I know what I have found in the valves in the field..
Say what you will, but I know what I have found..
Fair enough, so tell us what you've found with a Clack WS-1 and describe it. The problem is you implied the Clack probably has the same problems the Fleck has.
Here's what you said; "Let me know how that seal pack comes out when it is loaded with iron build up.............
While the Fleck does not have the Pack,,, it is seals and spacers and one of the spacers may get broken while coming out, it is only one and can be replaced by one spacer .. the seal pack if it does not come out easy... then it is lost and will have to be replace in total just like the culligan seal pack.."
By "seal pack" you mean the Clack WS-1 stack, the gray thing in my picture. And you compare it to Fleck's separate seals and spacers, which is fine but has nothing to do with the rust/iron build up causing the Clack the problem is does in the Fleck. That's all I'm saying, what you see in Fleck doesn't mean Clack has the same problems. And since I seem to have been involved with Clack for 6 yrs longer than you, maybe I know more about the Clack WS-1 than you or Peter do.
I have this valve treating raw water out of the Colorado River in Texas. I mention that because when it rains down there in Spring TX, it's the dirtiest water I can think of right now. I have it on a mixed bed turbidity filter backwashing every 3 or 4 days, I can't recall which. I talked to the owner when he ordered chlorine pellets last fall, he's a dentist and has a 'summer' place on the river. He also has the Clack on a Centaur filter and a softener there. He bought it all 1/8/2006, 4+ yrs ago. I also have the Clack WS-1 on softeners on up to 13 ppm of iron.
You also have said in this thread on page 2, "When there is a seal cage in the valve if one of the incoming spacers gets loaded with iron it will stick to the inside of the valve making it hard to get out.. add to that when a spacer is screwed into the next spacer.. it is even more of a challenge to get out with out any damage to the spacer.".
Look at the picture of the stack I posted, that doesn't/can't happen with the the Clack WS-1 stack.
Screwed into the next spacer? There is a seal between the spacers in both the Fleck and Clack valves. So I'm not understanding what you're referring to but it doesn't apply to the Clack WS-1; which is what we are talking about.
Rust on spacers, you simply blow or beat it off or use a toothbrush to clean it off or like I always did, replace the spacers with the seals. I never reused either, or installed new on an old piston or a new piston in old seals and spacers.
I have not seen or heard from a customer yet that rust sticks inside the hole the Clack stack goes into in the valve body but, I agree that Fleck spacers won't come out easily if anything is lining the inside of the hole they are in in the valve body, that's why they make the special model specific Fleck tools to get them out.