I purchased a Kinetico Quad 50 approximately 11 years ago in Las Vegas, NV.  The unit was installed and serviced by Kinetico for 4 years that I lived there.  I removed the unit myself and took the softener with me to Martinsville, IN for future use.  The house I moved into had well water so the unit was of no use to me at this time.  I stored the unit in my garage with the water drained, I THOUGHT, and the openings plugged.  About three years later the County started installing Rural Water in my area so I figured it was time to start getting the Quad 50 ready for install.  After carefully inspecting the tanks, I noticed the bottom tank on the secondary unit was cracked and seeping black resin/beads.  I took the tank to the nearest Kinetico dealer which was 55 miles away.  They seemed kind of hesitant about fixing my softener since I never purchased it from them.  They replaced the bottom tank and resin for $325.  Seemed kind of high to me but I had no other choice.  I finally completed the install after several snafus.  When I turned the water back on, the bottom tank on the primary unit was leaking this time.  Back to Kinetico I go and another $225 dollars down the tube.  I put off completely installing the water system until I got heat in the garage where the softener is installed.  Almost two years later I finally have a heated garage.  According to the water company in my area the hardness of the water is 22 GPG.  The control head has a number 4 disk installed and the float assy/adjuster tube in the brine tank has the tabs broken off down to the H mark.  I don’t know a whole lot about the system and the local Kinetico dealer acts like any information giving out is top secret stuff.  It is almost impossible to find any kind of information or operating manuals on the Quad 50.  I am afraid with all the movements this unit has gone through that the float positions and any other adjustments have been knocked out of whack.  My questions are these!  With the water softener configured the way I have described, is this the correct setup for the water system I am currently on? Will the water be to soft/salty or not softened enough with these settings?  There are five marks on the float rod that the float rides on inside the brine well.  What mark is the float supposed to be set at?   Does the float move up and down the float rod or does it remain where you set it?  Is the adjuster tube supposed to move up and down the shaft during different phases of the cycle or does it remain seated on the float seal?  During the brine draw is all the fluid supposed to be transferred to the resin tanks?  I know I have rambled on and on but I want all the information I can get about the Quad 50 so I can get a better understanding of how the system works. I don’t see spending the kind of money that I have spent on this system if I am not getting the optimum performance out of it. All answers from anyone familiar with the Kinetico systems would be greatly appreciated.  I am grasping for information about this systems.  Thanks to all in advance.

Answer: Well, we will try to answer as best as we can…we are not intrinsically familiar with the Kinetico product. But the way that a water softener functions is the same for any system. Depending on the size of the unit, the “programming” determines the amount of water that is added to the brine tank.  This water dissolve the salt contained in the brine tank to saturation, and then during regeneration, the (now brine) solution is pulled back into the softener resin column where the ion-exchange process occurs. To the best of our knowledge – as long as you did not change the size of the tanks when you replaced them – you should be able to put the unit on line, and go with it.  If you were using city water in the past – and are again using city water – the difference in hardness between the two would hopefully not make too much of a difference.  Worst case, you might run out of soft water from time-to-time, or possibly you won’t get the maximum efficiency from the unit.  Either way - it will still work for you. We believe that the #4 “program” disk controls the time the unit spends in each regeneration stage, and the float assembly “H” setting controls the brine tank refill volume.  Could be wrong about this – maybe a Kinetico person out there can help if we are incorrect?

I have a 32,000 grain capacity WS with a Clack WS1-EE. There are four people in our home but data from water company for last two years shows and average use of 137 G/day. Our water hardness is 19 GPG per Water Quality Report from water company. I put 1 cu.ft. of SST-60 resin in tank at time of install–did all work myself–to save on salt cost because I am using potassium salt instead of Na.

After I got it all set-up and turned it on I checked the control’s programming and found it was set to regen every 1,350 gals or every ten days, whichever is first. When I do the calculation 32,000 / 19 GPG I get 2,000 gals for number of gals that can be softened, so why do they want me to do it after only 1,350 gals?

Next, if I take 90% of that 2,000 gals, which is 1,800 gals, and divide it by 130 gals/day I get a regen around every 14 days, so why do they want me to do it every ten days? Even 130 G/day is probably more than we use inside ( i.e. needs to be softened) because we have been under an exceptional drought for the past two years and all of my exterior hose bibs for watering outside tap off of my supply before it gets to the softener.

