Full house water filter

[Sophon]

We are in the process of building a house and will soon be connecting the plumbing. We will be using the local village water supply (possibly later in combination with our own well water), and I want a filter on the incoming supply to clean up the water a little bit. We are not talking about a filter that supplies drinking water quality, just something that takes out sand and other small particles. I believe it's Crossy who calls it a "crunchy bits" filter.

I have been looking at what they have in the local Global, and their limited selection starts at prices north of 15k baht. That sounds somewhat expensive to me for something that is basically a container filled with a filtering material. Often the advice given here are to go to the local water supply shop, but I haven't been able to locate one where we are building (Mae Tha, Lamphun).

So, my question is if anyone can recommend a specific brand/model of filter at a reasonable price, as well as information on where this filter can be bought in the Lamphun/Chiang Mai region? Or is 15-20k baht the going rate for a full house particle water filter?

Any information and advice is very much appreciated.

Sophon

[JustAnotherFarang]

I have recently finished building a house and I bought a Mazumo model shaped like a rocket on sale for 12,500 from HomePro. It also included the manganese filler. I will try to take a picture for you today and post it up later to see if it is suitable for your needs.

JAF

[JustAnotherFarang]

Here you go, this is my setup which as yet is untested as we have not moved into our new place yet.

Hope it is of some assistance

JAF

PS I have it filled up with manganese but the water from the well is still a little muddy. Any suggestions as to what material is best to use in this system

[Sophon]

I have recently finished building a house and I bought a Mazumo model shaped like a rocket on sale for 12,500 from HomePro. It also included the manganese filler. I will try to take a picture for you today and post it up later to see if it is suitable for your needs.

JAF

Thanks for your reply.

I guess you are talking about one of these (maybe not this exact model)?:

I realy don't now what is suitable, as I have a very hard time finding any information about what the different water filters actually filters out. I found this Filtex FT-224 filter on Home Pro's home shopping website:

It's only a particle filter, but it also only costs 2,990 baht. Do I actually need more than this, when the water is not going to be used for drinking? If I do, maybe this Filtex FT-228 filter will do the trick?

According to Pakistani websites this filter system has three filters:

Polypropylene Filter (PP) 90823

Effectively removes large particles such as sediments, rust, mud at 10 micron prolonging the life of downstream filters.

Activated Carbon Filter (AC) 90533

Effectively removes more than 140 potential health-effect contaminants including chlorine taste and odor,VOCs, disinfectant by-products, many pesticides, lead, mercury and radon

Ion Exchange resin (RE) 90507

Effectively removes Calcium and Magnesium that cause Hard water.

And at 10,900 baht (down from 15,500) it's still cheaper than most of the other filters that I can't find any information about anywhere.

I really have no idea what I need. According to the people living around our land, the village water is very hard leaving heave calcium deposits. On the other hand, our well water is rumoured to be excellent and apparently used to supply several houses around our land back before the village got a water supply. But that was years ago, so who knows what the water is like today.

Since I don't know what I need, I am leaning towards starting out small (and cheap). That way I can always upgrade later (when I have a better understanding of what the water is like) without having lost any significant money. I am also a little worried about the cost of replacement filtering materials/agents if going for a system that combines several filtering methods.

Sophon

Edit: I was writing this while you posted your reply, but it seems I guessed right about your water filter. Thanks for the update.

Edited May 25, 2014 by Sophon

[Pacificperson]

PM canuckamuck and ask him about the sand filter that he uses for his house.

[Sophon]

PM canuckamuck and ask him about the sand filter that he uses for his house.

Thanks for the tip, but from what I remember seeing in Canuckamucks posts his solution would take up too much room.

Sophon

[JesseFrank]

If your village water is very hard it probably is supplied from a deep well, same as the well on your land. When having a deep well in 90% of the cases you will need to remove the calcium, for which you need a resin filter.

Cheapest way is to purchase a fiber tank from one of those filter shops in the malls. Using you negotiation skills a 60 liter fiber tank without valve can be had for 6000 Baht. Then order an automatic regenerating valve from Runxin on Aliexpress for about 5000 Baht. Next you build your own regeneration tank from one of those plastic tanks you buy on the scrapyards which you fill with salt..

Order your resin from Bangkok or Pattaya and you ready to go. In addition You can buy a twin big blue cartridge filter system in which can insert a sediment cartridge and an active carbon block cartridge.

Here in Pattaya the 20" cartridges are 450 Baht.

[JaiLai]

I'm also struggling to find info, my water supply ( from bore hole ) leaves cutlery / plates and basically anything it comes into contact with white stains. I have done some research and THINK it's due to high calcium and iron content from bore hole.

