chris.brock Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 (edited) Long story short, we ended up with one, as a sort of gift, thinking `cool, we can drink our well water at the cottage` The town near our cottage has free water quality testing. I recently provided a sample of untreated well water and well water that has been run through the Berkey. The results come back. There`s no difference. Both are ridden with E Coli., same levels. Scott, the guy we got the Berkey from in Orrilllia, his Emails bounce back and his phone goes straight to voice mail with no reply. If you use a Berkey, beware. If you are thinking of buying one, don`t. If you know where Scott is, please tell Edited October 29, 2014 by chris.brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 (edited) Any web addy stuff to share there bud? I hate this crap. No return calls or replies to emails. Edited October 29, 2014 by Brian B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Real question is, why does your well have E coli in it. Most wells have a low number part/million that is no real issue, but are you above what is safe to drink to start with? If so time to figure out why, especially if some javex down the well won't cure the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted October 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 (edited) The Berkey claims to eliminate E Coli, coliform etc, saving people from drinking Javex what`s web addy stuff Edited October 29, 2014 by chris.brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 what`s web addy stuff Emails = addy Web means a web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumma Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Chris the presents of E coli in the well is a sign that ground water contamination is present. It can be from the soil if it is old pasture land or if the rock stratus is very porous.(very likely in Canada) The correct way to treat is either a chemical oxidizer (clorine) followed with a carbon filter or if the water is clear the use of a UV set up is your best friend. Both methods are used to explode the bacteria and it becomes inert and passes thru you with no ill effects. There is not a know filtration method for e coli. that has been approved. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 The only thing that's going to eliminate would be a UV light... and then a fine ceramic filter to get the dead "bugs". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 I thought you are obligated to track down the source of E coli contamination after walkerton I would also shock the well with lots of chlorine get the 25% stuff not the household 5% stuff UV is great but you need low turbidity for them to work right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) Exactly Terry.. why I asked why his well has a high ppm count to start with. We take lake water in Temagami.. coarse filter... FOUR foot UV light and a ceramic filter and have ZERO total coliform count. My 185 ft drilled well here at home as a constant 2 or 3 ppm count. The odd bug is good for you! Edited October 30, 2014 by irishfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted October 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Thanks guys, Like Art said, there is no known approved filtration for E Coli It's a scam, garbage product, I bit, hook, line, and sinker My last question is, do you think Scott will be OK with me shoving my Berkey up his back end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 I've never heard of berkey before. Do you have any other information about it? E coli in your well is not good. You should consider finding the source, or other treatment, or decommissioning the well. There are a lot of good treatment processes other than "bleach" as you put it. Is this a dug well, or drilled? I hope you didn't pay to much for the berkey....what a bum. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted October 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Drilled, 80' I'm embarrassed to say over $320 for the Berkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 There are filtration methods that are not "approved" that work. I operate a drinking water system that has one. I have to also use secondary treatment with chlorine, but every monthly sample raw from our filters have come back clean. Getting the approval is the hard part. They're not cheap, or approved, but they do work. However, I don't know the regulations on a residential system well enough to say whether you could use this filter there or not. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerritt Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) Long story short, we ended up with one, as a sort of gift, thinking `cool, we can drink our well water at the cottage` The town near our cottage has free water quality testing. I recently provided a sample of untreated well water and well water that has been run through the Berkey. The results come back. There`s no difference. Both are ridden with E Coli., same levels. Scott, the guy we got the Berkey from in Orrilllia, his Emails bounce back and his phone goes straight to voice mail with no reply. If you use a Berkey, beware. If you are thinking of buying one, don`t. If you know where Scott is, please tell I have yet to read the rest of this thread.... I have lost my 2 year old son due to E. Coli... Due to well water.... Do not mess around, do not wait, do not drink the F''ing water.... Trust me... You don't do not want to deal with what I went through. Do it right. G Edit to add, that I am still dealing with... Do not take a chance is all I can say. Edited October 30, 2014 by Gerritt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbuck Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 5 micron filter, tannin filter if needed, UV light to kill bacteria and a carbon filter to scrub the water. As Gerrit said, do not screw around with your drinking water. We run the above at the lake along with a 30 micron filter because we draw from the lake. Test before and after using the above setup to see the difference. You will be amazed. It is not cheap to get a proper setup but the results are worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Depending on the size of the particulate in your water which or how many filters should be used. And I still like chlorine as secondary disinfection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumma Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 A UV system has a few safeguards that can be installed easily for piece of mind. They have an audible alarm that can also be hooked into a solenoid that will shut off the water flow if the UV drops below a safe level. There is a downside to a chlorine injection system if installed correctly it should have a contact tank rated at 10 x your pumps rating so your average 5 GPM pump needs a 50 gallon tank for the sterilazation process to take place correctly. A carbon filter as your final filter will then absorb the chlorine/ taste and odor from the water but has no sterilization properties. Still to this date Silver bearing nitrates in any form does not kill bacteria and all of the filters that claim this are Bull and will have a legal disclaimer absolving them of this criminal claim. The only filtration that has a small chance to remove e coli is a reverse osmosis filter however they are slow to filter and will eventually grow enough bacteria to fail and pass the bacteria to the consumer. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitch seguin Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Just to clarify E. coli and total coliform readings for safe drinking water should be 0 colonies per 100 ml of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) Health Canada.... "The presence of total coliform bacteria in well water is a result of surface water infiltration or seepage from a septic system. According to Health Canada'sGuidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality (Sixth Edition, 1996), drinking water should not contain more than 10 total coliform bacteria per 100 mL of water. Any water containing more than this amount should be resampled. If the repeat sample contains more than 10 total coliform bacteria per 100 mL, corrective action should be taken immediately." Under 10 TOTAL coliform is considered safe to drink... 2 or 3 is a normal well.... not to be confused with actual E coli reading that should yes be zero. Edited October 30, 2014 by irishfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Which makes me think and ask Chris... are you getting a TOTAL coliform reading from the health unit or an actual E coli reading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 health unit tests for both. If there is E coli in your well, you really should do something about it. Either upgrade your system, or fill the well in. All it takes is one person to get really sick (or die) and you'll be wishing you had done it. Its not something to mess around with. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 (edited) I don't know, there' s an E coli number and a Coliform number on the test results, so I assume it's not just total Coliform Our lot is in a sharp valley with lots of run- off from the hills above During the spring snow melt, the water actually flows out of the top of the well, it is 1' above grade We don't drink the water now, obviously, I did get mildly sick for close to a month and needed antibiotics, but who knows, virus, water? Terrible story G, I didn't know that, I can't imagine how rough that is Edited October 31, 2014 by chris.brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 A small amount of Total coliform is pretty normal... any E coli found and entered on the report by the health unit is not! Drilled well should have been cemented in around the top to stop ground water from getting down the casing sides... make sure the ground is well humped around the well head and then follow the "shocking" instructions on Health Canada's website and retest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 (edited) http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/well-puits-eng.php Edited October 31, 2014 by irishfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitch seguin Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Chris, a little more info to consider http://georgianbaydreams.blogspot.ca/2012/01/well-aware-guide-to-caring-for-your.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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