Is there any reason I can’t change regen to 1,800 gals or 14 days, whichever is first, when setting up my controls? I would just really like a second opinion or some explanation of why I am incorrect in my thinking. Please advise, thanks.

Answer:  The acutal capacity of your water softener depends on your salt dosage setting - and this is adjustable depending on your program settings.  Using Purolite SST-60 resin, you would need to have your salt setting (using sodium chloride) at approximately 15 pounds per cubic foot  to obtain a full 32K capacity (using potassium chloride capacity would be slightly lower).  Check the salt setting on your control.  A more typical setting would be at 9 pounds per cubic foot, and this would yield a capacity of about 27,000 grains.  This is because the brining curve is logarithmic and not linear – in other words you need a substantial amount of salt to obtain full capacity – but you get a significant amount of capacity using a much lower dosage.  Doing this saves salt, especially when using expensive potassium chloride.

So in your case,  with 130 GPD x 19 GPG = 2470 GPD to be removed/27,000 grains = regeneration every 10 to 11 days, which is a normal setting.  You should have a regular regeneration in order to insure an acceptable water softener lifetime.  You can read more about this on our site at the “Selecting The correct sized water Softener” page.

Follow up question: I don’t see the Option for the Salt Setting in the Programming Manual for the WS1EE, so I have no idea what it is set at. What’s the point in getting a 32,000 grain capacity WS if it’s not set to function at full capacity?

We own a cabin in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  2 years ago we considered a water treatment system as our water is not drinkable and leaves residue after a shower or doing dishes.  We have a hardiness factor of 4GPG, Iron over 10ppm, Alkalinity of 34, PH of 6.4 and Tannins of 4.5.  A local treatment company suggested the Iron Breaker 3 as a viable option.  They came to the house and checked out the location and existing well system and determined that the system would fit and would wash effectively.  My concern is that the information I am reading says that a PH lower than 6.8 is unacceptable for this system.  I would hate to make this financial purchase only to find out that it does not remove the iron which is my biggest problem as it stains everything.  Any ideas, suggestions, comments on what to do?

Answer: The company you are speaking with is partially correct.  The problem is, as you point out, that your incoming water is too low for proper operation of the Iron Breaker (by the way – it’s a modified Fleck “2510” control).  The iron breaker system uses a specially designed control valve and a media tank partially filled with birm media.  The unit keeps 1/2 of the tank filled with air at all times, and the iron (and any sulfur or manganese) in your water is oxidized by the air, and also in the birm media.  It cleans and flushes the bed very aggressively, as air is also contained in the backwash water.  If the water pH is outside of the range of 6.8 to 9.0 units, the active coating will be stripped over time, and lead to reduced system performance.

So, in addition to the Iron Breaker you would need to install a backwashing neutralizer in first position to correct pH to within normal range.  We also offer the Iron Breaker system on our site (we call it the Iron-Pro), and you can take a look at a backwashing pH neutralizer that will work for your application as well.

We would probably also recommend a mixed bed water softener with 1 ft3 of cation exchange resin, and 1/2 ft3 of tannin specific anion exchange resin.  Although your tannin problem may be resolved by oxidation in the Iron Breaker, a this type of softener will provide a polish of residual tannin and iron that may remain, and also provide softened water.  We would be please to provide a quote for a mixed bed softener if you like - price would be in the $1100.00 range delivered – just send us a request at info@caitechnologies.com, and refer to this posting on our blog.  Please let us know if you have any other questions!

Hello.  I love the information!

We don’t know what to do.  We built our home and had our well water tested 14 years ago.  A good friend in the industry had a commercial water softener made “to order” for our water.  It is a Turbo Soft, Fleck Head with what we believe is a mixed bed of resin.  We have had the head replaced at least once, and service calls on the softner because it doesn’t regenerate.  The main problem right now is that it doesn’t seem to be finishing its process.  Every day, but mainly in the morning we are showering in the sea!  The water is so salty it is unbearable. A irony, briny gross experience.  We have had another service call out to fix the problem, but it comes right back in a few weeks.  We sent our water in to be tested, this is the result; Iron 3.90 mg/L   Hardness 440 mg/L    Tannin 0.45mg/L   Arsenic 2.83 ug/L

We don’t want to spend thousands on a new water softener.  (We can’t)  What would you suggest? Is it time to replace the unit?, How do you determine this? Is ordering over the internet less expensive because the products are cheap? Should we just replace the resin bed? What kind of resin do we buy? We are confused as what to do.  Where can we go or who can we talk to get answers without bias?  Our good friend is no longer in our area.

