WHES30 Water Softener Non-working

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DIYBarb

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Thank you so much for hosting this site! I inherited a house with a Whirlpool WHES30 water softener that doesn't turn on. I see all the options of repair posted on this site and others and don't know where to start. It is approx 8 years old but hasn't been used in approx 6 or 7 years probably because it broke at that time. I can replace the control board for $160 and start there or buy a new WHES30 for about $400. Not sure if costs would stop at $160. It was always just non-working since I've been at this house (about a year) and I don't have anyone to ask about it now. There is not a drop of salt in it so possibly ran out of salt when elderly mom was away & blew the control board? Is that where damage would have stopped? I have terribly hard water so I need something. Thanks, Barb
 
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Mikey

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I have terribly hard water
I am not an expert by any means, but it's likely that the experts will want to know more about your water quality than that it's "terribly hard". So, I would first recommend you get a detailed water analysis and post the results here. There are several commercial labs that will do that recommended on this site. Recent recommendation: https://terrylove.com/forums/index....and-water-throughout-house.63041/#post-467293

As for the WHES30, the equipment itself is described on the Whirlpool site here: https://www.whirlpoolwatersolutions.com/products/30000-grain-softener/. You can download the manual from that page, which may give you some guidance. There is only one customer review there, one star only - he was satisfied with the performance, but had repeated mechanical failures. This softener is sold by Sears and Lowe's, and may also be sold under the Sears or Kenmore names. It was discussed on this forum in several places, most recently at https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/repair-replace-or-make-do-whirlpool-whes30.56878/.

Judging from your timeline, this unit hasn't been very reliable (only worked for a year?), so if it isn't something simple, like out of salt, I'd be inclined to replace it with a name-brand controller and components. OTOH, I have a friend with a Sears unit that worked fine for well over 10 years, and he just replaced it with a new one. Can't go wrong for $400 with a record like that, but he's on municipal water of good quality. Your mileage may vary, and if "terribly hard" means "too hard for a 30K capacity softener", you may well be better off buying something better. Get that water tested.
 

DIYBarb

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I am not an expert by any means, but it's likely that the experts will want to know more about your water quality than that it's "terribly hard". So, I would first recommend you get a detailed water analysis and post the results here. There are several commercial labs that will do that recommended on this site. Recent recommendation: https://terrylove.com/forums/index....and-water-throughout-house.63041/#post-467293

As for the WHES30, the equipment itself is described on the Whirlpool site here: https://www.whirlpoolwatersolutions.com/products/30000-grain-softener/. You can download the manual from that page, which may give you some guidance. There is only one customer review there, one star only - he was satisfied with the performance, but had repeated mechanical failures. This softener is sold by Sears and Lowe's, and may also be sold under the Sears or Kenmore names. It was discussed on this forum in several places, most recently at https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/repair-replace-or-make-do-whirlpool-whes30.56878/.

Judging from your timeline, this unit hasn't been very reliable (only worked for a year?), so if it isn't something simple, like out of salt, I'd be inclined to replace it with a name-brand controller and components. OTOH, I have a friend with a Sears unit that worked fine for well over 10 years, and he just replaced it with a new one. Can't go wrong for $400 with a record like that, but he's on municipal water of good quality. Your mileage may vary, and if "terribly hard" means "too hard for a 30K capacity softener", you may well be better off buying something better. Get that water tested.
 

DIYBarb

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Thank you! Will start on getting the water tested angle. You may be right about ability for this particular softener to handle the hard water. "Terribly hard" means, to me, all the dishes having deposit on them, silverware with deposits, inside brand new dishwasher showing calcium deposits. I've only lived here 4 months. Tired of looking at ruined drinking glasses already. I don't see rust as much as calcium or lime.
 

Mikey

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Sounds "terribly hard", alright. Sears, and possibly Lowe's, will test your water for hardness, and perhaps other basic parameters, for free, so that might get you started while you wait for the comprehensive test. If you're on a municipal system, they're required to report on water quality periodically (call your water provider to get/see the latest report), but they're usually more concerned with health issues than mundane things like hardness. I tried to find a report for your area but got lost in a maze of ca.gov websites.

Update: I did find the 2014 WQR for Sacramento, but the SSWD doesn't cover Shingle Springs. As I suspected, they don't report hardness, but the narrative accompanying the report is educational and scary enough to make you switch to beer. They do do talk about hardness at http://www.sswd.org/index.aspx?page=364.
 
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DIYBarb

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Sounds "terribly hard", alright. Sears, and possibly Lowe's, will test your water for hardness, and perhaps other basic parameters, for free, so that might get you started while you wait for the comprehensive test. If you're on a municipal system, they're required to report on water quality periodically (call your water provider to get/see the latest report), but they're usually more concerned with health issues than mundane things like hardness. I tried to find a report for your area but got lost in a maze of ca.gov websites.

Update: I did find the 2014 WQR for Sacramento, but the SSWD doesn't cover Shingle Springs. As I suspected, they don't report hardness, but the narrative accompanying the report is educational and scary enough to make you switch to beer. They do do talk about hardness at http://www.sswd.org/index.aspx?page=364.
 

ENIGMA-2

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I believe that I would start at the receptacle, does it have power? (Circuit breaker tripped or fuse blown)?

Next check across the low voltage terminals to check the transformer output (you can pick up a cheap VOM at Wal Mart).

I would suspect that the control board is not getting power inasmuch as they usually report an err code when they fail. (Usually).

If the control is faulty, you can have it rebuilt for less that $100. Google or check Ebay.

Any softener that has been out of operation for a periods of months or longer, needs to be sanitizated with a bleach/water mixture. The procedure is in the manual.

I would also add a healthy dose of resin cleaner to the first regeneration (after the sanitization cycle) to remove what iron clogging the must have occured.
 

DIYBarb

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Got my water tested and have a hardness level of 21. I accept that I should replace the Whirlpool WHES30. Any suggestions for the best but least maintenance water softener for single mom? Only 2 people in house, 3 bathrooms, well, and septic tank system. Plan on living here longterm. Kinetico came out and recommended Kinetico 2060 for $3551 installed plus a reverse osmosis drinking water K5 for $1994 installed. I could REALLY use some advise. If I go with other systems do I just order them and have a plumber install them? Thanks!
 

ditttohead

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A high quality Fleck or Clack based softener would be your best option. Stay away from the fake knock-offs or the big box store units.
 
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