Introduction
With over 80 years in the water treatment business, our client on this project knows a thing or two about solving residential water quality problems. Across this history, the company stuck to its core competencies in water softening and filtration, always leaving any chemical dosing processes for third-party chemical companies to handle. In recent years, chemical treatment has become much more commonplace, especially in residential well water applications. As more customers added chemical treatment alongside their well water systems, our client found it harder and harder to separate themselves from issues caused by these chemicals. Worse, when these separate chemical systems failed, the consequences were almost always severe for all involved.
Facing this reality, our client found themselves with a choice to make. Would they continue to bear the burden of chemical problems that were outside of their control, or would they make the move to add chemical treatment to their portfolio and take charge of well water treatment systems as a whole? This is the question that brought the client to Thomas Products, and we were eager to help them find an answer.
About Us
For over 40 years, Thomas Products has served industrial customers through the manufacture and supply of specialized fluid flow, level, pump control, and sight glass instrumentation. Our Southington, CT manufacturing campus produces American-made sensors in strict alignment with our veteran ownership's principles of tireless dedication, rigorous standards of quality, and faithfulness to our values and mission.
Application Summary
Since groundwater is naturally occurring, most sources present properties that can be unsavory if not dangerous to humans. High or low pH, dissolved and suspended solids, nitrates, coliform, E. coli, lead, arsenic, and mercury are just a few common contaminants present in groundwater that must be treated. Besides these natural elements, man-made contamination sources are equally prevalent with well water, such as leaking septic systems and road runoff.
To treat these types of residential well water contaminants, chemical compounds are increasingly utilized, including sterilizing agents, flocculants, clarifiers, taste and smell additives, anti-scalants, and general cleaners. In most applications, small metering (or dosing) pumps inject concentrated chemicals into a well pump’s discharge line, mixing chemicals into the water as it flows. Ideally, these metering pumps would be set up with precise proportional controls so that the amount of chemical injected is the correct amount calculated to treat the offending water properties only—no more and no less.
Challenge
As we kicked things off with our client, we immediately recognized that we were solving a commercial challenge just as much as a technical challenge. Ultimately, the client concluded that adding the chemical treatment scope to their portfolio was the only way to control costs and liability for the chemical systems they were already stuck dealing with. As we brainstormed what this scope may look like, our team determined that a self-contained pump and injection control package was all that was needed.
With this rough scope lined out, the client provided more detail on their long-term objectives:
- The ideal partner could size, spec, quote, sell, produce, and support chemical dosing pump controls and instrumentation with specific experience in residential well water treatment applications.
- Pump controls should be extremely simple, easy to install, and intuitive to operate.
- To facilitate both long-range and immediate projects, a combination of instant online ordering and PO-contracted ordering was desired.
- A master procurement agreement was of greatest interest so as to lock in volume pricing and minimum stock levels for long-term support.
- Ample technical support coverage was a must-have, available to help field installers and residential customers whenever they needed.
- Functionally, pump controls needed to “just work,” ensuring homeowner safety and controlling our client’s liability given the potential risks involved with water treatment chemicals.
Quote
“We used to leave chemical dosing up to the homeowner. Over time, chemical issues became the single largest reason for callbacks, even though it wasn’t our issue. Enough was enough; it was time for us to add chemical dosing to our packages to save on callbacks and help support our customers as a one-stop shop. Thomas was the right choice for the pump control kit. They’re the easiest to install, and we haven’t had one in a couple of hundred fail yet.”
-Service Manager, Confidential Residential Water Treatment Supplier
Solution
Our application engineers returned with a solution right away: by adding a metering pump controlled by a flow switch installed on the main water line, chemical dosing could be easily integrated into the client’s existing water treatment systems. In this concept, the flow switch would activate and engage a connected chemical metering pump, injecting chemical into the water line whenever fresh water is in motion. The metering pump would inject a predetermined volumetric flow of treatment chemical proportional to the water’s flow rate, ensuring that chemical concentrations never exceeded safe limits.
The proportion of chemicals would be set by adjusting the metering pump’s speed and using a calculated injection nozzle size, leaving the flow switch to only need to turn the pump on and off when sufficient flow was sensed. In this way, chemicals would only be added when sufficient water was flowing and would stop whenever water flow ceased.
To complete our recommendation, we selected our Thomas Products Model 1804W Outdoor Pump Control Package as its features listed below fit the application perfectly.
- Complete Package including Flow Sensor, Duplex Receptacle Enclosure, and Switching Relay for On/Off Pump Control
- Outdoor, Weather-Rated Design
- 1" PVC Tee Flowmeter and Housing with Slip Connections
- True-Flow Switch Design with Stainless Steel Return Spring
- Factory Calibrated Switch Point at 0.5 GPM, Decreasing Flow
- Customizable Flow Switch Point up to 6.0 GPM
- 120VAC 10A (1/2 HP) Relay (Other Electrical Ratings Available)
- Locking Wire for Easy Disassembly, Cleaning, and Maintenance
- Locking Receptacle Cover
- Can be installed at Any Mounting Angle
- Complete Prewired Flow Switch and Standard 3-Prong Power Cord
- No Wiring Required
Fig. 1 - Thomas Products Model 1804W Pump Control Package
Results
After thoroughly reviewing our recommended solution, the client agreed that this package solved all their challenges, and then some. The client ordered and installed several trial units and, after only two weeks, approved the solution for full adoption into their catalog. Next, we worked out a Master Procurement Agreement with the client, establishing volume pricing, assured stock volumes, and expedited ordering procedures. With all of the pieces in place, the client rolled out our pump control package as their standard chemical treatment accessory option and has been installing these with their residential well water treatment systems ever since.
Data Bullets
- 23 million households rely on private water wells in the United States
- 1.1 million illnesses per year are caused by contaminated drinking water in the United States
- 100% reduction in callbacks related to excess chemical dosing after installing Thomas’s Pump Controls
- 3-5 days standard lead time on pump control packages (expediting available)
Thomas Products welcomes your direct inquiries for both standard and custom applications via our website at https://thomasproductsusa.com, by email at sales@thomasprod.com, or by phone at (800) 666-9101.
