Greywater
Health Issue - Bacteria decay - Rotten egg smell in well water
Iron + Bacteria and the odorWell water has different stages of decaying bacteria causing odors. Stages range from 1 to 3; Stage-3 is the worst smell, odor, taste that makes your cabin or house water very unpleasant. Heavy metals like (Zn, Fe, Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr, Al and Mn) range in the 0.75-micron down to the 0.45-micron (micrometer [um]) size. The Smoky Mountains of Tennessee consist of high concentrations of one element namely Iron, but Iron is not the problem, the bacteria is, it loves to feed on these Iron microns. Once bacteria die, this is when it gets bad, they release a gas or rotten egg odor. As this bacteria decay process happens; the gas attaches to oxygen atoms in air and water. Also when you fill a glass, take a shower, water your lawn, or put ice in a glass you smell (kinda gross) a rotten egg. I have the solution for you here in this KNOL. If you have any of the Stage's, please recommend to your family, for health reasons, to add this filter-system.
Introduction
Caution: This KNOL is very long. This article is only to provide you with information and knowledge to install a system that is very maintenance intensive. With a Stage-3 cabin, cleaning the system is required every 30 days. The link of "Micronizer System - Well Water Converting Iron to Iron Oxide" explains a KNOL that will remove the iron before the bacteria has a chance to feed on the iron and then die in the hot water tank causing the rotten egg smell from cabin water. The article Micronizer System... shows an expensive setup (from $1000 - $3500) depending on how elaborate you wish the system to be. This system requires no maintenance except for a once a year maintenance to reclean water pipes from old iron buildup. Another choice for a setup is a combination of this article and the Micronizer System article costing about $100 but requires a pressure tank and manual attention to the WHKF-DWHV filter system when ever the flow of water decreases over time while the filter becomes clogged of iron oxide. The smaller the micron filter that you use, the lower the water flow rate for the cabin or house becomes, plus the faster that it becomes clogged, this will also affect the flow rate of water. The article written below is designed to help you understand how to buy, set up, and install a filter system that removes bacteria and other containments from the water in your cabin or house. The article is full of information that I have found interesting while installing these filter-systems. Like the high cost of filter systems that pretend to filter the water but recommend an under the sink system that I use here for the whole house. Or the high cost of softener systems that do nothing but kill the bacteria, aerate the water to remove the smell, and introduce the dead bacteria back into the water system (not good). Or the high cost of Ozone injection or chemical injection systems for chlorine or bromine tablets that kill the bacteria but are not 100% efficient about doing it, keeps the dead bacteria in the water system, plus adds something to harm the body. One day, they may find out that all or some of what goes through your water system causes or adds to diseases.
Learn and teach your children the importance of clean water! Learn the fast way to clean Hot Tubs! Learn how to solve the problem of never having frozen water pipes again! Learn how to install PVC and CPVC, when professionals do not follow these simple rules! Learn why the sulfur or rotten egg smell sometimes occurs.
Stages
The following are Stages one through three known to occur in wells within the Mountains of Tennessee: Stage-1:
v Iron molecules are present with no or very little bacteria in the water causing brown rust stains as it clings to copper piping, CPVC, PVC, plastic, fiberglass, cloth but not to porcelain like commodes, but possible over years of no filter.
v No odor is present in the cold running water.
v No odor is present in the hot running water.
Stage-2:v Some Bacteria feeding off of the Iron molecules clings not only to items as in Stage-1, but also under the rim of the commodes. Opening the commode cover to the tank will reveal a dark brown retaining tank and a black film ring present. Draining the water and using "The Works" reveals a very unpleasant odor.
v No odor is present in the cold running water but is present in Ice cubes as they dissolve in drinks.
v Odor is very evident in the hot water especially taking a bath.
Stage-3v Dead bacteria and heavy bacteria feeding on the Iron molecules usually in wells not dug very deep or with the water table very low as in droughts. The bacteria is present in everything, iron clings to everything.
v Odor is present in the cold running water.
v Odor is present in the hot running water.
Information
Before we get started, I would like to recommend Nicholas Wise who has written an article about Reverse Osmosis.If you are unable to add this type of system to your whole cabin or house, then at least add an alternative system to the water that you drink, brush your teeth, or use for ice, to be added to your house or cabin.
Two Filter System:
I added a twin filter-systems WHKF-DWHV to a Stage-3 cabin. (1) The first filter-system is for
removing sediment and blocking most of the sand, grit, iron, rust, bacteria, at 5.0-microns, I could have used the carbon filter that is designed for 2.0-microns but choose to allow the second filter-system to provide this protection. All of this contamination comes from the deep well pump. (2) The second filter-system is to catch the remaining Iron and bacteria at 0.5-microns, another choice here would be the more expensive filter that has added carbon filtering also at 0.5-microns. Iron Deposits - pipes:
This pipe was broken showing the iron deposits that accumulate over time inside everything. The orange stain is what we are looking at inside the broken pipe. Over time this orange rust from the Iron builds and produces a dark brown when exposed to air and then turns to a black fungus. I am sure this is not healthy for anyone wanting to take a bath, or even wanting to drink this water. I see now why some visitors become sick during their cabin stay, just think, they paid money for this.
