Brownish water after regen

[Postman]

Hi I have a VIQUA Impression Series water softerner from 2009.
I just got the house so I do not know the history of the softener.
Model is AWP32EB-FM https://viqua.com/product/awp32eb-fm/

I am having issues with the water being brownish for about a day after the softener regenerates.
I have tried using super iron out, but while it may have helped water still has the brownish tint if somewhat lighter.
The backwash color is also this color, I have tried running multiple backwash to get clearer water before regen but same results.
I have also left the iron out in the softener overnight (closing input valve during cycle once brine is almost all used).

The well water analysis is (before the softerner):
PH: 7.2
Total Hardness: 170 Mg/l
Iron: <0.3 Mg/l
Manganese: 0.15 Mg/l
Conductivity: 710 μm/cm

Bateria was also checked, there is none.

Current settings for the softener is:
hardness: 20 (From that calculation tools I have found mine is actually about 10 isn't it?)
days to regen: 14 (I have just changed this to 7)

Cycles are as such (Don't know how to change these):
Brine tank fill: 6 min
Brine salt dissolving: 160 min
Backwash: 8 min
Brine draw + slow rinse: 60min
Fast rinse: 4 min

Brine is all sucked in at about 20min in the cycle.
I have checked for a salt bridge the is none.

Is there anything to be done here, is this normal?
Bonus question, I'm using windsor system saver II pellets, should I use solar salt like the manual suggests?

 

[Postman]

Forgot to mention, in between cycles we have almost no issues with toilet, sink shower staining. But the day after regen, everything gets stained especially the toilet since it sits there.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

Total Hardness: 170 Mg/l
Iron: <0.3 Mg/l
Manganese: 0.15 Mg/l

That "<0.3 Mg/l" would imply to me that the test was very insensitive. Was that "<" really in the reported result?

Backwash: 7 min

Maybe change that to 12 minutes.

Brine: 160 min

Is that brine fill?

Total Hardness: 170 Mg/l

I would set that to 238 to compensate for iron and Mn.

Bonus question, I'm using windsor system saver II pellets, should I use solar salt like the manual suggests?

I would opt for the special iron-treating salt. I would not go for the solar salt. Also consider a Res-up or similar feeder.


http://manualzz.com/doc/5302258/520129---viqua-impression-series-mws-and-bf.fm is a manual that might be informative to somebody.

The best solution is to add a backwashing iron+Mn filter before the softener. That would cost a fair amount and take space. But it would take that iron+Mn load off of the softener.

I am not a pro, and others may have better solutions for you.

 

[Postman]

That "<0.3 Mg/l" would imply to me that the test was very insensitive. Was that "<" really in the reported result?

Maybe change that to 12 minutes.

Is that brine fill?


I would set that to 238 to compensate for iron and Mn.


I would opt for the special iron-treating salt. I would not go for the solar salt. Also consider a Res-up or similar feeder.


http://manualzz.com/doc/5302258/520129---viqua-impression-series-mws-and-bf.fm is a manual that might be informative to somebody.

The best solution is to add a backwashing iron+Mn filter before the softener. That would cost a fair amount and take space. But it would take that iron+Mn load off of the softener.

I am not a pro, and others may have better solutions for you.

Yes indeed <0.3Mg/L is their results althought I do have an analysis of the after the softener from a more accurate lab, which is
ferrous iron : 0
total iron: 0.1mg/L
manganese 0.012mg/L
TDS: 470 mh/L
Turbidity: 3.18 UTN
Tanin: 0
Brine: 160 min is the time wait after the brine fill to dissolve the salt.

 

[Reach4]

Brine: 160 min is the time wait after the brine fill to dissolve the salt.

es indeed <0.3Mg/L is their results althought I do have an analysis of the after the softener from a more accurate lab, which is
ferrous iron : 0
total iron: 0.1mg/L
manganese 0.012mg/L

Much better. However this does not explain the brown. Or does it? Total iron 0.1. Ferrous 0.0... So that means the test says you have 0.1 ferric iron??? Ferric iron is normally not in solution I think, so could be filtered. Or maybe there is ferric iron that can be in solution... New to me.

Could that be sediment? If you put that brownest backwash water into a glass, does the brown settle eventually?

Do you have some treatment equipment before the softener already?