We’ve had Culligan, EcoWater, Atlantis, Commers all out to our home.  They all want to sell us their product, of course they price them for $3000 and up!!  This is not possible for us.  Thanks for your help.
Lane, NW Suburbs of Minneapolis

Answer: Hi Lane, there are a few things to discuss here:

There are a a number of possibilities, but we suspect that  the briny water is due to a fouled resin bed.  Over time, if elevated levels of iron are present in your water, they can deposit within your resin bed.  As more and more of the bed becomes fouled with iron, it is less able to properly rinse the excess sodium that has been drawn into the resin bed during regeneration.  Seems as if the softener is set to regenerate at night, and in the morning after the unit regenerates, you use some water, and find it to be salty.  You run the water for some time, and the problem dissipates because you have flushed the remaining salt from the bed by running you household water through it.  One way to check is to by-pass the softener and see if the water pressure dramatically improves.  If it does, try using a product like “Iron Out” that you can find at most home improvement stores.  There are instructions for adding this material to the brine solution to clean a fouled bed. We would recommend that you perform a “cleaning process” with Iron Out a few times “back-to-back”.

If this helps, you might consider adding something that we offer called a Res-Up drip feeder to you water softener brine tank.  This is a better solution for on-going maintenance of your softener to keep the bed free of iron deposits.  You simply pour the Res-Up solution into a small drip feeder tank that attaches to the inside of your brine tank, and it automatically drips solution into the brine, and aids in removing iron during the regeneration process. All of this said, if this does not seem to work, then you might be better off replacing the resin bed or the entire unit.

Regarding purchasing on the internet vs. traditional means, we’ll try to be impartial here, as we are both an internet and brick-&-mortar based company, so we can see both points of view. You don’t need to spend thousands on a new softener – you will note that internet prices are substantially lower than prices offered by some of the companies you mention above.  There are many reasons for this.  Sometime, an internet based company will offer low quality resin, cheap brine tank design, etc., to get the price down – these are not quality systems, and the old adage “you get what you pay for” applies in this case.  However, you can also find very high quality “commercial” softeners on the web.  Just take a close look at the site look & feel – if it seems like the site is poorly designed, it’s probably a low cost one - and this sometimes reflects on the seller and the quality of product.  Also, review the softener design. A good quality softener will have the type of resin used well advertised, and the product is normally loaded with features.  Common indicators of lower quality systems are square brine tanks, generic “high capacity” resin, and not a lot of details about the softener itself.  Any good company answers the phone (or get’s immediately right back to you), and you should also consider the level of after sale product support offered.

Although some brick & mortar companies really charge far too much – almost taking advantage of the customer – not all do.  Keep in mind that they are providing equipment installation service, and internet based companies generally do not. They have higher overheads to contend with, like salary for installers, tool and vehicle cost, insurance cost, and more.  This requires charging more for the system – but if you are familiar with basic household plumbing techniques, or know of a good plumber in your area, then you can save a considerable amount of money with no compromise in quality by purchasing on the internet.

If you want us to recommend replacement resin, we need to know the size of your existing resin tank (diameter and height from the floor to the point at which the valve threads into it).  You likely have a mixed bed design, that contains both cation exchange resin for water softening, and anion exchange tannin specific resin.  If you want us to recommend a replacement system, we need to know the number of residents in your home, and the diameter of your piping (normally 3/4, 1.0 or 1.25 inch).  Hope this helps!

We recently put in a water softner.  Our water was tested and everything came out good with the exception of the Alkalinity, which is 0, causing us to now have dry skin.  How do you fix this problem?  Thanks for the help.

Answer:  Very odd analysis - unless you have a commercial water softener that is completely removing all hardness (not a residential design) it is very unlikely that your alkalinity is actually zero - low maybe - but not zero.  What is your pH level?  Dry skin may be due to a reduced pH.

Thank you for the response! I appreciate your advice! Before I order your suggested resin & gravel do you know where I can get a schematic for the kenetico model 30.  I’ve tried there web site but have been unable to locate or download any detailed drawings of the system.  Aside from the information you provided me earlier are there any other special considerations I should know about before disassembling & reassembling the water softener components? Thanks again for your advice.

Michael 

Answer:  Sorry, we don’t know where you might get one - and we don’t have one available - possibly try calling a kinetico dealer?