Mineral Deposits - hot water heaters:
Lime, Calcium, Magnesium and other minerals are also found in well water. Most everyone is using a water softener to capture the minerals in the water and allow them to crystallize inside the water softener tank instead of the hot water heater and pipes. 
Another solution are magnets or low voltage DC around the pipes to change the electrical ion properties of the minerals to prevent and eliminate these minerals. A cabin does not have a filter-system installed to remove the minerals as indicated in this article. The 2 copper heating elements at $8.50 were installed 3 weeks ago and have already burnt out because of the white chalk buildup. To prevent future burn outs is to purchase the Chromium - Nickel heating elements, they range from $20.00 to $35.00 at various stores. Most all of the stores do not carry the 240-vAC 3500-watt elements. The ones that I have called and asked for, are the following (240-vAC): 3800-watt, 4500-watt, 5500-watt. Be careful not to look at the 208-vAC printed side of the heating elements, because this will cause you to purchase the wrong element. Pressure Tanks - holding bacteria:
At first the smell of the rotten eggs (or sulfur smell if you have ever been in Florida) was still present
after 
installing the two filter-systems, I knew from research that the filter-system worked. The answer I soon discovered was present in my bladder pressure tanks which were filled with Iron deposits and bacteria over the years, it turns out that these pressure tanks were between the filter-systems and the cabin. Took care of that problem.About Pressure Tanks: These pressure tanks hold air pressure in a rubber bladder, the air valve is at the top of the tanks, a valve like the one your car tire has on its rim, is used to fill the rubber bladder with air pressure. When no water is present in the tanks and you wish to use 50-psi for your house water pressure. The rubber bladder needs to be filled with 25-psi (50%) of your desired house water pressure. The tanks are pre-filled with between 27-psi to 32-psi from the factory for the house water pressure to be between 55-psi and 65-psi respectively. The pressure tanks prevent: (a) water pipes from rocking in the walls when the faucet is turned off like in houses that reside in the city with water pressure regulators. (b) prevent excessive high pressure from the hot water heater heating up the water; as the water expands the water thus builds pressure in the pipes, when the hot water faucet is turned on, a surge of high water pressure results, then reduces to the normal pressure after a few seconds. (c) and prevent well pumps from destroying well motors from excessive on and off surges when the water is running as in taking a bath in the shower.
PVC vs CPVC:
The cabin piping was 20+ years old, so I put a (Tee) in the system and isolated the bladder pressure
tanks before the filter-systems by capping off the house section and adding the tee before the filter-system. A example is shown in the section "Advanced Techniques". To replace the cabin piping with CPVC would be too expensive for the owner, since it was installed with copper. Remember, you have to use CPVC for hot water and not PVC, this is why the whole plumbing system for hot and cold water is made up of CPVC, so when the hot water heater is installed, there will be no mistake in which is the hot or cold water lines. Expensive Tank Systems:
I looked into whole house systems that start at $1000 and work their way up to just enormous prices. The problem with most of these expensive solutions stated to me was that you needed to inject chlorine into the water
system or add a water softener unit; which added to the cost and sometimes requires a special technician to install and maintain it. Others systems needed to add a special softener system in order to capture the heavy minerals and killing the bacteria. Funny, this water softener system just causes the bacteria to die and emit the gases where it sits. Most installations are under the house or in an external building where the smell is removed from the house or cabin. Systems that introduce bubbles into the Iron filled water collect the gas on the oxygen bubbles and send the smell away. Other systems have ozone injectors which are 3-oxygen atoms that require a holding tank and pump system for constant circulation. Ozone generators have a bad habit of chewing through metal and other materials if you are not careful. Softener systems needed to be taken apart, cleaned out, and refilled every month for general maintenance. 
I also found out in the tank filter systems, that you can not purchase the beads called "Chelating Resin" that is present in the tall cylinder back-flush filter tank, it takes a licensed company to purchase the beads for the filter tanks. The tank with nothing on top, in each picture, is for sediment only with no filtering, the other tank consists of the beads for filtering and a back flush control unit at the top. The back flush is to expel the waste sediment and deposits 
through a small line to the sewer or outside. Electrical wiring is needed for this item to be plugged into a 120vAC wall socket. Tank filler beads only last about 3-5 years with heavy medal concentrations clogging up the system. The beads have an attraction for heavy metals and over time the beads become a shiny dark purple in color from all the deposits. All of the tank filter-systems only take away particles (greater than) =>5.0-microns, this does not work for heavy metals like Iron with bacteria attached to them, that are between 0.45-microns and 0.75-microns. They also indicate in the tank filter systems, it would be your best interest for you to purchase the same 0.5-micron filter and place it under your sink or use a reverse osmosis system; if you wish to have fresh drinking water. Added carbon filler to the filters is to help improve the taste if you wish, like removing chlorine. Stage-1 Cabin, Frozen Pipes and Zero Pressure:
One of the cabins I worked on, consisted of piping that was next to an outside access door that was
not sealed with insulation around the door frame or door itself. From the bottom of the bladder pressure tank up about 3 feet high (yard stick) was solid ice in the PVC pipes. The problem with this is that the pressure switch for the well pump was at the bottom also filled with solid ice. The pressure guage read zero-psi which indicated to the well pump to keep pumping. The electrical control box, thanks to the smart engineers that designed it, consisted of a overload breaker that tripped when the well pressure on the pump exceeded its limit. A electrician changed out the control box $185+ labor before I was able to arrive. The owner of the cabin spent useless money to the electrician. 
