwater catchment systems in homes and business' in the Texas Hill country. That UV system is almost identical to what they use. They also use tanks or Cisterns to hold water in bulk. Move the Dog pen, keep the system clean and filters changed and you should be good. Do have the water professionally tested before you start using it.
we have spring supply, and had chloroforms once, so treated the main settling and header tank up the hill with sodium hypochlorite. to clean both the tanks and the supplying plastic pipe. then let the water run until the chlorine smell goes away, and use bottled water for a week. We also fenced off above the supply to keep sheep away from the supply. fencing off the supply area from medium/large animals we found was the most helpful, and water has stayed clear on subsequent testing for many years now. we also filter. looks like you've got a great system. setting up a system where the pump stops if the uv light stops working might be an idea,
HI, I would suggest putting a fine particle filter and a active charcoal filter between your pump and underground tank to try to prevent particles and small solids from getting into your tank. I would also suggest moving your dog run as far away as possible. When you start using the shallow well, I would suggest building a pump house over the drill opening, thus stopping things from falling into the well, it will keep your pump, pump controls and filters protected from freezing in the winter. Lastly I would suggest regrading the area above your well to encourage the rain water and water from the snow melting to run off and not pool there so you only pump running water from under the ground and not "stagnant"water from around your building.
Riley, our well is over 600' deep and at first we had the same contaminant in the well water. After a chlorine treatment or two and much flushing that seems to have cleared it up but I am interested in at least the UV filtrations system. Thanks for the science experiment.
If you want to stabilize your yard get yourself a bunch of used tires cut one side out drill holes in the other side allowing any water to escape laydown tires cut side up screw or bolt tires together and fill them full of rock gravel. I personally done it to a muddy spot in my driveway and where I parked my RV and boat over 10 years ago and I've only had to add gravel once to the muddy spot just to top off fill in where the mud absorbs some of the rock
I retired as a superintendent of a municipal water treatment plant so I have considerable knowledge of treating and testing the public's drinking water supply. I'm happy to say I would recommend what you are doing to fix your problem. The only suggestion I would make is to move your dog run to a location as far away from the well as you can.
And put some dirt into backyard to make slope, so water does not pool on top of well after every rain.... or even better, make clay / plastic umbrella so only water in the well is water prefiltered by ground, not surface water leaching down...
I was thinking the same about the dog run.
Can backyard chickens taint a drilled well 110' deep?
@@garyhennessey3621 Not properly "built" well can. There can be other relevant factors then ONLY depth. Well build to state / fed regulations should not have this problem. Regulation is usually the best saneness / price ratio solution to problem. See? Human freedom needs some regulation to stay in sane parameters. Unchecked freedom is harmful to LIFE ITSELF.
@@garyhennessey3621 Most likely no. But you can always test your water and should test your water yearly, you can't always know what is happening "upstream".
Step 1 in treating the water: MOVE THE DOG RUN!
1 st a particle & sediment filter ceramic filter then on to reverse osmosis now to add minerals to taste then drink.
Definitely move the dog crap away from your water source
Common sense, but not to city folk.
I agree
@@jamesirby4999🎯🛎️👍
i think the proximity of that dog run to you "well" might be something you could look at closer
My thoughts exactly
the dog run is where the water tank is i think, or am i wrong? i dont think anything from the dogs gets through that thick wall from the tank?
@@InFlamesOfSorrow , it does run down hill into their main pit though.
@@lordchaa1598 oh is it downhill from the dog run? didnt get that. well then MOVE IT! haha
I think that in one of the episode it showed that the water level of the cistern tank was the same as the surface water. If so, this condition needs to be corrected.
STRONG RECOMMEND a sediment filter before it goes to the big tank! Otherwise the bottom of your tank will fill with crap and you’ll have floaters in there too. The cleaner you can keep that tank the better! I love the combination method. For safety! I have UV in my house once for the whole house with the sediment filter and a second time in my reverse osmosis drinking water system.
Great point! We’re thinking about doing a settlement filter and settling tank before pumping into the main tank.
@@AmbitionStrikes For the settling tank, look at what Nate from Narrowway homestead has done. He has the outlet line for his tank on a float so that it draws from the middle of the tank, not the top or bottom. This should give you the clearest water out of the settling tank, because some debris will settle to the bottom and some will float to the top
@@AmbitionStrikesyou can also get those reusable pleat filters, if you have iron you might need to clean them with oxalic acid to clean iron off and then will look brand new, although if you are just using them as sediment filter just rinsing them is fine, would also recommend going with the big boy filters 4.5 x 20 instead of the 2 " filters, they last way longer
@@AmbitionStrikesI also second this!