Hello, I’m requesting information on how I can fix my Kinetico model 30 twin tank water softener. Several months ago I bypassed it because I believe it became completely plugged/glugged from my sisters attempt to change the carbon/charcoal filters that we use in conjunction with the water softener to help remove the rotten egg odor of the water. We purchased this property with an existing well and pump house that from my building experience could have been designed and installed with better care and forethought.

Unfortunately the system has two filter cartridges installed before the water softener that accommodates both a sediment filter and charcoal filter for which I’ll be removing the charcoal filter and repositioning it after the water softener. My sister unfortunately installed two low quality point of use charcoal filters in both and they both broke down in a couple days from the volume of water that runs thru our system daily and deposited charcoal sediment in all the lines from the pump house to the house and it’s my belief that it also has overwhelmed the softeners ability to clean/purge hence rendering it inoperable. I would like to know how I can repair the water softener myself to get it working again. If you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated. If you have a service/repair manual that could be purchased that would be helpful as well. I see that you sell a lot of the materials required to repair water softeners. I’m very interested in purchasing the required materials if you have the ability to send them to me and inform me how install them.

Thank you for your time! Respectfully submitted, Michael

Answer: If your water softener’s resin bed is fouled, you should be easily able to replace the resin and return the softener to normal operation. The Kinetico model 30 contains two 15,000 grain (1/2 ft3) resin tanks, resin is available for $130.00 per ft3 on our site, and you will need 1/2 bag for each tank.  You’ll also need distributor gravel, around 10 pounds of gravel per tank.  Take a look at the post just below called “Loss of water pressure due to water softener filter”. This will give you an overview on how to replace the resin and gravel.  You can use a wet/dry shop vacuum to remove the spent resin, and the gravel goes on the bottom, with resin placed on the top of the gravel. Please note that the instructions below are not specific for your Kinetico system, but should be similar.  Just be cautious when performing this procedure to ensure that all water pressure is relieved from the system before you begin.

I have an ECO Water System 2000 that will not stop its regeneration process. I have unplugged the DC transformer for the unit, bypassed the unit and it continues to run the back wash cycle. I have a well system and the constant back wash cycle cause my well pump to continue to run. I have turned off the main water line from my well hoping that this would stop the cycle from the water softener it did sort of. I thought that if I left the main water valve off for a 1/2 hour or so that it would stop the water softeners process but it has not, every time I turn the main water back on the water softener start drawing water. Without main water I cannot flush toilet, take showers etc. Is there any way to stop the (Satan–the water softener) from drawing water?

Answer: Your softener seems to have failed during the regeneration process at a stage when water is running to drain.  This probably means the motor drive has failed, or another mechanism has become jammed, and the water softener will not advance back into service position. Normally, the way to stop water from running to drain in this situation is to simply by-pass the unit.  You mention that you already have done this, and it may be that your by-pass valve is also defective.  Make sure that you are by-passing the unit correctly.  If we recall properly, your unit uses a “slider” type by-pass, and with the slider pushed “IN” the unit is by-passed, and pulled “OUT” it would be in normal service.  If you have the unit plumbed in with three ball valves instead of a the Eco Water by-pass, be sure that both the inlet and outlet valves are fully closed, and the valve between these is in the open position.

If you have already done as described above, then the by-pass system is defective.  As this unit does not have any way for manual regeneration control, to put it back into service position, you would need to take it apart to gain access to the internal mechanism and force rotor/disc back into service position.  We are not familiar with the procedure to do this, and we would recommend that you consult an ECO Water dealer for instructions or assistance.  Doing this may stop the flow of water to drain, but do not reconnect the electrical supply, as you want to be sure that the unit does not again advance into regeneration, and cause the same problem to reoccur.

The only other way to reestablish the water supply to the house in the short-term is to turn off the water supply, and either repair/replace the by-pass system, or physically remove the water softener and re-plumb.  It may or may not be cost effective to repair the unit, and if you decide to purchase a new softener, you might take a look at some of the units we offer at our site on the metered water softener page.

I’m new here, please help.

I ran across this website when searching for helps with my water pressure problem. The problem was noted 2 days ago and confirmed yesterday with my 5.2 yrs old Advanced Water Products water softener system model 6700. Yesterday, I closed off the bypass valve on the system and found that the water pressure going back up. I called the company and they told me that the filter is clogged due to high chlorine water in our area, San Ramon CA, and should have the whole tank replaced. They will give me a discount and replace the whole tank (just the tank) for $700 + 10yrs warranty on parts & labor. $700 is a lot for us, but, what should I do? Is there a way to do-it-myself?

