Fleck 5600sxt settings 1"

[00dakota]

Hello,

I bought a 2.5 cubic ft acid neutralizer (non back washing) and a 48,000 grain softer with a Fleck 5600 sxt head. I have scoured tons of forms and need some advice on the settings for this. It is working but I think I can get better salt efficiency from it.

Here is some info:
Hardness from the well is low about 2-5gpg and acid is typically 6.7 or lower (constant blue stains in the house)
I checked the water hardness after the neutralizer and it was average 7-10 (and yes the PH was neutral). I think this number will change through the year as we occasionally get yellow water after very heavy rain. How yellow? No joke if you flush the toilet, it looks like someone urinated and didn't flush. When this happens it takes about 2 weeks for the water to slowly return clear. The rest of the year the water is beautifully clear and a TDS meter only shows a reading of 20 or less.

We have a shallow well at 30'.

The entire system is 1" and plumbed with 1" lines

The brine line is 1.5gpm and says 1.5lbs salt/min

The main settings I have questions about are:

BW = 7 ; Backwash (minutes)
Bd = 60 ; Brine draw minutes
RR = 7 ; Rapid Rinse minutes
BF = 7 ; Brine fill minutes
FM = t0.7

There is a ton of discussion of the lbs. of salt for the system and from what I can understand the lbs. of salt used is determined by the brine fill time not the Brine draw time ..... correct? I chose 7 for the BF because that seems to be consistent with people that have a 48,000 grain system like me.

Also the flow meter - every manual I can find says to set this to t0.7 BUT from my researching this is for the 3/4" turbine. I have a 1" system and yes it is a turbine, but how do I know if it is a 1" turbine or a 3/4"? Logic says because the system is 1" that would be the size but is there a way to verify?

 

[Reach4]

The brine line is 1.5gpm and says 1.5lbs salt/min

Your brine line (BLFC) is 0.5.

EDIT:Correction of typo in the following line in bold!
With BF=7, you want C=33.1

The 5600SXT is internally pretty much 3/4. https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?attachments/img_fleck5600sxt_flow-png.31592/ shows the choices. The bypasses come in both 3/4 and 1 inch versions.

When you get your yellowest water, put some in a jar. See if that ever settles out.

I am not a pro.

 

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[00dakota]

Thanks for the reply. I will put in those settings.

I never though of putting the water in a jar to see if it settles. Sounds like an interesting idea, but do I really want to see what settles out of it?

Back to the 3/4" vs 1" setting
I just took a shower (no one else is home and no other water was being used). Before the shower I looked at the head and it said I had 4429 gal of water left before a regen. After my shower (no water was used) I looked at the head again and it said I had 4206 gal left. There is no way I used 223 gal of water in the shower. The shower head is low flow 2.5 gal a min and I was in there 20 min MAX thus calculating to a 50 gal shower. My though is the wrong FM setting.

I might try to change the setting to the t1.0 setting and take a shower tomorrow night to see what happens. Anyone know if there are negative effects to the head if you use the wrong FM setting?

 

[Reach4]

I never though of putting the water in a jar to see if it settles. Sounds like an interesting idea, but do I really want to see what settles out of it?

Yes. If it settles, you could probably filter it with a sediment filter. If it does not, that would be something like tannins maybe.

I might try to change the setting to the t1.0 setting and take a shower tomorrow night to see what happens. Anyone know if there are negative effects to the head if you use the wrong FM setting?

No ill effects.

 

[00dakota]

Update,

Tonight I changed the setting in the fleck head to t1.0 (it was originally t0.7 as all the instruction manuals say) and I took a shower. This time the head calculated I used 40 gal of water which is much more in line than the 200 it calculated last night.

 

[Reach4]

Nice. Consider filling some Homer buckets (5 gallons).

