Culligan water softner, need help/advice

[Sled Puller]

3 years old, a month ago it quit softening. Went through the motions, but the water was hard.



Called the service, they came out to fix it, said the gizmo wasn't blah blah, I fixed it, $55. Ok fine.



Worked fine for two weeks, guess what? Same thing.



What is inside this thing that is hanging up?



I hit manual regenerate, and it makes the noises, but hard water comes out the other end.





Has to be something simple in there, like a built in $55 service call, but not every two weeks!!!

Any ideas?



Gene

 

[illflem]

Gene, there is very little inside a softener that can go bad. The tank is full of b-b like media that chemically attracts the calcium and magnesium in the hard water like a magnet. The salt water flush takes place when a certain number of gallons of water flow though, old ones do this on a time clock and flush even if no water flows though, a waste. The salt solution releases the media's hold on the hard water elements which are then flushed out with clean water. While all this is taking place an electric valve diverts your hard water around the softener so you don't get salt water in your house(it's also the reason you do the flush at night), this valve could be stuck or broken. The line from your brine tank could also be plugged up and only flushing the media with clean water not releasing the Ca & Mg, the media can't hold any more Ca & Mg. I'm not sure if the media actually wears out over time, seems like it would but I've never heard of it. Newer softeners also have a motorized auger like device that stirs the media up to keep it from caking. If yours is an old one maybe this has happened. Kick it

 

[paccool]

Gene,

This is a silly question but have you checked the salt level? No salt = hard water. Also, if the salt pickup and injection system is not working hard water will be the result.



The filter media doesn't"wear out" but can become contaminated with Iron over a period of time and may need to be cleaned or even replaced if the buildup is bad enough. (expensive!!!)



When I have this sort of problem it's usually in the valve system at the top of the unit. Had a sticking valve once, took apart and cleaned, replaced an o-ring and it worked fine. Another time the salt line plugged up and I had to clean it out.



Stan

 

[HDH]

I agree, There is very little mech inside the Softner.
Those Beads are An-ion Cat-ion Beads, Just like Illflem and Paccool said.
Its probably a stuck valve, And the Bead bed is not being "Fluffed" up enough.
I would check the Backwash and discharge valves for proper operation.
One Place to Try for New/Used Beads if you need them is a Steam Power Plant, They have Feedwater polishers and Water Softners they are used to Make Good Feed water for steam.
You Might be able to pick some up slightly used ones for Cheap$.
I hope this helps.
Doug

 

[Chad Sheets]

On the water system topic ~ is there any specific pre filter to put between the well outside and the rest of the system inside? I have used the generic ones that filter sediment before. I wasnt sure if there was other kinds around. I want something to filter out any rocks/sand/aligators before they get into the house and reach all the apliances.



I also am looking around at the drinking water treatments. Reverse osmosis (no clue how it works) is a very popular term with a hefty $500-600 price tag from the Culligan man.



The other option is an ultra violet light that zapps the bacteria before it hits your drinking glass... too exspensive for me.



Any ideas?

 

[paccool]

Da*ned, Chad, where are you pulling your water from? Parts unknown to man must be in the south if you are talking Gators!



How much sand are you talking about? There is a cartridge filter that will remove small amounts but if you have a lot you will need a larger one. A sand filter would work.



You could make a settling chamber from a pressure tank as long as you put a blow down valve at the bottom and used it once a week or as often as you need.



Stan

 

[Chad Sheets]

I'm sucking water in from about 200 feet down. Gators, Chinamen, dinasours you name it. The well is new and as you know with a new well you get silt until everything settles down.



We had the water tested, and everthing is good. In fact, the Pope wants to have some trucked in to use for holy water its so clean!



I'm just a clean freak. I hate to think about all the chemicals that get sprayed onto the ground for crops and makes its way into the water table. My country water is cleaner than my city water, and doesnt have that well water taste either. I was pretty shocked to be honest once we got everything flowing and I tasted it.



The wife says I am nuts wanting all this filter stuff. She wanted to know how I survived out in the field drinking ground water Maybe I should let her have the experiance of drinking out of the creek and showering, brushing her teeth and washing her hair with one quart of cold water a day. After a day or two of that she wouldnt be asking too many questions about why I want good chrystal clear, chemical free water.

