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”.