Water Softener Repair?

[AndyM]

Anyone here know anything about water softeners?

I have a standard water softener and tank with a metered valve, where the regeneration cycle is based on the amount of water that flows through the valve, rather than a set time and day of the week.

For the past month or two, the regeneration cycle has not started automatically, but will run if I go downstairs and start the cycle manually.

Now I can't get the regeneration cycle to begin manually either.
There is power to the unit... the timer is running, and the motor opens and closes the brine valve as required during the cycle, but that's all that happens.

Is there a simple thing I'm missing to correct this? Thanks!

 

[Dusty]

There are some fine screens inside the head that sometimes get clogged and keep the units from allowing the water to move through them during the regeneration cycle. One other thing that happens on water softeners that are on water well systems is that sediment will build up in the resin bed and clog it. This is the problem that I had with mine, and the only resolution to the problem was to remove the plug at the rear of the resin tank, and to siphon out some of the resin so when it regenerated, the bed had some room to move. If the bed is clogged, then remove some resin, drain the water from the bed, and pour in some Iron Out that has been mixed with hot water. Let it stand for 24 hours and then regenerate as usual. One final though, and I hope that this isn't the case...... have the gears stripped in the regeneration clock mechanism? I had this problem with a Sears water softener, and had to find a use one for repair parts. Mine is so old that parts are no longer available for it.
Dusty

 

[anthonyk]

what kind of unit is it? Also, make sure the little cable that goes from the back of the unit to the round dome is plugged in. that's the meter cable that spins the impeller that keeps track of water usage.

anthony

 

[tommu56]

a lot of time the some thing gets stuck in the impeller and it stops spinning.
take it out and blow through it and see if it spins.
tom

 

[midlf]

What brand and model #? If it matches mine I can probably help. If it doen't match mine it's SOL.

 

[GaryQWA]

Anyone here know anything about water softeners?

I have a standard water softener and tank with a metered valve, where the regeneration cycle is based on the amount of water that flows through the valve, rather than a set time and day of the week.

For the past month or two, the regeneration cycle has not started automatically, but will run if I go downstairs and start the cycle manually.

Now I can't get the regeneration cycle to begin manually either.
There is power to the unit... the timer is running, and the motor opens and closes the brine valve as required during the cycle, but that's all that happens.

Is there a simple thing I'm missing to correct this? Thanks!

The metering isn't working, it could be a blocked turbine (fan) wheel or electronics or gearing on a mechanical metered control valve. Same for the causes of it not doing the manual regeneration now.

You need to know the brand and model of control valve on your softener. It will probably be an Autotrol, Clack, Erie or Fleck if it isn't a Sears, GE, Whirlpool, North Star, Morton Salt big box store brand or national brand like Culligan, Kinetico, Rain Soft etc.. Take a picture and post it here and I can tell you the make/model. Don;t take anything apart until you know the make/model.

BTW, a softener with "too much resin" hasn't been backwashed successfully for a long time and it isn't resin but dirt that needs to be removed.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

 

[AndyM]

The metering isn't working, it could be a blocked turbine (fan) wheel or electronics or gearing on a mechanical metered control valve. Same for the causes of it not doing the manual regeneration now.

You need to know the brand and model of control valve on your softener...

Gary
Quality Water Associates

I'm at work right now, but if I remember correctly, it's a Fleck 2510. Does that sound right?

Thanks!

 

[AndyM]

The metering isn't working, it could be a blocked turbine (fan) wheel or electronics or gearing on a mechanical metered control valve. Same for the causes of it not doing the manual regeneration now.

You need to know the brand and model of control valve on your softener. It will probably be an Autotrol, Clack, Erie or Fleck if it isn't a Sears, GE, Whirlpool, North Star, Morton Salt big box store brand or national brand like Culligan, Kinetico, Rain Soft etc.. Take a picture and post it here and I can tell you the make/model. Don;t take anything apart until you know the make/model.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

I was correct... It is a Fleck 2510. Now what do I do?
Here are some pictures of it...

 

[GaryQWA]

Yes that's a mechanical metered softener version Fleck 2510 control valve with a SS bypass valve. It can be repaired or rebuilt. See the rust color in the brine line, that means the resin is probably loaded with rust. A dose of resin cleaner like a cup of Iron Out in a gallon or more warm water in a bucket poured into the brine tank (not throgh the salt, down the brine well) and a manual regeneration could help. Sticking the brine tank end of the brine line into the bucket while the control is on the brine draw/slow rinse position of a regeneration is best. Either way, it might not bring enough of the resin back to usable and you'd have to replace it. That isn't hard or expensive.

Somewhere on the side of the resin tank is a clear label with black type with a model number on it; like 1054. That is the diameter and height of the tank. With that I can tell you the volume of resin in the tank.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

 

[AndyM]

Well, I've apparently overlooked a simple fix.

After checking all of the obvious things such as power to the unit, the timer running, bypass valve, and blocked turbine, I didn't have the confidence to try anything further myself and I figured I was in over my head and called the repair guy.

I felt really stupid when he went right to the frozen drain line. In my defense, I've always had the drain line go to the outside of the house in 1/2 inch PVC and have never had a problem for 3 1/2 years. Why it's frozen now and not previous years is anyone's guess! The drain line is temporarily run to my septic system so I'll have decent water again, but I don't want to do that any longer than necessary.

Fortunately, it's a small sales and service company where the owner makes the service calls and wasn't very costly.

Thanks for all of the replies to my posts!