Thank you in advance for any helps, Steve

Answer: Steve, if you are reasonably familiar with basic plumbing techniques, this is an easy do-it-yourself job that only requires replacement of the resin.  First you need to determine how much resin you need.  Cation exchange resin is available from our site in 1 cubic foot bags for $130.00 delivered. Depending on the design of your softener, you may or may not have gravel located in the bottom of the tank to function as a distributor bed.  If your unit contains a turbulator, there will not be any gravel in the tank.  All other designs using standard risers will use gravel.  Gravel is available in 50 pound bags for $60.00 delivered. Although there are other resin tank sizes used in water softener applications, the common sizes are:

24,000 grain (7 or 8 inch dia x 44” height tank) = 3/4 ft3, 10 pounds gravel
32,000 grain (8 or 9 inch dia tank x 44” height) = 1.0 ft3, 12 pounds gravel
48,000 grain (10 inch dia x 54” height tank) = 1.5 ft3, 15 pounds gravel
64,000 grain (12 inch dia x 52” height tank) = 2.0 ft3, 20 pounds gravel

First remove any water pressure from the softener.  This is normally accomplished by manually placing the valve into backwash to relieve the water pressure after the softener has been by-passed (with the 6700 down-flow valve, after by-passing the water softener, just initiate an automatic regeneration – the first stage is backwash). Once the pressure has been removed, the valve can be removed.  Disconnect it from the by-pass valve or yoke by removing the two stainless clips securing this to the control.  Now the control can be unscrewed from the tank.  Once the control is removed, use a wet/dry shop vacuum to remove the spent resin and gravel from the tank.  Clean the tank well, and place the required amount of gravel (if necessary) in the bottom as outlined above, and the correct amount of resin on top of it.  DO NOT OVERFILL! There will be empty space in the tank after refilling with fresh media – this space is called “freeboard” and required for proper operation.  Reattach the control and by-pass, and slowly allow water to reenter the tank.  Once the tank is filled, again place the control into backwash, and allow it to go through a complete cycle.  When it returns to service position, you should again be “ready-to-go”.

I have a technetic 1000 water softener that has gone into programming mode by pressing two buttons on accident during normal programming. Now the unit doesn’t track water usage and I have to manually regenerate. I was wondering if anyone is familiar with this brand softener and can help walk me through the program mode in order to put the unit back into normal operation. The clock display shows a split colon between the hours and minutes where before it went into this mode, the clock mode showed a normal colon between the hours and minutes.

Thanks, Steve.

Answer: The Technetic 1000 was discontinued years ago - we never sold this product, and may not be much help with this one - if we recall correctly, pressing the “Enter” and “Time Set” button simultaneously for 5 seconds gets you into a master programming mode.  This may allow you to reset the control, but you will then have to reprogram. The manufacturer of your control (Autotrol) joined with Pentair Corporation recently, and you might try to find a local dealer that is more familiar with these controls at http://www.pentairwaterdealer.com.

I have a Kinetico system from 1994. It has not been giving soft water for about a year now. I’m sure it needs resin, however I would like to make sure it is otherwise functioning before investing in it.
Can you tell me where to begin?

Answer: There are quite a few possible causes of your softener’s performance issues – and breakdown of the resin, or fouling of the resin bed resin is certainly a possibility – but not the only one.  We are assuming that the cause is not due to an air-leak, as this problem normally occurs only during installation or when you are moving the water softener.  So, before you invest in replacement resin, manually regenerate the unit, and see if the water level in the brine tank slowly recedes.  If it does, then this indicates a functioning softener, and replacing the resin may be the next thing to try.  If it does not, check the injector and injector screen to see if these are plugged.  If they are, clean them well with fresh water, and reinstall.  At the same time, remove all of the salt from the brine tank, clean it out with a water wash, and inspect the brine valve to be sure that there are no obvious areas of agglomerated salt plugging the assembly. See if this resolves the problem.  If not, the next thing to do is to re-bed the resin tanks with new resin.

I used V=pi x radius squared x height for Volume of Cylinder. Using 75% for height for resin , I calculate I need 1.5 cubic foot if I have a diameter of tank at 10inches and height of 44 inches………. pi x 25in x 33in and divide by 1728 inches. Will this be the correct amount of resin?

