Discharge tube disconnected, saw some resin beads on the floor...what could this mean?

[Amateurplumber1]

I went to fill my Fleck 7000sxt softener with some salt and noticed that the floor was kind of wet, then saw that the discharge tube wasn't connected. Naturally, i looked for signs of water and noticed there wasn't a lot of water down there. Since we dont have great drainage where the softener is located i'd certainly have seen signs of water being all over the place if it really had been disconnected the whole time.

SO, either it disconnected and the residual water in the tube came out, (which may be possible, but there's a small rug located under the softener which was soaked so I think there was more water than what was in the tube, unless there really was a lot of water in the tube), OR it disconnected towards the end of the cycle where a bit more water came out.

What really troubles me, though, is that I noticed there are some resin beads on the floor, as well as where the softener is draining into. So...can someone infer from the info that I've provided what happened and if its ok that there are resin beads that came out? I'm freaked out. Thanks!

 

[Bannerman]

Was there no clamp or fitting installed on the drain line? The water being flushed through the final fast rinse will have near full main pressure on it so it requires a clamp or fitting to secure it.

Is this a new softener? Sometimes when the softener is just new, there is some resin that was fractured in manufacturing, which will be discharged the first few regenerations. Alternatively, there may have been slightly too much resin installed.

How much resin do you see?
What is the capacity of the softener? (1000 grains or cu/ft) Fleck 7000sxt is the control valve model which has no relevance to the softener capacity.
City water or well? Pressure if known?
What are the softener's program settings including the Drain Line Flow Control (DLFC) and Brine Line Flow Control (BLFC) which are normally stated on a label close to the brine hose fitting?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Amateurplumber1]

The clamp I initially went to the hardware store to purchase, but they either didnt have them or couldnt find them, so unfortunately I was forced to wait to purchase it and forgot about it. The softener is almost 2 years old. Its 48,000 grains capacity. It's been working wonderfully besides this. As far as resin...maybe 1/5 a cup? Probably less, but its hard for me to see since its kind of spread out in both locations. I'm on city water. No idea what pressure. The DLFC i dont know and the BLFC is 0.125.

Is it possible that there was some kind of blockage with the resin or something and it just built up pressure, shot the hose off and dislodged the resin? Seems unlikely but I've got nothing else. Thanks a lot for helping.

 

[Bannerman]

While that small an amount of resin is not a big concern if lost, that doesn't explain why the resin was discharged.

Just so we're clear, the elbow fitting where the drain hose connects to the valve, remains connected to the softener control valve? Correct?

If the drain elbow should somehow come off, then the DLFC button below the elbow would not remain in place. Without a DLFC button, there is nothing to restrict water flow normally flowing to the drain so then the resin would be lifted too much in the tank during backwash and could be discharged out the drain port. There should be a clip holding the drain elbow in place.

 

[Amateurplumber1]

The drain elbow (the little ridged L-shaped white piece, I'm assuming) is indeed held in with a red clip. Definitely firmly connected. That's totally weird for me too--why start now? I'll keep an eye on it and see if I see resin again, I guess. Thanks again Bannerman.

 

[Bannerman]

You need a hose clamp or appropriate fitting as it's obviously loose enough to become dislodged again.

As you mention seeing resin at the location where the softener normally drains, how is the drain tube being drained so that you can see what comes out? Attach a photo if you can.

 

[Amateurplumber1]

Yeah, I'm gonna pick one up in the next day or two before it discharges again. Right now I have it draining into an unused bathtub a few few away. Not optimal, but until I figure something out thats what I've gotta do. So there was resin in both the room where the softener is (right next to the softener), and resin in the tub a few feet over. Which makes me think some got through and then the drain line just fell off and the rest fell onto the floor by the softener.

 

[ditttohead]

Resi loss to the drain is common but after a couple years, it should be extremely minimal if not undetectable. You should remove the grey clip from the drain line, remove the 90 degree drain fitting and insp[ect the DLF button to be sure it has one. That valve can flow in excess of 20 GPM to the drain if it is missing the button. The top screen would likely fail if this were the case. The drain flow control on a 10" tank should be around 2.4 GPM, depending on water temperature and system design. You could also measure the drain flow rate to the drain during backwash or fast rinse to determine the flow rate.

 

[Amateurplumber1]

I'll try to do that. I know it has the top screen. I'm assuming it has the button if I've never seen any resin before. Anything else you think it might be? It just doesnt make sense! I set it all up with your input and the settings you provided me and it's worked fine thus far, so I dunno.

 

[Bannerman]

If it does have a top screen and the DLFC button missing, the top screen may have prevented resin loss up to this point. As dittohead said, the screen may now have broken from the frequent pressure placed on it.

 

[Amateurplumber1]

I'm gonna look for this when I get home. Its basically just a rubber disc with a hole in the middle to control flow? Remove the clip, take off the elbow, and it should be behind that? How often are these things not included with the control valve?

 

[Bannerman]

Yes, the button is a rubber washer with a specific size hole. If it is there, it should have a number on one side which relates to the gpm rating. Record what the number is.

Here is a link to the manual for your model: http://waterpurification.pentair.com/Files/KnowledgeBase/ItemDownload/en/42775 Rev D.pdf

Since the valve can be used on tanks of various sizes and as the button must be specifically sized for each softener tank size, it could be easily forgotten to be installed.

 

[Amateurplumber1]

Alright, went and checked it out, here are the images. Looks like the DLFC is there. It could be that the resin on the floor by the softener is from when I spilled a bit when I poured it in during the initial install. The resin in the bathtub, though, I have no idea. I guess theoretically it could be from the first couple discharges and it just never washed away, and I never flashed a bright light on it to really be able to see it, but that seems nuts. Shoulda washed away sometime in the past two years. Arghhhh.

 

[Amateurplumber1]

Got a clamp, tightened it down, doubt that thing will ever fall off again. Will test it tomorrow during the day.