@@AmbitionStrikes build a pump shed and power and Filter there
I work on commercial cooking equipment, I couldn't tell you how many times I've been called out for things not working and opening up the filters to find that the media still has plastic on it.
build up the ground over the well so that it diverts the surface runoff from the big hill to go around the well.
I’ve got a shallow well , 8 feet deep , but another 4 foot of extra backfill to keep surface water away . The water tested safe to use for commercial use . 👍🇨🇦
I'm sure you see going to do this in the spring, but raise the level of the ground around the well and get some grass coverage so that the water isn't a muddy soup above the well and the ground and plants are your first filter.
Plus less mud.
Exactly, it is totally ridiculous to have water pooling on top of a well. Water leaching from ground is already prefiltered, so contaminating it by surface water is such a basic, obvious thing that i am not sure if they are trolling us or what.
@@Jamey_ETHZurich_TUe_Rulez The water in this shallow of a well is not pre-filtered, which is why they are getting the contamination in the first place. Everything they are seeing is just runoff that is flowing down the hill as ground water through the organic layer of soil that has built up over time. This is also where the oils are probably coming from, just like in a swamp when you see natural oil slicks from decomposing organics. Everything in that well is basically the same as the surface water, so that's why they need to treat it like they are.
Only thing I can think of is, perhaps is a filter between the source pump and the ozone-treated storage tank, just to help keep as much stuff out of that tank as possible. Eventually I can see stuff getting into the storage tank and either settling or coating the tank walls.
My thought, too. You'd want to keep solids out of the storage tank, and external filter would be ideal. The only issue I could see would be the filter/pipes freezing in the winter.
Or just get a regular well and you don't have to make stuff up. Put in a real well with a filter system and move on. You just bought a 70k truck as an experiment. You can get a regular well. I feel like I'm watching fake drama when the answers to your problems have "well" established solutions.
@@jamesa8851they have stated multiple times why they didn't do a regular well. They're on a mountian so obviously solid rock everywhere to drill through. Certainly possible but takes longer therefore more cost. Also other wells in the area had to be drilled extremely deep and still yield a relatively small amount of water.
solid rock is a good natural filter though, go through the rock to get a clean water source. @@95dodgev10
Agreed I'd would add a sentiment filter just to cut down on dirt and junk entering the storage tank. Will make it easier long term to maintain.
Because the sediment filter is after the storage tank, won’t the tank accumulate sediment?
We had a 250k water tank for our 793 residents and use chlorine. You’re correct it’s difficult to maintain the correct ppm so we installed a paddle wheel dispenser. The more water that’s used and measured by the paddle wheel, the more chlorine is dispensed. The ppm was easy to set and the output easy to capture. You obviously won’t need as big a system but it works well. Our water Wurlitzer was tested biweekly and always passed.7
I’m a water plant operator at an RO facility our main disinfectant is sodium hypochlorite (Cl2). The MCL (maximum containment level) is 4.0 PPM you have to establish at what point break point chlorination takes effect. Break point chlorination is the point at which the disinfection demand has been met, or all undesirable contaminants in the water have been oxidized. Going beyond break point chlorination increases the likelihood of forming THMs and other disinfection byproducts.
The Navy uses sodium hypochlorite to treat the potable water on their ships.
@@garyh4458 we actually use chloramines to disinfect our water the chlorine residual lasts longer but it’s not as potent. Chloramines are a byproduct of ammonia and sodium hypochlorite coming into contact. I don’t think they wanna go down that road though lol
Wouldn't break point only matter if there was significant amounts of NH3 for the chlorine to react with to become chloramines. THM could definitely be a concern because I'm not exactly sure where this water is coming from and the level of organic material in it based on this video.
I thought they switched to Bromine ?
Did they switch back to Chlorine?
isn't the recommended distance at least 50 feet from live stock, etc (your kennel) from the well? from the camera footage, appears about 7 paces when you carried the water, could be contributing to the issue.
Riley, there might be a cheap improvement: Put a tube around the ozone dispenser. It should be a little shorter than the usual water level. I expect the rising air bubbles will take water with them and so the water will be more moved. That movement should improve the decontamination since always different water will pass the ozone source.
