Softener Newbie needs help

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Scotsman

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I had a contractor come over to my house yesterday to check out my softener system and apparently the last time it did a regen was December 2014. He said that the control head is shot and the resin would be also as it had sat for that long. He said it would cost me $600 for a new control head and $600 for resin, and after looking online that seems a little extreme to me. While searching I saw videos on how to change the control head and resin myself and it doesn't seem too extreme of a task that I can't do myself.

Can someone help me through this task of what control head I need to purchase and how much resin I need to fix this? Like I said I'm a complete newbie so this is all foreign to me right now.
 

Bannerman

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Post some photos of your current control head and any labels you see on the tank and control. If the softener capacity is not specified, measure the resin tank diameter or circumference so as to calculate the capacity of the tank.

Before buying a new control head and resin, compare the cost for a complete new system as it may turn-out to be more cost effective overall.

Before shopping for a new system, it is most appropriate to establish the appropriate softener capacity for your consumption requirements and your water's hardness level.

Is your water source a private well water or municipal? If a private well, have you had a lab test performed to establish the contents of the water?
 

Melkus

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Re-bedding, as it's called, is not hard worth part is getting it unhook and moving to a place you can dump the old resin out and flush it out with water. Last time I did mine I used a big piece of plastic then I lay the tank down and flush it with the hose. If the stuff is cake in there take something you can stick down in there break the stuff up. Refill with resin to about 3/4 make don't fill all way to top you need some room so it can backwash properly. Some control heads can be rebuild but not sure what you have or do you feel you would like to try it.

Tell what all you have.
 

Scotsman

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Post some photos of your current control head and any labels you see on the tank and control. If the softener capacity is not specified, measure the resin tank diameter or circumference so as to calculate the capacity of the tank.

Before buying a new control head and resin, compare the cost for a complete new system as it may turn-out to be more cost effective overall.

Before shopping for a new system, it is most appropriate to establish the appropriate softener capacity for your consumption requirements and your water's hardness level.

Is your water source a private well water or municipal? If a private well, have you had a lab test performed to establish the contents of the water?
The resin tank is 10" I believe and I am on municipal water. Here are the pictures.

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Bannerman

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Your control head appears to be this one: https://www.qualitysurplus.com/canature-bnt-5650f-water-softener-valve-control-565-series-new.html

Fleck or Clack control valves are recommended replacements but Clack do not sell to the DIY market.

A 10" tank is typically 54" tall (+ domes) which will hold 1.5 cuft of softener resin + gravel under bed. It's difficult to establish from you photo if your tank is 54" tall.

As your water is chlorinated, you may wish to obtain 10% cross link resin. Although more expensive than standard 8% cross link, 10% can better tolerate long term constant chlorine exposure.

How much water do you consume per month (not including irrigation)? If unknown, this maybe estimated as 60 gallons/person/day.
 

Scotsman

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Your control head appears to be this one: https://www.qualitysurplus.com/canature-bnt-5650f-water-softener-valve-control-565-series-new.html

Fleck or Clack control valves are recommended replacements but Clack do not sell to the DIY market.

A 10" tank is typically 54" tall (+ domes) which will hold 1.5 cuft of softener resin + gravel under bed. It's difficult to establish from you photo if your tank is 54" tall.

As your water is chlorinated, you may wish to obtain 10% cross link resin. Although more expensive than standard 8% cross link, 10% can better tolerate long term constant chlorine exposure.

How much water do you consume per month (not including irrigation)? If unknown, this maybe estimated as 60 gallons/person/day.
that does look similar to the one i have. with the control valves how would I buy a clack as I think this maybe what my brother inlaw has, i have attached a picture. If I cannot get one which fleck do you recommend?

I went and measured the height and it doesn't seem to be any taller than 49", not sure what the closet standard size would be to this?

I am unsure how much water is consumed per month, but according to your estimate it would be around 3750 gallons with there only being 2 in my house.

gLawkIql.jpg
 

Melkus

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What's got me wondering is you say you're on municipal water which to me means city water which there should not be any hardness to the water. My sister-in-law who is on municipal water has none all is treated beforehand. Maybe in other parts of the country it's not the same.
 

Scotsman

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What's got me wondering is you say you're on municipal water which to me means city water which there should not be any hardness to the water. My sister-in-law who is on municipal water has none all is treated beforehand. Maybe in other parts of the country it's not the same.
my water is definitely hard, white spots all over the shower and when the guy "tested" it the other day he said mine was purple and my bro in law was blue.
 

Melkus

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That's really funny. City water here comes mostly from the cape fear river then to a billion dollar or so filter plant. If you would go down to the river and see it you say to yourself I would never drink that stuff.

If this could be moved indoor or out of the weather you could get by with a 33,000 gram or 44,000-gram cabinets unit, I have a Whirlpool model and it's been doing great for the last 10 years. I also have a 30-micron sediment filter in before this and a GAC filter after it to help with any taste and odor.
 
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ditttohead

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Canature valve, basically only good for the trash can. Dont bother trying to fix it or rebuild it. If you reuse the tank, you will want to replace the riser/bottom screen, the canature one can be crushed with your hand. Also your brine tank looks like a canature as well. The tank is ok, but the float assembly inside is junk, you will probably need to replace that too. By the time you buy a decent valve, resin, gravel, riser tube, brine assembly, you may as well get a good modern system.
 

Melkus

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Scotsman you really need to get a water test done first. The report you gave is not telling me much like how hard the water is, there any iron etc.
Also to size a proper system you to know how many people are in the house hole, number of bathrooms and what is your flow rate so that system can be properly backwash. To get a good water test you can check with your local county health department.
 

Bannerman

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Water hardness is often not specified in municipal quality reports as those reports focus mostly on water safety. In addition, a municipality will often require multiple wells and each well hardness will generally be different. Hardness testing should be performed at your specific location as hardness in the distribution system can vary by proximity to each well.

Municipalities do not typically remove hardness but some municipalities obtain water from lakes and streams which are usually far less hard than most wells.

A Hach 5B Total Hardness Test Kit is the recommended kit to obtain. As the municipality is responsible for the water's safety, you will not require further water testing and because the water is chlorinated, any ferrous iron and manganese originally present will have been oxidized so your softener will not be removing those elements.

Clack control heads are available on systems that are supplied and installed by an authorized Clack dealer/installer so you probably can't obtain a Clack unless buying a complete installed system.

Fleck manufacture quality controls so you likely can't go wrong with any but they too are moving away from the DIY market. The Fleck 5600 is the largest selling control valve and is appropriate for a softener up to 2 cuft capacity (64,000 grains) especially with the SXT digital controller. The 5600 SXT remains available to DIY.
 

Reach4

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Your BIL should get a weather cover for outdoor use. See V3175WC-A for one option. He could also invert a bucket over the controller for protection, but it would not look as good. The bucket would function as well or better I think.

On your current non-operating softener, you could try taking pieces out of the controller and cleaning. Clean screens, injector, DLFC area, whatever. Make sure the brine line is not clogged or broken. I don't know where you would find a service manual. Maybe take photos as you go in case you forget where pieces came from.
 
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Scotsman

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Thanks for the help! I'm going to order the test kit and come back once I get the results.
 
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