First time with a water softener, help with programming

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Brandyb

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Like the title says, I've never had a water softener before, this is all very new to me. I live in a very rural area, with nobody within a 3 hour drive qualified to install and configure a water softener, so here I am. I've been reading websites and forum threads for weeks, but it seems like the more I read, the more new (and sometimes conflicting) information I find, and the more confused I get.

So, I'll try to provide as much information as possible here. If I'm missing any important information, please let me know.

Fleck 5600sxt control unit
http://www.discountwatersofteners.com/fleck-5600-sxt-on-demand-64-000-grain-water-softener.html

I managed to do the installation without any help (thanks to pex), but it seems like that was the easy part and fairly straight forward.

I'm on well water. The water test that I received doesn't seem as detailed as other tests I've seen here, but this is what I've got to work with:

pH: 7.2
Hardness: 260 mg/L (which I think comes out to a hair over 15 grains/gallon)
Iron: <0.05 mg/L

I have no idea what our water usage is like... it's just me and three kids in the house, two of which are under 4. I guess we'll go with the rule of thumb of 60 gallons per person per day, even though I don't think we use that much.

I'm about to set it up based on this video's recommendations, but I'm hoping you nice folks will be able to offer some suggestions for an efficiently running softener.

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide :)
 

Reach4

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Presuming BLFC=0.5,
img_3.png
 

Brandyb

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Thank you so much for your response!

A couple follow up questions. I don't know how to determine the BLFC... If it's usually written on the valve, it may be covered with a sticker that reads
Injector: 2
Drain Flow: 3-5 GPM

Is 30 really okay for the Day Override setting? I'd seen other references to setting it to 7 days for well water, but that seems to be one of those points where lots of people have lots of different opinions.
 

Reach4

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My mistake. I saw "Iron: <0.05 mg/L" but failed to see where you said you were on well water just above that. Even so, maybe go to DO=14 days unless somebody has a better idea. It is iron that is the important part. That presumes that the water test was on your raw water. It must have been on your raw water because a softener would have removed the hardness.

Regarding BLFC, look for a label like this:
index.php
 

Brandyb

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Yeah, that test was on raw water. The test sensitivity didn't allow for detection of iron below 0.05 mg/L, so it's likely even less than that.

My label isn't as detailed... does 1.0 make sense? (And if so, how does that affect your recommended settings?)

AYZRunn.jpg
 
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Bannerman

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does 1.0 make sense
1 gpm is unusually high as every 1 minute change to the BF setting, would result in a 3 lb salt change.

You could disconnect the brine line at the top of the brine tank, manually advance the controller to BF and measure the water which flows into a bucket. If your BF setting is currently 4 minutes, you would expect 4 gallons to enter the bucket to dissolve 12 lbs of salt. If only 2 gallons flow into the bucket, then your BLFC is 0.5 gpm. If 1 gallon, 0.25 gpm .....
 

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My label isn't as detailed... does 1.0 make sense?
Yes, there is a 1.0 GPM BLFC. With that, you would cut the BF minutes in half from 8 to 4. (Fortunately 8 is an even number.)

Yes, it makes sense to make that measurement that Bannerman describes.
 

Brandyb

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That makes sense. I'll do that and measure the water... How exactly do I manually trigger the brine fill? I've been looking through my manual and don't see a way to start a specific step of the regeneration

Edit: Is this what I'm looking for?

1. When timer is in service, press the Extra Cycle button for 5 seconds on the main screen.
2. The timer advances to Regeneration Cycle Step #1 (rapid rinse), and begins programmed time count down.
3. Press the Extra Cycle button once to advance valve to Regeneration Cycle Step #2 (backwash).
4. Press the Extra Cycle button once to advance valve to Regeneration Cycle Step #3 (brine draw & slow rinse).
5. Press the Extra Cycle button once to advance valve to Regeneration Cycle Step #4 (brine refill).
 

Brandyb

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It filled a 5 gallon bucket (about 2" from the top) in 4 minutes. I'll measure it to find out exactly how much... but does that sound alright? To recap, I've got everything set you have shown in the spreadsheet, except for BF, which is set to 4.
 

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It filled a 5 gallon bucket (about 2" from the top) in 4 minutes. I'll measure it to find out exactly how much... but does that sound alright? To recap, I've got everything set you have shown in the spreadsheet, except for BF, which is set to 4.
There is no BLFC for the 5600SXT between 0.5 and 1.0. So you have the 1.0.

Is the BLFC cranking out more than 1 GPM, or is your bucket is a little smaller than 5 gallons? You could weigh the empty bucket and subtract that from the weight of the full bucket. A US liquid gallon of water weighs about 8.34 pounds.
 

Brandyb

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I (roughly) measured the water using a mason jar, which is 3 cups at the full line. I wasn't precise, but it came out to closer to 4 gallons than 5. About 4.2 gallons, actually, but like I said, I wasn't very careful about measuring. That, and during the other steps (first step, I think) a few extra cups were added to the bucket before the BF step. I think it's working as it should be, but if you think I should try it again, and measure more carefully, I can do that.
 
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Brandyb

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One additional question... in the instructions that came with my system, it said to add 4-5 gallons of water to the brine tank manually, which I have done. Assuming I have everything programmed as it should be, should I tell the system to do regenerate manually for the first time?

Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it.
 

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I would trigger an early regen if the instructions said to do so. Otherwise I think they were just saying to pre-fill the brine tank with plenty to get ready for the first regular regen.
 

Brandyb

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The instructions didn't say to start the regeneration, but I wasn't sure if resin is generally ready for softening out of the box or if it requires a regeneration first.
 

Bannerman

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New resin hasn't yet been exposed to calcium or magnesium (hardness) so it ready to soften right away. If you use the softener a few days and then trigger an initial manual regen cycle, that will help to purge any remaining air from the tank. Also, a regen cycle will reclassify the resin (redistribute) within the tank as the resin may lopsided due to shipping and installation.

As the BF is often the final part of the regen cycle, water must be manually added to the brine tank to make brine for the next (first) regeneration after installation.
 
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