This is an example of when you need to protect your pipes with Heat Tape and insulation from the wind. The solution was to add Heat tape and insulation to the piping to prevent this from reoccuring. The heat tape is designed to turn on at 37-degrees F and off at 50-degrees F. There is a link in the references section if you wish to have more information on heat tape.Expensive Tablets:
A filter-system had to be out there for much less than these systems and easy to install. After about a year and a half of research, knowledge base web searching, and numerous trips to store's that sold
filtration systems, inline injection, off line injection, mechanical injection, and self-feeding injection. Everything required constant maintenance and expensive repairs or expensive replacements when they broke. The picture to the right shows the old in-line chemical feeders that required expensive tablets every month. The chlorine tablets only added to the smell and the bromine tablets just added to the cost. The bad part is that these units will only hold about 30-psi max of water pressure and that is pushing it. Chemical feeder units that are for 50-80-psi cost more than the total cost of this two filter-systems including the tools. When one of the tops cracks and pops off, the replacement cost for R-13 insulation and cleaning under the cabin is nothing to laugh at. The kicker was, every one or even all of the solutions could not guarantee to remove the smell with a money back guarantee. Well, that was enough for me to find something that worked, cheap to install and maintain. If it didn't work, I was not out a lot of money.Biology and Water Levels:
My brother, thank God for his education and loving Biology (the good Lord only knows why) and the great teacher he had; told me how the bacteria live and die feeding on different heavy elements in a water environment. Cause and effect; by what happens when temperatures change occurs in the hot water heater with bacteria dieing at certain temperatures, light or darkness affecting the living bacteria. Like the difference in well water table levels rising and lowering, or in the winter verses the summer, of ground water temperatures changing thus all relating to the well water switching Stages back and forth. Finally it made since, the answer was so clear that it was stupid of me not to see it before. Funny how knowledge works for someone, but passing it along to anyone else that will listen and learn from it is golden. Wow the human race for the most part seems to be selfish, well it seems like it to me. Well enough said.on with the project.Things You Should Know:
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Teflon Grease:
Teflon Grease is available at home improvements centers, like the image to the left. But I like Super Lube TFTP Teflon - in working 16 years as an outboard engine mechanic rebuilding engines, this type of TFTP teflon is great stuff for lubrication at high temperatures, but that is just me.
- See reference below for more information on the TFTP teflon.
- If you cannot find this type of grease, just use another Teflon grease or some bearing grease. The Teflon tape is not an option for the clear section of the filter-system. This grease will be used for the threads and the o-ring seal on the clear section of the WHKF-DWHV.
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Hand Tighten:
Only hand-tighten this item when putting it on, and do not use the light blue tool to tighten the clear plastic filter holder. The tool is only to loosen the clear filter holder with a rubber mallet
in helping to break it loose. Otherwise it will become too tight and breaking something to get it off again is likely. Be sure to turn the water control valve on top of the WHKF-DWHV to the (by-pass or off) position before removing the filter and clear section. 
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Brass Shut-Off Valve:
Or the shut-off valves before and after the filter-systems will also be adequate. I use the brass shut-off ball valves and the ell-90-degree somewhere in the system to relieve the pressure through the boiler faucet. I purchased a short 10' garden hose to run the excess water out from underneath the cabin. You can just put teflon tape on the boiler valve to seal the threads.
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PVC Pipe:
1" PVC - sch-40 (schedule-40 denotes the thickness from the center to the outside wall of the PVC pipe [white in color]) Just a single 10-foot stick was enough for my work. PVC also comes in sch-20 and sch-80. 80 is thicker, 20 is thinner.
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Pressure Regulator:
The following parts below come in thread and slip.- Note: When using 1" PVC the water flow is not reduced as with " or .5" pipe. The smaller you get for piping the reduction is cut approximately ~50% from 1" to " and 50% again
from " to .5". Most all of the well pumps use 1" to 1-1/4" piping for all of the connections. City water is much higher in pressure depending on your elevation in relation to the water tower and distance. Some pressures reach 125-psi for some locations then require that the house have a pressure-regulator shutting it down to 75-psi. The picture shows the shut-off valve below from the city water and the pressure regulator above before entering into the house. The screw on the end of the nose is to adjust the pressure. I would not exceed 75-psi. Most problems with houses including this picture is that the house piping is 1/2" instead of 3/4" to 1". Biggest complaint is that the soap will not wash out of my hair. Yes, they are married, could you tell, sorry, not my house with copper piping.