Answer: A 10 inch diameter x 44 inch tall resin tank should contain no more than 1.25 cubic foot of resin.  If using a standard riser, be sure to place approximately 15 pounds of gravel on the bottom to act as a distribution bed.�

How much sodium does a water softener introduce into the water?  Our water was tested at 12 gpg, 0 iron, pH 7.3, TDS 154ppm.  We bought a TurboSoft 56MT from Ferguson Enterprises 2 yrs. ago, have not used it yet as we’re not in new house yet.  I’m on a salt-restricted diet so if sodium is present in excess, would installing an under-the-sink reverse osmosis system help for drinking water and ‘fridge icemaker?  What is a safe level of sodium in water?

Answer: The amount of sodium a water softener adds depends your water hardness.  Water softeners remove calcium and magnesium from hard water and replace them with sodium. The higher the concentration of calcium and magnesium, the more sodium is donated to the water. Approximately 7 to 8 mg/l of sodium is added to your water for every grain per gallon hardness.  With 12 GPG hardness, you can expect approximately 80 to 100 mg/l sodium added to your water. However, the sodium level would still be very low, and according to a doctor that is a hypertension specialist at the Mayo Clinic, “the amount of sodium in softened water that was originally very hard shouldn’t be cause for concern.”

Still, for people on a low-sodium diet that are concerned with consuming any extra sodium, you can consider using potassium chloride rather than sodium chloride.  We always recommend that you use sodium chloride or potassium chloride purified for use in water softeners (available at many supermarkets, plumbing supply and hardware stores).  Non-sodium potassium chloride is commonly available and sold under the brand names Morton KCL, K-Life, Softouch and Nature’s Own.

As you mention, you can also install a reverse osmosis system to remove all sodium from drinking and cooking water. And it is very common to use the RO system to feed both a tap at the kitchen sink and the fridge as well.  You can take a look at some of the units we offer on our reverse osmosis page.

I have an upflow PH neutralizer and I wanted to convert it to a backflushing system.  I got an Autotrol 255/460i controller (someone told me this would work).  My problem is what do I do with the brine line?  I don’t have a brine tank so do I plug the line?  Any help would be appreciated.

Answer: There are two things that you will need to do to convert your Autotrol 255/460i from a water softening control to one that can be used in a pH neutralizer application.  The first is to plug the brine line as you point out. You can simply purchase a compression fitting and plug from any local plumbing supply or “big box” store. You can also purchase a plate from an Autotrol dealer that is designed to cap off the brine line if you prefer.  The other thing you will need to do is to change the backwash flow control.  A #14 backwash flow control is sufficient for units with up to a 10 inch diameter tank – this control is also available for an Autotrol distributor.

I have a PH Neutralizer that I bought from you some years ago.  Periodically I have been adding more media, most of the time when the level drops about 1/3 of the way down the tank.  I started off with pure calcite, and over time have moved to a 3:1 mix of calcite and Corosex, and the PH is still in the 6.0 range.  Today, suddenly, our water pressure went down, dramatically.  I guess it’s been coming on over a period of time, because when I bypass the tank the pressure is a lot higher than it was recently.  Running a couple of extra regeneration cycles hasn’t helped.  What should I do?  Do I have to disassemble the whole tank and start with new media and gravel, or can this be rescued?  The tank is about 3/4 full…Thanks.

Answer: There are a few  issues here to discuss that relate to correcting pH with a backwashing neutralizer.

1) Total Dissolved solids - A good neutral pH range is between 7 and 7.8, and your pH should be corrected to protect your piping and fixtures from acid attack (may be visible as green staining).  You have two ways to proceed here, and the best way depends on your level of “total dissolved solids” (TDS).  With a relatively low TDS the most common way to correct pH is with a calcite based automatic backwashing neutralizer.  If your TDS is very high, a standard calcite based pH neutralizer may not function very well.  This is because the way in which a calcite neutralizer works is that the media (calcium carbonate) slowly dissolves into your water over time.  With a high amount of material already dissolved into your water, the neutralization process will not work effectively using this technology. It is possible that your level of TDS is very high, and the contact time within the tank is not sufficient to correct pH to within a normal range.  If this is the case, you may need to consider a chemical injection system, as this chemical injection functions well regardless of the level of TDS.  When you purchased the equipment, did we measure the level of TDS?  If we did, and still recommended a calcite filter, this is not likely the issue here.

