Water Softener Troubleshooting?

[kunar]

Anybody here work on these things on a regular basis? I just bought a house and it seems like the softener isnt regenerating properly. Specifically, it seems like it's not drawing brine out of the tank. Looking for someone that can help me troubleshoot this thing, weather it be in person, over the phone or online. I just don't want to have to pay someone to do it for me. I'm a service tech, I'm used to working on stuff, i just dont have any experience with softeners. So, who wants to help?

 

[martin]

It's been a long time since I had anything to do with softeners and it was larger units than the domestic units but I suppose the principals are similar. The things that were the most troublesome were the solenoids that controlled the valves and sometimes the valves themselves. I would start by checking that all the valves are actually working. Sorry I can't be of more help.

 

[PanamaExpat]

Try GOOGLE man... That's what I do

 

[Snoranger]

The 2 times I had a brine problem with mine it was because something clogged the orifice in the nozzle. I'd google the model of softener and find directions on how to clean it.

 

[kunar]

I've got the service manual for it and I've been googling all day. I checked the injector nozzle and a couple different filter/screens with no luck. As far as I can tell, when it should be drawing brine, its actually trying to fill. I'm starting to think the venturi might be messed up, I'll look into that tomorrow.

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[kunar]

I think i've got it. I pulled the drain line after reading that the flow control orifice on the drain is prone to clogging. Didnt look like anything out of the ordinary, no crud, no buildup. I blew through the line just to double check and i definitely blew something out! Put it all back together and started a manual cycle. The quantity of water draining through the line during backflush is huge compared to what it was. After the backflush it actually started drawing brine! Now that i know a little more about these things, i can see how a clogged drain would have been causing problems. Best part? I didn't have to spend a dime. I'm gonna manually run a couple regeneration cycles, you wouldn't believe the stuff coming out in the backflush. Nasty.

 

[PanamaExpat]

Cool... let us know if that was it...

 

[bruker]

Be sure to run some Iron-Out through it occasionally.

 

[kunar]

it finally regenerated on it's own, maybe thursday or friday night, i dont remember for sure. it was probably about 12 days since the last regeneration. this particular unit has a water meter, and as long as things are set up right, it only regenerates when it needs to. now i need to test the (untreated) water and do some math, try to decide how often it really should be regenerating. this one is a 48k grain unit, so not exactly small, and i'm the only one here using water. two weeks between regenerations might not be so far fetched.