Fleck 5600sxt - Softener and Filter settings

[rgbpc]

Hello,

First time poster. Stumbled upon this forum during my rigorous search for a softener and filter for my new home and have finally gave in to buy. I apologize in advance if what I say are all over the place.

Currently have 2.5bath home with city water. Water hardness is 6.5 gpg, iron at 0.3 ppm, and high levels of chloramines according to city water quality reports. Have 2 people averaging 75 gpd per person and sometimes have 1-2 guests that come stay for a few weeks at a time.

My current system is as follows.. City water -> sediment filter -> water filter -> water softener -> house.. I opted to put the water filter before the softener as I heard chlorines or chloramines would lessen the life of the softener resin. (I hope I did this right)

I have a concern with the water filter backwashing and draining every 3 days. Is this normal? I know there are some systems that include a carbon tank connected to the softener without a valve at all so I'm wondering if it's okay to set that much higher (like once a month?)

Would love to hear your thoughts on how to better set my valve settings to be more salt and water efficient and how to calculate these settings so that I could understand what to change in the future in the event my home has more people living in it.

My equipment and settings is as follows:

Water Softener
10x54 48000 grain capacity tank - Fleck 5600sxt valve - Resintech CG10 1.5 cubic ft - 230lb. Capacity Brine Tank
BLFC - 0.5gpm 1.5lb per min

DF - GAL
VT - dF1b
CT - Fd
NT - 1
C - 48
H - 7
RS - SF
SF - 15
DO - 14
RT - 2am
BW - 10min
BD - 60min
RR - 10min
BF - 15min
FM - 0.7

Water Filter
10x54 48000 grain capacity tank - Fleck 5600sxt valve - Jacobi CX-MCA Catalytic Carbon 1.5 cubic ft
DF - GAL
VT - FLtr
CT - tc
NT - 1
DO - 3
RT - 12am
BW - 10min
RR - 10min

 

[Bannerman]

With city water, there is unlikely to be much sediment/debris that will need to be removed before the water treatment equipment. Any potential sediment/debris that entered the carbon system as the initial device, will be flushed to drain during that device's backwash cycle.

As the city water is chlorinated (Chloramine = chlorine + ammonia), any dissolved iron (ferrous) that was originally present in the raw water, will be oxidized to a ferric state by the chlorine, so the resulting solid iron particles will typically precipitate out of the water within the distribution system. If there are any remaining solid particles, they will be typically by the carbon media whereby they will be flushed to drain during that device's backwash cycle.

A water softener will operate considerably more efficiently when the capacity consumed before regeneration is reduced. For example, to regenerate 48,000 grains Capacity in 1.5 cubic feet (ft3) of resin, will require 30-lbs of salt each cycle. Hardness Reduction Efficiency = 48,000 / 30 = 1,600 grains/lb.

The usually recommended Capacity setting for a 1.5 ft3 softener is 36,000 grains which will require only 12 lbs salt each cycle. HRE = 36,000 / 12 = 3,000 gr/lb.

The recommended settings below, incorporate the above. Recommended obtaining a Hach 5B Total Hardness test kit to periodically measure the hardness both before and after the softener. City water is often obtained from multiple sources so the city will typically state an average hardness from all sources which may not represent the water hardness at your location. If your water is not at the highest hardness possible from the city, it is recommended to program the softener for 2 GPG higher than tested at your location, to anticipate occasions when hardness is likely to be higher than usual due to system maintenance, season variance, and time of day variance while water use throughout the city is high.

