Setting up a Fleck 5600 Econominder Meter

Users who are viewing this thread

Medscript

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Indiana
Hello,

I recently purchased a 1 year-old 1.25 cubic ft resin tank with 10% crosslink from a friend.
I have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house that includes a garden tub for 2 adults and 1 child. Our hose bibs, fridge water line and cold water outlet for the kitchen sink are separate from the rest of the house so they will remain softened. We consume on average 50 GPD per person @ 5.5 GPM. This number is probably less since it includes all the water from the sprinklers as well but this would not go through the softener. The house is new and has 3/4 inch pex piping with rough-in already completed for a softener in the garage.

City Water
Hardness 21 gpg
Sodium 50.9 ppm
Sulfate 78.1 ppm
Chlorine 0.5 ppm
Iron n/a
Manganese n/a
TDS 540ppm
pH 7.7

Any help would be appreciated.
 

Reach4

Well-Known Member
Messages
38,749
Reaction score
4,400
Points
113
Location
IL
Is that tank new or used? Did you get a controller with that? If not, you will need one. If so, I suggest that you post a picture or two. Or do you know the make and model of the controller?

I presume that when you said "separate from the rest of the house so they will remain softened" you meant remain UNsoftened.

That water softener size is probably good for you. Was that what you are looking for?

I suggest that you get a Hach 5-B softness testing kit to measure the effectiveness. With this you will be able to test that the installed unit is working and if your regeneration schedule is sufficient.
 

Medscript

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Indiana
It sat in my friend's garage for a year unused. The resin is still in bags. It came with a Fleck 5600 Econominder Meter. Also yes, I did mean to say that it would remain unsoftened. It was not exactly what I was looking for but he gave it to me for only $100 so I jumped on it hoping it would fit my needs.
 

Medscript

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Indiana
I've read through the service manual and the owners manual as well as almost every youtube video I could the past few days. And yes I am concerned that it may be too small or at least not as efficient as it could be.
 

Reach4

Well-Known Member
Messages
38,749
Reaction score
4,400
Points
113
Location
IL
Have you plugged your numbers into Gary's sizing info (http://www.qualitywaterassociates.com/softeners/sizingchart.htm)?

At 6 lb/ft^3 you get 25000 grains of softening. You figure to use 2*50*21=2100 grains of softening per day.

So you use 7.5 pounds of salt every 11.9 days, but round down to let's say 10 days for the safety margin. That's nicely sized and efficient.

1.25 ft^3 of resin gives SFR of 10... OK you are saying 2*5.5=11GPM , but you aren't going to be in sync with your peak use most of the time. And if you went over and got a little hardness bleed through, no biggie. It will be rare, and the water will still be almost soft anyway during that brief interval.

Your new softener is almost ideally sized for efficiency. Be happy.
 

Medscript

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Indiana
Yes, I tried using the sizing chart but I thought I was missing information because it said I needed to call him but I thought he retired after Clack stopped online sales. This is what I got:

3 people*50 GPD per person* Hardness of 21=3150 grains of softening per day.

And it's at this point that I get lost because there is some much misinformation online. Some people divide the grains per day by the capacity of the tank and subtract a reserve. I had one that had me at a regen every 950 gal or about 6 days with 10lbs of salt. It's very confusing.
 

Medscript

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Indiana
...At 6 lb/ft^3 you get 25000 grains of softening. You figure to use 2*50*21=2100 grains of softening per day.

So you use 7.5 pounds of salt every 11.9 days, but round down to let's say 10 days for the safety margin. That's nicely sized and efficient...

So basically set the softener for 7.5 lbs of salt every 1500 gals of water?

There are 3 people so it should be 3*50*21=3150 grains per day
25000/3150 = 7.9 days rounded to 6 for safety margin
6 days at 150 GPD = 900 Gal per regen

Do I still use 7.5 lbs of salt? Why 7.5 lbs of salt when we did the math with 6 lbs?
 

Reach4

Well-Known Member
Messages
38,749
Reaction score
4,400
Points
113
Location
IL
I was figuring 2 people -- missed the child.

25000/3150=7.9days... 6 or 7 days with the reserve. If you want longer you could go to 8 lb/cubic ft... still pretty efficient use of salt. I would like to see how you came up with 6 days on 10 pounds (8 pounds per cubic ft of resin). 29000//3150=9.2 days minus the margin.

So maybe you would have chosen 1.5 cubic feet if you were ordering from scratch. I don't think you need to calculate for 16.5 SFR... Close enough, don't you think? Exceed the SFR for a bit and you still don't get anywhere near the hardness you have now. And you have been getting by with no softener.
 

Reach4

Well-Known Member
Messages
38,749
Reaction score
4,400
Points
113
Location
IL
Do I still use 7.5 lbs of salt? Why 7.5 lbs of salt when we did the math with 6 lbs?
I think that is demand-driven controller, so it measures gallons. The days calculation will be an estimate.

6 pounds /cuft*1.25 cuft =7.5 pounds of salt.

Edit. I did some reading -- the safety factor gets input by you figuring that it will do that many gallons and then regen the following night.

So with 7.5 pounds, 1000 gallons (1035 gallons after allowing for the safety margin, then the granularity of the capacity wheel of the controller)
With 10 pounds of salt, 1200 gallons (1230 gallons after allowing for the safety margin, then the granularity of the controller)
 
Last edited:

Medscript

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Indiana
I think that is demand-driven controller, so it measures gallons. The days calculation will be an estimate.

6 pounds /cuft*1.25 cuft =7.5 pounds.

I have not read the manual. I don't know how the safety factor gets input-- do you cut down on the gallons number, figuring that it will do that many gallons and then regen the following night, or does it compensate itself by regenerating the night before your specified number of gallons get hit?

I apologize, I did not use the correct terminology. This is a demand driven fleck not the day driven model. You would cut the gallons so for us one day safety factor would represent 150 gallons.
 

Medscript

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Indiana
So I was putting everything together and I guess I did not put the top basket on well enough...it snapped off and dropped to the bottom. I used some fishing line and hook to pull it back out without messing everything else up. I am now just waiting for the falcon connectors to come in and do some pex plumbing this weekend. Thank you!
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks