Fleck 5600sxt programming help

[mggray87]

Alright guys. cut me a tiny bit of slack with softeners. its a new world to me. I grew up entire life with no softener didnt even know they existed or what they were. I drank tap water for life. Bay Area SF has pretty darn good water. I moved out to brentwood farm area. and every house is built with a loop for water softeners. i bought my first home out here in novemeber 2015. I purchased a fleck 5600SXT 48,000 capacity. It had the copper loop in garage but past owner never put one in. so thats the first thing i did to help appliances and pipes.

So just moving in in november and installed the fleck myself. I didnt even know what hardness was and what my water actually read. i called the city and they come out for free. I never saw him he said he came out and tested and it was at 9 hardness. i know i needed that to set up my system. the water has water reports ill post to show what i saw. its a blend of the grown water from wells and city plant surface water. If i know how to attach it i will. So i used 9 on my initial hardness. I didnt have a test kit myself. i set it at i think 12 just guessing and didnt feel anything my co worker moved nearby to a house that already had one. it was set to 15. i changed mine and thats where it is at now.

my home:
2485sq feet 2 story
3 full baths
Currently live with my girlfriend and my dog so only 2 of us live here.

my initial setup with directions from the place i ordered it online

recently been reading on it last 48 hours

My 5600SXT
48,000 grain capacity. 1.5c ft of hi capacity 8% crosslink resin
Black sticker .5gpm at 1.5lbs
DF-GAL
VT-tf 16
CT-fd
NT-1
C-48
H-15
RS-sf
SF-15
DO-14
RT-2:00am
BW-10
BD-60
RR-12
BF-15
FM-t.07

2 days ago i finally got a TDS digital meter and it was 250ish both hose and kitchen. (when i moved in i think i remmeber it was like 600's) so im confused.
SO.... i ordered a hach model hb test kit. i got it today. I tested TDS again and this morning it was 125. I tested hardness and it was 4 drops it turned blue so Hardness 4 coming from the outside hose where water comes in now. I tested the kitchen and the same thing Hardess 4 (4 drops) TDS is 135

he said it was 9. now its 4 im so confused. but what im really confused on. even if its 4 before softener its still 4. so that means my softener isnt doing a dang thing correct? so basically id love for someone that knows how to calculate everything and can help me dial this dam thing id really appreciate it. Im getting a RO 6 stage with alkaline tomorrow to install. and im ordering a 3 stage big blue 20x4.5 filters to put before softener later this month. but back to the softener.

lets see if i can put my water report on here.http://www.brentwoodca.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=32854

My water is a "blend" so it says so it has ranges for the plant and well. The only thing i can think of is we were in a drought for so dam long water was bad. last year we got good rain and this winter were getting hammered with rain. not sure if that plays a roll in plant water especially well water.

 

[Reach4]

I tested hardness and it was 4 drops it turned blue so Hardness 4 coming from the outside hose where water comes in now. I tested the kitchen and the same thing Hardess 4 (4 drops) TDS is 135

he said it was 9. now its 4 im so confused. but what im really confused on. even if its 4 before softener its still 4. so that means my softener isnt doing a dang thing correct?

I would be glad to give you some numbers, but you have a much more significant problem in what you just identified. The salt you have programmed in now and the high H you have this set for should have been more than able to get you well under a grain. So let's troubleshoot first.

Your current settings should cause you to consume 22.5 pounds of salt for each regen that you do. Does that happen? If you are not consuming salt at that rate, something is keeping you from drawing brine or making brine. Does the tank fill to the right level? How high is that in inches? What are the dimensions of your brine tank. Does the brine that is there get sucked out during the brine draw cycle? How low in inches? It should get sucked down within the first 20 minutes. What can you tell us about that.

And while we are at it, at the risk of offending you, are you sure that the softener is not in bypass? Is there maybe a second bypass in the plumbing in addition to the bypass on the back of the softener?

My water is a "blend" so it says so it has ranges for the plant and well. The only thing i can think of is we were in a drought for so dam long water was bad. last year we got good rain and this winter were getting hammered with rain. not sure if that plays a roll in plant water especially well water.

