Fleck 5600 leaks

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quackduck

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The drain hose connector leaks (not while in backwash or other cycles) after all the cycles have been done, the water that remains in the drain area starts to leak from the thread. The drain adapter is new and there are 4 turns with teflon tape.
Also, the brine hose connection leaks while in refill position; I've put the ferrule the right way (narrow side towards the connection) tightened the nut a bit and leaks while in refill, then tightened a bit more with a wrench less water leaks but still does. How tight does the brine hose need to be? The 5600 control head is new.
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Bannerman

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the brine hose connection leaks while in refill position; I've put the ferrule the right way (narrow side towards the connection) tightened the nut a bit and leaks while in refill, then tightened a bit more with a wrench less water leaks but still does. How tight does the brine hose need to be?
Can't seen the fitting from the side but it appears the nut may possibly be bottoming out against fitting. If so, the fitting, compression ring and ferrule should be replaced. These should be available from HD or other local hardware store.

In replacing the fitting, or in reinserting the tube into the same fitting, recut the tube squarely, cutting away sufficient tubing to eliminate burrs, scratches or other tubing scars from the prior installation, that maybe the cause of leakage.

A visible water leak signifies there will be an air vacuum leak during Brine Draw, thereby preventing brine from being drawn from the brine tank.

Whenever tightening the compression nut around the brine tube, always use two wrenches to prevent over tightening the fitting into the control valve socket, which may result in the socket housing becoming cracked.

drain hose connector leaks (not while in backwash or other cycles) after all the cycles have been done,
There should be no leakage from this fitting. Since the rubber drain tube appears to be directed upwards, that section of drain tubing will continue to remain filled with water.

Suggest inspecting the control valve housing socket to ensure there is no crack in the housing. Unlikely to occur from a plastic barb fitting, but there is always the possibility of a manufacturing defect.

If the housing socket is good, before further tightening the barbed adaptor, loosen the drain tube gear clamp to allow the fitting to turn without causing the the drain tube to become twisted.

Since this is a softener, what diameter resin tank is your 5600 installed on?

Your label specifies a 7.0 GPM Drain Line Flow rate restrictor is installed. This will be inappropriate for any softener equipped with a 5600 control valve. The usual appropriate drain flow rate for a 10" diameter (typical 1.5 cubic feet (ft3) of resin) is 2.4 gpm, or 3.5 gpm for a 12" (2 ft3) tank.

I do not see a meter cable protruding out from the rear of the control valve cover. Without it, the control valve will not know how much soft water is measured by the meter before regeneration is to occur.
 

quackduck

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Thanks for your reply. The 5600 is not metered, it's the 12-day version which needs to regenerate between 1-12 days set by me. The 7 GPM flow rate is quite bit more than the old 5600 I had which was 1.5 GPM. The resin tank is fairly small about 1/2 cubic foot of resin was enough to fill the tank.
I will try your recommendations and hopefully it will fix the problems.
 

Reach4

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Anomaly. A softener with a 9x48 tank would normally have 1 cuft of resin. DLFC would be 2.0 gpm.
 

Bannerman

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The resin tank is fairly small about 1/2 cubic foot of resin was enough to fill the tank.
To provide sufficient empty space (Freeboard) for media expansion during backwash, a softener tank is to be filled to only 2/3 of the tank height (not including either dome). The bottom dome will be typically filled with bedding gravel, thereby placing the bottom screen submerged within the gravel, with the resin located above the gravel.

The drain flow rate controls the height in which the resin will be lifted and expanded during each backwash cycle. A 1.5 GPM drain flow rate is appropriate for an 8" diameter tank which will typically contain max. 0.75 ft3 of resin (total softening capacity = 24,000 grains).

When the drain flow rate is too high, such as 7.0 GPM, it is highly likely most if not all of the resin will be backwashed out to drain. If an upper screen is placed below the control valve to prevent resin loss, the upper screen is likely to become broken within a short period of time, due to the force of the resin being repeatedly held back by the screen during each Backwash cycle.

The 5600 is not metered, it's the 12-day version which needs to regenerate between 1-12 days set by me.
Few Time Clock controllers are sold these days, as metered controls are typically more salt and water efficient. Using a meter, regeneration will only occur once the programmed capacity (calculated gallons) has been delivered.

It seems your prior 5600 had been metered as a Paddlewheel flow meter is clearly shown in a photo, on the softener's outlet connection.

If your softener is equipped with 0.75 ft3 resin, then the usual recommended amount of capacity to be utilized before regeneration is to occur will be 18,000 grains as that will require only 6 lbs salt each cycle to regenerate that amount of Capacity. (Maximum Hardness Reduction Efficiency = 18,000 gr / 6 lbs = 3,000 grains per lb).

If you plan to utilize 100% of the resin's capacity before regenerating (ie 24,000 grains for 0.75 ft3), then that will be significantly less efficient as 15 lbs salt would be required each cycle. (24,000 gr / 15 lbs = 1,600 grains per lb).
 
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quackduck

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I have followed your suggestions and looks for now to have fixed the 2 points where the softener leaked. The brine hose I cut off a bit and reattached the ferrule and nut. The drain hose I tightened a little bit more. So far so good, thank you for your assistance.
 
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