- Note: When using 1" PVC the water flow is not reduced as with " or .5" pipe. The smaller you get for piping the reduction is cut approximately ~50% from 1" to " and 50% again
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Using Teflon Tape:
- We use the white Teflon tape on the male side by wrapping it 3 times. You do this by pointing
the threads to the right and circle the threads away from you or if the threads are facing you goclock-wise. Be sure when you are wrapping the teflon tape around the item that it is very tight. The rule of making sure it is tight is by ending the final turn and pulling the teflon tape to break it. If the tape spins off, start over and use a little more aggression. -
Slip:
Slip is where 2 items slip together, one inside the other. Be careful with this when putting items together. Sometimes when they are joined and pressure is not applied to hold them together they tend to move apart. Just hold them for 20 seconds depending on the temperature. If you are able to lightly twist the 2 items, then the glue has not set yet, continue with light force until it is hard or not able to twist. This twisting technique is helpful when alignment of pipes is necessary. Air temperature is a major factor on how fast this glue sets, if it is a hot day, you only have a matter of seconds to align the parts before you are not able to move them any more. Always use the (purple can) cleaner where the items will slip together.
The image is of sewer pipes that have the purple cleaner showing at all of the slip joints. Even though the sewer pipes will not hold pressure from water, this is an example of, no matter how large the PVC object becomes or weather or not the PVC has pressure, you need to perform every slip joint the same.
Use Purple Cleaner:
Some plumbers do not use the purple cleaner on new material, I recommend performing the job correctly. There is a clear cleaner besides the purple, but why take the chance. Water or dirt must not be present when cleaning with the purple cleaner or applying the cement to the 2 slip pieces being put together. Trust me, if you think that you have to much cement on both items being put together, and it drips as you put them together, you barely have enough. When you make the mistake and put to little and the 60-psi blows the connection apart while you are next to it. Trust me again, it is not fun in cold weather. The (purple can) comes with a built in applicator, scrub both parts, a test subject on the pipe would be when you see writing on the outside of the PVC white pipe finally dissolves and disappears (very good). Look inside a slip to understand how much of the pipe needs to go inside the slip joint. This is a good indication of how much to clean using the purple can or to cut when sizing a section to join. I would you have the pipe to long than to short. If you work the PVC in the winter time, leave some excess on the joint, and touch the excess from time to time, this allows you to indicate weather the cement has had time to cure. Do not get this (purple or green can) PVC product on anything that is of value to you. A pair of rubber gloves and a plastic garbage bag are what is needed. The purple can cleaner and the green can cement will come off of your skin over time, but your carpet, clothes, and anything else is another matter. A detailed example and web link is noted in the reference section on how to join PVC.
Parts:
- 3/4" mipt - 1" slip: " male thread to 1" slip (2 for each of the WHKF-DWHV)
- Parts come w/ Kit: The 2 male thread items that come with the kit are not needed unless you are attaching to a " pipe. I do not recommend this application piece, a compression fitting for brass piping or cement for PVC is desired.
- 1" 90-Elbow: slip-slip - 90-degree-elbow, they come in packs of 5.
- 1" mipt - slip: male thread to 1" slip they come in packs of 5 also.
- 1" Tee slip-fipt-slip: Tee's come in packs of 5 also. [fipt] is the female threads in the center. This Tee item is also available in slip-slip-slip.
- 1" Coupler slip-slip: Coupler's come in packs of 5 also. This is to join 2 pipes together or using 2 couplers that could extend a pipe.
- 1/2" brass boiler faucet: Used to release water pressure when the ball-valves are turned off. Use teflon tape to screw into PVC ell pipe or pipe dope if you are attaching it to another brass object.
- 1" 90-outside slip-1/2" ell-slip: The 1/2" ell is used with the brass boiler faucet.
- 1" PVC shut-off valve: (fipt-fipt) - female threads on both sides. A cheaper solution than the copper ball valve.
- 1" copper ball valve: The more expensive item if you like. Copper to PVC thread connections have no problems as long as you use the teflon tape.
- 1" union quick disconnect: (fipt-fipt) - female threads on both sides. This is where you will need
both of the channel lock plier to attach the mipt to the fipt. These unions go on either side of the WHKF-DWHV items. These also are life-savers if mistakes are made, by cutting the pipe and removing the mistake from your project. This way the unions can be re-used. Be careful not to miss-match unions, some have different variations from different home improvement stores. The unions also come in slip-slip and once cement is applied, and you make a mistake, you cut it out and throw it 
away.
Test the Union: Test how the union comes apart to understand them. Number both sides with the same number or symbol; a perm-marker does the trick. Make sure the o-ring seal is not nicked or broken and a light application of grease would not hurt here on the o-ring and the threads. Hand tighten with gloves (a super store sells these in the mens clothes section) should be enough to prevent the union from leaking. If it does leak, make sure the alignment is straight, dirt is not in the threads or the union is not cross threaded. A light movement turn with the channel lock pliers can help secure a leak if your hand strength is weak.
