Water filter installed, looking at cars
With help from my mom and dad (probably more important for the brains than the brawn), the greensand filter is installed and working. It took most of the day and a few extra trips to Menards, but I’m glad it’s finished. 
The tall filter on the left is the greensand filter. The one on the right is the water softener. I was surprised to see how big the greensand filter was. It makes me wonder if my water softener is sized right for the house….but it does the job.
All the valves are there so I can bypass each of the filters separately, or run the water through neither or both of them. There are 7 valves and 55 solder joints – and NO LEAKS!!! It’s amazing that there were no leaks, considering my usual quality of plumbing. Best of all, the rotten egg smell is gone.
Now I need to figure out the optimal recycle/backwash schedule for the filter and softener. I’m starting out every 4 days on the filter. I may have to bump that up to every 3 days, but trial and error is the best way to figure that out. The softener is a little more difficult to figure out. It was set to recharge every 3rd day. It only has a 6 day timer on it, which makes it harder to adjust, unless I”m just not getting the idea behind it. It should not have to work as hard now, with the greensand filter installed. If I set it to recharge on day 1 and day 4 (to get 3 days in between, instead of 2), it will just recharge a day earlier on the back side. So, I think I’ll leave it at every 3rd day for now.
I also installed a reverse osmosis filter at the kitchen sink. That took a little longer than I thought it would, but it’s also in with no leaks. After going through the setup procedure, we should be able to use it tonight. According to the directions, it has to sit 3 times, for 8 hours with no use to properly get the membrane ready to filter.
I’m going to look at a Subaru Forester today – maybe a few of them. Looking at cars is not something I like to do anymore. When I was a teenager, I loved going to the car dealers and looking at them for hours. I’d sit in them, read the window stickers, check out the features and talk to the salesman. Back then I wasn’t buying, just dreaming. Now I actually have to spend the money and wonder if I’m going to get a car with problems, one that was driven or maintained poorly, or if I’ll pick a good one. I’d like to get it done and over with.
The weather is steadily getting warmer. We’re supposed to be in the low 40′s all week. I know that we’ll likely get more snow since it is the 2nd snowiest month of the season, but the warm weather is lifting my spirits up a bit.
