House water filters

[Saba'a]

Any links to SA Gauteng solutions
1. Whole house filter systems (preferably filter all water not just drinking water)
2. Costs of such systems

Phase 1 small municipal water back up system for toilets. No need for filtering per se.
Phase 2 will be adding grey water system aimed at flushing toilets only. Filter just to avoid blockages smells etc.
Phase 3 will be rainwater for flushing and drinking water. Quality filtering definitely required.

I am not in a rush, so want to do it in phases.

My simplistic option was (edit would be) to divert water AFTER water meter through a large filtering system before it enters the house. Thus improving water amd reducing mineralisation in pipes. Calcification already caused me to divert many internal pipes through external pvc plumbing. Still need to replace with more permanent piping.

I have seen also options of natural pools whereby water filtered. But suspect too slow and limited.

 

[Saba'a]

Phase 1 similar to below solution of @W@P

"I already have a 2000L tank with a booster pump connected to my house. Whenever there is a water outage i just have to turn the one valve and switch on the pump. Works good enough for me."

Generator or Inverter for residential use?

The problem with looking at it purely from a net wealth perspective is that you have completely ignored human emotions from your analyses. Following this approach you would never buy a car or any other assets that depreciates, it just makes very little logical sense. It does indeed. For some...

mybroadband.co.za

 

[Saba'a]

Interesting article of 3 options. 3rd a combo of 1 and 2

How to choose a water storage system | Chamberlain

Chamberlain Famous For Hardware since 1903

www.chamberlains.co.za

 

[gotaway]

I’m running the whole house using borehole, JoJo tank, pressure pump, 3x 20” Big Blue filters having 5 micron, carbon block, 1 micron filters. Municipal supply blocked with their own, and an additional stop

After that running water through another 20” canister - containing Siliphos to help against scale build up.

Additionally, there is small RO system in the kitchen to filter above water further for cooking and drinking.

I blocked the municipal supply by closing the stop valve at the meter, but also installed an additional stop valve on the line inside then property.
It either this or a non-return valve to prevent the pump from emptying the tank into the municipal pipes.

 

[Saba'a]

I’m running the whole house using borehole, JoJo tank, pressure pump, 3x 20” Big Blue filters having 5 micron, carbon block, 1 micron filters. Municipal supply blocked with their own, and an additional stop

After that running water through another 20” canister - containing Siliphos to help against scale build up.

Additionally, there is small RO system in the kitchen to filter above water further for cooking and drinking.

I blocked the municipal supply by closing the stop valve at the meter, but also installed an additional stop valve on the line inside then property.
It either this or a non-return valve to prevent the pump from emptying the tank into the municipal pipes.

For now want to start off with municipal backup.
Then rain water.
Borehole not financially feasible now. Still busy with my solar power system. In phase 2 so still another 2 phases to go.

How often do you replace the filters? Bit pricey so need them to last a while.

 

[bwana]

I’m running the whole house using borehole, JoJo tank, pressure pump, 3x 20” Big Blue filters having 5 micron, carbon block, 1 micron filters. Municipal supply blocked with their own, and an additional stop

Been considering getting a set of the Big Blue filters for our rain water tanks. ATM we're just using it for the laundry but if when things go pear shaped in PE I might want some additional filtration.

 

[AchmatK]

Been considering getting a set of the Big Blue filters for our rain water tanks. ATM we're just using it for the laundry but if when things go pear shaped in PE I might want some additional filtration.

I think I should sell my triple big blue filter.

I haven't used it in nearly 2 years and just bypassed them when they needed replacement.

My water is near spring water quality have not had any issues with using it directly plumbed into the house from the well.

CoCT not getting a cent from me and a few of my neighbours for years now. Basically only rates and refuse making up my municipal account.

 

[bwana]

I think I should sell my triple big blue filter.

I haven't used it in nearly 2 years and just bypassed them when they needed replacement.

My water is near spring water quality have not had any issues with using it directly plumbed into the house from the well.

CoCT not getting a cent from me and a few of my neighbours for years now. Basically only rates and refuse making up my municipal account.

Not sure I would bother with point-of-entry filtration either if I was getting my water from a borehole.

I recently cleaned one of my 5000l rain water tanks however and it was pretty bad in there.

 

[rh1]

I’m running the whole house using borehole, JoJo tank, pressure pump, 3x 20” Big Blue filters having 5 micron, carbon block, 1 micron filters. Municipal supply blocked with their own, and an additional stop

After that running water through another 20” canister - containing Siliphos to help against scale build up.