As another person that has now worked, and still working at a water treatment plant 17+ years now - level 3 certification). I agree with what others have said , regarding moving your dog run, sloping your yard properly, etc. What I don't agree with, is your thoughts about chlorine, and its so called difficulty to use and dangers. I personally would be chlorinating first and foremost. The reason being neither oxone or UV leave any form of residual disinfectant. Adding just a small amount oc CL2 to your cistern tank will prevent any algae and scum build up in the tank and the rest of your piping, and your water throughout your whole property will be safe. You only need to maintain a residual of free chlorine of around 1 ppm. The easiest most effective way to do this is with a proper low range test kit (loose those strips, they are very inacurate!!!) and to manually "batch" (fill your taank) your water so you know how much you are treating. This will also make life easier and overall cheaper on both your filters and your UV system, and ensure that your watrer is safe and clean for you, your family (baby especially) your dogs, etc. Don't forget, chlorinating drinking water is the absolute largest by far, advancement in human health in all of history!! The myth that it is not safe is exactly that.
Never going to drink your fluoride tap water NPC
Three things to consider, 1.) sediment filter before the holding tank 2.) pumping/filtering system runs when you have sun, to avoid battery draw down 3.) RO or UV system that fills a buffer tank in the house, pre consumption.
RO is definitely the way to go for cooking and drinking.
Though keep in mind chlorine will break down the RO membrane material, giving it a metallic taste.
@@TheSighphiguy you can get ro with mineralizing cartrige it adds some magnesium back and makes it less acidic
@@cheerdiver proper system will have carbon pre filter before it hits membrane, 90% of ro systems run inside city water with chlorine in them
When you install your RO system, be sure to include the re-mineralization stage. Water becomes acidic when run through the RO filtering. A third stage that re-mineralizes (is that a word?) will improve the taste and bring it back to slightly alkaline. I use a counter top system, an RKIN U1, because I didn't want to fill up the cabinet under our sink and I wanted something portable. It also makes cold and hot water including a separate setting for baby formula.
@@gman1868i din't here them say anything about RO system just UV
"How would you treat our shallow well water"
Well sir, with dignity and respect ofcourse. 👍
A swimming pool UV treatment on a loop circulater on the cistern works great. In conjunction with a filter set you will love it!
One of the first things you need to do is compact the fill around the pump casing to stop the flow of ground water around the casing. Number two, raise the level of the grade at the casing to help divert the surface water away from the casing. Slope the grade away from the casing and improve the drainage of surface water away from your well.
This is what we did for our wellhead. Works great.
isn't the surface water what fills the well in the first place
N o the well is filled up from ground water running along the bed rock.@@ronblack7870
@@ronblack7870 Water comes into the bottom of well. See their well digging video
@@ronblack7870Yes, but not just the immediate area. The water is coming from the entire slope, percolating down and moving thru the rocks and soil. However big the mountainside is that slopes in that direction, that is their water source for the shallow well.
I agree with John. Your basic much larger first filter should be outside and protected from freezing. It will be grey water coded as it will keep sediment from your system, and allow the inside step filters from "Constant" replacement. In RV's we see this, and it will make it much easier on a maintenance schedule.
RO SYSTEM WITH CHARCOAL FILTER WITH A SEPERATE TANK FOR DRINKING AND COOKING. ADDED TO YOUR GROUND WATER TREATMENT PROCESS
I worked at a water treatment facility about a decade ago and what you’re doing is exactly what we did but on a larger scale. But we released the “Poo” water into a local river.
Pollution. Poor river.
@@michaelmcginn7260nope
It was safe enough to drink but the city chose to dump in the river which had previously dried up. So because of this it reestablished the eco system.
@@michaelmcginn7260poollution
@@michaelmcginn7260the "water treatment facility" cleaned the water then dumped it into the river...
Id think you were dense, but all the thumbs up worry me
When you said, " do I want to spend time by myself"....., I had to take deep breath cause 99 per cent of my time is by myself, and I'm very bored with myself. I retired in January ' of 19 and cant seem to make much progress toward my camping goals. But I hope to very soon. Thanks for your soft talking to all of us about this subject.
I was forcibly retired in 2003. Since then I have never had as much free time as I had when working.
Had a similar system for lake water. I added a ceramic cartridge filter at one sink for drinking. Just one more layer of protection. 21 years drinking from lake no issues.
Until you get cancer one day and wonder what might have been the cause…
I've always liked the sand, pebble, gravel, fiber/mesh stepdown filters. I think they call them biofilters. Have more good bacteria in the system to kill the bad bacteria. I suppose thats kinda what you have but I think I would want a double stack cistern. I really want to know what that oily stuff was in your samples.
All of my drinking and cooking water goes through a reverse osmosis filter system from Culligan. It's a low flow system, so you can't run the whole house on it, but it will take out all bacteria and solids including minerals. It even removes chlorine. I'd add that to your kitchen water supply for drinking and cooking. I have a fridge with water and ice dispenser hooked up to it as well.