 

[ditttohead]

Does your valve have the turbine or the paddle wheel meter. Do not set it to 1.0, set it to the correct meter. If you have a paddle wheel, the meter cable will be held in with a screw on a large dome shaped item. (the newest valves may not have a screw as this item is currently being updated). On the turbine meter the cable is pushed in to a small sandwich meter (see the video to see a turbine meter)

Turbine is to.7
Paddle is P0.7
The 5600 is not used with the 1" meter. (Technically the 5600 can be used with the brass 1" meter but I have never seen this done, the cost is ridiculous and there would be no advantage to it)

Yellow after a rain is likely Tannins, not much you can do other than rebedding the system with a tannin/softening resin like Ecomix, or a tannin selective system after the softener. https://view.publitas.com/impact-water-products/2018-catalog-final/page/34-35

 

[00dakota]

Hey dittohead,

It is not a paddle wheel, I verified that when I first started having problems by looking at pictures. You say not to set it to 1.0, but it is working so why mess with it? When I bought the system, I bought everything as a 1" system. All of my connections and even the turbine housing seems to be 1". Also the t0.7 calculation way WAY off calculating a 20 min shower used over 200 gal of water where as the t1.0 setting seems to be spot on calculating a 20 min shower used 40 gal of water so I am keeping it where it is.

 

[Reach4]

If you test more precisely, such as filling 5-gallon buckets, you could put in a custom number. The SXT manual describes the setting. Basically, select FM=Gen, and then a K parameter appears. Into that put a number that represents "Meter pulses per gallon for generic/other flow meter".

See https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/new-fleck-5810-meter-inaccurate.77291/
Here is an idea for selecting a K value experimentally:

1. Initially set K=10 for example.
2. Note the gallons reading one way or another.
3. Run a measured amount of water. Using 5 gallons in example
4. Note the change in indicated gallons. Presume a difference of 30 in this example
5. Compute the new K = 3o*10/5 in this example, so new K is 60.

Some softeners only accept whole numbers for K and some permit a decimal place for more resolution.

 

[ditttohead]

hmm, post a picture of your unit and the meter. I am curious, did you set the unit to CR for the reserve capacity? If so then the algorithm adjusts automatically and your capacity readings will be erratic for the first 6 weeks as it builds its algorithm.

The system "size" has no bearing regarding the meter reading. The meter reading is based on the "K" factor or pulses per gallon. Here is the Fleck and Clack charts for the meter "K" factors.

You can also go into diagnostics and open a faucet. Most modern faucets operate at about 1-1.5 GPM. You can also time the water flow to see if the meter is accurate in the diagnostics mode. The valve may have 1" connections, it is only a 3/4" valve.

 

[00dakota]

Here are some picks of the system. I set the reserve to SF at 10%.

How do you get to diagnostics mode?

 

[ditttohead]

Press the up and regen button simultaneously for 5 seconds.

You will have access to current flow rate, peak flow rate, volume used since last regen and much more.

http://waterpurification.pentair.co...wnload/en/42684-5600sxtdownflow-revk-jl17.pdf

 

[Reach4]

I set the reserve to SF at 10%.

10% of 4000+ gallons is a big reserve.

You could change this to let you specify the number in gallons, with 240 gallons used as an example below:

RS = rc ; rc says use gallons vs percent
RC = 240 ; Reserve capacity gallons

 

[00dakota]

I agree with the 10% safety factor being too much. I was thinking of changing it to 5% or less or just putting a whole number as a reserve. I have only had it running for about 3 weeks and the only regen it did was because it hit the 2 week override, not because it calculated the resin was exhausted. From all my reading it seems the 48k unit is larger than I need and a 30k unit would have been perfect. I went with 48k because several websites said based o the umber of bathrooms and people I should use the 48k .... Oh well, live and learn.

As far as the diagnostics, does the clock need to be at 12:01 or can I get into that at anytime by pressing the buttons?

 

[Reach4]

From all my reading it seems the 48k unit is larger than I need and a 30k unit would have been perfect. I went with 48k because several websites said based o the umber of bathrooms and people I should use the 48k .... Oh well, live and learn.

