UV Water Filters

[B R Shooter]

Anyone have a UV water filter in their homes? Would like opinion of brand and use....

[labradigger1]

I do. 12 gpm from Amazon. Don’t remember the brand. 3 years so far. First ballast went bad. Replaced and no issues. Change bulb every year. Easily installed

[dbosman]

UV isn't a filter. Water passing by the UV tube is exposed to the UV light. Dwell or contact time is a critical factor. Too fast a flow and nothing has time to happen.
This site is aimed at aquarium keepers, but the information and prices are good.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/prote...erilizers.html
Videos are available here: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/search?w=uv+video

[rancher1913]

they do work but as been stated, you need to size it correctly or its a waste of money

[labradigger1]

they do work but as been stated, you need to size it correctly or its a waste of money

Agreed. I have a shallow well, 30/50 pressure switch and 6.5 gpm. I use a 13 gpm I’ve system

[ohen cepel]

What are you trying to address with the UV? May help people provide better answers.

[farmbif]

I've just been thought the mill with the house water problem. looked into all kinds of options. it came down to d9o I need to fix water for the whole house or just for drinking and cooking. then there was question of how much cost it is to set it up and maintain it. one of my neighbors spends 1200 dollars a year to maintain system to treat well water for whole house. my water doesn't stink but there aint no telling what might be in it. I saved my pennies and got a countertop Berkey system for drinking and cooking water. I'm very satisfied with it . I can put cattle poo pasture foul pond water in it and still have safe water to drink with no power or water pressure needed.

[turtlezx]

clorine 1x a month just enough to barely taste it then back off a little

[labradigger1]

The only maintenance and cost on a uv system is you remove the glass tube occasionally and wipe any sediment off it so the light can get to the water and a yearly bulb replacement. I paid around $300 for mine 3 years ago and around $70 in fitting and pipe. I had no issues before but when the wife and I became foster parents it was a requirement and had to be done.

[Mal Paso]

The clarity of the water affects how well the UV works so you want any filter in the system before the UV. It kills bacteria, that's it.

[Bmi48219]

The town our water comes from is consistently rated in the top ten nationally for ‘best tasting’ tap water. About 15 years ago some entrepreneur started bottling and selling it in national chain pet stores.
We went with a Berkey for water we consume (pets too). Got the optional fluoride filters too. Wife did the research on it. Replacement filters are pricey but all in all the system is worth it. I think it holds about two or two and a half gallons. We use roughly four gallons a day.

[farmbif]

I dont know where BR is located but when I left sw fla, they were hot and heavy into digging up all the roads and putting city water in the 52 square miles of cape coral. there were thousands and thousands of people that had whole house RO systems, these were needed because there was so much salt water intrusion into the wells, that usually cost about $5000. I image there are a whole bunch of those water systems that can be had for cheap these days if they all didn't end up in the dump or scrap yard. its about the best water filtration system that can be had for a house no matter what's in the water.

[starnbar]

I got a UV filter in the swimming pool had to put in a new light bulb 575.00 what a deal but unless it is hurricane season I dont use much chlorine

[Mal Paso]

RO takes out almost everything. I have a RO System for drinking water and batteries. I've had the APEC 50 for 5 years now and had to refill the air tank once. It takes the 160-200 ppm down to 11 ppm. Cost is $200, I put the faucet in the soap dispenser hole, filters under the sink. I have 4 stainless vacuum bottles for drinking and a 3 gallon bottle for camping. Haven't kept track of the number of reloads but it's got to be hundreds. LOL

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve been using one for twelve years. The important thing to know is that, to kill all bacteria effectively, the water should well filtered. Bacteria can live through the UV if it is incased in particules of what ever.

[B R Shooter]

Thanks all. I'm on a well that is over 30 years old. I have some sediment, but I already have a whole house filter right off the pressure tank for that and use 5 micron filters, which is finer than most. I also have a softener, as do most around me on well water. Things change, houses are being built which also means septic systems. When my well was put in, the county requirements weren't as they are today, only 20 feet of grouted casing. Today it is 50' at a minimum.

Anyway, the GPMs are a good point, I was thinking on a 12GPM. My wife and I are the only ones here, and I can't think of anytime that would be exceeded, even filling the washing machine. I would install this UV after the filter and softener. Our water runs clear through the house, so exposure to the UV shouldn't be an issue.

[Finster101]

I dont know where BR is located but when I left sw fla, they were hot and heavy into digging up all the roads and putting city water in the 52 square miles of cape coral. there were thousands and thousands of people that had whole house RO systems, these were needed because there was so much salt water intrusion into the wells, that usually cost about $5000. I image there are a whole bunch of those water systems that can be had for cheap these days if they all didn't end up in the dump or scrap yard. its about the best water filtration system that can be had for a house no matter what's in the water.

After 25 years of living in Cape Coral I got out 6 years ago. Their municipal water system is horrible. I am on a well now and do have enough salt intrusion to require a whole house RO. It was just over 3K installed with a 300 gallon holding tank. I have never run out. I have a service that flushes it and changes the sand filter for $35.00 a month. Well worth it. The protection on my appliances like the dishwasher, washer and ice maker are huge. My well is 260 feet deep.

[Bmi48219]

I’m not sure but ppm is an indication of dissolved solids. Some dissolved solids are definitely bad for you, some are good. Our tap water is 75 ppm, but after going through our refrigerator filter it’s up at 110 ppm! So we don’t used refrigerator water.
Our tap water goes into Berkey, comes out at 20 ppm, then wife puts some in a ‘Zero’ brand filtered pitcher, it comes out of the pitcher at 0 ppm. I’m ok with water from the Berkey.
Our municipality draws water from two wells, then treats it. One of the wells is 70 feet from our home. The service techs that occasionally swap pump motors told me the well is 55 feet.
Back in Michigan well drillers told me sometimes they have to go down a long way to get into aquifer that will provide enough water but the deeper wells usually have higher mineral content water. My dad's well was 340’ and not great tasting water. Our well in Michigan was 50 feet. Water had lots of iron in it, resulting in a rotten egg smell. An iron filter cleaned up the smell and staining.

[Mal Paso]

Thanks all. I'm on a well that is over 30 years old. I have some sediment, but I already have a whole house filter right off the pressure tank for that and use 5 micron filters, which is finer than most. I also have a softener, as do most around me on well water. Things change, houses are being built which also means septic systems. When my well was put in, the county requirements weren't as they are today, only 20 feet of grouted casing. Today it is 50' at a minimum.

Anyway, the GPMs are a good point, I was thinking on a 12GPM. My wife and I are the only ones here, and I can't think of anytime that would be exceeded, even filling the washing machine. I would install this UV after the filter and softener. Our water runs clear through the house, so exposure to the UV shouldn't be an issue.

If your water isn't perfectly clear a slightly more powerful (higher GPM) unit would be more effective.

All the units I've worked with were on 24/7 and if water isn't used for a while the water in the chamber will get warm. A good reason not to go too big on power.

I had to replace tubes between 12 and 18 months. There are online discount suppliers of tubes and glass. Once a tube arrived broken. They didn't bat an eye, just sent another.

Sediment will adhere to the glass and that should be cleaned at tube change.

One UV unit had a wiper for the inner glass tube. It had a rod in one end you pulled out and pushed back in to wipe the wet side of the glass tube that the UV tube is inside.

[Ford SD]

if you put in a uv Light put a bypass for your outside Garden hose

Same for if you have a water softener

and filters come in different sizes that you should install before the uv light

1 micron is the smallest
5 micron
10 micron

and you can add on a filter for taste and odor that you should replace every 3 months