Hi, it would be great to get some expert opinion.
I have a 180 foot 8 inch casing well with a Gould submersible pump.
I recently installed my water filter and softener and have some issues.
The first filter after the pressure tank is a 1.5 CF multimedia filter and water softener using KCL for regen.
The second filter is a 3 CF Resintech SBG2 for nitrates (level 10-12 mg/l untreated) using NaCL.
Both have Clack valves. The timers are Sentry II series 950.
The drain is 3/4 inch PEX and does rise about 3 feet gradually enroute then drops down to enter the drain in another room.
The system has been installed for about 45 days, and has had 2 regeneration cycles. I initially installed it but didn't have the drain set up, so I ran the system for 30 days without regeneration. This exceeded the nitrate IX service length, and it dumped nitrates, particularly after the first regen where they shot up to 40-60 mg/dl. It also tasted a little salty. I flushed the system out by running about 100 gallons through both filters, and the nitrates cleared and the saltiness cleared.
I then called the vendor and mentioned the original nitrate spike, so he had me change the settings.
My settings that resulted in the initial nitrate dump (which happened after 30+ days without regen, so no surprise) were:
Hardness 18
Regen Days 28
02:00AM
1- 32.0 lbs FILL
2- 60 min
3- Backwash 8 min
4- Brine Down 60 min
5- Backwash 8 min
6- Backwash 8 min
Capacity 120.0 x 1000
Regen AUTO, Normal, Salt lbs remaining OFF
So then it was suggested to change the settings to increase the fill time to 240 min, and decrease the fill to 28 lbs. The goal was to do a full 4 hour soak in the salt and start the regen at 10:00 PM. I also switched the 3 CF tank (the IX filter) to “softening”.
Then I did another full regen (IX only, not the softener) and things got *MUCH* worse and extremely salty. It was supposed to start at 10:00 PM, and my wife decided to take a shower at 11 PM. The water was so salty it burned her skin and eyes. The other strange thing was that the filter was already in the backwash cycle by the time she got out of the shower 1 hour later. I would have thought the 240 min FILL would have still been in progress.
I checked the water and the nitrates were up at 20+ and the water was extremely salty. I let it flush and ran another RINSE cycle on the IX and now the water is back to normal. No saltiness and no nitrates.
I called the vendor and he suggested that I increase the second backwash to 16 minutes (from 8) and increase the rinse to 16 minutes (from 8) so now I will see what happens after the next regen, but I have doubts.
Any ideas what happened in both instances?
1. Why the saltiness after both regens?
2. Why would the backwash start so early if the FILL had another 120 minutes left?
3. Is it possible that when I was programming it, I somehow got the cycles screwed up, so the timer and valves were somehow desynchronized? Is there a way to reset it?
4. Isn’t the clack supposed to prevent my wife or anyone else from showering in nitrate loaded brine?
THANK YOU!
I have a 180 foot 8 inch casing well with a Gould submersible pump.
I recently installed my water filter and softener and have some issues.
The first filter after the pressure tank is a 1.5 CF multimedia filter and water softener using KCL for regen.
The second filter is a 3 CF Resintech SBG2 for nitrates (level 10-12 mg/l untreated) using NaCL.
Both have Clack valves. The timers are Sentry II series 950.
The drain is 3/4 inch PEX and does rise about 3 feet gradually enroute then drops down to enter the drain in another room.
The system has been installed for about 45 days, and has had 2 regeneration cycles. I initially installed it but didn't have the drain set up, so I ran the system for 30 days without regeneration. This exceeded the nitrate IX service length, and it dumped nitrates, particularly after the first regen where they shot up to 40-60 mg/dl. It also tasted a little salty. I flushed the system out by running about 100 gallons through both filters, and the nitrates cleared and the saltiness cleared.
I then called the vendor and mentioned the original nitrate spike, so he had me change the settings.
My settings that resulted in the initial nitrate dump (which happened after 30+ days without regen, so no surprise) were:
Hardness 18
Regen Days 28
02:00AM
1- 32.0 lbs FILL
2- 60 min
3- Backwash 8 min
4- Brine Down 60 min
5- Backwash 8 min
6- Backwash 8 min
Capacity 120.0 x 1000
Regen AUTO, Normal, Salt lbs remaining OFF
So then it was suggested to change the settings to increase the fill time to 240 min, and decrease the fill to 28 lbs. The goal was to do a full 4 hour soak in the salt and start the regen at 10:00 PM. I also switched the 3 CF tank (the IX filter) to “softening”.
Then I did another full regen (IX only, not the softener) and things got *MUCH* worse and extremely salty. It was supposed to start at 10:00 PM, and my wife decided to take a shower at 11 PM. The water was so salty it burned her skin and eyes. The other strange thing was that the filter was already in the backwash cycle by the time she got out of the shower 1 hour later. I would have thought the 240 min FILL would have still been in progress.
I checked the water and the nitrates were up at 20+ and the water was extremely salty. I let it flush and ran another RINSE cycle on the IX and now the water is back to normal. No saltiness and no nitrates.
I called the vendor and he suggested that I increase the second backwash to 16 minutes (from 8) and increase the rinse to 16 minutes (from 8) so now I will see what happens after the next regen, but I have doubts.
Any ideas what happened in both instances?
1. Why the saltiness after both regens?
2. Why would the backwash start so early if the FILL had another 120 minutes left?
3. Is it possible that when I was programming it, I somehow got the cycles screwed up, so the timer and valves were somehow desynchronized? Is there a way to reset it?
4. Isn’t the clack supposed to prevent my wife or anyone else from showering in nitrate loaded brine?
THANK YOU!
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