I think you made the right choice. 1.5 cubic ft 10x54 is a nice form factor. Regenerating every 2 or 3 weeks is great. The only downside I can think of that if in 20 or so years you want to change resin, the 1/2 pound bags cost more per cubic ft than the 1 cuft bags. They should sell 1.5 cubic ft bags, or 3/4 cubic ft bags.

I hope those are blocked from sunlight most of the time. UV is bad for the plastics, and light promotes some growth.

NOTE my correction in #2 above!

 

[Bannerman]

From all my reading it seems the 48k unit is larger than I need and a 30k unit would have been perfect.

Your 1.5 cuft softener should not be programmed to utilize 48K capacity. By programming 30K as usable capacity, less salt can then be utilized, thereby providing a significant increase in salt efficiency.

Appropriate settings for 30K usable capacity:
C: 30
BF: 6 minutes (6 X 0.5 BLFC = 3 gallons)

The total salt dose to regenerate 30K capacity is 9 lbs. Each 1 gallon entering the brine tank will dissolve 3 lbs salt.
Salt efficiency: 30,000 grains / 9 lbs = 3,333 grains/lb

Alternatively, capacity could be programmed as 36K which will require 12 lbs salt.

To regenerate 48K capacity in the same size softener would require 27 lbs salt.
The reserve capacity should typically be 1 day average usage or slightly more.

 

[ditttohead]

Agreed, 1.5 Ft3 is great, and... set the day over ride to 30 days. No reason to regenerate early. The DO is these to clean the system intermittently in should you go on vacation and to allow you to run with a broken meter for a while should the need arise.

 

[00dakota]

The reason I have the DO set to 14 is because everything I read said 14 was the max a system should go and if you are on a well you should set it to 7. I am on a well but I have a spin down filter and a acid neutralizer before the softener so I figured these two items would catch all the "junk" and I could then go 14 days.

What are your suggestions for the DO on a well?

 

[Reach4]

What is your iron number? The reason for a reduced DO is usually iron.

If you have never had a lab water test, this would be a good time to consider that.

The NLT/watercheck lab tests are well respected. https://watercheck.com/collections/well-water-tests I don't know what the return shipping would come to. I would guess over $40. If you go with that, could you post what shipping came to?
Here are a couple other lab tests I would consider to be worthwhile:
http://envirotestkits.com/product/safe-home-select-drinking-water-test-kit/ $99 (on sale at the moment for less) has the main things you need for softener etc. Note that this offering has home bacteria test. For any bacteria test to be meaningful, you have to follow proper sampling techniques including sterilizing the faucet. If you care about the coliform test results, care needs to be taken in sampling. http://www.ugra.org/pdfs/SamplingHandout.pdf is one description of a method to avoid contaminating the sample.
http://e-watertest.com/order-water-test-kit/ This was the first water test I got. Now that KarLabs has closed, they are looking good to me again. This test includes tests for things that are seldom detected.
https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/recommended-water-testing-lab.75253/
I suggest well sanitizing too, at least after well work. If needed maybe every few years or even more frequently in some cases. https://terrylove.com/forums/index....izing-extra-attention-to-4-inch-casing.65845/ is written for a deep well. If you have a suction pipe going into a casing, it should work about the same. If no casing such as with a sand point, some modification would be needed.

 

[Bannerman]

What are your suggestions for the DO on a well?

Iron is the main reason for reducing the DO setting. As you have not stated any iron level, seems to indicate there is no iron present in your well water so a 30-day DO setting can be utilized.

The 30K/9 lb and 36K/12 lb settings are most recommended for a 1.5 cuft softener. Reducing the programmed usable capacity and salt dose will not only result in increased salt efficiency, but the softener will also regenerate more often so regeneration initiated by DO will likely not occur in regular use.

As you previously stated 'average' hardness ranges, what hardness setting did you use when programming the softener?