Water Softener
10x54 = 48000 TOTAL grains capacity for 1.5 Cubic ft (ft3) resin
BLFC - 0.5gpm 1.5lb per min

DF - GAL - Display Format Gallons vs Litres
VT - dF1b - Down Flow - 1 Backwash cycle
CT - Fd - Control Type - Meter Flow - Delayed Regeneration
NT - 1 - Number of tanks
C - 36 - Usable Capacity to consumed before regeneration is to occur
H - 9- Compensated Hardness anticipated
RS - rc - Reserve Selection - rc = Fixed Reserve Capacity (gallons)
RC - 150 - Fixed Reserve Capacity = 150 gallons (1-day water usage)
DO - 28 - Days Override - ensures at minimum, 1-regeneration cycle per month if water use is low such as while everyone is away during vacation
RT - 2am - Regeneration Time - When programmed capacity has been consumed, regeneration will commence at 2 am the following morning
BW - 10min - Back Wash duration - to reduce water consumption, may be reduced to 6-minutes as city water will be usually absent of sediment
BD - 60min - Brine Draw duration to slowly transfer brine from brine tank, and to slowly rinse away hardness minerals and chloride
RR - 10min - Rapid Rinse will repack the resin to reduce hardness leakage after regeneration. To reduce water consumption, the setting may be reduced to 6-minutes.
BF - 8 min - Brine Fill - 8 mins X 0.5 gpm BLFC = 4 gallons water to enter brine tank to dissolve 12 lbs salt (each gallon entering the brine tank will dissolve 3 lbs salt)
FM - P 0.7 - Flow Meter type - anticipated to be 0.75" Paddle Wheel - t 0.7 if Turbine style flow meter.

Carbon media does not require regeneration, but periodic backwashing will flush away any sediment/debris to drain that may have entered, and will redistribute/reclassify the media within the media tank

Because water will always follow the path of least resistance, if the media is not periodically backwashed, water will continue to follow the same path through the media (channelling) so the media along that path will become overused, while the remaining media will be underused. Backwashing will eliminate channelling by redistributing the media, thereby allowing it to work more effectively. While I have recommended a 2-week backwash schedule, the carbon media may be backwashed as few as 1X per month particularly during extended periods when there is less water utilized with only 2 people present.

Water Filter
10x54 48000 grain capacity tank - Fleck 5600sxt valve - Jacobi CX-MCA Catalytic Carbon 1.5 cubic ft
DF - GAL
VT - FLtr - Valve Type = Filter
CT - tc - Control Type = Time Clock to backwash on a schedule every x-days
NT - 1
DO - 14 - Backwash frequency = every 14-days
RT - 12am - Time Backwash cycle is to commence - If you usually are awake past midnight, the setting may be changed to 1 am
BW - 10min - Backwash cycle duration
RR - 10min - Rapid Rinse will repack the media following Backwash. The setting may be reduced to 6-minutes to reduce water consumption

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

FM - P 0.7 - Flow Meter type - anticipated to be 0.75" Paddle Wheel - t 0.7 if Turbine style flow meter.

T0.7 is more common, but get the setting right. Paddlewheel is more expensive.
https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?attachments/img_fleck5600sxt_flow-png.31592/

 

[LLigetfa]

While I have recommended a 2-week backwash schedule, the carbon media may be backwashed as few as 1X per month particularly during extended periods when there is less water utilized with only 2 people present.

Would you suggest to reduce the 10 minute BW and RR?

 

[Reach4]

If you can tell us the injector number or color, I could check some thinks and maybe revise a suggested BD setting.

The less salt per cubic ft, the more salt efficient, but more hardness breakthrough.
Revised based on number from https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/help-for-programming-fleck-5810.82673/#post-595983
BLFC = 0.5
cubic ft resin = 1.5

Alternative C and BF pairs:
lb/cuft ; C= ; BF=
5.000 ; 28.7 ; 5 #less salt
6.000 ; 31.5 ; 6 #popular salt saving setting and still good softening
7.000 ; 33.9 ; 7 #when you can't decided between 6 and 8. Used below
8.000 ; 36.0 ; 8 #very good softening with moderate salt use (Bannerman suggested)
9.000 ; 37.7 ; 9
10.000 ; 39.3 ; 10 #more salt, silkier water
Since you can only pick whole numbers for C, usually round down.

