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bad water smell removal in a copper boiler

bad water smell removal in a copper boiler

bad water smell removal in a copper boiler

(OP)
I have a problem with our rain water recuperation and underground storage. That water gets used for various office consumers (office toilets , cleaning , warm water generation) , to massively reduce city water consumption in our office building.

That water is apparently contaminated with atmospheric debris and smells really bad.  Is there a product or method to get rid of that smell , other than a carbon filter system in the feeding line?  That water also gets injected in a boiler with copper heating circuit , so decontamination with chlore or similar commercially available products is probably not an option (corrosion).

Any bright engineer available with a simple solution?

RE: bad water smell removal in a copper boiler

azertyuiop:

Don't know how to solve your problem, but maybe an experience I had on vacation might be useful...

When I was in Belize, the rental house we stayed at collected rain water which was pumped to the house for sink & shower water.  When we first arrived, it smelled like rotten eggs (maybe worse!).  We let the faucets run for an hour or so and that seemed to clear up the problem for the week that we were there.  Don't know if this would help in your situation, but it might be worth a try.

Good luck!

jproj

RE: bad water smell removal in a copper boiler

(OP)
no , that won't help. I have emptied the three 10 000 liter tanks , let them be cleaned , and waited a week to get it sufficiently refilled with rain water.  The smell hasn't got away , the water is clean , but after refilling a couple of buckets , the stench is still apparent. We have lots of birds in the vincinity , their disposals in the gutter , flowing into the tanks may be a source of contamination.

RE: bad water smell removal in a copper boiler

this query belongs in the water treatment area.

RE: bad water smell removal in a copper boiler

Any analyses, pH, TDS, nitrate,..?
Is the smell ammonia (at least partly)?
Try adding a little caustic to a bucketful, NH3(g) is liberated at  high pH.

Maybe a biological filter, like for a giant aquarium, followed by an anthracite/sand filter (2, so can always backwash one).

I trust that you have a boiler feedwater system.

RE: bad water smell removal in a copper boiler

(OP)
I think the bad smell problem is solved by the mixing of Chloramine in the rain water cisterns.  The chloramine worked in the cistern for  24h , being mixed around in each tank by means of a submerged pump. I purged today the main water circuits and cleaned again the water filter , the smell is now gone.

I the bad smell comes back , I will again put  50gr of chloramine into each 10 000 liter cistern to get rid of that problem.

RE: bad water smell removal in a copper boiler

A very practical solution re the smell problem, although there still will be dissolved undesirables, plus sedimentation.  Perhaps you can rig up some automatic dosing device controlled by the rainwater flow entering.

Can you install some fine screen extending from the roof over the rain gutters? You may lose a little water, but should greatly reduce the solid waste entering the system.

RE: bad water smell removal in a copper boiler

my friend,

    The simple and the cheapest way are using activated carbon,filter and sand to remove smells and particle.I already come some study about this problems.The way you manage your water are very good.Recycling your water for varias purpose is good but removing odours giving us big problems.Activated carbon trap/absorb odours meanwhile sand become 1st stage for filtration activity.please email to me your tank specification and i will send to filtration process arrangement.azmanr@radicare.com.my

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