I have a drilled well had the same problem we had it tested coliform in the water . I also have a sediment. Filter in the system. I ended up putting a 15 gallon per min UV filter and that worked . I noticed when not using the water for a while the cold water will get hot when you first turn on the cold water caused by the UVLight . I might have put in one that was a little big 10 gallon might be the right size.
Also put in a water softener that was one thing that they suggested.
You covered all the bases, and the combo approach seems safe. Would you ever use rain roof water for around the yard?
Yes! We are hoping to explore rain collection if the well can’t keep up this spring.
we have a shallow well and treat with the UV lamp alone. Tested perfectly and never had any issues. Just remember to change the lamp and sleeve when you are supposed to.
I used to manage the water system in a seasonal park and a couple of summer camps. At the start of each year I'd sanitize the wells. Over chlorinated the well and run the pump to charge a hose that I used to flush the sides of the well casing. Then fill all the water lines with the chlorinated water and leave for 48 hours. After that I'd run all the faucets until I could no longer smell the chlorine.
Start at the source and you'll have less problems
The use of sand filters for pumped 20:29 20:29 eptic tank effluent is the basis of many home installations. These large look sized filter beds really clean the organics out. Orenco Systems in Oregon is a vendor.
That would be a primary treatment. A secondary treatment should follow. There are large filter tanks commercially available. I recommend after filteration a local water quality company.
A tertiary treatment after removing any heavy metals and organics would be to distill or Reverse Osmosis for truly pure drinking and cooking water in the kitchen.
We're in year 6 of rain harvest 2000sqft roof -> 3 x 2500gal tanks. We do tanks -> pump -> 20micron -> 5micron (for UV) -> UV -> house and all works perfectly. We use big-blue 20" filters and change them once per year (~20,000gal) and change UV bulb ~1.5yrs. We put chlorine (bleach like you had) in the tanks for the 3 x summer months of no rain / hot water / stagnating water in the tanks. No ill affects so far and FYI - all approved by the city. :)
We collect rain water at our recreational off road cabin. It six miles from the nearest road the 2nd story roof it to steep for animals. I’ve been drinking the water for 20 years after I run it through a few FDA approved trash cans plumbed to catch the floaters and sinkers from trees before it goes into two tote tanks.
Well I was about to say you should put in a bypass loop so you can bypass the filter system for maintenance and that would also include isolation valves for working on the system filters......but 18:30....
I also recommend having a drain on the incoming side before the filter shut off so when you have the filters out you can still get water to clean them to some extent. The house I live in has filter system but they never thought you would have to change the filter because once the filters out I need it to be able to rinse the casings out and such and then there's no way to get water because it literally came to the main valve and went to the filter. I added a hose spigot after the main valve then went through a T into the diverter one way to the filter in one way to the bypass valve. Now we have a lot of sediment in my water so I don't actually wanna run the house on the bypass but it's there in case filters have to go off-line for a extended period of time. Then on the opposite side of the filters there's another valve which then tees back up on the other side of the bypass valve. We're on a shared well and it's big enough that it has to be maintained and monitored by a water company, unfortunately this also comes with the requirement that they dose the system with bleach every so often and since we're close to the well occasionally will turn on the tap and be like Yep the automated thing ran.
Great videos. One suggestion is any thought of putting a water sensor on the floor below water filtration system under sink. It will let you know if you are having any type of leak before it gets bad. Great videos.
You guys continue to impress with these videos! I learn a ton each time I watch one. I hope you all are well and can't wait for the next one!
I put a rain water catchment system in for an outer island home in the San Juan Islands a couple of years ago. We got salty water in the well we had drilled. So to build a home on the property we needed a permittable water system. We are using UV with a three stage pre-filter. We collect water from our roof into two 3,000 gallon cisterns. The system has worked great so far. The softest water I have ever experienced. The UV system is more sophisticated than what you have with some distinct similarities. I’m happy to share the system design with you if you want to look at it.
Dependent on your sediment levels you may want to use a filter press and adding Flocculant Settling Agent Clarifier to the well will bind even bacteria together.
I would suggest filtering the water before it enters the tank. Keeping sediment out of the tank will make it easier to clean the tank and keep it clean. Additionally, have you considered using activated charcoal as part of your filtration system? The activated charcoal filter and ozone generator may well kill everything, leaving the UV light as a failsafe backup.