Straight Alignment of Union's:
Straight alignment with this item is a must. The great thing about this union is that the 2 halves swivel when the item is not tight. This helps in removal and adjustments of items between each of the unions. If there was ever was a leak at one of the mipt threads, on the outside of the union, then it is easy to unlock the union and use the channel lock pliers to provide extra tightening, one plier in the opposite direction from the other to tighten the joint. RULE: Clockwise to tighten. Always join these parts in the beginning of the project first, then join the mipt-slips on either side before 90-degree's, tee's, or couplers are added on to the construction of the project. If 90-degree's are put together and they do not align correctly, the unions will help with the handy alignment just by loosening them. - 1" Straps: 1" pipe mounts or straps are needed to mount the filter-systems to a wall or wood frame like under
a house or in the pump house. The straps also come in PVC strapping if you are worried about vibration or a metal strap cutting the PVC pipe. I mounted the filters sideways in an "N" pattern. You can see by the example in the Advanced section below. This image shows a 1/2 size strap, you will need to buy the 1-inch.
Elbow Support and Silver Insulation:
Just use 90-degree elbows before and after either side of the filter-system. The elbows support the weight on silver wrapping insulation around the PVC pipes that I used for padding. I have found that the tape to hold on to these items is annoying when you have the tape break or when it does not hold over time like some forms of duct tape, but the Shurtape is expensive for the price, but well worth the cost over the frustration. This tape also works on insulation with paper backing. Shurtape DC-181:
- Shurtape makes a role of tape (DC-181) with black markings on silver (this would be the one in the foregound) at any home improvement store.
Tools
- PVC Cutting Tool:
PVC pipe cutting tool (I purchased mine from a home improvement store). This tool is easy to use 
but takes a little time to master. Be sure to trim any rough edges on the outside of the PVC pipe end after using the tool. My tool is for 1" PVC pipe, I wish that it was just a little bit bigger, like the 1-1/4" cutter or larger. The outside edge of the pipe end needs to be trimmed with a pocket knife, if needed, by scraping any burrs that could prevent the slip items from joining easily. - PVC Saw:
this tool. The reason is, you need a location to hold the pipe. Most of the time the cut is crooked, when under a house crawl space and you are limited to movement. With this form of cutting the PVC pipe needs cleaning on the inside and outside ends of the PVC pipe. Scraping with a pocket knife seems to be the standard act for cleaning the edges. For my experience, I just use the pipe-cutting tool and sharpen the blade from time to time with a hand held knife stone. -
PVC Cleaning Solution:
[small Purple can]. UPC-Uniform Plumbing Code approved only. The can is moved off center to show the UPC label on the left.
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Heavy Duty Cement:
Heavy Duty or Regular PVC cement (Small Green or Gold can). UPC-Uniform Plumbing Code approved only. The can is moved off center to show the UPC label on the left.
Heavy duty
PVC vs CPVC:
Note: CPVC is a different type of plastic from PVC (do not mix the cements, nor use the CPVC on PVC or vise-versa). CPVC is used for hot water piping in the plumbing for houses. Mainly the size of the pipe is ", most everyone uses it after the bladder pressure tank for cold and hot water so there are no mistakes. For this project, it will be after the filter-system. The CPVC pipe replaces the high cost of copper pipes.-
Channel Lock Pliers:
- [2 of them] - Channel lock pliers (large enough to use on 2-1/2" pipe's).
- The 12" channel lock pliers are for 2-1/2" pipe max. I use these pliers.
- The 10" channel lock pliers are for 2" pipe max.
Channel-lock
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Rubber Mallet:
A rubber mallet -
White Teflon Tape:
A roll of white teflon thread tape (blue round holder with white snap cover)
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Whole House Water Filter Systems:
[2 of them] - Model: WHKF-DWHV (Standard Whole House Clear Pre-Filtration System withShut-Off Valve) - I used this clear one to see the sediment and tell me when the filter needs cleaning or replacing. I do clean the filters that have collected Iron deposits with "The Works" and no water. I leave some of the cleaning solution in the filter-systems clear container and run the hot and cold water in the cabin for 10 minutes to flush the system. This flushing removes loose Iron particles in the pipes.
(1st) first in-line filters:
- WHKF-GD05: Water filter drop-in Model: WHKF-GD05 (5.0 micron nominal).
- A single filter like this one comes with the WHKF-DWHV kit.
(2nd) second in-line filters:
- Items with carbon help in the pure taste of water.
Hot Tub Cleaning:
When the Iron reaches air or air bubbles as in hot tubs, it turns to rust (result of oxidation). The Iron molecules love to stick to everything including hot tub filters and the walls and seats where people sit. The easy solution is to turn off the power to the hot tub and drain the hot tub completely of water by drying everything out with a sponge, then go to a store and by "The Works" or another iron removing product. Dollar Tree has this for a $1, very affordable; purchase about 2-5 items depending on the size of the hot tub. I used 5 bottles for this hot tub. Use the solution full strength and start at the top as you work down, the solution dissolves the Iron as it falls to the bottom. Use gloves, an open well-ventilated area and a bathroom brush to get the harder spots. Rinse and drain again, refill the hot tub and turn the power back on.
Hot tub and filter images before cleaning:
and after 
As you notice, the filter to the left on the bottom picture is not completely clean. It is because of hard iron deposits that have imbedded themselves in the fabric of the filter over the years. The filter was replaced shortly after, with a new one. The funny thing is, I look at these pictures and wonder if that is the same hot tub. Well, I did not go out and remove the old one and put a new hot tub in its place just for the fun of it. Yes, it is even hard for me to believe and I am the one that did the cleaning and took the pictures for the customer that lives in Florida. This cabin happens to have Stage-1 water.