Additionally, there is small RO system in the kitchen to filter above water further for cooking and drinking.

I blocked the municipal supply by closing the stop valve at the meter, but also installed an additional stop valve on the line inside then property.
It either this or a non-return valve to prevent the pump from emptying the tank into the municipal pipes.

I been researching, how much does such a set up cost, I have a small ro system which I bought during the Cape Town drought but did not install as that was worst case scenario. But I like your setup;

So cost to install/or buy ballpark figure, I dont mind doing the plumbing/installation myself.

Running costs/replacement costs.

My current setup is a wellpoint supplying 4 x 1900litre tanks, connected to a small pool pump supplying a 750 litre tank, which we use for laundry. I did it this way as our water has a white sediment in which the pool pump filter outs. But I want to expand on the use of my wellpoint water. This was a self-install. The only thing that was there was an old wellpoint pipe connected a rusted galvanise elbow.

 

[rh1]

I think I should sell my triple big blue filter.

I haven't used it in nearly 2 years and just bypassed them when they needed replacement.

My water is near spring water quality have not had any issues with using it directly plumbed into the house from the well.

CoCT not getting a cent from me and a few of my neighbours for years now. Basically only rates and refuse making up my municipal account. View attachment 1273272

Nice, COCT is expensive. My plan is first solar and then water, I would need to get filters though as I dont have drinking quality water.

 

[rh1]

Not sure I would bother with point-of-entry filtration either if I was getting my water from a borehole.

I recently cleaned one of my 5000l rain water tanks however and it was pretty bad in there.

I have those small 130 micron filter in front of my pump. My previous pump was full of 'sediment' and I think that played a part in its premature service life. So far it looks much better.

 

[gotaway]

I been researching, how much does such a set up cost, I have a small ro system which I bought during the Cape Town drought but did not install as that was worst case scenario. But I like your setup;

So cost to install/or buy ballpark figure, I dont mind doing the plumbing/installation myself.

Running costs/replacement costs.

My current setup is a wellpoint supplying 4 x 1900litre tanks, connected to a small pool pump supplying a 750 litre tank, which we use for laundry. I did it this way as our water has a white sediment in which the pool pump filter outs. But I want to expand on the use of my wellpoint water. This was a self-install. The only thing that was there was an old wellpoint pipe connected a rusted galvanise elbow.

All my piping is black HDPE class 10 piping (class not for the pressure but wall thickness) as I had to run about 25m of piping from the tank to the house.

The Big Blue 20" 3 stage filtration system was done 4 years ago, and the piping and compression fittings were as expensive as the filtration system itself.
Pressure pump is DABs Esybox mini, with pressure set to 3 bar.

Running costs
This is mostly filters (not a big household, so this could influence things), and the replacement 20" filters cost around R800 every six month.
The filters for the RO system cost around the same, but it they are replaced every 9 to 12 months.

The silliphos cost around R200 to 250 per kg, and the initial fill took about 4 kg. Mine needs a top-up (roughly half of what is needed for initial fill) every 9 to 12 months.

The irrigation system do not run through the filtration system. It is driven directly off the borehole pump by closing/opening stop valves, directing water away from the tank into the irrigation pipes, so once a week it runs continuously for a few hours.

There is a floating switch in the tank, linked to an ESP8266, which is on the wi-fi network. This talks to Home-Assistant, controlling the smart switch the borehole pump is plugged into to keep the tank topped up.

Keep in mind that the RO system has a lot of run-off (waste) water. Around 4 liters for every 1 liter of clean water.

Electricity cost
Unfortunately I do not measure usage on a device level.
Both pumps are rated at 850W.

To help guesstimate:
The pressure pump obviously runs every time when a tap is opened.
The borehole pump only when the tank needs a top-up - The borehole/pump combo can produce a constant 2000l/hour and the tank overflows every day if the borehole is run for 10 minutes a day.

Hind sights:
If I have to redo the above, I'll install a back washable sediment filter before the tank.

Future plans/ideas:
I'm contemplating installing another pressure pump, pre filters, to drive the irrigation piping so the irrigation can be fully automated.
The electrics around the floating switch is a bit of a messy install, and needs to be tidy-ed up.

