Fleck 5600 - Salt water in lines after regen

[BobW44]

Following a regen of my Fleck 5600, salty water in the plumbing is discovered that morning. I notice it when I am about make coffee and the kitchen faucet dispenses salty water. My immediate remedy is simply to run the faucet for ten or so minutes until the water clears up.

I'm wondering what to do?
Does this sound like a 5600 valve problem and can/should I service it with say a rebuild kit ?
A clogged filter/screen in the 5600? (I don't know if it the 5600 has this): Clean or replace? How?
A line pressure problem (I'm on city water)

Thanks in advance....

 

[ditttohead]

Salty water can be caused by many possible problems. Is the water actually soft after it clears up? Do you have a test kit?

If the water is soft after you clear the salt then a few problems could be going on. Restriction in the drain line can cause a slow brine draw. Bad resin could cause pockets of salt to remain after regen, worn internals can also cause salt water problems. Dirty, fouled, or a loose injector can be another possibility. A worn brine valve causing excess water in the brine tank...

If the water is not soft after regen, then a problem with the riser o-ring/manifold area is your likely problem.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[BobW44]

The water is soft although that's by "feel" not by a test. So, what to test next? I don't know how to test resin. If it matters, mine is 8 years old.
I suppose if I'm going to tear into the unit to inspect o-rings, screens, injectors, I should have a overhaul kit in hand, right?
I went to impactwaterproducts website and I don't see any 5600 parts nor do I see resin.

 

[BobW44]

So, I removed the injector body and inspected the brine valve, screen, and injector nozzle/throat . Looked OK. I put everything back together and ran a manual regen. I sampled faucet water throughout the regen process at strategic points during the cycle. No sample looked or tasted salty whatsoever.
I'm wondering if one of the following is occurring:
1. a piece of debris was preventing a valve/injector/etc from seating (and I somehow dislodged it when I inspected it)
2. the water supply pressure sometimes low and affects the regen process

 

[Reach4]

I think those are supposed to work with as little as 20 PSI. So it seems unlikely the pressure was the problem.

You might watch during a backwash to see if water is flowing out fast. Maybe you had a kink that has been straightened. The backwash cycle was not the problem, but it is the one where a restriction would have been more obvious.

Brine draw and slow rinse are the same cycle as far as the controller is concerned, except that at some point the brine has all been drawn from the tank and the air check valve stops the unit from sucking air. Ditttohead has pointed out that it is the slow rinse's job to wash the brine out of the resin. You can actually taste the water from the drain line. Near the end of the slow rinse, you should not taste salt in the water being drained. If the problem continued, you could increase the slow rinse time, but it sounds as if your problem is fixed.

 

[BobW44]

Thanks for the reply. If it happens again (say, in the next few regens), what do you suggest as a course of action?

 

[Reach4]

Thanks for the reply. If it happens again (say, in the next few regens), what do you suggest as a course of action?

http://www.softenerparts.com/Fleck_5600_Valve_and_Parts_s/30.htm lists parts.

I would get a Hach 5B test kit for hardness, and that would answer the question from reply #2. If the softener softens and continues to do so through the cycle, the resin is presumably good.