Does a water heater still scale on New Berlin's lake water?
Since July 2009 the New Berlin Water Utility has bought every gallon it delivers from Milwaukee Water Works, Lake Michigan water at about 8 grains. Homes on private wells draw the groundwater the city used to pump, at 18 to 32 grains. The honest answer about water heaters is different for the two.
Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pmYes, slowly, on city water
Eight grains is hard on the USGS scale, so lake water still leaves mineral behind when it is heated. In a tank heater the layer forms on the bottom and the element; in a tankless unit it narrows the heat exchanger. The difference from well water is pace: at 8 grains the layer that a well water heater builds in a couple of years takes many years on the lake supply, and most city households never hear their heater rumble.
Yes, quickly, on a well
A New Berlin home on its own well is on the same groundwater the city pumped before 2009, published for those old wells at 18 to 32 grains. That is two to four times the mineral in every gallon, and the heater shows it: longer recovery, the popping sound of water trapped under scale, a drain valve that trickles grit, and on a tankless unit a flow fault when the passages close up.
What the switch in 2009 changed for existing heaters
Scale that formed before the switch did not dissolve when the lake water arrived. A heater that was already coated stayed coated, and only a flush or a replacement cleared it. What changed was the rate of new build up, which dropped with the hardness. Households still running a pre 2009 heater on city water are often living with a layer that formed on the old well supply.
Where a softener fits on each supply
On a well, a softener ahead of the water heater is the difference between a tank that scales and one that stays clean: the calcium and magnesium are exchanged out before the water is warmed. On city water the same thing is true at a gentler level, and the choice is as much about the shower, the dishes and the laundry as about the heater. Either way the setting is the real figure at your tap, about 8 grains on the city system or your well's own number, read by the plumber on installation day.
Common questions
Is 8 grains really hard?
Yes. The USGS scale calls anything over 10.5 very hard and the band below it hard; 8 grains is in the hard band. It scales a heater, just slowly.
My house was built before 2009. Should I flush the heater?
If it has never been done, yes. Scale that formed on the old well supply is still there, and a flush is the only thing that clears it.
What is my well's hardness?
The city's published range for the groundwater it used to pump is 18 to 32 grains, but your well is its own source. A lab report, or the plumber's reading at your tap, gives your number.
More for New Berlin homes
- Water softeners in New Berlin, WI
- Water softener installation in New Berlin, WI
- Water softener replacement in New Berlin, WI
- Well water softeners in New Berlin, WI
- New Berlin, WI water hardness
- New Berlin water guides
- The people behind New Berlin Softener Co.
- Get a quote for your New Berlin home
- New Berlin city water and the softener question
- Setting a softener for New Berlin water
- Lake water or a well: what your New Berlin house runs on
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