And since you can make activated charcoal using wood and heat, you shouldn't have any real costs in that regard other than the work to create it, which should be easily manageable.
Old Farmboy here. I ran across y'alls channel when I noticed the pole barndominium project. Wanted to see the differences. I grew up in the Lower Rio Grande Valley(actually a delta). We don't have seeps in our area but the 1st water table is at around 9 to 14/15 feet where we were at. Not the best tasting water. A lot of wells were at 25 to 30 and there were no bacteria problems as long as the wells were placed properly and not next to a feed lot. Not sure about giardia as we did not have it until recently.
So, I first had to go back and look a couple of times to assure myself that you had a solid plastic corrugated pipe. At first I thought it was an actual perforated pipe and almost yelled "don't do it mabel" . The idea was innovative but there are several problems, I think, with the set up. It was innovative though. I did not read all comments but I think your has several possible problems concerning yield and bacteria, etc. Here are some suggestions
1. You needed to turn that pipe about 85 degrees and penetrate the leach pipe with a solid pipe You would get more production during dry periods if you had a larger collection ability. The gravel inside of the cloth does not really do that. You basically need to have a "reverse leach field" to gather more water. Infiltration into the pipe is regulated by surface area as well as pressure. Most wells where I grew up tried to gather from 10 to twenty feet of and or gravel sometimes from two trends.
2. Coliform bacteria as you noted is an indication of contamination. In Texas, at least, the test is not specific to harmful bacteria, just bacteria. Your well could never pass inspection in my old county. The casement is sketchy. It is in a relatively low spot. The soil level needs to be a good bit higher, essentially surface water should run away from the well---If water is running over the well and it is not properly set water can run back down in the hole.. Also, you should have a minimum 2 foot by 4 inch or more cement slab. You are too close to the dog run (In Texas some counties consider that livestock and 150 distance). Don't know where your septic system is but in Texas that starts at 100 feet and can vary by county and soil type.
3. Your sump pump could be where the bacteria came from. Yur water probably has organic content at that depth) I recently bought property in the Hill Country to retire and had the well tested.(hadn';t been used for about 10 years and the lid looked funky) The first thing they did as they put the submersible in was to shock the well with chlorine.
4. As far as drinking this water even after filtering, and UV. Not all water is drinkable in its natural state. Has nothing to do with fam chemicals (or organic farmers overuse of (uncomposted) organic fertilizer for that matter) or industrial pollution. The water takes on what it passes through. My cousins DID NOT drink their well water. The plants loved it. Actually felt good to soak in. However, it had a ton of magnesium in a form and amount that human could not tolerate.
Wish you well
I grew up with multiple wells and springs in the neighborhood. The shallow wells were tested regularly. When the well itself tested positive for chloroform a gallon of bleach was added to the well. Flushed through the system until the smell of bleach came out the tap. 24 hours later retest. Repeat until the test remains negative. After a pattern was established the process would be repeated on a regular interval.
Where did the chloroform come from? Does it occur naturally?
One thing you have to say about Riley, HE DOES RESEARCH!!!!
Excellent presentation Ole Salt!
Yeah, as others have mentioned the dog run is close. You could put down a catch pan in the dog run, Hardee Har Har.
I think back to my childhood at how many people got their water from shallow dug wells. I also remember folk getting illnesses traced back to the "bugs" U found in Ur untreated water. We had a 5'dia X 25' deep shallow well but only used it for outside work. We had city water.
Riley, you’re always super articulate, no umm, or ya know, or well, just great info every time.
At our dry cabin on an island in Minnesota we drink lake water which gets tested twice a year for heavy metals, arsenic etc. For drinking water we boil it for 20 minutes to disinfect and then use a gravity flow carbon filter to reduce volatile organic compounds and improve the taste. We can also fill jugs at a public spring on our way to town to go shopping.
Run the water through a dyson vacuum shell to filter out large material before your fine filters. the vortexes are a great prefilter.
And a lot easier to clean/change than other filters!
Shelf water, only problem if any would be it might dry up for a short period of time sometime. Had a friend of mine who watered from one for his cows. Had been 12 years since it stopped before. 5 months later it started again and it’s now been over 2 years running. Love what you’re doing, have a well on my farm I’ve never used, you got me thinking.
As several others have already mentioned. A coarse filter directly from the source, so the fine filter lasts longer.
Another (harder) option is to dig deeper to get rid of the surface water that seeps down and give it more time to filter.
We are on a well but fetch our drinking/cooking water from machines in town even though the well was tested and treated. Our property and those around us have had livestock and poultry for decades. Municipal water service is available but keeps getting uranium warnings. I’ve started rain catchment for the garden.
