How do you prep a new Softener Brine tank?

[Mswlogo]

Just installed 1.5 cu Clack WS1 water softener and seems to be working good. But I have not put salt in yet (I’ll be using Potasium). And have a few questions.

During a regen cycle does it suck the brine dry?

I know I can force it through cycles to get it to the fill stage and let it fill it. But does it need a bit more water so that it never tries to suck air?

Will it level itself out if I put to little or too much water for the first fill?

Where I’m going is, how does it not drift on level since it’s based on timed fill and timed suck. Or does it always suck until It sucks air? Wouldn’t sucking air not be ideal?

I already tested that it can suck water fine.

How do I verify it’s putting the right amount of water in? since Salt will be the way.

Is the float just for emergency over fill?

 

[Mswlogo]

One other question. I’m running at 6 lbs per cu ft. Which is 9 lbs per regen or 30,000 grains on a 48,000 grain softener. But at our water usage rate that might regen past 28 days. Maybe 45. If I only have 0.5 ppm of Manganese is that still a problem keeping it in the resin for that long? Is any amount to long?

If it is a problem, Can I set capacity of Softener even lower than the 6lb / cu ft rate. Like if I set it to 15,000 and use 4.5 lbs of salt and that would double the regen frequency.

Supposedly 6 lb / cu ft is the most efficient. What is the efficiency when I go that low of capacity?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Mswlogo]

less verbose form of my questions above

Do I just put a little extra water into brine tank (first time) (on top of the normal fill amount)?

Can I use 4.5 lbs salt at 15,000 grains capacity (on a 1.5 cu ft system)?

 

[Mswlogo]

I think I figured out how it works and how to prep it.

I have it programmed to pretty low capacity 20,000 because I don’t want it going to long between regens because of Manganese. Shooting for 14 days.

So it’s only putting in water for 6.5 lbs of salt. And that comes to 2500 gallons.

I run it through quickly to the fill cycle. Runs for 4 minutes and puts ~3.0” of water.

Run another cycle up until the sucking in brine. The water level in the brine tank doesn’t move because it’s just below the pickup.

So I step to the fill again and let it fill again. Now it has ~6” of water.

Run another cycle up to the suck and now it starts going down pretty fast. Until it reaches around 3” inches.

That’s the bottom of the brine point.

Advance to the fill again and now it should add what it’s gonna suck.

Added the salt and should be good. I think I can fit 1.5 years of salt (6 bags)

So in the end it should straighten itself out but I wanted to prime it with the right amounts so the first cycle has the right amount of brine at the right level.

Also figured out how it works on the brine cycle. When the water is below the pickup it doesn’t let air in. It closes it. So during the long brine cycle it sucks brine until it can't and once it stops it just soaks and doesn’t let air or water in. It’s not a sub cycle (it’s handled by the valve at the bottom of the brine tube). It’s not timed.

Then later it rinses it.

In my second question I asked the dealer and he suggested drop to 20,000 and put a little over the 6 lb / cu ft rate because the that is no longer the most efficient salt use.