New whole house filter to mainly reduce chlorine

[DGMcNeilly]

Hi All,

New to this whole thing, so thanks in advance for your thoughts! Live in Portland, OR with generally good water: http://www.portlandonline.com/water/...29551&a=288659

Main concern is reducing chlorine throughout house as much as possible. Water bureau report indicates they put 2 ppm into the system. Probably will not keep the current home for more than a year, so don't want to invest too much into this (a couple hundred max, if possible).

Two of us in the house, though with visitors we sometimes have two showers going at once. Generally, we're not heavy water users. I'm fine with also having a local filter at the kitchen sink to supplement the whole house filter, if that makes sense, so as to do a more thorough job with our drinking water.

Do the cheap carbon filters like the Omni T01 cut down chlorine significantly (99% or so), or do I need something more sophisticated? Also, wondering if the 6 GPM or so of a cheap filter would be a problem.

Thanks again for your time.

[Andy CWS]

Get a chlorine test kit to take periodic testing to determine filter life.

Here is a list of typical carbon filters. Rule of thumb is the more volume the carbon the longer it will last and the higher flow rate.

http://filter.filtersfast.com/search?w=carbon%20water%20filters

[DGMcNeilly]

Thanks for the info. It looks like I'll actually need a total & free chlorine test kit. I did some more research on what the water bureau report is saying, and it really is saying that they're using chloramine.

Looks like a whole new game to filter this stuff out. Any thoughts on doing a dual Pentek 20 BB system with sediment pre-filter followed by Pentek CRFC-20BB?

Sounds like the chloramine reduction in this filter may not even be that great, even though its marketed for the purpose.

[Andy CWS]

Ah yes, Chloramine. This is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. Complete removal of chloramine is actually a two-stage process. Carbon removes the chlorine part of the compound and a more expensive cation filtration is used to remove the ammonia. In dialysis machine this is critical for kidney patients.

A reverse osmosis can do an excellent job for consumed water. There is no shower filter certified (NSF, WQA) to remove chloramine. Flow rates and filter media volume are barriers in accomplishing this.

Count on a filter system more expensive than those that remove simply chlorine for municipal water supplies. A whole house filter system my cost between $6,000 and $14,000+ with maintenance being around $1000 per year. Even then complete removal may be doubtful.

For more details:

http://www.watertechonline.com/article.asp?IndexID=5220514

Chloramine has been developed to replace chlorine in that is has a much longer retention (traveling further in the system) but is less effective so stronger concentrations are required. Since it is a VOC (volatile), distillation is not effective at removing chloramines (mono-, bi-, tri).

The pollutants we put in our waters are getting more and more complex and pervasive. The technologies to rid these contaminants, too, are becoming incredibly more complicated often with unfavorable side-effects and, with difficulties in removing these 'solutions', it can be daunting and never cheap and easy.

[pawaterguy]

some municipalities around here are beginning to use chloramines...it's sending us water guys back to the drawing board a bit. people we sold dechlor units to are now having to add new equipment into their systems because a dechlor alone will do little in the war against this new enemy. but, in answer to the original question I'd go with a CB10 or a CBR210 filter. carbon block...better life as a whole house option but still not as good as a tank full o' carbon doing the job.

[DGMcNeilly]

Thanks for the additional info. Doesn't look like those filters have the throughput for a whole house system, though.

Found about about an industrial setup yesterday that really looks like it might do the trick. Anyone familiar with Selecto SMF IC620 (also sold as a residential unit called the Contamin Eater 720)?

Selecto is only one of two firms (the other one does filters for industrial pump apps, so looks like NA for home use) that NSF certifies for chloramine reduction at true whole house rates (5 GPM tested, 7-8 GPM real world). 84% chloramine reduction (3 ppm to 0.5 ppm) through 22,500 gallons with very low pressure drop.

It doesn't appear that anything from Pentek is comparably spec'd. Annual cost is not much higher that using Pentek chloramine-rated filters with shorter (9000 gal) lifespans, which I don't see listed on NSF for chloramine tested POE or plumbed in. Any thoughts?