Desertbug
New Member
I recently had my Whirlpool WHES40 replaced with a new Clack WS1 48K grain water softener. The installer loaded the new softener with NaCl regenerant but I am converting it to KCl as we had been using successfully with the Whirlpool. I found some excellent information on this site and so once the NaCl level was low, I emptied out the tank, changed the post-fill setting to pre-fill and added 1 bag of KCl. Now running a manual regeneration.
I’m now hoping for some guidance on whether or not I should adjust any of the other settings. General advice including from my installer and I think according to Clack is that the Clack does not require any settings changes and can use either NaCl or KCl interchangeably. Others say you should change settings, sometimes drastically. I did see one mention on here that if you live in a hot climate, there is no need to change the settings. (Because the solubility of potassium increases at higher temperatures). But at normal temperatures some adjustments are recommended.
I do live in Phoenix, and my water softener is located in our hot garage which is not air conditioned. I would be very interested in which settings if any should I consider adjusting for potassium, both during the summer and winter months. There is also the possibility of eventually running a duct from our AC system over to the water closet where the softener is located, a far future project though.
Original Clack settings with NaCl regenerant:
POSTFILL
Capacity: 40
Lbs salt: 13
Reserve capacity: Auto
Regeneration time: normal
Hardness: 20
On these settings, it takes 7-10 days to use the 2000 gallons (minus reserve) that triggers the next regen
With KCl, the only setting I have changed so far is POSTFILL was changed to PREFILL. Some say I should reduce the capacity. Some say I should increase the hardness. (Neither of these commenters first questioned where the softener was installed.) There is also a setting where I could lengthen the regeneration time from “normal” to “longer”.
One thing I noticed on the first regeneration with KCl is that the water level after the pre-fill is lower than the water level I was seeing after post-fill. Is this because the first pre-fill regen started with a completely dry tank or is there some difference between pre-fill and post-fill?
Also, with my Whirlpool I used to load only 1 bag of KCl at a time, and not add another bag until I could see some residual water in the tank between regens. By keeping the potassium level lower I was able to easily break up any chunks that started trying to bridge. Is that reasonable for the Clack? I see many recommendations that you should always keep the salt level high enough so it completely fills the water during the dissolve period. But I’m concerned about bridging. With my 1 bag of KCl, the water level in the Clack after prefill was about twice the level of the salt, so that will be the highest it will ever get if I only load 1 bag at a time.
Appreciate any advice to fine tune my softener settings. And what might I experience if not changed. As for efficiency, I'm just hoping for consistently silky feeling water without going through multiple bags of potassium every month. (That is what our Whirlpool started to do before we replaced it.)
I’m now hoping for some guidance on whether or not I should adjust any of the other settings. General advice including from my installer and I think according to Clack is that the Clack does not require any settings changes and can use either NaCl or KCl interchangeably. Others say you should change settings, sometimes drastically. I did see one mention on here that if you live in a hot climate, there is no need to change the settings. (Because the solubility of potassium increases at higher temperatures). But at normal temperatures some adjustments are recommended.
I do live in Phoenix, and my water softener is located in our hot garage which is not air conditioned. I would be very interested in which settings if any should I consider adjusting for potassium, both during the summer and winter months. There is also the possibility of eventually running a duct from our AC system over to the water closet where the softener is located, a far future project though.
Original Clack settings with NaCl regenerant:
POSTFILL
Capacity: 40
Lbs salt: 13
Reserve capacity: Auto
Regeneration time: normal
Hardness: 20
On these settings, it takes 7-10 days to use the 2000 gallons (minus reserve) that triggers the next regen
With KCl, the only setting I have changed so far is POSTFILL was changed to PREFILL. Some say I should reduce the capacity. Some say I should increase the hardness. (Neither of these commenters first questioned where the softener was installed.) There is also a setting where I could lengthen the regeneration time from “normal” to “longer”.
One thing I noticed on the first regeneration with KCl is that the water level after the pre-fill is lower than the water level I was seeing after post-fill. Is this because the first pre-fill regen started with a completely dry tank or is there some difference between pre-fill and post-fill?
Also, with my Whirlpool I used to load only 1 bag of KCl at a time, and not add another bag until I could see some residual water in the tank between regens. By keeping the potassium level lower I was able to easily break up any chunks that started trying to bridge. Is that reasonable for the Clack? I see many recommendations that you should always keep the salt level high enough so it completely fills the water during the dissolve period. But I’m concerned about bridging. With my 1 bag of KCl, the water level in the Clack after prefill was about twice the level of the salt, so that will be the highest it will ever get if I only load 1 bag at a time.
Appreciate any advice to fine tune my softener settings. And what might I experience if not changed. As for efficiency, I'm just hoping for consistently silky feeling water without going through multiple bags of potassium every month. (That is what our Whirlpool started to do before we replaced it.)
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