2) However, another issue comes into play here - very low pH.  There is a practical limit to how large of a backwashing neutralizer can be installed into a residential application.  As discussed above, the calcite in the neutralizer dissolves into the water to correct pH.  This requires sufficient time for the water to be in contact with the calcite for this process to function correctly.  At  a very low pH level, a large neutralizer is required to correct pH regardless of the TDS level, as the water requires a substantial contact time within the bed.  One concern here is that many residential well pumps do not have the ability to provide the required flow rate needed to backwash larger neutralizers (2 ft3 and larger).  Not backwashing a neutralizer properly leads to channeling within the bed, and poor performance over time.  A smaller backwashing neutralizer (1.5 ft3) may be sized correctly for a typical residential application, but possibly not large enough to correct a very low water pH.  Again, if this is the case - we might recommend a chemical injection system – however, this depends on your initial water analysis.

3) Another consideration is the media mix ratio. Corosex (magnesium oxide) is a more powerful neutralizing agent, and can be mixed with Calcite (calcium carbonate) to improve the pH correction process.  The issue here is that Corosex is much “softer” and can tend to agglomerate, and form a solid body within the neutralizer if not backwashed effectively.  When increasing the mix ratio to combat a very low pH you must be sure that you have sufficient backwash flow available.  For instance, a 10 diameter tank (used in a 1.5 ft3 neutralizer) requires 7 to 8 GPM backwash.  A larger 12 inch diameter tank (used in a 2 ft3 neutralizer) requires 11 to 12 GPM.  If you do not have this flow available, you may develop problems over time that requires replacement of the media.  This is probably the reason you have noted a pressure drop issue lately. You will need to re-bed the unit with new calcite and gravel.  Replacement media is available on our site on the “Chemicals, Resin & Filter Media” page.  We also recommend that all backwashing neutralizers are completely emptied and replenished every five years to provide good function over the long term.

4) The last consideration is to refer back to your initial water analysis.  Did we ever perform one?  If so, was you pH corrected for any period of time after installation of the equipment as recommended?  To further trouble shoot your problem, it may be better to speak with you directly, just give our technical service people a call or send them an email at you convenience.

Since we moved into our house 2 months ago, we have been trying to find a solution to the nuisance bacteria we seem to have, which is resulting in a strong, sulfer-ish smell in the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room.  We have already replaced the sacrificial anode in the hot water heater with a zinc anode rod, then we removed the rod altogether.  Each time, the smell has left, but only temporarily.  My question is this:  would an iron filter remove the iron that is leading to the baceria build-up, thereby removing the smell?  If so, is there a brand or type that you would recommend?  Thank you!

Answer: If your problem is due to the presence of a nuisance bacteria (like iron or sulfur bacteria), then chlorine injection is the best solution.  The chlorine first kills the bacteria present on the outside of the iron or sulfur particle, and then with the bacteria destroyed, the chlorine oxidizes the iron or sulfur into a precipitate. If you decide to go this route, your should also install an automatic backwashing carbon filter downstream of the chlorine injection system.  The carbon filter will remove the injected chlorine from your water, and also filter out any precipitate formed during the chlorine oxidation process. To see if this is the cause of your problem, just remove the lid from any toilet tank, and check for the presence of a slimy growth on the sides of the tank.  Sometimes you may also see an oil like sheen on the top of the water.
If the tank seems to be free of this material, (sometimes just a black stain may be present), your problem may instead be due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the water.

In this case, you can consider removing this odor with a system like our Iron-Pro.  This is a non-chemical automatic filter that incorporates oxidation by air and a polishing carbon bed to remove the sulfur from your water.  You should not use this system if sulfur forming bacteria is present, as the carbon bed in this filter will lose its effectiveness over time due to fouling from the sticky bacteria.

A liquid chlorine injection system meters chlorine directly into your water supply.  This system is composed of a chemical feed pump, static mixer, solution storage tank and retention tank.  When your well pump comes on, the chemical feed pump adds chlorine solution into the static mixer (which aids in the uniform mixing process) and enters the retention tank where the disinfection/oxidation process occurs.   You typically use a starting mix of 1/2 gallon household chlorine bleach to the 15 gallon chemical solution tank, and 4 oz. per gallon of soda ash to start.  You then vary the pump feed rate until you obtain the desired residual chlorine concentration (about 0.5 ppm free chlorine) - typically a setting of 50% works well.  You can obtain a chlorine test kit locally from most plumbing supply stores (and many pool supplies) - they are very inexpensive.