Have tried to speak to people about what the correct filter is, the one they suggest is not compatible with the 1.5HP sub pump that i have that supplies the storage tank. I do not really want to sacrifice water pressure to the house by having a filter downstream of the the pump that supplies the house.

I have been at a bit of a loss about this for almost a year......

[Sophon]

If your village water is very hard it probably is supplied from a deep well, same as the well on your land. When having a deep well in 90% of the cases you will need to remove the calcium, for which you need a resin filter.

Cheapest way is to purchase a fiber tank from one of those filter shops in the malls. Using you negotiation skills a 60 liter fiber tank without valve can be had for 6000 Baht. Then order an automatic regenerating valve from Runxin on Aliexpress for about 5000 Baht. Next you build your own regeneration tank from one of those plastic tanks you buy on the scrapyards which you fill with salt..

Order your resin from Bangkok or Pattaya and you ready to go. In addition You can buy a twin big blue cartridge filter system in which can insert a sediment cartridge and an active carbon block cartridge.

Here in Pattaya the 20" cartridges are 450 Baht.

As far as I know the village water is not from a well but from the local reservoir, and our own well is not deep at all (probably not deeper than 10 meter). The filter would have to fit in a small building (2x2m) together with the water tank and the pump, so I don't think the set-up you describe would be possible.

But thanks for your input, it sounds like it could be an effective system.

Sophon

[JesseFrank]

If your village water is very hard it probably is supplied from a deep well, same as the well on your land. When having a deep well in 90% of the cases you will need to remove the calcium, for which you need a resin filter.

Cheapest way is to purchase a fiber tank from one of those filter shops in the malls. Using you negotiation skills a 60 liter fiber tank without valve can be had for 6000 Baht. Then order an automatic regenerating valve from Runxin on Aliexpress for about 5000 Baht. Next you build your own regeneration tank from one of those plastic tanks you buy on the scrapyards which you fill with salt..

Order your resin from Bangkok or Pattaya and you ready to go. In addition You can buy a twin big blue cartridge filter system in which can insert a sediment cartridge and an active carbon block cartridge.

Here in Pattaya the 20" cartridges are 450 Baht.

As far as I know the village water is not from a well but from the local reservoir, and our own well is not deep at all (probably not deeper than 10 meter). The filter would have to fit in a small building (2x2m) together with the water tank and the pump, so I don't think the set-up you describe would be possible.

But thanks for your input, it sounds like it could be an effective system.

Sophon

My pumphouse is 1.9 x 0.9 and it houses 3 x mitsubishi electric auto pump, 1 x mitsubishi super pump, 2 x 60 liter fiber filter and a big blue filter, and I can comfortable move around in it to control each pump or filter.

Of course my tank is underground and the regeneration tank outside the pumphouse.

The 3x filtrex system you have in mind may be suitable, but you will have to change the filter media frequently, I'm not sure if it are cartridges, and I have such a feeling that you will need a seat when they tell you the price of those replacements.

[rayinkrabi]

My well water used to be pumped to a tank on a higher level, which then (using gravity only) went through my stainless steel filter into a lower tank which was then pumped into the house as required. I used this system for many years but had a recurring problem due to the well water being so brown..especially in wet season. My filter would block up and need back-flushing more often than I was used to previously, so I decided to try and improve it once and for all.

I've now installed a simple 'primary filter' between the high tank and the lower tank and re-plumbed the stainless filter (which has new Activated Carbon and Manganese 50%/50%) so the auto pump pushes the water through it into house as required. The primary filter I made is simply a length of 4 inch plastic pipe filled with pumice stone. So far so good, v v clean water. Btw, it's a good idea to thoroughly wash all filter medium before putting it in the filters. Cheers, Ray.

p.s. the simple filter I made seems to be so effective I am now thinking of putting another one in the feed from the well to the high tank.

[IMHO]

I have recently finished building a house and I bought a Mazumo model shaped like a rocket on sale for 12,500 from HomePro. It also included the manganese filler. I will try to take a picture for you today and post it up later to see if it is suitable for your needs.

JAF

Thanks for your reply.

I guess you are talking about one of these (maybe not this exact model)?:

Mazuma water filter.jpg

I realy don't now what is suitable, as I have a very hard time finding any information about what the different water filters actually filters out. I found this Filtex FT-224 filter on Home Pro's home shopping website:

Filtex particle filter.jpg

It's only a particle filter, but it also only costs 2,990 baht. Do I actually need more than this, when the water is not going to be used for drinking? If I do, maybe this Filtex FT-228 filter will do the trick?