Advanced Techniques
Sample of filter-system connections
Sample of the pattern that was installed under the Stage-3 cabin.
Example for a higher flow rate.
How To Start:
Yes you can do this, please trust yourself, and take your time. Plan, think 3 different ways to install them, and ask, take pictures if you need, draw, if you need, dream, if you need. Anything can be accomplished, nothing is impossible, I just haven't found the solution yet!! This is what I tell myself.
Questions To Ask:
First of all, think about where you are wanting to put the water filter-system. I mean, just think about it. If it takes a week, it takes a week to examine all of the possibilities about where you want to put the filter-system.
Questions to ask yourself:
Will this location be easy for me to change the filter out?
What is the best way to hang it?
Will it fit?
Will this filter system be installed next to the plumbing that is the last section leading into the house?
Will I be able to shut the water off to the house without disrupting anyone?
If I shut the water off, will this cause any damage to my hot water heater elements?
Is the power off to the well pump, hot water heater, hot tub, or anything that has heating elements or motors?
Will placement of the filter-system cause it to freeze in the winter time?
Should I add Heat tape or insulation like R-13 for example?
Should I put seals on the outside access door leading under the house or cabin to prevent freezing?
Is my water clean enough for just a single filter-system with a 0.5-micron filter?
Do I have other filter systems like reverse osmosis installed? Do I only need a filter-system to remove sediment for the 5.0-micron filter?
Do I only need to use 3/4-inch piping and 3/4-inch for all connections?
What is the size of my current piping leading into my house?
If I hang a single filter-system, I could just have a filter for 5.0-microns, or 2.0-microns or 0.5-microns?
Pre-Assemble:
Measure and Layout: Measure out the length and width of the space that you will be adding the single or dual filter-system. Remember about how the water is flowing, this helps me remember not to put the items backwards. each item is like a check valve, it only goes one way and filter-systems are >one-way>. Silly thing to think of, but mistakes happen. Lay out the parts in front of you and put the items out as if they were going to fit together without primer or cement. Putting the items together is sometimes hard to pull apart, be careful. Just lay it out like a puzzle and start with all of the threaded items that need putting together. The Schedule-40 PVC is tougher than you think and keep turning the threads until it is tough to turn with the channel lock pliers. The Unions, the 3/4-inch connectors for the filter-systems, the ell and boiler valve, the ball valves with connections on either end. Tape all of the mipt's and put all of these pieces together.Putting The Major Pieces Together:Remember to use the white teflon tape for these connections. [Item CV] If you are installing the check valve like for a well system. You can blow on either end with your
mouth to see how the item works. The side you can blow air through is the side that gets the galvanized male hose adapter [hose-mipt] and the other side receives a PVC 1-inch to 1-inch adapter [mipt-slip] leading to your cabin or house, remember even these metal on metal items get the white teflon tape, with 3 spins.[Item Union] Each Union will have (2) 1-inch to 1-inch adapter [mipt-slip] - one adapter on each side.
[Item FS] Each filter-system will have (2) 3/4-inch to 1-inch adapter [mipt-slip] - one adapter on each side.
[Item BV] Each ball valve will have (2) 1-inch to 1-inch adapter [mipt-slip] - one adapter on each side.
[Item Ell] The 90-Ell needs to have the 1/2-inch boiler valve attached.
[Item Tee] The Tee needs to have a 1-inch to 1-inch adapter [mipt-slip] attached to the center.
Hanging The Brackets: Normally the filter-systems will go under a house, a cabin, or in a basement. In basements, most of the time, framing is
exposed allowing room for the filter-systems. What is the best option for hanging the filter-systems? You should decide that for yourselves, by concentrating on the least amount of pipe. The longer the pipe, the more it will twist and flex. The smaller the pipe as in the 3/4-inch and even worse the 1/2-inch pipe, is the reason I like the 1-inch schedule-40 pipe and fittings. If the pipe is 1-inch and the length is greater than >2-feet between brackets, it will be difficult to remove the clear filter containers with the rubber mallet because of flexing. Diagrams are shown above and below showing the different items to use. Mounting this item to a wall could result in imagination that will work as long as the filter-system does not have direct contact with anything that would rub PVC, like metal or concrete. An example would be shelving
brackets or as the image shows a white clothes closet rod holder covered in plastic. If metal brackets are used, be sure to add some sort of padding (like the firm black foam insulation for pipes). Tie 
with tie-wraps to secure the foam insulation to the metal brackets and also tie-wraps to secure the piping so as not to move. This item should be able to support a 50-lb weight. As an example: 2 - 2x4's running horizonal could be secured to the wall, one board for the top and the other for the bottom of the bracket. Another example, mounting small blocks of 2x4 pieces 4-inches long mounted to the wall, to provides enough clearance for the filter-system.Find the Electrical: Well, now that we have the hardest part over with, it is time to think about what happens when we shut off the water to the cabin or house. If the water supply is coming from another cabin like a shared well agreement, find the shut-off valve, ball valve, utilities valve allowing you to shut the water supply off to the cabin or house. I have seen 3 cabins sharing the same well, and with so many problems in agreements, newly built construction requires no more shared wells. There should be a check valve coming from the well, and another valve shutting off water flow to the pressure tank(s), plus a valve shutting off the water lines leading into the cabin. Some nicer setups also have shut off valves to and from the hot water heater water lines, which prevents water draining out of the hot water heater creating the heating elements to burn up and go bad.