I would put a sediment filter before the softener in any case. If that brown stuff settles I might have a couple of stages of sediment filtering.

Turbidity: 3.18 UTN.

Looking that up, that is high. Sediment filtering needed. Shallow well, or deep? Anyway, I would view sediment as fairly good news in that it is often easy enough to deal with.

I am not sure what your filtering will collect at what rate. Will one 20x4.5 Pentek Big Blue filter housing be enough? Do you need to preceed that with something else? I don't know. I would maybe start with that. Then if the filter clogs up too soon, add another filter before.

 

[Postman]

Could that be sediment? If you put that brownest backwash water into a glass, does the brown settle eventually?

Will have to give it a try.

Do you have some treatment equipment before the softener already?

There is nothing before the softener, nor after.

What is the source of your water?

My private well.

Shouldn't the backwash take care of the sediments in the unit? I know softeners are not filters but during regular operation everything is fine, is the backwash not doing its job properly or the accumulation of sediments in the unit is causing issues?

*Edits: Sorry I suck at posting

 

[Reach4]

OK... I am thinking that I would put in 2 Big Blue housings in series. I think I would start with a Pentek DGD-2501-20 or other finer filter in the second one, and I would be thinking of a higher micron filter... 50 or 100 first. The Watts FM-BB-20-50 is washable. If that clogs up too fast, and your settling test shows fast enough settling, there are filters that can be easily cleaned with the twist of a knob.

You don't have to stay with your initial choices of filter cartridges. I actually have 3 BB housing and I am keeping the first one empty. I don't need 3, but even an empty sump can collect some sediment.

For BB, keep extra O-rings on hand. Consider a bypass valve arrangement. Consider one or more pressure gauges or boiler drains. A boiler drain can be useful to let you connect a pressure gauge, and you can use it to fill a drinking water jug if you want your own mineral water free.

 

[ditttohead]

My opinion would be to forgo the bb filters for now and correct the source of the problem. It sounds to me like your resin is heavily fouled and the regeneration process is helping to clear the resin but you have a long way to go.

Put several pounds of Citric acid into a half gallon of hot water and dissolve it. pour it into the brine tank and start the regeenration. As soon as the water level in te brine tank drops to the air check, unplug the power to the softener and put the unit into bypass. let the resin cook in the low ph solution for a couple hours. plug the power back in and put the system back into service and see what happens. BB filters can be considered later but for now the problem is obviously resin related.

 

[Postman]

Maybe change that to 12 minutes.

Reach4 Do you know how I can access the backwash cycle settings to set 12 min? The menu in the manual only gives access to hardness and days to regen. I think uping the backwash time and maybe fast rinse would help a lot, running a couple gen definatly helped so longer times seems to be the way to go only I can't find any info on how to access the settings.

The user manual states the brine dissolution is set to 4 hours at the factory while mine is 2h40m also its generating just under 3gal of brine which seems low...

Also after quite a bit more backwashing and regen cycles, water is still brownish but it is a lot better.
I did leave a glass of the water sit and did not notice any significant amount of sedimentation.

Dittohead: How many pounds is several pounds?
Also I have just cleaned the brine tank its still empty. Should I just do the citric acid cycle alone and then run a regular regen with salt added or add salt and the citric acid solution?

 

[Reach4]

Do you know how I can access the backwash cycle settings to set 12 min?

Post a photo of the front of the controller, and maybe another photo of the unit from a different angle. If it is easy to remove the cover, do that.

Measure the resin tank height and either diameter or circumference.

 

[Postman]

English manual has some issues.. here's the panel breakdown
Here's what the buttons say
____________________
| Screen | | + |
|___________________ | | - |
_______ ______ _____
|Set Clock | | Regen | | Next |

English manual specs uses different model but the specs are exactly the same I have the WS30CC-FM

 

[Reach4]

I cannot find a service manual.

 

[Postman]

Found the unlock managed to up the settings, here's the rest of them.
https://streamable.com/9x9iv

For posterity if someone's panel looks like mine To unlock press ▼, NEXT, ▲, and SET CLOCK in sequence, then press NEXT and ▼ simultaneously for 3 seconds and release. Then press NEXT and ▼ simultaneously for 3-5 seconds and release to enter setup.