 

[illflem]

Chad, best bet is to get the water tested to see what it needs, most water treatment places will do it for free. If you are getting sand and gravel it's a good idea to use a filter, either a cleanable one or throw away cartridge, easy to come by and not too expensive. Using a filter will at least keep your faucet aerator screens from plugging, your toilet tanks from filling with sand and your teeth from wearing down from the grit.

 

[HDH]

A RO Unit is the Way to Go Maybe

Originally posted by Chad Sheets
On the water system topic ~ is there any specific pre filter to put between the well outside and the rest of the system inside? I have used the generic ones that filter sediment before. I wasnt sure if there was other kinds around. I want something to filter out any rocks/sand/aligators before they get into the house and reach all the apliances.

I also am looking around at the drinking water treatments. Reverse osmosis (no clue how it works) is a very popular term with a hefty $500-600 price tag from the Culligan man.

The other option is an ultra violet light that zapps the bacteria before it hits your drinking glass... too exspensive for me.

Any ideas?

I say Maybe, because the Ones I Have delt with are for Industrial Use and For every 100gals used,It makes only 25gals of fresh Potable water. Think of what that would do to your Sespool or Septic Tank?.
I would go with a Softner to treat the water and a Ozone generator to Zap the Colerform (SP?) Bacteria. And if needed, A Iron Filter or Trap.
On the Sediment Issue, I dont know if they make a Sediment Trap for home use.
I hope this helps Chad.
You Jarheads Had it Rough,Unlike the Swabies with their 3 squares and A shower per day...

 

[Sled Puller]

We had awesome well water-until they started the strip mine 1 mile away.

Now they are gone, and so is our good water.

Yup, lots of salt, must be something plugged, I'll start taking it apart to see what it is.

Thanks,

Gene

 

[Skydiver]

Certified Water Treatment Plant Operator Grade 4

The most important thing is to first check the water to identify the problem.

I do not have any experence in water softening. Our plant hardness is around 32 ppm.

Remember if you take your water to a company that sells post treatment devices they will most likely try to sell.

Chorine(cl2) in the drinking water causes no health problems. The by-products of what is left behind after the cl2 does its job are theoreticaly supposed to be carcinogen. These by-products are called trihalomethans(tthm's). Our mcl is . 1 ppm. I would not worry about cl2 or tthams.

If you use a filter that removes cl2 then what is going to keep the bact from growing from the non-cl2 point foward.

It is very rare to have a city water related health problem.

If I had a shallow well that had a problem with re-occuring bact just add 1 cup of bleach each week. Run all the faucets in the home let the water set over night and all the bact is dead, if your concerned about how much cl2 is left in the water get yourself a cheap pool tester. Try to get the cl2 down below 3 ppm. Remember that 1 cup is plenty DO NOT ADD MORE or you might wind up with the squirts. Coli-form is not deadly as some wells will produce this type , your stomach can adjust. Might get a case of the squirts for a week or 2 from changing to a new water source.

E-Coli deadly.

There are more than 1 type of bact. Some are harmless some are not.

For those of you that have wells take notice of what type industry is close to your home. Contaminated well water is next to impossible to clean up. Property value????GONE. Do a complete broad spectrum analsys on your well before a new industry starts up. This will give you a base line to fall back on.

Well water moves slow sometimes less than 1 foot per year.

I am not an expert on drinking water but have 22 years experence.

Tim

 

[Bill Lins]

Originally posted by Chad Sheets



The wife says I am nuts wanting all this filter stuff. She wanted to know how I survived out in the field drinking ground water

Fix her up with a few shots from a Lister bag! Then maybe some C-rats for supper- I recommend the ham & lima beans!

 

[Champane Flight]

Filter

We are useing a BK-10 cartrige type 10ppm on our well. It will pick up quite a bit of the rough stuff. Our city water is pretty nasty and we have a RO unit for our drinking water/coffee. It is a under the sink model-three gallon. It has two filters sediment and carbon type for taste. Works excellent,had it for the last twelve years. just change filters every six months. You can pick up the BK-10s at your local hardware store,fairly cheap. The RO units are for sale for 200. 00 to ???. If your water tests good,I would just go with a inline sediment like the BK-10... .