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?
Sorry, we did not note your question added into the message body – we normally only look at comments. Anyway, To adjust the salt dosage setting, you need to go into the “System” programming (hold the NEXT and down arrow button in simultaneously for 3 seconds to enter this program level). The point is that you know you can get 32K capacity if you need it – but, can get almost as much capacity using far less salt per regeneration – it’s really a decision based on performance vs. dollar value in salt consumption.