If you are in a cabin or house that has a well pump; be sure to turn off the breaker to the well pump. There should be a pressure switch like the one in the image to the left, that controls the well pump motor attached to the (pressure regulator) inside the gray box. For information: this image shows the round pressure guage on the right, and the water release with the blue handle. Most well pumps have an electrical pull box disconnect, or a 240vAC switch inside the electrical box to disable the power to the well pump. Another type of well pump motor has a 120vAC pressure switch allowing you to disconnect the circuit to a relay control box that supplies power to the well pump. These items are usually installed for maintenance purposes next to the pressure regulator. 
If the electrical does not have any of this, then find the 240vAC breaker inside an electrical panel to turn the power off to the well pump. The electrical panel image to the right is only an example of what a double pole vs. a single pole looks like. The single pole (4 breakers on bottom) are 120vAC each and the double pole (4 breakers on top) are 240vAC each. 120 + 120 = 240, when adding two 120's together you have electricity for your electric stove, electric water heater, hot tub, jaccuzzi, Air conditioning unit, or a well pump. If you are on city water then all of this looking for the well pump power would not apply and you would just turn off the water valve as shown in the picture below with the black handle. Copper Piping
Fixing the cabin's 20+ year old copper piping is sometimes a pain. The picture shows 
of a result that can happen when working around copper pipe and components. The "Finished Product" picture below shows a red handle shut-off in the lower right and also the picture to the left shows the section that was removed. The stem that the shut-off slide is attached to inside the valve broke apart and fell downward shutting the water supply off to the 2nd cabin. I spent $12.17 buying the parts to fix the problem and about 2 hours of my time, most of which was traveling to the home improvement store to acquire the parts. The picture on the left shows a bottle of "The Works". I used this whole bottle by adding it inside the hard black piping leading to the 2nd cabin. You would have been amazed of what came out of the pipes, by seeing the black junk coming through the faucets. I ran the hot water faucet first to clean up inside the hot water heater. We ran the water for 15 minutes on the cold side, before clean water came out of the faucet. Another 30 minutes on the hot side, to clean out the hot water tank and water lines throughout the cabin. They now have clean water to drink and shower with, without smelling like a rotten egg or having bacteria in the water. Putting it all together
1st - lay out all of the pieces in an area that will show you the finished product.
2nd - join all of the mipt's to the fipt's and make sure they have white teflon tape on the mipt's and assemble them making sure they are all tight.
3rd - cut all of the PVC pipe into the correct lengths, remembering to include the distance inside the female slip's.
4th - use the purple primer on all of the female slip's and male piping. Let them dry for a couple of minutes.
5th - add extra unions between the sections; if you need to have the whole assembly twist and turn to fit properly.
6th - at this point only cement the pipes that will have brackets attached to them and mount both the filter-systems. Leaving the filter and clear filter holder off at this point. It will reduce the weight. Be sure you are able to turn the top portion of the filter-system to change it from (filtering - to - off - to - by-pass).
7th - join with cement the 2 filters-sytems together. Unions and/or 90-degrees could be involved with this assembly.
8th - join the one-way valve if on a well system and a shut-off valve, be sure to tee off the bladder pressure tanks before the first filter-system used for catching sediment. Unions and/or 90-degrees could be involved with this assembly.
9th - join the segment leading after the filter-system used to remove bacteria (0.5-microns) leading to the cabin or house with unions, an ell with boiler valve, and another shut-off if needed. You could use the "off" position on one of the filter-systems instead of a shut-off valve if you wish.
10th - add the filters, grease and clear filter containers to the filter-systems, be sure to only hand tighten and not use the light blue wrench.
11th - check all connections and make sure they are secure.
12th - set all of the filter-systems to the "filtering" position and turn the water pressure back on, making sure all valves are open before supplying power to a well pump. If something leaks, shut the water pressure off and replace, tighten or fix the problem.
