As the owner of a Water Filter you should be aware that your system needs to backwash and clean itself periodically. This process doesn’t always have to take a long time, or use a lot of Water. It really depends on your individual Water Quality. The idea is to set your Control Valve to clean out your filter before there is too much pressure drop across the Media bed. If enough pressure drop occurs the Water actually channels through the Media beds. Channeling creates tunnels through the Filter Media allowing the Water to pass through with out being Filtered.

Usually, you get what you pay for these days, and the Water Treatment Industry is no different. Filter Control Valves come in many different shapes sizes and price ranges. Some are Electronic and operate on Timers, Meters, Pressure Drop, or all of the above. There are also Non Electric, Twin Tank, Metered systems, that measure gallons and backwash after a certain number of gallons, based upon actual water consumption.

Less expensive Controls Valves tend to be Factory preset to use a certain amount of water per backwash. This is done with no consideration for the Water Quality, Filter Media or Water Usage. They are preset to be able to handle worst case scenarios and that will increase the amount of Waste Water being created. Higher quality Filter Control products are usually field programmable. This means that they can be adjusted to meet the demands of the individual site.

The amount of Water necessary to Backwash a Water Filter is determined by the Backwash flow rate of the Filter Media being used, also the width of the Filter vessel being used. Working with a WQA Certified Water Specialist will insure that you are being shown options that will meet the requirements of your site. The final decision is yours. When making that final decision of which Control Valve you prefer think about the amount of Waste Water that the system will generate on an annual basis, and over the lifetime of the equipment.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading! Remember that water is our greatest resource conserve it whenever possible, enjoy your great water”…

Yes folks, believe it or not, it’s that time again! Family, Friends, and Food, It all comes together at Thanksgiving, when we take time out from our busy schedules to reflect on all of the many many things that we have to be thankful for.

When I started writing this blog earlier this year I had no idea of the success that it would have. Whether you are finding us on www.secondwindwater.com, Face Book, Twitter, or a different medium, THANK YOU so much for your support!

Anyone who knows Secondwind Water Systems realizes that we are in the Water Treatment Equipment business, and so I don’t need to send out a blog that always sounds like a big sales pitch. Hopefully what I do send out is useful information that helps people to better exist while living in a NH home, on a well with a Water Treatment System.

If you like the blog and feel that the information is useful. Please consider sending on a Fan Page suggestion to your friends, but only the ones who drink water! It will be greatly appreciated. Some day they may thank you!

I’m heading downeast to Maine for Turkey Dinner this year. I can’t wait. Thanks again for taking the time to follow this little blog, and for your support of Secondwind Water Systems. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading! and from Everyone at Secondwind, here’s wishing you and yours a Special and Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your great water”… Could you pass the stuffing?

As the owner of a Water Filter it is important that you embrace the concept of Preventative Maintenance (PM). I have a Commercial customer with two pieces of Water Treatment Equipment at their site. Secondwind installed the equipment and we had been performing Annual P. M. at the site for two years in a row. The System was working well and everyone was Happy. At the end of year 3, I received a phone call from their new Facilities manager regarding our flat rate P. M. packages. He wanted a break down of our standard prices, labor rates, travel charges, and materials mark up. After a long painful process of explanation about how we decide on our Flat Rate pricing, he realized that it was actually cheaper to go with the Flat Rate than if you combined all of the standard charges and added them up. He told me that he was pleased to be getting our best price on the PM and that he would be contacting me soon to schedule it.

A month later after not receiving the phone call I decided to give the customer a phone call and find out what had happened. Well it turns out that the Facilities manager had hired a local Plumber friend to service the equipment. Apparently the Plumber works out of his home garage and was really cheap. “Gee Ya Think!!”

The next year on the Anniversary date of the original installation of the equipment I faithfully called my customer. He replied that his plumber friend had already been out to the site and had refilled the Acid Neutralizer and boy was it cheap. I thought about that and asked him, “What about the Water Softener”? Does he maintain the Softener too? The customer said that the Softener is working fine and if there is a problem that they would have us out, but not now.

Last week I got a call from the New-New Facilities manager for that site and he wanted to know why his Water Treatment Equipment was in bypass. He also was upset that he was getting Bacteria hits and needed a price on what it would cost to fix his System.

Of course that’s not something that I can answer over the phone. That would be like calling the Doctor and saying that you feel bad and asking how much it will cost to cure you. Wanting to be of service, I offered to go out to the site and give the Customer a walk-through on the System, and have a look-see to be certain that the Equipment is still capable of solving the Water problem, before sending a technician out to tear open the system. I haven’t been to the site yet, but I can guaranty you that the Service call to fix this equipment is going be far more expensive than the sum of the two PM calls that they skipped, plus they had to pay the Plumber for what he did for them. The cost of diagnosis is almost always more expensive than the cure. If you have regular Annual Preventative Maintenance there is rarely any need to Diagnose a problem. In the long run regular Annual Preventative Maintenance will be your best choice, and you will have great water the whole time, and that is the real goal here.

If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading! Please remember to protect your Water Treatment investment by always scheduling your PM on time, and enjoy your great water”…

As the owner of a Water Treatment System one thing you will eventually come to realize is that Water always wins! Just take a look at the Grand Canyon someday. Millions of tons of sand and rock have been dissolved and eroded away by Water. Time has left behind a giant imprint of exactly what Water can accomplish, for us all to learn from. All that is left behind is a gigantic void, that serves as a constant reminder that Water always wins!

Water is commonly known as the Universal Solvent. It dissolves everything it comes in contact with. Copper, Steel, and Brass tubing, fittings, and fixtures are slowly dissolved away by the Water. It is as if the Water was hungry. Pressure tanks get old and leak. If pipes freeze up they will burst when they thaw out. Drain lines plug up with #Waste Water debris and overflow. It only happens when you don’t expect it. I am always amazed when I go to a customers home and I see Antiques, Books, Clothes, Electronics and other belongings stored on the floor right next to the Water System. It’s only a matter of time before something happens, Water always wins.

People always find the room for their Water Treatment System to be installed, and then they just seem to back fill the area with belongings that really shouldn’t be there. Forget about the possibility of a leak, just consider the condensation in the Summer months, that alone can be enough to ruin your good stuff. Water always Wins!

If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6 saying, “Thanks for reading! Please remember to protect your precious belongings by keeping them away from your Water appliances. Water always, always Wins!!!, and as always enjoy your great water”…