Sulfur Smell From Galvanized Metal?

The rotten egg smell is Hydrogen Sulphide, a toxic gas. It is common for this material to be present in well waters and it is often found wherever there is a high level of iron²⁺ ions. How much brown colouration is there in the water?

There has been no discoloration in the water at all, except for the usual staining in the toilet bowl but never a smell. I've lived in this area and never had this problem from other wells.

Although in towns 5 or more miles away it is a common problem.

I was curious about any possibilities of reaction to the 1/8" cable being the cause as I can change that out for stainless if it would help .

I didn't realize the gas was toxic thanks for the warning .

Changing the support cable for stainless steel certainly wouldn't be detrimental. Next Planned-Preventative-Maintenance opportunity, perhaps?

Stay away from the H₂S source (not that the smell makes it desirable to be near it)! If the source of the smell is indoors, consider improving the ventilation to enable the gas to dissipate.

There are commercially available systems for removal ,by aerating and venting the gas about $3000 .Although I'm curious why it took 2 years to develop which leads me to suspect an external cause .

Working as an environmantal test tech this was a common issue in and around refineries. the stuff can be lethal.

Swamp gas

cr3

Actually swamp gas is generally methane, not hydrogen sulfide.

Methane does NOT smell like rotten eggs.

Is the cable immersed in the water for a great length? I am puzzled at what the mechanism is that you think ties the cable to the chemical reaction. It certainly is'nt providing the sulfur.

As others have mentioned changing the cable is no big deal,. but it is not likely to make the smell go away.

I would have the well water tested commercially.

milo

,

Methane is odorless.

Yes, I believe that my comment was correct, and was adequate to correct other's statements attributing smell to methane when it is in fact hydrogen sulfide.

Actually pure methane is odorless; methane produced by ruminants and biological systems often has other odoriferous compounds associated with it's occurence.

Thanks for the follow up.

milo

From wiki.

H₂S implicated in mass extinctions

Hydrogen sulfide has been implicated in some of the five mass extinctions that have occurred in the Earth's past. Although asteroid impacts have been implicated in some extinctions, the Permian mass extinction (sometimes known as the "Great Dying") may have been caused by hydrogen sulfide. Organic residues from these extinction boundaries indicate that the oceans were anoxic (oxygen depleted) and had species of shallow plankton that metabolized H₂S. The formation of H₂S may have been initated by massive volcanic eruptions, which emitted CO₂ and methane into the atmosphere which warmed the oceans, lowering their capacity to absorb oxygen which would otherwise oxidize H₂S. The increased levels of hydrogen sulfide could have killed oxygen-generating plants as well as depleted the ozone layer causing further stress. Small H₂S blooms have been detected in modern times in the Dead sea and in the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Namibia^[2]

cr3

I really don't want to argue swamp gas. But I will.

I would forget the ST/ST cable and just us rope! It's more user friendly and once you get the stretch out of it, it will be good for years! A 100ft well is not that deep, so if you allow maybe 4" for stretch you should be on a winner! As for the smell, read the above posts!

One of my neighbors had a similar problem that started a couple of years after his well was installed. The smell came from sewage that seeped in from a neighbors septic tank. You might want to test for nitrates and nitrites to see if your problem is from a nearby septic tank. You can use an inexpensive (less than $5.00 US) aquarium test kit to test for nitrates and nitrites.

A good point. The presence of well casing was not mentioned. Traditional, is steel well casing installed? In the U.S. a minimum of 21 ft of steel pipe casing is required from ground level. Actually, the requirement is casing to the depth of solid rock but 21 ft minimum to prevent contamination of the well by surface or subsurface water.

Another thought. Are you certain the hydrogen sulfide odor is from your well and not from your hot water heater? Hot water heaters are normally equipped with sacrificial magnesium anodes to prevent galvanic corrosion of the tank. As those anodes are depleted, hydrogen sulfide can be generated.

Thanks for everyones suggestions .

In answer to your questions

The well is in steel casing to bed rock

I live way in the woods so the possibility of contamination could only come from myself and the 2 year old septic system.Which was appropriately placed over 100 ft away.

I thought it might be a possibility.of a chemical reaction from the galvanized cable ,to create a sulfur type gas .

Can zinc make sulfurous gas ?

I've seen some nasty stuff come off burning galvanized metal

I was just curious if the chemicals were in galvanized metal availible to release gases ?

A possiblity is I do live near a wetlands area and it may come from there ,during the dry sumer months .

We have always drank bottled water anyway so we should be fine .

Currently it's only occasionally in the AM for a minute and the water tested perfectly .

so I'll see what develops .

Thanks again

I had a well on my previous property and lived there about 12 yrs. Twice I had that smell and my well man said I had hit a sulphur pocket. What he had me do was pour about 1/2 cup bleach down the well casing and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then I ran the bathtub for about 30 minutes. This solved the problem both times.

Good luck

I have not heard anyone metion SRB's. Sulphate Reducing bacteria are notorious foe producing H2S. Depending on where they reside it can be exteamly difficult to get rid of them.

Be extremely careful if you are getting hydrogen sulphide in an enclosed space. Persistent exposure will result in olfactory fatigue ie the smell seems to fade with time. It is toxic and it kills people in agricultural slurry tanks etc.