Make your own sand and charcoal filter and put it inline before the rest of them. When a shallow well is pounded down here we just use a sand point. Less contamination. So, sand point with jet pump. Many houses around this area use this method.
I would use waterproof industrial plugs + outlets in any wet areas (similar to "CEE 3L+N+PE -3h") ...
Treating bacteria is much cheaper than treating hard water from a drilled well. I would also recommend that you treat the well with a high concentration of chlorine (20 ppm). Circulate the water through your system and use a return hose to rinse the 10-foot plastic pipe on your well access. The only issue with super chlorinating the the well is that you will need to wait 4-7 days for the chlorine concentration to fall below 4 ppm. You only need to super chlorinate when you open the access pipe. 10 feet of dirt is very good isolation from surface bacteria. Also, air seal the access port. We only use super-chlorination, particle filtration, and a UV light.
Super chlorination also increases the chances of producing THMs and other treatment byproducts. I wouldn’t do that just figure out when youve reached break point chlorination and go from there.
@@Adam-zq8fi after super chlorination and soak the wells are flushed. no trihallos if done properly
i would add a stage of kdf55 after the UV. just to make sure the water is taking care of 100%, up flow on the filter will ensure long life on your kdf, and the maintanence is minimized, use a big blue like the ones you have on the UV, but 4"x20" instead of 2.5"x20", hope this helps...
Pressurised water connections right next to 3 power outlets!! Great video, glad you found these issues especially with the little one around!
He actually installed the pressurized water filter directly under an electric panel. That is a code violation.
Here in nz. Private farms use the UV method. I would highly recommend filling in the hole above the well, and slope it so ground water runs off and doesn’t leach into the well.
Are you going to get your newly filtered water tested with a full panel test? That would be interesting. You might have other contaminants that are not caught in the new setup or not.
Nice four simple tests anyone can do and step bystep with realtime results. Thank you for your informative video😊
on your video i saw 2 mistakes.
1) on the cartridge filters installation you touch the filters with bare hands. Probably you transfer some bacteria from your hand to the filters. When you change it, try to use gloves.
2) you must not touch the glass tube or the UV lamp with your bare hands, because our hands produce oil, the you leave oily/greasy finger print that create shadow, so the UV light doesn't reach all the bacteria. So the gloves is a must in this kind of jobs
Just some friendly advises.
Keep the good job and nice videos coming.
Thoughts on extension cord in muddy water?
Agree.
Also, wipe down your hoses and equipment with chlorox before dumping them into the well. Contaminated mud is not your friend.
Get a sediment filter as the first stage the water hits before going into your tanks. They auto backflush the sediment out periodically.
Lastly, hard pipe everything. Use PEX and bury it (better freeze resistance than copper or CPVC)
We did a shallower one because it was perculating. out at surface ....but flush tanks and collect at thaw fill tanks ....use till next spring flush again and so on works great
Awesome idea Riley.
With your system using something that needs power as your last and only defense against contamination of your home, I would strongly encourage you to have some form of additional battery backup on that filter unit, and maybe even something active that alerts you of a failure in that device. You will not be happy if/when your power goes out long enough for your water pipes to get enough contamination that you get sick.
One big problem besides filtering water and a very dangerous one, No GFI outlets, I would definitely research thet when you are running water near outlets and extension cords.
Most new construction uses GFCI breakers, and GFCI protection has been required in garages since 1978. I wouldn’t assume they don’t have protection
@@BrianKrahmer extension cords requires a GFI adapter on the cord.
@@need2zipit NEC reference, please?
@@BrianKrahmer I'm not a licensed electrician, but a 30 year low voltage contractor, NEC 406.9(B)(1) 210.52 (C) 3. I do not know if there has been updates as I've been out of the trades for the past 4 years.
@@need2zipit your first code reference does seem to apply, requiring an in-use cover, but doesn't address requiring a GFCI on an extension cord
I love your engineering mindset of testing and experimentation.
Subbed!
"What I need is wider hips." Riley, you just crack us up!! You are sssssooooooooo zany!?!?!?! LOLOLOLOLOL
Great test! But the ozone was way overkill for a 5-gallon bucket. Good job Riley!
How I would use the water: I would want just a basic filter to filter out the stuff it kills. Then, I would use it normally. I feel lucky, here in Florida, I get well water from a water district just north. This water tastes great and tested not only clean, but with some of the valuable minerals we like in water. peace
might be a good idea to use a simple filter between the water pump and the tank to make sure there is no build up of sediment or trash in the tank itself
this is the first time on your channel AND I CANT STOP SMILING OVER HOW CUTER YOUR CHILD IS :))))
I would do the same system and do lad test and move the dog run
Put beach in the well
Look up a product called E-spring water filter. We’ve used one for over 20 years on our acreage and on city water for a short few years. Awesome product.
