Brine Tank Grid Plate Question

[Stoogesman]

Hi everyone!

I noticed lately that my softener system hasn't been softening correctly. Upon examining the brine tank I discovered a couple of issues. The first issue I found was the grid plate was disintegrated. The second issue was the amount of salt sludged up at the bottom was unreal.

I removed the broken grid plate and cleaned out the entire brine tank. On Amazon I found an 18" grid plate which will fit my tank (see below). The only difference between the new grid plate and the old one is the old grid plate sat 8" high, hence there was about 8" of brine, with salt sitting on top. The one on Amazon only sits 4" high. Even with my new grid plate sitting lower, the brine water will still be a couple inches above the intake within the well. Also, from googling, all grid plates I've seen are 4" high. Didn't come across any 8" ones.

Will this height difference matter?

 

[LLigetfa]

It might matter if your tank is too small to hold the amount of brine. My softener shipped with too small of a tank. THe dealer could not find a grid to fit the tank so he replaced it with a larger tank that had a grid.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Stoogesman]

It might matter if your tank is too small to hold the amount of brine. My softener shipped with too small of a tank. THe dealer could not find a grid to fit the tank so he replaced it with a larger tank that had a grid.

My brine tank is 33" tall, 18" circumference. Pretty standard from what I can gather. My softener system is super old. It's a Fleck 3210 elctro-mechanical.

 

[Bannerman]

How high does the liquid brine sit in the brine tank once the Brine Fill cycle has concluded?
Most softeners do not utilize a brine grid, but a brine grid is sometimes utilized when the brine tank is smaller than recommended for the softener's useable Capacity.

When a brine tank is too small, the liquid level during Brine Fill may rise too high within the tank, which will often cause the safety float to rise and shut off incoming water flow before 100% of the programmed amount of water enters the tank to produce the appropriate quantity of brine needed to regenerate the amount of Capacity that is programmed.

A brine grid, will keep the dry salt elevated above the bottom of the tank, so the liquid will be less susceptible to being displaced by salt, thereby resulting in a lower liquid height even when filled with the correct amount of liquid.

Each beer cup shaped leg for the brine grid, will be typically equipped with holes, to allow the water from below, to enter the legs to dissolve the salt sitting in the legs, which will gradually mix with the remaining water below, until a brine strength of 3 lbs salt per gallon is achieved.

As the salt within each if the legs is dissolved, dry salt in storage above will refill each of the legs.

 

[Stoogesman]

How high does the liquid brine sit in the brine tank once the Brine Fill cycle has concluded?
Most softeners do not utilize a brine grid, but a brine grid is sometimes utilized when the brine tank is smaller than recommended for the softener's useable Capacity.

When a brine tank is too small, the liquid level during Brine Fill may rise too high within the tank, which will often cause the safety float to rise and shut off incoming water flow before 100% of the programmed amount of water enters the tank to produce the appropriate quantity of brine needed to regenerate the amount of Capacity that is programmed.

A brine grid, will keep the dry salt elevated above the bottom of the tank, so the liquid will be less susceptible to being displaced by salt, thereby resulting in a lower liquid height even when filled with the correct amount of liquid.

Each beer cup shaped leg for the brine grid, will be typically equipped with holes, to allow the water from below, to enter the legs to dissolve the salt sitting in the legs, which will gradually mix with the remaining water below, until a brine strength of 3 lbs salt per gallon is achieved.

As the salt within each if the legs is dissolved, dry salt in storage above will refill each of the legs.

I added only a little bit of salt without, after cleaning the grid, added about 3 gallons of water and did a regen. After the regen, the water level is about 7".

 

[Bannerman]

My question, is in regard to the liquid height with the brine tank filled with salt. The liquid height, is usually observed by looking down within the Brine Well (4" plastic pipe housing the safety float, safety valve, and brine pick-up tube) after removing the top cap.

What is your softener's total capacity (or resin tank dimensions), and it's programmed Capacity setting?

 

[Stoogesman]

My question, is in regard to the liquid height with the brine tank filled with salt. The liquid height, is usually observed by looking down within the Brine Well (4" plastic pipe housing the safety float, safety valve, and brine pick-up tube) after removing the top cap.

What is your softener's total capacity (or resin tank dimensions), and it's programmed Capacity setting?

No idea. I bought the house 3 years ago and it came with the softener. I called the company who installed it and asked about upgrading it and they said they were out there to look at the system in 2021 and everything was fine. The owner (older gentleman) said if it's not broke, don't upgrade.

 

[Stoogesman]

And when looking in the brine well, I measure 8" of water.

 

[Stoogesman]

Here's my resin tank and settings...

New item by C “cg”

photos.app.goo.gl

New item by C “cg”

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Stoogesman]

My brine grid plate sat on top of this contraption, which is 8" high.

New item by C “cg”

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[LLigetfa]

Watch the float (if it has one) during brine fill to see if the float shuts off the fill when the tank is full of salt. As mentioned, the salt will displace some of the brine volume and could cause the level to raise the float.

As I mentioned, the dealer provided a tank that was too small and to make matters worse, he didn't even set the float height correctly. Even raising the float as high as possible would still stop the fill. Why the float would not be set to the highest position is just dumb.

I could not believe that the dealer suggested that I not fill the tank with salt in order to make more room for the brine. I had to push back and demand a larger tank which he exchanged at no cost but I paid extra for the grid.

 

[Stoogesman]

Watch the float (if it has one) during brine fill to see if the float shuts off the fill when the tank is full of salt. As mentioned, the salt will displace some of the brine volume and could cause the level to raise the float.

As I mentioned, the dealer provided a tank that was too small and to make matters worse, he didn't even set the float height correctly. Even raising the float as high as possible would still stop the fill. Why the float would not be set to the highest position is just dumb.

I could not believe that the dealer suggested that I not fill the tank with salt in order to make more room for the brine. I had to push back and demand a larger tank which he exchanged at no cost but I paid extra for the grid.

I'll keep an eye on everything. I'm going to use the new grid plate and keep it at 4". I ran a regen last night after cleaning the tank, adding in about a half a bag of salt, and everything ran well. My water tasted good after with no smell of iron in it. And, I have a super good sniffer. I could smell the iron in the water the last couple weeks when my brine tank was all clogged up.

The broken grid plate caused a lot of salt buildup and it was a thick mess at the bottom of that tank.

 

[Reach4]

No idea. I bought the house 3 years ago and it came with the softener. I called the company who installed it and asked about upgrading it and they said they were out there to look at the system in 2021 and everything was fine. The owner (older gentleman) said if it's not broke, don't upgrade.

City water can degrade resin with time. Well water can load the resin with iron that must be treated, but it degrades the resin much more slowly.

You should test for "fine" by testing the softened water. The Hach 5-B kit is the favorite for that. If that is good, that is great.