That would be expected to play a big role. Your water provider was probably using a much higher percent of well water, and now you are probably using mostly/all river water. That should make a big difference.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

OK, here are some numbers that I think are close to where you will want to run with later. But for now, do the troubleshooting stuff described above.
System info (not programmed)
salt lb/cuft = 6 ; A choice ( efficiency vs capacity)
BLFC = 0.5 ; Brine Refill rate GPM
cubic ft resin = 1.5 ; ft3 resin = (nominal grains)/32,000
Raw hardness = 8 ; including any compensation
People = 2 ; gallons affects reserve calc
Estimated gal/day = 120 ; 60 gal per person typical calc
Estimated days/regen = 15.6 ; Computed days ignoring reserve

Fleck 5600SXT Settings:
DF = Gal ; Units
VT = dF1b ; Downflw/Upflw, Single Backwash
CT = Fd ; Meter Delayed regen trigger
NT = 1 ; Number of tanks
C = 15.0 30; capacity in 1000 grains
H = 8 ; Hardness-- compensate if needed
RS = rc ; rc says use gallons vs percent
RC = 120 ; Reserve capacity gallons
DO = 28 ; Day Override
RT = 2:00 ; Regen time (default 2 AM)
BW = 5 ; Backwash (minutes)
Bd = 60 ; Brine draw minutes
RR = 5 ; Rapid Rinse minutes
BF = 6 ; Brine fill minutes
FM = t0.7 ;

 

[mggray87]

ok yea the water cpmpany emailed me today and said they use more plant water in the summer since more demand. Ok the 1" stainless bypass is in service mode. because i actually put it in bypass and ray sink for 10 min to test again and it was still 4 drops in model b5.the tank is let me see. on what i ordered. 14square x 34 tall brine tank. I actually can measure water level now its full of salt but i can see the water line since i havent put a new bag in it. as far as watching it drain i can do that tonight ill set it to go through the process. and ill sit and watch it. cause i heard it in middle of the night recently. when i get back to the gym ill sit there and watch and see what it is.

the brine tank is about 16.5" just about half way full of course its full of salt to. but its about 16.5" filled.

 

[mggray87]

And I don't remember the last time I put a bag of salt in. It's been way over a month or 2.

 

[mggray87]

Question is do I sit and watch the entire like 2 hour process. Ot can I skip certain ones just to get your answers. I better pull up a lounge chair and a beer eh!?

 

[Reach4]

And I don't remember the last time I put a bag of salt in. It's been way over a month or 2.

And it should have used over half of a 44 pound bag for every regen. So is the brine not getting drawn, or is the water not being inserted? The water depth right now will be a good clue. If the water depth is a couple inches, water is not being added. If the brine level is many inches and in fact is limited by the safety float, that means brine is not being drawn.

On page 20 troubleshooting, there are these

• Excessive water in brine tank.
• Softener fails to draw brine.

Their cause and correction columns are not all-inclusive, I think, but they will have most common causes.

Question is do I sit and watch the entire like 2 hour process. Ot can I skip certain ones just to get your answers. I better pull up a lounge chair and a beer eh!?

Yep, you can skip steps. See FLECK 5600SXT Downflow Service Manual page 5 at the top of column 2. However the brine level right now will tell a lot.

 

[mggray87]

my brine tank with salt is 16" high of water.. im about to see if it draws. in 1 min

 

[mggray87]

i took out salt and dug as deep as i can.. at 46 min and 30 seconds the sound changed like it was done taking in the brine. i couldnt see water line and when i look in tube i saw the white weight thing at the bottom. i think at 46min and 30 it took all the water it was able it. so under 15 min

 

[mggray87]

so i dug deeper when the sound changed and took more salt out and used a screw driver to measure water line.. it was about 3" to 3 1/4" water left at the bottom

 

[mggray87]

ok Reach4 here is a interesting thing. so like i said started at around half bin full 16" estimated. drew it down in under 15min and bottomed out it seems. i dug deep and used a screw driver to measure water left. it was 3 inch or so. now when it filled up. its set for 15 min. but at 8:50 left it stopped filling. and filled it about half way of the garbage can full again. i tapped the float at top and it filled for 1 sec i leg go and it stopped. so its only filling for the 7min. so im guessing its not putting enough water in for those settings???? my 1 year softener broken?

