I've got a Fleck 5600 softener with the most basic timer available that I installed after having a new well drilled (approx 3yrs ago). The water from the well is awesome, just slightly hard. In fact, you can drink it straight out of the ground. Due to my own idiocy, we had some issues with it not using salt because I installed the whole house filter on the outlet side, not the inlet side (I had a reason, but it was a dumb one) so periodically I would have to take the valve stack apart and clean flecks of rust and junk that were deposited in the piping from the old well (a really nasty water source). Anyway it would work and we'd have wonderfully soft water for a while - it worked so well, that I just set it to regen once in 12 days (the max on the timer). Now the thing isn't using salt at all in spite of multiple regens per week. I've been through the valve stack (I stock the repair kit) multiple times, cleaned the screens, the orifices and checked the brine tube. I've also dumped the salt tank and started over there too, as well as inspected the float valve which was stuck. Now the stupid thing sticks all the time! A gentle push down and it will pop loose, but the next day it seems to be stuck again! Is this my problem? Do I have another issue? Maybe a defective installer lol?? This thing is dead simple but I'm at my wits end!
Fleck softener issues - hoping someone has some input
- Thread starter The_Eric
- Start date
Cant help you with the specific valve problem.
The whole house on the outlet side is fine, but you should have some sort of filter after the pressure tank before the softener.
You'll keep your valves cleaner and softener media from getting prematurely fouled.
If your whole house filter is a just row of separates (like many) just move one after the pressure tank and keep the two after conditioning.
I neglected to mention it in the post, but did in fact replumb it so that whole house filter is before the softener.
If the flow gets too low (due to clogged filter) it will affect the syphon. I think when mine was down around 30 psi it would not work very good.
What I would do is disconnect the tubing going from control head to foot valve at the top of the foot valve, then put it in brine. Or take the whole foot valve out and stick it in a bucket of water still connected. There should be continuous vacuum on the tubing until it times out.
4 cycles, usually
brine fill and flush, water going to foot valve and flushing resin bed bottom to top
brine, sucking up salt water
backflush, resin bed bottom to top
fast packing flush and brine refill, resin tank top to bottom
What I would do is disconnect the tubing going from control head to foot valve at the top of the foot valve, then put it in brine. Or take the whole foot valve out and stick it in a bucket of water still connected. There should be continuous vacuum on the tubing until it times out.
4 cycles, usually
brine fill and flush, water going to foot valve and flushing resin bed bottom to top
brine, sucking up salt water
backflush, resin bed bottom to top
fast packing flush and brine refill, resin tank top to bottom
Your equipment will thank you for it.
Thats a real risk with all the filtration in front of it. I put the coarsest one in front and 2 in back for this reason.
Pre filtration, guys always say their water is super clean from the well, but once you get a good look at it, you realize there is always stuff in it. Stuff also changes with storms and groundwater movement cycles per hour and a number of variables.
Even city water gets a blast of crap from time to time during pipe changes and clean out cycles.
Ive got friends that work at water municipalities and a couple times a year they need to " call the state".
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Maybe we should have a water filtration forum.
I never have any problems with my Rainsoft, but for what I paid for it, I shouldn't.
I could probably get something cheaper that's just as effective, but, at this point the money's already sunk, so it would have to be cheaper than the maintenance to make sense. And the maintenance costs are substantial, RO filters $95 per year DIY, $200ish if they do it, and resin every other year around $150. I just paid for both to be done since we have a new house where we moved both the main unit and the RO under-sink unit and it was $353. Ouch.
[edit] oh I forgot, they charged me $700 to come hook it up at the new house. If it wasn't under warranty, no way I would have agreed to that. I don't have PEX tools but I'd be happy to acquire some, way cheaper than that nonsense.
I never have any problems with my Rainsoft, but for what I paid for it, I shouldn't.
I could probably get something cheaper that's just as effective, but, at this point the money's already sunk, so it would have to be cheaper than the maintenance to make sense. And the maintenance costs are substantial, RO filters $95 per year DIY, $200ish if they do it, and resin every other year around $150. I just paid for both to be done since we have a new house where we moved both the main unit and the RO under-sink unit and it was $353. Ouch.
[edit] oh I forgot, they charged me $700 to come hook it up at the new house. If it wasn't under warranty, no way I would have agreed to that. I don't have PEX tools but I'd be happy to acquire some, way cheaper than that nonsense.
Sometimes if you organize it a little differently you can get more life and less cost/ work.
The biggest low hanging fruit I typically see is that guys plumb their conditioned water into lawn care.
Feeding irrigation bibs with filtered but not treated water can save thousands in filters and conditioning agents over the years.
Start a thread in off topic and Id be happy to discuss.
We have a water softener loop in the house, outside hose bib water and irrigation water is not conditioned.
But to your point, sometimes I wonder if replacing these filters and the resin as often as the manufacturer recommends is necessary. I'd rather do it with an on-condition analysis, as we do with our motor oil. For example with the RO filters, the NSF guideline for "purified" water is less than 30ppm total dissolved solids. Why would I replace my filters unless it goes above that guideline?
I'm on my third softer over the last 43 years. They all will deteriorate over time and you will never get that first run though softness again. At least that's my experience with iron in the water.
I never had put new resin in though. Probably will instead of buying a new one as the Culligan (Menards) one I have is pretty simple and like the others I've had. This is the first one I've been using the citric on though. That is the ingredient in the iron buster salts they sell.
I have no prefilter. I use to but needed to change just a sediment one every other month due to the 'bacterial' iron. Don't use near as much water now though.
I never had put new resin in though. Probably will instead of buying a new one as the Culligan (Menards) one I have is pretty simple and like the others I've had. This is the first one I've been using the citric on though. That is the ingredient in the iron buster salts they sell.
I have no prefilter. I use to but needed to change just a sediment one every other month due to the 'bacterial' iron. Don't use near as much water now though.
Some guys measure using a TDS meter, and or other regular measurements and base it on that.
Some guys just wait for pressure drop then swap them all or a some combo that seems to work.
Some guys calendar it.
Some guys compare actual usage to the filter rated capacity.
Some guys have their own systems that seem to work for them.
Does your setup use known filter housings and carts, or is it all from rainsoft?
If you use, NaCl, yes. I use KCl. Not a problem
Outside water is taken off before treatment, and shut off for winter. Except two hose bibs, which we hardly use much, but again with potassium chloride, not a problem.
Sort of. Many websites and so-called experts claim that soft water contains "salt" which isn't true. Yes it does swap out a sodium ion for hardness ions, but the amount is directly related to your water hardness. Many plants have no problem with the slightly increased sodium ion content.
Another thing is that many well water sources (either private or municipal) also have a significant level of sodium, so even with using KCl for the regeneration you can have carryover of the sodium into the softened water. But again not sodium chloride. Are you on a severely restricted sodium diet? Is that why you use KCl?
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I may just do that
I don't think that'll work, as the deposits are pre softener.
It will clean the iron out of the resin bed.
Ahhhh, gotcha.
Would you re-phrase this for me? How am I verifying that there's a vacuum?
