Can clogged drain damage water softener?

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yesngo

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My home is pre-plumbed for a water softener, so it includes the loop and a 3/4in drain line in the wall. I've hooked up the water softener, but before hooking up the drain, I decided to test it to make sure it can drain okay. Turns out the drain runs upward, to where I am no sure. I'm assuming that since it was pre-plumbed that it will likely not rise more than 10 feet, and that there is nothing obstructing it. However, in the event it does rise higher, or there happens to be something obstructing it, can that damage the water softener? During the drain mode, if it runs into an obstruction, will it stop, or just not drain?

Any ideas on how I might test the drain beforehand? I filled a tube with water and held it about 3 feet above the drain, and the column of water was still about that high.
 

ditttohead

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Hook a garden hose up to it, adapters are available at Home Depot to fit almost any pipe type. Run the water slowly. Assuming it is plumbed to code, it will have an air gap of some type. You need to know where it drains. Check to see if there is an air gap at the laundry drain, many pre-plumbs have this connection type.

10 feet up is fine for any High end softener assuming you have adequate water pressure on the main.
 

yesngo

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Yup, you were absolutely correct. I went to the laundry room (which is upstairs), and found the drain alongside the washing machine drain. It's strange to me that they ran it all the way upstairs, but I guess that was the best way to insure there was an air gap. Now that I know where to look, I'm just going to test it by running a regeneration. On the off-chance there is some sort of plug along the way, can that damage the softener, or will it just stop?
 
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