Filtex FT 228.jpg

According to Pakistani websites this filter system has three filters:

Polypropylene Filter (PP) 90823

Effectively removes large particles such as sediments, rust, mud at 10 micron prolonging the life of downstream filters.

Activated Carbon Filter (AC) 90533

Effectively removes more than 140 potential health-effect contaminants including chlorine taste and odor,VOCs, disinfectant by-products, many pesticides, lead, mercury and radon

Ion Exchange resin (RE) 90507

Effectively removes Calcium and Magnesium that cause Hard water.

And at 10,900 baht (down from 15,500) it's still cheaper than most of the other filters that I can't find any information about anywhere.

I really have no idea what I need. According to the people living around our land, the village water is very hard leaving heave calcium deposits. On the other hand, our well water is rumoured to be excellent and apparently used to supply several houses around our land back before the village got a water supply. But that was years ago, so who knows what the water is like today.

Since I don't know what I need, I am leaning towards starting out small (and cheap). That way I can always upgrade later (when I have a better understanding of what the water is like) without having lost any significant money. I am also a little worried about the cost of replacement filtering materials/agents if going for a system that combines several filtering methods.

Sophon

Edit: I was writing this while you posted your reply, but it seems I guessed right about your water filter. Thanks for the update.

What's your daily water usage? (200-400L/person/day is average)

How fast do you want to be able to fill your tank(s) back up? (i.e. do you have a 'peak' water usage period you need to consider)

How reliable is your mains supply? (i.e. do you have a limited time window to fill back up)

The filters you have pictured have the same filter media as the big ones, but will not have anywhere near the flow rate... if your demands are small, perhaps they can do the job though...

The other consideration is that a smaller capacity filter will need back washing more often. How often depends on how dirty the incoming supply is though.. at 500-1000L/day maybe these small filters could go a week without backwash... or maybe only a day of there's a lot to filter out.

[rayinkrabi]

Very good point by IMHO "a smaller capacity filter will need back washing more often".

This is the problem I have because I simply moved my small filter from a 2 bedroom bungalow to my new house when I built it many yrs ago, knowing full well that it was undersize but didn't want to splash out on a new big one.

The backwashing was never really a big deal, as IMHO says, once a week usually did the job except after lots of rain when the filter really clogged up to the point when I decided to replace the manganese and activtaed carbon medium.

I first thought it could be simply 'washed' and re-used but as it is so effective at 'absorbing' I soon realised it had to be replaced, not so bad with my small filter but very expensive with a big one! Which is why I decided to try my idea of using pumice stone as a crude 'primary filter' to lighten the load of the main filter.

I'm open to any ideas / thoughts on this as I can't find any references or posts elsewhere of anyone doing this...surely many already have?

[Crossy]

You can buy a twin big blue cartridge filter system in which can insert a sediment cartridge and an active carbon block cartridge.

Here in Pattaya the 20" cartridges are 450 Baht.

Our "crunchy bits" filter is one of the large blue systems (single cartridge) with a polyester sediment filter. Keeps the mud and grit that invariably gets in the pipe during repairs out of the tank.

Drinking water is from an RO unit (forget the brand).

Village water is clean and (supposedly) potable but Wifey insists on the extra security of the RO unit.

[JustAnotherFarang]

I am the guy who posted the pics of the water treatment system above. I have connected the system to the local water supply from the mountain and when that runs dry, to the borehole in the garden.

But I have noticed that the mountain water is coming through with a light brown colour. I am not entirely sure whether the manganese filler is helping to clean this water ot whether I need to use something else. Can anyone tell me what filler would be sutiable please.

Thanks

JAF

[Sophon]

I have recently finished building a house and I bought a Mazumo model shaped like a rocket on sale for 12,500 from HomePro. It also included the manganese filler. I will try to take a picture for you today and post it up later to see if it is suitable for your needs.

JAF

Thanks for your reply.

I guess you are talking about one of these (maybe not this exact model)?:

Mazuma water filter.jpg

I realy don't now what is suitable, as I have a very hard time finding any information about what the different water filters actually filters out. I found this Filtex FT-224 filter on Home Pro's home shopping website:

Filtex particle filter.jpg

It's only a particle filter, but it also only costs 2,990 baht. Do I actually need more than this, when the water is not going to be used for drinking? If I do, maybe this Filtex FT-228 filter will do the trick?

Filtex FT 228.jpg

According to Pakistani websites this filter system has three filters:

Polypropylene Filter (PP) 90823

Effectively removes large particles such as sediments, rust, mud at 10 micron prolonging the life of downstream filters.