 

[Reach4]

ok Reach4 here is a interesting thing. so like i said started at around half bin full 16" estimated. drew it down in under 15min and bottomed out it seems. i dug deep and used a screw driver to measure water left. it was 3 inch or so. now when it filled up. its set for 15 min. but at 8:50 left it stopped filling. and filled it about half way of the garbage can full again.

Useful test results. You are drawing brine, and you are refilling, although the fill is limited by the safety brine valve.

Your symptoms of the unit not softening can be explained by a salt bridge. You will find various discussions. https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/softener-just-need-some-advice-and-help.69019/page-3 had some including mention of a well-placed kick. You will want to get rid of that salt bridge.

What salt did you use, and how full did you fill your brine tank? Is your brine tank round or rectangular?

So how about the fill being stopped early by the float? Those floats are adjustable. Slide the grommets higher on the rod. However after things are working again, the current setting may be enough.

 

[Bannerman]

i tapped the float at top and it filled for 1 sec i leg go and it stopped. so its only filling for the 7min

Did you look to see if the water was lifting the brine float and float rod? Perhaps the upper stop on the float rod is set too low, resulting in the float lifting the rod.

Alternately, while your initial post specified you have a 0.5 gpm BLFC (Black sticker), perhaps the BLFC actually installed is 1 gpm.

Suggest disconnecting the brine tube from the top of the brine tank, advance the controller to brine fill and measure the amount of water discharged from the tube in 1 minute. While it should be 0.5 gallons, it maybe a greater amount.

 

[mggray87]

Home depot salt solar salt sounds right. I'll go this morning and buy more I'll reconize it and get back to you. But after reading that page. I first when I installed this machine I use potassium. Then read salts more efficient so I poured salt on it ever since. Now when I was digging last night to see low water level it was cake mushy at bottom level. Wonder if that's still potassium turned to mush. So I'm gonna buy all new salt. Clean the can and refill it. I'm also going to check my brine button it says .5gpm but I was gonna take it out and make sure it's right and inserted right with letters facing me since it filled 16" in 7 out of 15 min. I've read there shouldn't be 16" of water.

 

[Reach4]

Now when I was digging last night to see low water level it was cake mushy at bottom level. Wonder if that's still potassium turned to mush. So I'm gonna buy all new salt. Clean the can and refill it.

I think if the liquid is being drawn out, it is not a mush problem. Mush clogs the intake as I understand it.

For an 18 inch square tank, 7.5 gallons of water would be expected to raise the water level about
5.4 inches into brine tank with no salt and 13.4 inches into a brine tank full of salt. Those would be on top of the 3 inches left at the end of the brine draw.

Too much water is not causing the softening problem, so while there may be a problem with too much fill, that is not the cause of the main symptoms: water not soft, and salt not being consumed.

I would try the kicks to see if you can knock the salt down. I would try the extra water poured in to dissolve the salt bridge.

 

[ditttohead]

He does not have a bridge, he has a mush problem.

Technical jargon....

A bridge is when the salt forms a literal bridge of salt over the water level to the point that the water can no longer reach the salt. This is very easy to remedy as a little water in the top of the salt will cause the bridge to suddenly collapse. This happens most often in humid environments where the salt crystals tend to start to lock together. Pellets are less likely to bridge.

Mush... "we need a better term for this" is common with potassium chloride and even salt pellets. It is a cakey mush formed by the salt. It is most common when salt tanks are located in areas that have high variables in temperature. The desert areas where the daytime can get to 120 degrees, nights get down to 60... this 60 degree swing causes the salts to be dissolve, then precipitate out forming this much and almost cement like cake at the bottom of the brine tank. This is not easily remedied. Hot hater overflowing the brine tank for a while will dissolve the salt over time. lay the tank down when it is almost empty, clean, sanitize and use sodium chloride. Solar/crystal salt tends to mush less than pellets, and far less the potassium.

 

[mggray87]

Ok so what's that white thing that goes over the button. Inside the brine tube valve. I snapped it I gotta find one today. But the button was indeed .5gpm and inserted correct way not gotta find that white piece

 

[mggray87]

And what stores sell them so I don't have to order it online

 

[mggray87]

Retainer clip. Anybody know a place I can buy one or do I have to order online. I'm pissed right now lol

 

[ditttohead]

You can swing by my place. We cant sell it to you but I will be glad to give you one.