So, I doubt it is any cheaper than a municipal supply, but in my case it is a lot more reliable (is available 24x7x365) and cleaner (smell, taste & sediment) than what the local muni supplies

 

[bwana]

I have those small 130 micron filter in front of my pump. My previous pump was full of 'sediment' and I think that played a part in its premature service life. So far it looks much better.

Is that the filter with the plastic rings in it? I have one of those as well as a first flush and a strainer.

 

[Saba'a]

All my piping is black HDPE class 10 piping (class not for the pressure but wall thickness) as I had to run about 25m of piping from the tank to the house.

The Big Blue 20" 3 stage filtration system was done 4 years ago, and the piping and compression fittings were as expensive as the filtration system itself.
Pressure pump is DABs Esybox mini, with pressure set to 3 bar.

Running costs
This is mostly filters (not a big household, so this could influence things), and the replacement 20" filters cost around R800 every six month.
The filters for the RO system cost around the same, but it they are replaced every 9 to 12 months.

The silliphos cost around R200 to 250 per kg, and the initial fill took about 4 kg. Mine needs a top-up (roughly half of what is needed for initial fill) every 9 to 12 months.

The irrigation system do not run through the filtration system. It is driven directly off the borehole pump by closing/opening stop valves, directing water away from the tank into the irrigation pipes, so once a week it runs continuously for a few hours.

There is a floating switch in the tank, linked to an ESP8266, which is on the wi-fi network. This talks to Home-Assistant, controlling the smart switch the borehole pump is plugged into to keep the tank topped up.

Keep in mind that the RO system has a lot of run-off (waste) water. Around 4 liters for every 1 liter of clean water.

Electricity cost
Unfortunately I do not measure usage on a device level.
Both pumps are rated at 850W.

To help guesstimate:
The pressure pump obviously runs every time when a tap is opened.
The borehole pump only when the tank needs a top-up - The borehole/pump combo can produce a constant 2000l/hour and the tank overflows every day if the borehole is run for 10 minutes a day.

Hind sights:
If I have to redo the above, I'll install a back washable sediment filter before the tank.

Future plans/ideas:
I'm contemplating installing another pressure pump, pre filters, to drive the irrigation piping so the irrigation can be fully automated.
The electrics around the floating switch is a bit of a messy install, and needs to be tidy-ed up.

So, I doubt it is any cheaper than a municipal supply, but in my case it is a lot more reliable (is available 24x7x365) and cleaner (smell, taste & sediment) than what the local muni supplies

Yep. Like solar, issue is more stability than cost. Savings only ito reduced monthly cash expenditure. Not cheaper.

Similarly water just want backup if water off!

 

[rh1]

Is that the filter with the plastic rings in it? I have one of those as well as a first flush and a strainer.

Are you talking about this:

MICROJET IN-LINE FILTER 13MM

Water is life! Make sure your garden is irrigated and happy with top-class irrigation products from BRIGHTS, like the MICROJET IN-LINE FILTER 13MM

www.brights.co.za

Then no, a slanted version of this:

DISC FILTER AZUD HELIX 50MM 130 MICRON

Disc Filter.

www.agrinet.co.za

 

[bwana]

Are you talking about this:

MICROJET IN-LINE FILTER 13MM

Water is life! Make sure your garden is irrigated and happy with top-class irrigation products from BRIGHTS, like the MICROJET IN-LINE FILTER 13MM

www.brights.co.za

Then no, a slanted version of this:

DISC FILTER AZUD HELIX 50MM 130 MICRON

Disc Filter.

www.agrinet.co.za

Something like this:

 

[Saba'a]

See builders offers full service. But R11 000!

 

[rh1]

Something like this:

View attachment 1273524

Yes that the one, same brand as well. My googling was failing me this morning.

 

[bwana]

Yes that the one, same brand as well. My googling was failing me this morning.

I should probably clean mine tomorrow.

 

[rh1]

All my piping is black HDPE class 10 piping (class not for the pressure but wall thickness) as I had to run about 25m of piping from the tank to the house.

The Big Blue 20" 3 stage filtration system was done 4 years ago, and the piping and compression fittings were as expensive as the filtration system itself.
Pressure pump is DABs Esybox mini, with pressure set to 3 bar.

I was looking at something like this:

750l/h RO System On Skid

The 750 liters per hour reverse osmosis system water treatment package is suitable for applications requiring depth filtering.

www.puritech.co.za

I basically want something that I know would work on any type of groundwater. So that I dont have to go test on a regular basis.

But I am not sure if R80k is overkill or price right.