========================================
System info (not programmed)
salt lb/cuft = 7 ; A choice ( efficiency vs capacity)
BLFC = 0.5 ; Brine Refill rate GPM
cubic ft resin = 1.5 ; ft3 resin = (nominal grains)/32,000
Compensated hardness = 8 ; including any compensation
People = 2.5 ; gallons affects reserve calc
Estimated gal/day = 150 ; 60 gal per person typical calc
Estimated days/regen = 27.55 ; Computed days including reserve

Fleck 5600SXT Settings:
DF = Gal ; Units
VT = dF1b ; Downflw/, Single Backwash, black cam
CT = Fd ; Meter Delayed regen trigger
NT = 1 ; Number of tanks
C = 33 ; capacity in 1000 grains
H = 8 ; Hardness-- compensate if needed
RS = rc ; rc says use gallons vs percent
RC = 150 ; Reserve capacity gallons
DO = 30 ; Day Override (28 if no iron)
RT = 2:00 ; Regen time (default 2 AM)
BW = 5 ; Backwash (minutes)
Bd = 60 ; Brine draw minutes
RR = 5 ; Rapid Rinse minutes
BF = 7 ; Brine fill minutes
FM = ____0.7 ; https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?attachments/img_fleck5600sxt_flow-png.31592/
FM pix: http://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?attachments/img_fleck5600sxt_flow-png.31592/

 

[rgbpc]

@Bannerman Thank you all so much for taking the time to explain all that! Helped me really understand what to look for when setting these. In regards to the resin capacity chart, I have the resintech CG10 which is a 10% crosslinked resin. Would that change anything as far as the C/BF settings go? I'll link the product specs so maybe someone could make sense of it.

https://www.aquascience.net/downloa...501/resintech_cation_resin_specifications.pdf

@Reach4 From looking at the flow meter pic, mine is definitely a t.07. In regards to the injector, I have a sticker that says "Injector - 1". I hope that helps in determining the optimal BD setting.


For now I've set things as shown below as per your recommendations.

Fleck 5600SXT Settings
DF = Gal ; Units
VT = dF1b ; Downflw/, Single Backwash, black cam
CT = Fd ; Meter Delayed regen trigger
NT = 1 ; Number of tanks
C = 36 ; capacity in 1000 grains
H = 9 ; Hardness-- compensate if needed
RS = rc ; rc says use gallons vs percent
RC = 150 ; Reserve capacity gallons
DO = 28 ; Day Override (28 if no iron)
RT = 2:00 ; Regen time (default 2 AM)
BW = 5 ; Backwash (minutes)
Bd = 60 ; Brine draw minutes
RR = 5 ; Rapid Rinse minutes
BF = 8 ; Brine fill minutes
FM = t0.7

Water Filter
DF - GAL
VT - FLtr - Valve Type = Filter
CT - tc - Control Type = Time Clock to backwash on a schedule every x-days
NT - 1
DO - 14 - Backwash frequency
RT - 12am - Time Backwash cycle is to commence - If you usually are awake past midnight, the setting may be changed to 1 am
BW - 10min - Backwash cycle duration
RR - 10min - Rapid Rinse will repack the media following Backwash. The setting may be reduced to 6-minutes to reduce water consumption

 

[Reach4]

In regards to the injector, I have a sticker that says "Injector - 1". I hope that helps in determining the optimal BD setting.

#1 Injector - White is acceptable with a BD of 60, but
#0 Injector - Red would be better with a BD of 60
#00 Injector - Violet with a BD of 80 would be my preference, and I think I would try to swap that #1 out. Not a big deal, and the #1 is within normal standards.

Your current injector will draw the brine in about 11 minutes if you use 7 minute BF and 12.5 minutes if you use 8 minute BF. Slower brine flow and slow rinse is more efficient. Downside is that you are in bypass through the BD cycle, but at 3 am, the occasional toilet flush while in bypass is not a big deal. Few would even consider this aspect.