Activated Carbon Filter (AC) 90533

Effectively removes more than 140 potential health-effect contaminants including chlorine taste and odor,VOCs, disinfectant by-products, many pesticides, lead, mercury and radon

Ion Exchange resin (RE) 90507

Effectively removes Calcium and Magnesium that cause Hard water.

And at 10,900 baht (down from 15,500) it's still cheaper than most of the other filters that I can't find any information about anywhere.

I really have no idea what I need. According to the people living around our land, the village water is very hard leaving heave calcium deposits. On the other hand, our well water is rumoured to be excellent and apparently used to supply several houses around our land back before the village got a water supply. But that was years ago, so who knows what the water is like today.

Since I don't know what I need, I am leaning towards starting out small (and cheap). That way I can always upgrade later (when I have a better understanding of what the water is like) without having lost any significant money. I am also a little worried about the cost of replacement filtering materials/agents if going for a system that combines several filtering methods.

Sophon

Edit: I was writing this while you posted your reply, but it seems I guessed right about your water filter. Thanks for the update.

What's your daily water usage? (200-400L/person/day is average)

How fast do you want to be able to fill your tank(s) back up? (i.e. do you have a 'peak' water usage period you need to consider)

How reliable is your mains supply? (i.e. do you have a limited time window to fill back up)

The filters you have pictured have the same filter media as the big ones, but will not have anywhere near the flow rate... if your demands are small, perhaps they can do the job though...

The other consideration is that a smaller capacity filter will need back washing more often. How often depends on how dirty the incoming supply is though.. at 500-1000L/day maybe these small filters could go a week without backwash... or maybe only a day of there's a lot to filter out.

We use just under 15 units per month, so that would be about 500l per day. Just the normal stuff, showers, toilet, washing machine and a little bit of watering of the garden.

The village water supply is pretty good when talking about reliability and pressure, so with our usage I am not worried about refilling the tank.

The filters I posted pictures of supposedly have a flow rate of 500 l/hour at 30 PSI. As mentioned, the village water pressure is pretty good, so even if not reaching that flow rate, I don't believe we will have problems refilling the tank.

I really don't want to clean/change the filter media too often, so maybe I should be looking at something a bit bigger. I know I want to have a particle filter that cleans up the water a bit. I would also like to have a filter that softens the water, but just how effective are the Ion Exchange resin filters in practice? If they don't make a significant difference, then I would prefer not to use one.

Sophon

[Sophon]

You can buy a twin big blue cartridge filter system in which can insert a sediment cartridge and an active carbon block cartridge.

Here in Pattaya the 20" cartridges are 450 Baht.

Our "crunchy bits" filter is one of the large blue systems (single cartridge) with a polyester sediment filter. Keeps the mud and grit that invariably gets in the pipe during repairs out of the tank.

Drinking water is from an RO unit (forget the brand).

Village water is clean and (supposedly) potable but Wifey insists on the extra security of the RO unit.

I'm afraid I don't know the "large blue systems", do you have a pic and do you remember what you paid back when you bought it? the blue filters I see at Global/Home Pro seem to be sand filters intended for swimming pools.

Visually the village water seems clean enough, but it's rumoured to destroy washing machines and water taps because of the high calcium content. We will be buying drinking water, so that's not a consideration.

Sophon

[JesseFrank]

You can buy a twin big blue cartridge filter system in which can insert a sediment cartridge and an active carbon block cartridge.

Here in Pattaya the 20" cartridges are 450 Baht.

Our "crunchy bits" filter is one of the large blue systems (single cartridge) with a polyester sediment filter. Keeps the mud and grit that invariably gets in the pipe during repairs out of the tank.

Drinking water is from an RO unit (forget the brand).

Village water is clean and (supposedly) potable but Wifey insists on the extra security of the RO unit.

I'm afraid I don't know the "large blue systems", do you have a pic and do you remember what you paid back when you bought it? the blue filters I see at Global/Home Pro seem to be sand filters intended for swimming pools.

Visually the village water seems clean enough, but it's rumoured to destroy washing machines and water taps because of the high calcium content. We will be buying drinking water, so that's not a consideration.

Sophon

Calcium can only be removed with a resin filter, if your water is very hard as it seems from your comment, you will need a large filter. Think 60 liter or more.

Edited May 29, 2014 by JesseFrank

[nickyy99]

Hi,

There are different types of water filtration systems from on-the-tap faucet filtration systems dispensers and pitchers using carbon filters, to those using reverse osmosis technique.To know more visit the link.

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WATER FILTER REVIEWS AND INFORMATION