After the chlorine injection system, you should install a backwashing carbon filter.  Consider our model CF15-M, a 1.5 ft3 automatic backwashing carbon filter (Autotrol 263/440i valve and control).  This filter has a 20 micron filtration efficiency, and should be installed after your pressure tank to remove the injected chlorine, and also polish any residual hydrogen sulfide (H2S - sulfur).

The other system we discussed for removing hydrogen sulfide,  called the Sulfur Pro (also called the Sulfur Breaker), uses a specially designed control valve with a filter tank partially filled with Centaur carbon media.  The unit keeps 1/2 of the tank filled with air at all times, and the iron & sulfur in your water is oxidized by the air, and also in the carbon media.  It cleans and flushes the bed very aggressively, as air is also contained in the backwash water. The system removes very high levels of sulfur and iron.

You can visit our site to find additional information on both of these systems.

Our Culligan water softner (10yrs old) is making a gurgling noise in the brine tank (bottle that timer is attached to) and then there is air in all house faucets? Need to know what may be causing this. Have had Culligan man here 4 times and he has no clue. Any help would be great.

Answer:  It’s difficult to give a complete answer without some additional information, but if we assume that this happens only after a regeneration is initiated, it would appear that the check valve in your brine line is defective.

During a normal regeneration, all of the water (brine/salt solution) is drawn into the water softener resin tank until there is no water left in the brine tank.  At this point a check valve closes, and prevent air from being drawn into the household water, and fresh water continues to rinse through the bed to complete the regeneration process.  If a check valve is faulty, then it is possible that it is only partially closing, making the “gurgling” or “bubbling” sound, as air is drawn into the resin tank.  If our assumption is correct, then we would suggest that the brine tank check valve assembly be replaced to see if this corrects the problem.

it is not happening after regeneration only it is all the time, you can hear the water go into the resin tank and then you hear a gurggle and then you can hear the water going back into the lines. you  can also watch our water meter go forward and backwards when this happens. he has replaced the check valve in the salt tank and that did not help he has also replaced the main seals ( has multiple seals on it) and that has not helped. thanks for your help if you come up with anything else we would greatly appreciate it.

We have a drilled well 65 ft deep that gets water from a crack in the bedrock at about 40 feet. Water quality is bad - 1498 PPM sulfates, 1800 PPM TDS and 100 grains of hardness, the well makes about 3 GPM and is very consistent even in this year’s record drought. For many years we have used the well as a backup water source using the Rio Grande as our primary source. Recently things have changed and we need to use the well if possible as our primary water source.

Answer: You have two ways to proceed here:

1) Cation water softener – anion exchange system – pH neutralizer, with an point-of-use RO system installed at the kitchen sink to be used for drinking and cooking water.  The traditional cation exchange water softener will remove hardness (also required for pre-treatment prior to the anion exchanger), the anion exchange softener will remove sulfates, and the pH neutralizer would be installed into last position to increase pH to normal range (the anion exchange system will drop pH significantly).  The cation and anion softener will add a significant amount of sodium to the water, which you would want to remove with the RO system installed at the sink.  This is approximately a $5000 to $6000 dollar solution.  A twin tank 64K water softener with salt efficient Purolite SST-60 resin, 2 ft3 anion exchange system, and 2 ft3 pH neutralizer, approximately $5500.00 delivered.  Less expensive, makes the water usable – but not perfect (drinking/cooking water would be fine at the kitchen sink).

2) Whole house reverse osmosis.  As you mention, the other option you have would be whole-house reverse osmosis. In this case you would still need pre-treatment with a water softener as above, the whole-house RO system, and post treatment with a pH neutralizer.  More in the $8500 to $10,000 range. More expensive and maintenance intensive, but much better quality water.

Looking for advise to repair water softener that is overfilling.

Please advise.

Checked and cleaned pickup tube and running through the system. Is there anything else I should check? Thanks.

DJC VENTURES INC

Answer: Click on the “Water Softener” section found in the table to the left, and look for the answer to this question in the post titled “Brine tank always full to top with water”.  You will find some suggestions in our reply that should help you to identify the cause of this problem.

Thank you for the fast response. My follow up question(s) are as follows:

We need water with a maximum PH level of 6.0 to mix with our product (food). Will the citric acid contribute to the finished product’s taste / quality / smell / color? Again, thank you very much for the quick response.

Answer:  We really don’t have any experience that would allow us to comment on any effect citric acid injection would have on your product.  All we can say is that addition of citric acid in normal drinking water applications yields no noticeable taste or odor.