Faulty Brine Salt Tank Safety Float

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HudsonDIY

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Greetings All,

I haven't posted in a while but I've recently been having a problem with my Fleck 5600 so I figured I'd ask the experts before I throw parts at it.

Gradually I've gone from nice soft water to hard as a rock. I just dug into the unit today after noticing it wasn't using any salt. So I dug in and emptied the brine tank and started investigating. What I noticed was the float valve seems to operate fine but there is a small ball valve on the pick up which I assume should float. It seems to have lost some or most of its buoyancy or something is preventing the ball from clearing the pickup and isn't allowing brine to flow into the Fleck valve from the brine tank, out into the brine tank seems to work fine based on the position of the large float.

Just by means of reasonable deduction my guess is unless the tank runs dry the flow should never be impeded going into the Fleck valve.

Can someone please confirm my findings so I don't waste money on parts I don't need.

Thanks for your kind replies in advance.
 

LLigetfa

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The small ball should float and is meant to stop air from getting sucked in after the brine is drawn down. If sludge at the bottom of the brine well prevents the ball from floating, brine will not draw. Periodically the sludge needs to be cleaned out from the brine tank.

Another preventer of brine draw is a suction leak at one of the fittings.

The large float is intended to stop the brine fill from overflowing the tank.
 

Reach4

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Can someone please confirm my findings so I don't waste money on parts I don't need.
Confirm.

A test for your suspicion of a water logged ball on the air check valve would be to undo the brine line at the valve, and suck on the tube with your mouth or your hand vacuum pump. If you draw brine, the air check valve, or other blockage, is not blocking the flow.

We can get into the symptoms, by watching during an immediate regeneration. Questions would be does brine get drawn out, and then get refilled.

Alternatively, consider cleaning the injector and injector screen first.
 

HudsonDIY

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Confirm.

A test for your suspicion of a water logged ball on the air check valve would be to undo the brine line at the valve, and suck on the tube with your mouth or your hand vacuum pump. If you draw brine, the air check valve, or other blockage, is not blocking the flow.

We can get into the symptoms, by watching during an immediate regeneration. Questions would be does brine get drawn out, and then get refilled.

Alternatively, consider cleaning the injector and injector screen first.


Yes I did just that with the end of the pick up submerged in water. When I sucked on the line it would flow for a split second and then stop. I could feel the ball snap shut.
 

LLigetfa

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Yes I did just that with the end of the pick up submerged in water. When I sucked on the line it would flow for a split second and then stop. I could feel the ball snap shut.
I assume you used plain water, not brine. Read my post above about the difference.
 

LLigetfa

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https://traveltips.usatoday.com/swimming-dead-sea-1240.html
"Swimming" in the Dead Sea
In actuality, it is nearly impossible to swim in the Dead Sea. Because of the high salt content of the water, people who bathe in the Dead Sea can actually float on the surface of the water. Several photos taken from the Dead Sea show bathers casually reading newspapers or books while relaxing on the water with no visible means of support.
 

Reach4

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Fleck brine pick-up tube with air check: Fleck part number 60002

Cut to length.
 
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