Water conditioner (softener) help!

[Paul T]

Guys - I recently moved to a new house that has well water and a water softener very similar to this pic (except I have 2 of the blur tanks stacked on top on each other, with a control valve on top).

I have NO idea what to do with this thing. When we first moved in, I took a look inside the tank (brine tank?) and it was probably 2/3 full with what I assume was some type of salt. Fast forward 2 months, and I look in there and there is maybe 12" of grey, nasty looking salt remnants at the bottom and that's it. Now, we had our water tested before closing and it was in great shape. To what extent this contraption is responsible for that I don't know.

I was under the impression these were pretty low maintenence, but I have absolutey no idea what to do with this thing.

Anyone familiar with these? Do I just go buy some salt (I think there are different types?) and dump it in there every so often? Is it normal to burn through that much salt so quickly? The brine tank is probably 3-4 feet high so there was a fair amt of salt in there! I have not touched the valve - it looks like it's set to automatically "regenerate" every so often, whatever that means, I really have no idea. Appreciate any pointers anyone has, I'd rather not pay someone $150 to come to the house and dump salt in it if that's all it needs../.

[Paul T]

Here's a pic (similar unit)

[id10t]

Yup, buy salt and dump it in. I use sun-gems from Home Depot.

[cstreit]

It depends on your water usage and water hardness. It looks like you have a computerized model. Ours does this as well. You set the water hardness in the computer and it figures out how much water you can run thru before a recharge.

The important bit (and I'd get your instructions) is how often it recharges. If we recharge every night I could go through 80-100lbs of salt in a month. However our "smart system" measures the water usage and ends up recharging every 3-4 days (depending on how much laundry we did). As a result I use 3-4 bags every 3 months. (40# bags). We have about 2.5 people using water in our house for some perspective.

You should also check on your cleaning cycles. Ours does a 10 minute flush during every cleaning cycle. Once everytwo months I put about 1/2 cup bleach in the brine well to sterilize it. Every 3 months I add some "rust out" to flush out the iron buildup.

[Rot 911]

Chris has pretty well covered it.

[Paul T]

Thanks guys, appreciate the help.

Chris, ours is not really computerized, but it does seem to have an auto recharge feature that it set similar to an old clock timer. It doesn't look as sophisticated as what you have. It's just got a dial on it with days of the week (I think) and you can set I believe whether it recharges daily, weekly - I'm really not too sure, I need to look closer.

well, I guess I'll fill er up with salt and try and figure out how often this thing is recharging. It's just the wifey and I and we both work so our water usage is pretty low.

[pmajka]

I have one and it has not run in a couple of years.
How do i clean it, if there is a procedure...

also, doesnt this put salt in to your water system and will that shorten life of heaters?????

[artplumber]

Originally posted by Paul T
....

well, I guess I'll fill er up with salt and try and figure out how often this thing is recharging. It's just the wifey and I and we both work so our water usage is pretty low.

Stay up late one night, you'll probably hear it. Just don't try to use the water then.

[914GT]

Originally posted by pmajka
I have one and it has not run in a couple of years.
How do i clean it, if there is a procedure...

also, doesnt this put salt in to your water system and will that shorten life of heaters?????

About all there is to clean is to rinse out the brine tank every couple of years. Wait until it's almost empty of salt, then disconnect it and hose the dirt and crud out (salt is not 100% clean). Don't let any brine water get on outdoor plants. Check the float and make sure it's free to move. Put new salt in and regenerate, then check softness with a test kit. Better yet, have a local service company check it out for you. Softened water won't hurt gas or electric water heaters. Hard water with lots of calcium/magnesium salts will clog up an electric water heater though, eventually burning out the bottom element.

You can also pour about a cup of bleach into the brine tank every few months to keep it sanitized.

[pmajka]

Thanks..

for the record..using a water softener doesnt filter out anything, Right?????

[914GT]

Originally posted by pmajka
Thanks..

for the record..using a water softener doesnt filter out anything, Right?????

Some do, if the tank has activated charcoal and sand filter (silica sand or beads). Otherwise it's only an ion-exchange resin substituting sodium for calcium/magnesium. I'm referring to only the salt-based water softener and not other technologies (RO, etc.) that are out there.

[pmajka]

Hmmm, i will take some pics and get model numbers....i was thinking of ditching it for a filter...but if it has one....

[914GT]

Originally posted by pmajka
Hmmm, i will take some pics and get model numbers....i was thinking of ditching it for a filter...but if it has one....

I'd consider a separate one that can be replaced. The filters built into the water softener tanks will likely lose their effectiveness over time. I know United Standard used to sell combined softener/filter tanks but I don't know if they make them anymore.

[911 Rod]

Get an owner's manual.
I didn't have one but downloaded and printed it off of the Culligan web site.
You can make many adjustments if it's digital.
I had a dial Aqua piece o'crap and it did a lousy job and needed tons of salt.
The Culligan is a dream compared to it.

[Paul T]

I'm trying to dig up a manual - I'm thinking of converting to one of the digital ones if it's possible, that sounds like the way to go.

[schamp]

One thing you don't want is a Springhouse water filter made by Ecoquest. The filter will not work for a whole house and the company will lie to you at the drop of a hat. Finding someone who actually knows what they are doing in regards to filtering your water is very hard. Lots of people think they know what they are doing. I have a springhouse and I am speaking from experience. My .02. Spencer

[cstreit]

You can up your recharge time to help save salt. With two people and average water usage I bet you could get away with every 3 days without issue. Laundry day might use it up.

Yes the system does release sodium into the water. Not sure how much. However we're on a well so we don't drink the water anyway, so it's not an issue for us. With city water you might drink it, but typically it's not as hard, so you don't have to add as much sodium. THe sodium is somewhat locked up in the water though, as the ion exchange is pretty reactive...

[fintstone]

A good system lets very little sodium into the water as iyt uses the salt mostly for cleaning a filterbed. If you see the salt as a problem, many systems will also work with potassium instead. If you have a unit installed in your house, you most likely need one and will see a significant difference if you do not ontinue its use. Most houses with systems are plumbed so that the cold kitchen water comes off another circuit. The typical thing to do is to put a reverse osmosis unit under your sink to filter drinking and icemaker water.

[911 Rod]

If you have a pool or like to water your lawn, make sure the outside pipes are before the water softener.
Otherwise, when you go to top up your pool in the spring you really stress your softener.

Does anyone see a difference in salt?
I use the cheap stuff at Home Depot and I can see spending twice as much on the other brands.