Your water might not be as contaminated as you think. You might have made what is called a sampling error. I have experience with sampling, testing, and treating water systems. You might have inadvertently contaminated your first sample by using that pump. Coliforms are literally everywhere and on everything we touch. It is just a matter of how much. Unless you disinfected the pump and hose. Then, run it long enough to get rid of disinfectant. You also want to disinfect the faucet where you sample from first. Another thing is never sample from the surface of a container or source. As you pointed out, you saw something floating on the top of the water. There are always contaminates floating on the top. If you are dip sampling, you must cap the devise and open/close it under the surface. There are specially designed samplers for sampling tanks on long poles. To get an accurate sample from your well, you would have to disinfect the well pump it out until the water tested free of chlorine, then do a proper dip sample.
This !!!!!
Yeah I've seen a well fail then just wait a couple of months and pass
Even still it’s a better idea to treat the water coming out of the ground it’s not worth the risk
@@Adam-zq8fitotally agree, and the prefilter and UV light should always be there even if it didn't fail the test. It's always better safe then sorry and sick.
You might consider a slow sand biofilter as a 1st step to purify your water.
There was one surprise in this video. When you (Riley) took a mouthful of that tainted water, I was shocked that Courtney didn't scream loud enough for me to hear in Portland OR. Of course that probably means that Oliver was close enough to have been affected by the shock wave so she restrained herself and "only" raised her voice. But Riley I do have a request, back in December 2002 I had myocardial infarction and I have been trying to avoid having another. Don't drink the impure water.
Its ground water.. not tainted... all of our ancestors drank that water from the BEGINNING OF TIME... Yes its safer to filter, but the earth does a LOT of natural cleaning all by itself or else ALL THE ANIMALS that exist would be dead.
3/4 of the world drinks muddy, off-color, and/or smelly water and they are fine. Americans are very spoiled on pristine water. Me too!
Errr it was post the partial and UV filter, so all is good
What does a MI have to do with drinking impure water?
Sad for any human living in Portland wastehole.
I really like this! Seeing a way to get "Free" water is very interesting 🎊!!🎉!!
The UV light breaks down pex over time. The stainless line on the right side is great and should probably add the same to the left side where you currently have pex.
pex always makes me cringe.
Fat also breaks down pex pretty soon you have man boobs 😂
The UV light is inside of a canister. It's not coming in contact with PEX t all. Therefore it's not going to break down the plastic. You need to educate yourself kid
@@ChrisWijtmansThat's because you're uneducated
Riley, is the large plug below the sink running 220/240 volts? If it is why are you placing a Water filtration system anywhere close to it????????🤔🤔🤔🤔 I really hope I'm wrong somehow but I know what a 220 volt plug receptacle is .. Relocate the water filter someplace SAFE!😊 Ty.
I think we all noticed that you said "I have not pooped back there", but nothing about if Courtney has or not :) LOL
😮
Great educational video today! When you add the humor into the video, it makes it much more memorable. I hope this makes a less worrisome water source for you. We love you guys.
I feel like a reverse osmosis set up would be easier and sure fire way to sanitize your water since literally only water can get through. No dirt, viruses or bacteria.
They are probably trying to avoid it if they can because reverse osmosis wastes a lot of water. Great system if nothing else works but bad if you limited water.
@@C_J_81 I work at an RO plant 85% of the water we pull out of the ground is useable the other 15% we have to discard. I agree RO probably isn’t the best way to go with one single well
@@Adam-zq8fii guess your RO has several stages to waste as few water as possible. A single stage RO wastes probably 80% or more, i suppose?
@@stefankaufmann8257 RO does not waste 80% of water and we have multiple stages but that’s because we add ammonia, antiscalant, and fluoride
@@Adam-zq8fi interesting to know... We had a small 1,5kW worm pump RO, to produce water for a pasteurizer (is that the correct word, i don't know...). What i could read on the flow meters, Its efficiency was not more than 50%. I am pretty sure, that it's not comparable to your RO, your power consumption is more likely measured in MW 🤣
Great tips. Could also add a pitcher filter. Zero water, Berkey etc...
Why no reverse osmosis + uv to be safe?