Finished Product
To replace a filter is tricky when they are sideways like this, I would recommend the up-and-down approach. The water supply, from the left side, comes from the well pump and 2 pressure tanks. I have 5 unions, and the 5th is behind the filter-system on the right. The on-off switch for the well pump is in front of the right blue pressure tank. Copper piping on the top right leads to this cabin, and the red handle shut-off leads to another cabin next door. When I was finished taking the pictures, silver insulation was wrapped around the white 1" PVC and the yellow R-13 regular household insulation was wrapped to cover the clear filter holders plus the piping on the ground.Below image: after cleaning with "The Works"
Below image: before cleaning with "The Works"
Below image: after wrapping the pipes with insulation; Shurtape still needed applying
Yearly Maintenance Cost:
With Filter Cleaning
| Item: | Cost: | Total: |
| The Works | $1.00 for 2 filters per month | $12.00 |
| 1st Stage Filter 2.0 - 5.0 microns | $7.00 per set of filters replace Bi-annual | $7.00 |
| 2nd Stage Filter | $19.00 - filter $33.00 - carbon replace Annually | $19.00 |
| Total | $38.00 + tax |
Without Filter Cleaning
| Item: | Cost: | Total: |
| 1st Stage Filter 2.0 - 5.0 microns | $13.00 per set of two filters Quarterly | $26.00 |
| 2nd Stage Filter | $19.00 - filter $33.00 - carbon Bi-annual | $66.00 |
| .......................... | Total.................. | $92.00 + tax |
Cost for Tools and Parts:
Tool Cost:
| Item: | Size: | Model #: | Total: |
| PVC Cutter | 1-inch or Greater | $30.00 | |
| Channel Lock Pliers | 12-inches | $32.00 | |
| Rubber Mallet | $17.00 | ||
| PVC Primer | small can | 8 oz 16 oz | $4.00 $8.00 |
| PVC Cement | small can | 8 oz 16 oz | $4.00 $8.00 |
| Teflon Tape | 1-roll | $1.00 | |
| Silver Insulation | 1-roll | $20.00 | |
| Shurtape | 1-roll | DC-181 | $12.00 |
| PVC Pipe Straps | 1-inch | pack of 5 | $2.00 |
| screws | $2.00 | ||
| screw driver | multi-bit | Kobalt | $11.00 |
| Total: | $135.00 + tax |
Parts Cost (PVC and Brass):
| Item: | Type: | Size: | Quantity: | Number: | Cost: | Rounding_Total: |
| Elbow | PVC sch-40 slip-slip | 1-inch | 5-pack | 2 | $1.92 | $4.00 |
| Coupler | PVC sch-40 slip-slip | 1-inch 1-inch | 1-each | 5 | $0.38 | $2.00 |
| 90-d Ell | PVC sch-40 slip-fipt-slip | 1-inch 1/2-inch 1-inch | 1-each | 1 | $0.40 | $1.00 |
| Adapter | PVC sch-40 mipt-slip | 3/4-inch 1-inch | 1-each | 4 | $0.88 | $4.00 |
| Adapter | PVC sch-40 mipt-slip | 1-inch 1-inch | 5-pack | 2 | $2.39 | $5.00 |
| Tee | PVC sch-40 slip-fipt-slip | 1-inch 1-inch 1-inch | 1-each | 2 | $0.59 | $1.00 |
| Union | PVC sch-80 fipt-fipt | 1-inch 1-inch | 1-each | 3 | $4.83 | $14.00 |
| Pipe | PVC sch-40 | 1-inch | 10 feet | 1 | $3.56 | $4.00 |
| Ball Valve | PVC sch-40 fipt-fipt | 1-inch 1-inch | 1-each | 0 | $5.27 | $0.00 |
| Ball Valve | Brass fipt-fipt | 1-inch 1-inch | 1-each | 2 | $18.00 | $36.00 |
| One_Way Check Valve | Brass fipt-fipt | 1-inch 1-inch | 1-each | 1 | $16.19 | $16.00 |
| Male Hose Adapter | Galvanized hose-mipt | 1-inch 1-inch | 1-each | 1 | $10.38 | $11.00 |
| Boiler Drain Valve | Brass mipt | 1/2-inch | 1-each | 1 | $3.97 | $4.00 |
| Whole House Filter System | Plastic | 3/4-inch | 1-kit | 2 | $37.00 | $74.00 |
| Filter 0.5-micron | Cloth/Plastic | Sink Drop-in | 1-each | 1 | $19.00 | $19.00 |
| Sub-Total | $195.00 | |||||
| Labor | Care Taker | @$25.00 | 8 | $200.00 | ||
| Total no Labor | $195.00 |
Resources
Reverse Osmosis filter information: http://www.espwaterproducts.com/about_reverse_osmosis.htm Heavy Metal abstract: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/4696/ Example of bladder pressure tanks: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pressure+tanks&x=18&y=20 Home Improvement Centers like Lowe's and Home Depot stock these items. PVC pipe cutting tool example: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_auto?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pvc+pipe+cutter&x=0&y=0 Super Lube TFTP Teflon Grease: http://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-Synthetic-Grease-21030/dp/B000XBH9HI Joining PVC example, the example uses the Gold Can and is UPC approved: http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/plumbing/technique/pvc/gluing/joining_pipe.htm Images from Lowes: http://www.lowes.com/ Shurtape DC-181: http://www.shurtape.com/Default.aspx?Tabid=79&Level1=15&Level2=18&ProductID=30 Expensive Water Filter tanks - whole house tank systems (sediment and filter): http://www.waterfiltercomparisons.com/whole_house_filter_comparison.php?d=gp Electric Heat tape very good resource for different types of heat tape: http://www.doityourself.com/icat/heattape 30 feet of heat tape. - http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0899724 Other links for heat tape. http://knol.google.com/k/mark-bowen/health-issue-bacteria-decay-rotten-egg/hq2vomqc6hij/goog_1233713035476 and http://knol.google.com/k/mark-bowen/health-issue-bacteria-decay-rotten-egg/hq2vomqc6hij/goog_1233713035482
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