Whirlpool Softener Water in Salt Tank

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newbie3838

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Hi guys, I have a Whirlpool WHES44 water softener. The softener is less than a year old and the other day I found the salt tank full of water. I cleaned the verturi and nozzle (wasn't even dirty) and checked the drain hose to make sure it wasn't plugged. I cycled the system an water is still in the salt tank. I don't know what to do or what is causing the problem. I called Whirlpool since unit is still under warranty and they are trying to blame me for the problem. They said drainage will need an air gap and venturi and hoses need to be clean or they will charge me for service call.

What can cause salt tank to fill with water?

Is there a way to test to see if venturi is working properly?

Will cycling the system normally empty the salt tank of water or do I have to manually scoop it out?

Will lack of air gap cause water to go into salt tank? I know no water is running backup into hose.

If not a warranty issue, how much will whirlpool charge for service call?

I'm not very handy guys so any info would be great?

Thanks.
 

Mialynette2003

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There is suppose to be about 2" of water in the brine tank. When you advance the system into a cycle, the first stage is fill and the 2nd stage is draw. Advance system to the draw cycle. Make mental note of the water level in the brine tank. Wait about 5 minutes and check to see if water level dropped. If it has not dropped, get Whirlpool to send a tech under warranty. Not having an air gap does not stop the unit from working but a pinched or clogged drain will.
 

Tech1

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Hi guys, I have a Whirlpool WHES44 water softener. The softener is less than a year old and the other day I found the salt tank full of water. I cleaned the verturi and nozzle (wasn't even dirty) and checked the drain hose to make sure it wasn't plugged. I cycled the system an water is still in the salt tank. I don't know what to do or what is causing the problem. I called Whirlpool since unit is still under warranty and they are trying to blame me for the problem. They said drainage will need an air gap and venturi and hoses need to be clean or they will charge me for service call.

What can cause salt tank to fill with water?

Is there a way to test to see if venturi is working properly?

Will cycling the system normally empty the salt tank of water or do I have to manually scoop it out?

Will lack of air gap cause water to go into salt tank? I know no water is running backup into hose.

If not a warranty issue, how much will whirlpool charge for service call?

I'm not very handy guys so any info would be great?

Thanks.

Sounds like the salt bridged. Clean out the tank of all salt and that slime if it is in there. If not check the float. You have to understand that these whirlpool systems are not built to last. Some people get lucky. After you clean the salt out and remove the bridged salt (white goop), pull the float, rinse off the float and test it to make sure it can push and pull. Usually there is a small ball inside the float strainer that gets bound up by salt bridges. So when checking the float, tilt the float upside down and suck on the pull end. Yea it sucks and its salty as all but that is the way to test if there is an issue. I deal with this crap on a daily. I obviously can't mention what water conditioning dealer I work for but I will help as much as I can. :)
 
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Mialynette2003

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Sounds like the salt bridged. Clean out the tank of all salt and that slime if it is in there. If not check the float. You have to understand that these whirlpool systems are not built to last. Some people get lucky. After you clean the salt out and remove the bridged salt (white goop), pull the float, rinse off the float and test it to make sure it can push and pull. Usually there is a small ball inside the float strainer that gets bound up by salt bridges. So when checking the float, tilt the float upside down and suck on the pull end. Yea it sucks and its salty as all but that is the way to test if there is an issue. I deal with this crap on a daily. I obviously can't mention what water conditioning dealer I work for but I will help as much as I can. :)
There is no ball inside the float on these style units. You are referring to the #500 air check. If the salt tank is full of water, there is no salt bridge.
 
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