Reverse osmosis cleans everything out! The water doesn't have any minerals, that's dangerous for the acid concentration in the stomak and over all unhealthy, as the body needs minerals. Reverse osmosis water is also very aggressive, it destroys almost every metal except stainless steel.
@@stefankaufmann8257 thats why you reminarize the water after
Some thoughts.
1. Look at prevention. Can you move the dog kennel? Can you do anything with landscaping etc to keep water from flowing into your well?
2. You can treat the well itself with chlorine. Wouldn't be a bad idea to try to knock down the existing bacteria once you are ready to start using.
3. Definitely put a sediment filter in at the well. It can help prevent a bunch of issues later.
Sounds like Oliver is starting to talk!
how you gona change filters and lite when you mount it so close to the floor?
Here hold my beer while I cut this water line lol.
Great job Riley! All your info is so helpful as well as the info in the comments. Can you put a layer of gravel around the well so the ground is not so messy?
please research your sponsors
I use Ozone and UV together, creating Advanced Oxidation. If you install your UV light, downstream from your Ozone-saturated water, the product will be more clean, higher ph and mineralised 😊
Dont forget to get some type of alarm for if the uv light goes out, and you might want to consider raising the filtration system higher so that you dont get into trouble when you try ro replace your bulbs.
Very good. With the cost of a well in your neck of the woods you can purchase a lot of filters and UV light bulbs before you ever come close to digging and maintaining the typical solution. Hope it develops into a long-term solution.
Chlorine dioxide, a common water treatment, is not only good enough for public water systems, but it's also extremely valuable to our health!
There are test kits for home swimming pools that will directly read the free chlorine level and will read well below 4ppm.
You as always amaze me. Your video is the one I look forward to every week. Great job. Thanks
The oil droplets might be from the harbor freight pump. When flushing my tankless I got old droplets, same brand pump.
great ideas! boiling the water might be a useful alternative for those days when you have excess of energy, thanks for sharing!
Look into stenner Peristalic pumps if you want to chlorinate. I have one on my well. It is chlorinated as it comes into my home which then goes to a contact tank. Then goes through a whole home water filter and softener. After that it goes through a carbon block filter then on to all fixtures. After all of than essentially no chlorine is present at the fixture.
Great video! After watching this, I’m installing UV filter myself 👍
Riley you did good work here..hypo(bleach)...and biosolphate...should remove your hypo residual...a hypo drip before the pump volute..causing the impeller to be your mixer...then when it goes through to your 2 stage and uv light and the impeller for your flow counter can also act as your mixer for biosolphate...I hope I gave enough info for your research dept. To clear up any questions.
My cousin spent many years installing rainwater catchment systems in homes and business' in the Texas Hill country. That UV system is almost identical to what they use. They also use tanks or Cisterns to hold water in bulk. Move the Dog pen, keep the system clean and filters changed and you should be good. Do have the water professionally tested before you start using it.
This was exceedingly helpful for us OFF-GRIDers. I will use this OZ and UV approach. I've heard the UV tubes have a high failure rate so stock up!
we have spring supply, and had chloroforms once, so treated the main settling and header tank up the hill with sodium hypochlorite. to clean both the tanks and the supplying plastic pipe. then let the water run until the chlorine smell goes away, and use bottled water for a week. We also fenced off above the supply to keep sheep away from the supply. fencing off the supply area from medium/large animals we found was the most helpful, and water has stayed clear on subsequent testing for many years now. we also filter. looks like you've got a great system. setting up a system where the pump stops if the uv light stops working might be an idea,
HI, I would suggest putting a fine particle filter and a active charcoal filter between your pump and underground tank to try to prevent particles and small solids from getting into your tank. I would also suggest moving your dog run as far away as possible. When you start using the shallow well, I would suggest building a pump house over the drill opening, thus stopping things from falling into the well, it will keep your pump, pump controls and filters protected from freezing in the winter. Lastly I would suggest regrading the area above your well to encourage the rain water and water from the snow melting to run off and not pool there so you only pump running water from under the ground and not "stagnant"water from around your building.
Riley, our well is over 600' deep and at first we had the same contaminant in the well water. After a chlorine treatment or two and much flushing that seems to have cleared it up but I am interested in at least the UV filtrations system. Thanks for the science experiment.
If you want to stabilize your yard get yourself a bunch of used tires cut one side out drill holes in the other side allowing any water to escape laydown tires cut side up screw or bolt tires together and fill them full of rock gravel. I personally done it to a muddy spot in my driveway and where I parked my RV and boat over 10 years ago and I've only had to add gravel once to the muddy spot just to top off fill in where the mud absorbs some of the rock